Disrupting Whitestream Measures of Quality Teaching: The Community Cultural Wealth of Teachers of Color

Discussions of teacher preparation, qualifications, and effectiveness are at the heart of increasing attacks on public education. In this article, we contribute to the growing body of literature that works to challenge the narrowing parameters of what is considered effective teacher pedagogy, particularly as it relates to the noted value of teachers of color. We argue that racial justice-oriented teachers of color—teachers who recognize structural racial inequities and strive for transformation—provide important, yet invisible labor in our nation's schools. Using a community cultural wealth (CCW) framework, we illuminate multiple strengths and contributions that racial justice-oriented teachers of color bring to the profession that go largely unnoticed by whitestream—Eurocentrism as a norm—measures of teacher quality. In an analysis of data from interviews, digital narratives, and questionnaires, we present counter-narratives—oppositional stories told from the vantage point of the oppressed—of women of color educators to show how their positionalities as teachers of color, community members, and activists, provide insights to the experiences and needs of students that often go unrecognized. This research expands our understanding of overlooked pedagogical characteristics that are foundational to serving students of color and should be incorporated into the way we prepare teachers and the educational administrators who evaluate them.