Moving Beyond Eurocentric Notions of Intellectual Safety: Insights from an Anti-Racist Mathematics Institute

This paper reconceptualizes intellectual safety in mathematics spaces by centering the voices and lived experiences of BIPOC students. The marginalization of BIPOC students is compounded by structural racism, historical exclusion, and deficit narratives that continue to shape academic environments, especially in mathematics contexts. While definitions of intellectual safety reflect white, Eurocentric norms, we argue that for BIPOC students, intellectually safe environments must be anti-racist, culturally responsive, and rooted in belonging. We started with existing definitions of intellectual safety and incorporated a more critical approach to sense of belonging. Through ethnographic research design we gathered student interviews and daily journal entries from a 12-day anti-racist mathematics summer institute for secondary students. Analysis revealed that while existing attributes captured much of the scholar’s joy, cultural affirmation, and belonging, new themes, like pride/confidence, clarity/transparency, and being listened to, emerged directly from how students experienced intellectual safety in practice. This led to a refinement of our initial conceptualization. This study provides insight into how intellectual safety manifests in a space intentionally designed to support BIPOC youth in exploring mathematics in agentic and culturally sustaining ways.