Microaggressions and Macroaggressions Across Time: The Longitudinal Construction of Inequality in Schools

Abstract

This article reveals inequity as a longitudinal construction involving the cumulation of micro/macroaggressions for children who live in high-poverty communities and attend poorly funded schools. Drawing on critical race theory and empirical research that documents forms of micro/macroaggression, a longitudinal analysis is used to identify forms of micro/macroaggression encountered in elementary school, middle school, and high school. A set of mega-aggressions that were particularly severe and had devastating effects on students’ academic outcomes are identified and explored as mega-aggressions. The article concludes by exploring the cumulation of micro/macroaggressions across one student’s school trajectory.