ABSTRACT

How did school districts serving high-income communities describetheir commitments to address racism after the 2020 Black Lives Matter protestsand police officers' murder of George Floyd? Leaders of these districtsdescribed talking about racism as key to their organizations’ racial equityefforts, but how district leaders portrayed the importance of talking aboutracism varies by district racial composition. In predominantly White districts,leaders expressed shock at evidence of racial violence and framed race-talk asnecessary for both addressing the discomfort learning about racism caused andpreparing students for leadership roles in diverse, global settings, rejectinglongstanding White norms of race-evasiveness and racial ignorance. Statementsfrom similarly high-income districts with fewer White students also promotetalking about race but describe these conversations as supporting raciallymarginalized students’ immediate socioemotional needs, not preparing studentsfor future success. The findings illuminate an emergent form of culturalcapital for affluent White students called race-conscious refinement: easediscussing racism as a mark of distinction that serves students’ futureadvancement. This article contributes to research on Whiteness, organizationalDEI efforts, and racial socialization in schools, and suggests how the “racialcontract” may shift to accommodate new, sophisticated mechanisms that upholdelite White dominance in the social media age as well as the era of backlashagainst efforts to disrupt racial inequality in organizations.