Racelighting Black, Indigenous and People of Color in education: a conceptual framework

Abstract

PurposeThis article provides an overviews of the concept of racelighting. Racelighting is “is an act of psychological manipulation where Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) receive racial messages that lead them to second-guess their lived experiences with racism”Design/methodology/approachThis conceptual paper articulates four primary ways that racelighting manifests in the lives and experiences of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC).FindingsThere are four common messages that often lead to racelighting: stereotype advancement, resistive actions, inauthentic allyship and misrepresenting the past.Originality/valueWhile much has been written about gaslighting, few frameworks articulate how gaslighting occurs in a racialized context.