The purpose of this study is to illuminate the legacies of settler colonial and white supremacist ideologies, policies, and practices in the United States educational system, and how those legacies may influence the experiences, opportunities, and acts of resistance of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC). It is critical to further explore the effect of the construction and enforcement of a binary that positions western research practices and knowledge as culturally superior to non-western research practices and knowledge. The following question guided this study: How might the legacies of settler colonial and white supremacist ideologies, policies, and practices in the United States educational system influence the contemporary experience, opportunities, and acts of resistance of BIPOC students in the United States educational system? This qualitative study utilized interviews which allowed for the researcher to collect data that is produced from conversations with BIPOC students who have graduated from high school or higher education. Interviews were recorded and transcribed to identify shared themes of BIPOC students. The findings of this study are: 1. the systematic barriers to BIPOC histories and knowledge by normalizing white histories and identities in curriculum and having higher education as primary access to cultural studies. 2. the impact of racialized cultural environments on learning by the exclusive white spaces impacting academic performance, and cultural representation being significant to identity formation and academic success.

COVID-19 is found to have higher contraction rates and worse outcomes for those in racial and ethnic minority groups, presenting not only a mortality risk but grave health and economic risks for older adults. I conducted a secondary analysis to ask, “What are the unique barriers to social and health service delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic that have affected organizations in Washington State serving predominantly elders in racial and ethnic minorities, clients with low socioeconomic status, and those living in rural areas?” I used survey and qualitative semi-structured interview data collected from 40 senior leaders of health and social services organizations in Western, Central, and Eastern Washington, whose primary client and patient population is low-income, marginalized older adults, and those with dementia. I identified themes within each organization and how they differ depending on their predominant client population (e.g. mostly White clients vs. mostly non-White clients). Preliminary findings indicate that organizations serving predominantly BIPOC clients experience barriers reaching clients virtually because of the digital divide; lack of affordability and accessibility to smart devices like phones, tablets, and laptops. By adopting a Participatory Action Research model, I can inform and educate society on the barriers these organizations face to providing equitable care to elders and use my findings to create a community-based action plan that responds to these challenges and keeps our older adults safe and healthy.

Having Healing Circles as a tool not only aided me in coping with racism, microaggressions, sexism, imposter syndrome, and mental health, but it gifted me with empowerment and a sense of identity as a Xicana. My research on Healing Circles focuses on intersectionality, decoloniality, and feminism of color resistance and pedagogy. Healing Circles offer a framework of radical transformative healing tools, particularly for BIPOC non-binary womxn. They offer an intervention to institutional disembodiment. Feminist of color scholars, including Stephanie Cariaga, discuss how institutional disembodiment creates more trauma by forcing a violent separation between the mind and body of students and educators. Most scholars write about healing circles as community-centered practice and as an alternative way to decolonize health care. This paper argues that Healing Circles can be used as a tool in academia to help heal faculty and students in Ethnic Studies. There is an imbalance in Ethnic Studies between learning about oppression and learning about resistance, what feminist Queer Chicana Scholar, Gloria Anzaldua calls the dark versus the light, respectively. My research question is designed to answer how to focus more on the “light” as a way of healing, especially in Ethnic Studies. The methods I plan to use are Testimonio, Digital ethnography, or Healing-Centered Engagement Theory. Anticipated results are that students and educators reclaim their healing. Since there are few to no Healing Circles in academia, after doing this project I hope to develop a workshop series for institutions outside of Cal Poly.

Dating back to the very first time African American women were given the opportunity of representation in the TV and film industries, the ways they were most commonly portrayed have been dehumanizing and inferior. Today, we are still seeing similar characteristic traits being used to institutionalize African American femininity and the intention of this project is to expose those inaccuracies and potentially damaging socio-political aspects of the African American female identity. Looking through a lens focused on colorism and the stigmas surrounding African American hair creates an awareness of the ways African American women are portrayed in TV and film productions unjustly and how these stereotypical character roles may have a psychological effect on the self-esteem of young African American girls. Based on these theories, it suggests that if the TV and film industries continue down this path towards biases and inaccurate depictions of African American women, there will sadly never be a solid solution. It is anticipated that this research will help current and future generations of young African American women see more accurate depictions of themselves in the media, which could hopefully aid in the development of higher self-esteem overall. To support my argument, I plan on using surveys, focus groups, and one-on-one interviews to collect data.