Other lullabies: Attacks on Blackness, confusion of tongues, and the loss of play

Through a close reading of an anonymous lullaby from Latin America, the paper argues how colonial legacies and systemic racism, in the context of the structure of whiteness and the Covid pandemic, have had a nefarious impact on the material, symbolic, and psychic life of poor and working-class children and adolescents of color. The paper places a focus on Black kids. Left outside the symbolic, material, and legal order, these individuals suffer systemic attacks against their body and mind. This fact, in tandem with the devastating realities of the pandemic, have produced what the author calls an experience of "the end of the world." Three main consequences of all these configurations are discussed: (1) failed identifications with whiteness;(2) loss of play;and (3) "confusion of tongues." The need for new social lullabies, ones that invigorate our social capacity to dream the (colonial) state of affairs as being otherwise and that create communal solidarity, is proposed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Navigating parental involvement: Restoring bridges and inspiring change

It appears that the predominantly European centered educational system has failed Black students. There is a disparity in academic success for Black students in comparison to White students. In 2013, it was reported that 34% of Black students and 9% of White students scored below basic on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (National Education Policy and Practice and Priority Schools Department, 2015). In a study conducted by Stanford professor Reardon, average test scores of Black students were two grade levels lower than White students (Rabinovitz, 2016). Black students at the national level scored 30 points lower than their White peers in 2011, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics (Bohrnstedt et al., 2015). Nonacademic factors such as student motivational levels, work ethic, and family/parent support have emerged as possible causes (Ratcliff et al., 2016). Research by LaRocque et al. (2011) supports the need for collaboration of parents and teachers to increase student learning. The need to build relationships with Black families is especially crucial to improving the academic experiences of Black students. Epstein's Framework for Parental Involvement should also be held under the careful lens of Critical Race Theory (CRT) when used in school districts that serve predominately Black students. In this qualitative case study, I describe the process and challenges of initiating and maintaining parent/ teacher relationships in urban, middle schools to improve Black students' academic performance. Data was obtained from interviews with 6 Black and 5 White middle school educators. The data gathered was coded and analyzed to draw out the perceptions teachers have about parental involvement and student achievement. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Color-blind racial attitudes in nursing students and faculty

Racial color-blindness is a meritocratic ahistorical false belief surrounding the denial, minimization, and distortion of the existence of racism that has detrimental effects on health. Critical race theory effectively centered race for this analysis. Faculty of all races except African American/Black had higher racial color-blindness than students on all 3 of the following sub-concepts of the Color-Blind Racial Attitudes Scale: Unawareness of Racial Privilege, Institutional Discrimination, and Blatant Racial Issues. These are all disadvantages to student success and show that nursing faculty may not be optimally poised to speak on the social determinants of health. Findings also showed that Latina/o/Hispanic students and students of "All Other Races" were less aware of racial privilege than White and Black/African American students. Students with lower GPAs were less aware of racial privilege and those with higher GPAs were more racially color-blind on the sub-concept of Institutional Discrimination. The sample for this study, comprised of nursing students and nursing faculty in a selection of California Community Colleges across Southern California was much more diverse than those in other similar studies where the sample was comprised predominantly of White people. A cross sectional within-subjects descriptive research design was used. Participants completed the Color-Blind Racial Attitudes Scale. While the Everyday Discrimination Scale was completed to control for experiences of discrimination in their level of racial color-blindness, it did not show a statistically significant relationship. Of the faculty in the sample, 52% were non White compared to the national average of 15.9% non-White for nursing faculty. The findings related to first language and language spoken at home are a strong indicator of the high diversity of the sample. English was the first language for 58% of the students and 86% of the faculty. English was the language spoken at home for 73% of the students and 91% of the faculty, while 67% of students and 65% of faculty were born in the United States. The year 2020 had unique historical events surrounding the dual pandemic of COVID-19 and racism. The heightened sensitivity to racism and police brutality as a result of the murder of George Floyd surely had some influence on the data collected for this study. The results support interventions related to raising awareness about color-blind racial attitudes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Block and tackle or interfere: Student-athletes identities & well-being

Athletic and academic identities among college student-athletes have been identified as important determinants of their academic achievement, career preparation, and sport termination. However, less is known about how these two identities, independently or simultaneously may be related to student-athletes' overall (e.g., levels of optimism and happiness) or sport-wellbeing (e.g., satisfaction with one's sport performance). To this end, the purpose of the study was to examine how student-athletes' academic and athletic identities are associated with their overall and sport well-being in a U.S. national sample of 241 Division I student-athletes. I also examined whether the relationship between these two identities and well-being would be moderated by the student-athletes' year in school, gender, or race. Because this study took place during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (Summer of 2020), I also explored whether interruptions to school and sport activities due to the pandemic would also affect student-athletes reported overall and sport well-being. Results showed a significant positive relationship between academic identity and overall well-being, and a negative relationship between athletic identity and sport well-being. Additionally, year in school and race were significant correlates of sport well-being, with lowerclassmen student-athletes (first- and second-year students) and White student-athletes reporting higher levels of sport well-being than their counterparts. Race and gender were also significant predictors of overall well-being. Specifically, male student-athletes and White student-athletes reported higher levels of overall well-being than student-athletes identifying as female or as a person of color. Finally, results also indicated that COVID-19 were negatively associated with participants' overall and sport well-being. However, the relationship between academic nor athletic identity and well-being (i.e., overall, sport well-being) were not moderated by self-reported rage, gender, year in school, or COVID-19 interruptions. After a review of the current literature and its limitations, findings and implications for practice with student-athletes are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Portraits of white women managers reflecting upon racism, classism, and equity in higher education

Horace Mann (1796-1859) is known for asserting education is the great equalizer. Today, "in the United States, education figures prominently within the public imaginary as deliverance from inequities in society" (Patel, 2016a, p. 16). This assertion, however, assumes all degrees hold the same promise and anyone with enough pluck will succeed. What it hides are many facets of inequity built into a system obsessed with rank and governed by a bureaucratic hierarchy. In actuality, higher education both mimics and reproduces the very social inequities it strives to correct.Using the narrative frameworks of critical race theory and portraiture, this study illuminated voices of White female managers working in the California State University system. Additional analysis using critical White studies allowed for a deeper investigation of how White people comprehend racism and how they define race, including assuming a lack of race in themselves. Sparked by numerous statements from university presidents, police chiefs and business leaders decrying the killing of George Floyd by Minnesota police in May 2020, this study was conducted in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and mainstream awareness of Black Lives Matter, two ongoing events that have not only disrupted the way we did business in 2020 and into 2021, but have also challenged White people to consider and frankly discuss pervasive structures of racism and how they have benefitted from those structures. By exploring participants' experiences as former students who became managers in higher education, this research centers the narrative on individual insights and whether those whose culture has been centered in the curriculum have recognized their privileged place in the system of higher education and how they have challenged and dismantled those manmade structures. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Disentangling SEL: Advocating for Black Sociality, Questioning White Teachers' Emotionality

This article disentangles social and emotional learning (SEL) into its 2 constitutive parts--sociality and emotionality through a backward mapping of the School Development Program (SDP) developed by James Comer. This article argues that Comer's school-level intervention is a process model for how to achieve SEL outcomes given its intentionality toward making schooling a homeplace and its capacity to buildout conditions of Black sociality. The SDP also challenges how teacher preparation programs perpetuates harm to students of color by codifying white emotionality. This harm suggests a need to reimagine teacher preparation. This article thus concludes by recommending that teacher preparation programs should study more models and processes like the SDP and confront color-evasiveness.

Imagining Decolonial Desires of the Public Good

Considering the legacies of exclusion, white supremacy, and genocide found within the walls of U.S. higher education, the public good construct is also embedded in exclusion, white supremacy, and genocide. The fact that existing notions of the public good remain intact and unquestioned of its origins means that the public good is not for all individuals of our society, particularly Black, Indigenous, Asian, Latinx, gender diverse, and ability diverse folks. Through a relational praxis, we engage in freewriting and Blackout poetry to share three solidarity narratives. This process and action detailed in this article come from a space that imagines the impossible -- a decolonial desire for the public good.

Critical Race Pedagogy: A Taxonomy of Academic Activities to Craft a Critical Race Praxis in Higher Education

The authors present a taxonomy of pedagogical activities that can be used by teacher educators to foster a critical race praxis. The target audience is college- and university-level faculty committed to advancing equity in education. They first review the extant literature about critical consciousness in education. Next, they describe seven activities for more equitable teaching: fishbowl discussion, discussion of race vs. ethnicity, values continuum, discussion and writing communities, analysis of race in education policy, critical race journal, and racial autobiography. Additionally, the authors explain how these activities can be implemented in virtual classrooms in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Block and tackle or interfere: Student-athletes identities & well-being

Athletic and academic identities among college student-athletes have been identified as important determinants of their academic achievement, career preparation, and sport termination. However, less is known about how these two identities, independently or simultaneously may be related to student-athletes' overall (e.g., levels of optimism and happiness) or sport-wellbeing (e.g., satisfaction with one's sport performance). To this end, the purpose of the study was to examine how student-athletes' academic and athletic identities are associated with their overall and sport well-being in a U.S. national sample of 241 Division I student-athletes. I also examined whether the relationship between these two identities and well-being would be moderated by the student-athletes' year in school, gender, or race. Because this study took place during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (Summer of 2020), I also explored whether interruptions to school and sport activities due to the pandemic would also affect student-athletes reported overall and sport well-being. Results showed a significant positive relationship between academic identity and overall well-being, and a negative relationship between athletic identity and sport well-being. Additionally, year in school and race were significant correlates of sport well-being, with lowerclassmen student-athletes (first- and second-year students) and White student-athletes reporting higher levels of sport well-being than their counterparts. Race and gender were also significant predictors of overall well-being. Specifically, male student-athletes and White student-athletes reported higher levels of overall well-being than student-athletes identifying as female or as a person of color. Finally, results also indicated that COVID-19 were negatively associated with participants' overall and sport well-being. However, the relationship between academic nor athletic identity and well-being (i.e., overall, sport well-being) were not moderated by self-reported rage, gender, year in school, or COVID-19 interruptions. After a review of the current literature and its limitations, findings and implications for practice with student-athletes are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Ethnicity and demographic factors as predictors of prolonged grief during COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic challenged bereaved families and friends in the rituals, final goodbyes, and support available during their time of loss. Research indicates that these practices are beneficial in the process of grief. The majority of people are resilient and adjust to the loss of a loved one. However, some will experience grief that does not abate with time. Prolonged grief disorder (PGD), recently approved for inclusion in the DSM-5-TR, is intense grief that can become distressing and disabling. Though limited, available studies posit that African Americans experience more prolonged grief than White Americans. This study used the PG-13-R scale to assess symptoms of prolonged grief between African Americans and White Americans (n = 206). This study also analyzed differences in prolonged grief symptoms between gender and age groups. Results of this study indicated no statistically significant difference between prolonged grief disorder scores for African Americans (M = 23.46, SD = 10.21) and White Americans (M = 24.80, SD = 9.09). There was a significant difference between females (M = 26.29, SD = 10.16), and males (M = 22.08, SD = 8.67), and between age groups. Specifically, the 18-35 group (M = 28.76, SD = 10.44) had significantly more prolonged grief than both the 36-64 group (M = 23.35, SD = 9.30) and the 65+ group (M = 20.26, SD = 7.13). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

CROSS IN YELLOW: Brief reflection on its symbolism during the pandemic

Zarra reflects on the symbolism during the pandemic in Brazil. The numerous variations of Brazil, the colonialist plan entrenched in slavery continues on its systemic course, as revealed in the relations between racialized peoples--mainly black and indigenous people--and white people. One of the tragic symbols marking the beginning of the pandemic triggered by the SARS-CoV-2 virus was the death of a domestic worker who lived in the periphery of Rio de Janeiro and who caught the virus in the apartment where she worked in the Alto Leblon neighborhood from her boss who had traveled to Italy. This emblematic case exposes the vulnerability of the population of the periphery who have been expelled from the centre of the city and neglected by public authorities in this process of historical abandonment and intensification of the notion of subject/subject, subject/object.

Portraits of white women managers reflecting upon racism, classism, and equity in higher education

Horace Mann (1796-1859) is known for asserting education is the great equalizer. Today, "in the United States, education figures prominently within the public imaginary as deliverance from inequities in society" (Patel, 2016a, p. 16). This assertion, however, assumes all degrees hold the same promise and anyone with enough pluck will succeed. What it hides are many facets of inequity built into a system obsessed with rank and governed by a bureaucratic hierarchy. In actuality, higher education both mimics and reproduces the very social inequities it strives to correct.Using the narrative frameworks of critical race theory and portraiture, this study illuminated voices of White female managers working in the California State University system. Additional analysis using critical White studies allowed for a deeper investigation of how White people comprehend racism and how they define race, including assuming a lack of race in themselves. Sparked by numerous statements from university presidents, police chiefs and business leaders decrying the killing of George Floyd by Minnesota police in May 2020, this study was conducted in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and mainstream awareness of Black Lives Matter, two ongoing events that have not only disrupted the way we did business in 2020 and into 2021, but have also challenged White people to consider and frankly discuss pervasive structures of racism and how they have benefitted from those structures. By exploring participants' experiences as former students who became managers in higher education, this research centers the narrative on individual insights and whether those whose culture has been centered in the curriculum have recognized their privileged place in the system of higher education and how they have challenged and dismantled those manmade structures. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Distancing the socially distanced: Racial/ethnic composition's association with physical distancing in response to COVID-19 in the U.S

Social distancing prescribed by policy makers in response to COVID-19 raises important questions as to how effectively people of color can distance. Due to inequalities from residential segregation, Hispanic and Black populations have challenges in meeting health expectations. However, segregated neighborhoods also support the formation of social bonds that relate to healthy behaviors. We evaluate the question of non-White distancing using social mobility data from Google on three sites: workplaces, grocery stores, and recreational locations. Employing hierarchical linear modeling and geographically weighted regression, we find the relation of race/ethnicity to COVID-19 distancing is varied across the United States. The HLM models show that compared to Black populations, Hispanic populations overall more effectively distance from recreation sites and grocery stores: each point increase in percent Hispanic was related to residents being 0.092 percent less likely (p < 0.05) to visit recreational sites and 0.127 percent less likely (p < 0.01) to visit grocery stores since the onset of COVID-19. However, the GWR models show there are places where the percent Black is locally related to recreation distancing while percent Hispanic is not. Further, these models show the association of percent Black to recreation and grocery distancing can be locally as strong as 1.057 percent (p < 0.05) and 0.989 percent (p < 0.05), respectively. Next, the HLM models identified that Black/White residential isolation was related to less distancing, with each point of isolation residents were 11.476 percent more likely (p < 0.01) to go to recreational sites and 7.493 percent more likely (p < 0.05) to visit grocery stores compared to before COVID-19. These models did not find a measurable advantage/ disadvantage for Black populations in these places compared to White populations. COVID-19 policy should not assume disadvantage in achieving social distancing accrue equally to different racial/ethnic minorities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Understanding the challenges faced by Michigan's family farmers: race/ethnicity and the impacts of a pandemic.

Michigan is a critical agricultural state, and small family farms are a crucial component of the state's food sector. This paper examines how the race/ethnicity of the family farm owners/operators is related to farm characteristics, financing, and impacts of the pandemic. It compares 75 farms owned/operated solely by Whites and 15 with People of Color owners/operators. The essay examines how farmers finance their farm operations and the challenges they face doing so. The article also explores how the Coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic affected farming operations, the financial viability of farms, and how farmers responded to the challenges posed by the pandemic. The study found that People of Color farm owners/operators were younger than White farm owners/operators. The People of Color farm owners/operators tended to manage smaller farms for shorter periods than White farm owners/operators. Though two-thirds of the Farmers of Color owned their farms, they were more financially vulnerable than White farm owners/operators. The farmers studied had difficulty obtaining loans to finance their farms. Farmers reported increasing requests from people for food assistance during the pandemic. Farmers responded to the pandemic by participating in government programs such as the Farm to Families Food Box Program that purchased their produce. It allowed farmers to supply emergency food assistance programs with products from their farms. The products went to families receiving food assistance from soup kitchens, food banks, and other community-based nonprofits.

(Re)describing belonging: A narrative inquiry of minoritized students and their sense of belonging while attending a predominately white institution during COVID-19

This study explores how minoritized undergraduate students described their sense of belonging during COVID-19 at Rural Valley University (RVU), a large research one, historically and predominately White institution (PWI) located in the rural town in the eastern region of the United States. A sense of belonging is not guaranteed for minoritized undergraduate college students attending predominately White institutions. This study utilized narrative inquiry and Terrell Strayhorn's (2019) theoretical framework of belonging, interviewing 10 participants to describe their experience of belonging at a PWI while living in the time of COVID-19 and the summer of racialized activism. The participants did not feel a sense of belonging at RVU (pre-pandemic) and their racial identities and social contexts influenced their belonging during a "two pandemic world." Additionally, the need to belong drove their behaviors in ways that may benefit and deter academic achievement. With some students satisfying their need to belong through external sources (technology, friends, family) with little association with RVU. The study ends by sharing implications for practitioners and leadership at PWIs to analyze and address their campus climate and culture by visualizing student belonging through an organizational lens and second order change to campus climate and culture at PWIs in advocating for justice and equity for minoritized students. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)

Navigating parental involvement: Restoring bridges and inspiring change

It appears that the predominantly European centered educational system has failed Black students. There is a disparity in academic success for Black students in comparison to White students. In 2013, it was reported that 34% of Black students and 9% of White students scored below basic on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (National Education Policy and Practice and Priority Schools Department, 2015). In a study conducted by Stanford professor Reardon, average test scores of Black students were two grade levels lower than White students (Rabinovitz, 2016). Black students at the national level scored 30 points lower than their White peers in 2011, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics (Bohrnstedt et al., 2015). Nonacademic factors such as student motivational levels, work ethic, and family/parent support have emerged as possible causes (Ratcliff et al., 2016). Research by LaRocque et al. (2011) supports the need for collaboration of parents and teachers to increase student learning. The need to build relationships with Black families is especially crucial to improving the academic experiences of Black students. Epstein's Framework for Parental Involvement should also be held under the careful lens of Critical Race Theory (CRT) when used in school districts that serve predominately Black students. In this qualitative case study, I describe the process and challenges of initiating and maintaining parent/ teacher relationships in urban, middle schools to improve Black students' academic performance. Data was obtained from interviews with 6 Black and 5 White middle school educators. The data gathered was coded and analyzed to draw out the perceptions teachers have about parental involvement and student achievement. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)

Does the High Prevalence of Vitamin D Deficiency in African Americans Contribute to Health Disparities?

African Americans have higher incidence of, and mortality from, many health-related problems than European Americans. They also have a 15 to 20-fold higher prevalence of severe vitamin D deficiency. Here we summarize evidence that: (i) this health disparity is partly due to insufficient vitamin D production, caused by melanin in the skin blocking the UVB solar radiation necessary for its synthesis; (ii) the vitamin D insufficiency is exacerbated at high latitudes because of the combination of dark skin color with lower UVB radiation levels; and (iii) the health of individuals with dark skin can be markedly improved by correcting deficiency and achieving an optimal vitamin D status, as could be obtained by supplementation and/or fortification. Moderate-to-strong evidence exists that high 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and/or vitamin D supplementation reduces risk for many adverse health outcomes including all-cause mortality rate, adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes, cancer, diabetes mellitus, Alzheimer's disease and dementia, multiple sclerosis, acute respiratory tract infections, COVID-19, asthma exacerbations, rickets, and osteomalacia. We suggest that people with low vitamin D status, which would include most people with dark skin living at high latitudes, along with their health care provider, consider taking vitamin D3 supplements to raise serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels to 30 ng/mL (75 nmol/L) or possibly higher.

Racial Disparities-Associated COVID-19 Mortality among Minority Populations in the US.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a betacoronavirus that causes the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is highly transmissible and pathogenic for humans and may cause life-threatening disease and mortality, especially in individuals with underlying comorbidities. First identified in an outbreak in Wuhan, China, COVID-19 is affecting more than 185 countries and territories around the world, with more than 15,754,651 confirmed cases and more than 640,029 deaths. Since December 2019, SARS-CoV-2 transmission has become a global threat, which includes confirmed cases in all 50 states within the United States (US). As of 25 July 2020, the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering Center for Systems Science and Engineering reports more than 4,112,651 cases and 145,546 deaths. To date, health disparities are associated with COVID-19 mortality among underserved populations. Here, the author explores potential underlying reasons for reported disproportionate, increased risks of mortality among African Americans and Hispanics/Latinos with COVID-19 compared with non-Hispanic Whites. The author examines the underlying clinical implications that may predispose minority populations and the adverse clinical outcomes that may contribute to increased risk of mortality. Government and community-based strategies to safeguard minority populations at risk for increased morbidity and mortality are essential. Underserved populations living in poverty with limited access to social services across the US are more likely to have underlying medical conditions and are among the most vulnerable. Societal and cultural barriers for ethnic minorities to achieve health equity are systemic issues that may be addressed only through shifts in governmental policies, producing long-overdue, substantive changes to end health care inequities.