“Sorry It Took a Pandemic and Multiple Murders to Get Here”: The Impact of Twin Pandemics on EDI in a Predominantly White School District

Abstract

This study examined the impact of the racial justice movement that emerged in the United States after the murder of George Floyd and during the first year of the covid-19 pandemic on the discussion around equity and diversity initiatives in a predominantly White school district. We conducted thematic analyses of public communications of school district officials and community members and applied an epistemologies of ignorance framework that explains White denials of structural racism. Floyd’s murder and the pandemic appeared to shift the discussion toward greater acknowledgment of structural racism, yet White ignorance and denial persisted. We conclude that equity and diversity initiatives should include critical focus on White people’s experiences and stronger emphasis on the historical antecedents of present-day racial inequity.