Making the Invisible, Visible: Race Matters in Human Resource Development

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to create space for authentic dialogues about “race” in the discourse on diversity in graduate programs of human resource development (HRD). Although HRD professes an interest in diversity, it has not seriously made it a part of the curriculum, and race as a dimension of diversity has remained invisible. In approaching this exploration, we were guided by the following questions: (a) How is race conceptualized in the social science literature? (b) To what extent have HRD scholars and practitioners responded to the discourse on race, particularly in light of the increase in racioethnic minorities in education and in the workplace? (c) How can HRD educators facilitate greater attention to race in the process of teaching and learning? From our review of the literature, we found some attention to diversity in general but race remains an invisible construct despite the rapid increase in the number of racioethnic minorities to the United States and other nations. To facilitate research and teaching about race, we suggest critical race theory as a framework to guide such activities. Recommendations for teaching race in graduate HRD programs are presented.