Leigh, Patel. Educational Research and Institutionalized Oppression. Decolonizing

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Leigh, Patel. “Educational Research and Institutionalized Oppression.” Decolonizing educational research: From ownership to answerability., Routledge, 2015, pp. 177-179.

The chapter, Institutionalized Oppression,” in Lisa (Leigh) Patel’s book addresses how a system undermines the freedom of black people because it is created only to maintain white supremacy. The author discusses how stories of pain, anger, and resentment have become so familiar circling on popular online media sites. She also questions the logic behind the activities of educational research through the analysis of studies and speech presentations as a tool to maintain anti-blackness.

It is clear from the sentiment that the marginalization of black people in America is no simple issue. The author starts by suggesting schools should not be a ground where marginalization is cultivated. School should be a space where people are judged based on competence and image and the white supremacy beaten by intelligence. The author continues to suggest that if research was to be considered a tool then it should focus on highlighting how schools have painted marginalized groups as savage for decades. Institutions might be talking about social justice but the financial burden an education imposes on people of color says otherwise.

Like the rest of the racial society, education research has been as guilty because they have used proxies to cover up the ugly nature of white supremacy. The authors believe that education has been a tool to erase the history of the indigenous people and their connection to this nation and the land itself.

Overall, this article is straightforward from the start and the reader realizes what it is about by the first paragraph. Its introduction is concise and attracts the attention of the reader particularly to this sensitive topic in America. The idea of education and the contribution of research in supporting the relegation of people of color is a new perspective for explaining the tools that continue to support white supremacy. This piece discusses a relevant theory and does a great job conveying it and lays out a great way of looking at this multifaceted problem.