Race, Privilege, and Intersectionality: Navigating Inconvenient Truths through Self-Exploration

Abstract

Preparing culturally competent information professionals requires experiential approaches that would challenge them to navigate their own cultural landscape though introspective lenses. However, for information professionals, the tricky business of investigating oneself remains largely unacknowledged and unstudied. This study demonstrates how information professionals discover and come to understand the meaning of race, privilege, and intersectionality between them by navigating their own cultural identity. A qualitative content analysis of 33 personal identity exploration narratives reveals the importance of self-awareness in cultivating a culturally responsive mindset. This study addresses an approach to LIS education that calls for intentional efforts in cultivating self-reflexive information professionals for bringing sustainable change in a culturally diverse society.