White women’s learning: Raising consciousness through anti-racist work

This dissertation explored how white women engaged in anti-racist work with a focus on the transformative processes through which they developed critical consciousness about race, privilege, and white supremacy. Beginning in 2022 in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the subsequent global racial uprising, this feminist, anti-racist auto-ethnographic study examined the experiences of white women who responded to these events by reengaging or deepening their commitment to anti-racism. This research analyzed the emotional, intellectual, and social dimensions of white women’s anti-racist learning, exploring how discomfort, cognitive dissonance, and collective action served as catalysts for transformation. Using qualitative methods, including interviews, personal reflections, and thematic analysis, the study identified three principal pathways of engagement: participation in anti-racist communities such as book clubs and workshops, self-guided learning, and direct action through activism and advocacy. Emotional processing emerged as a central component of the women’s journeys. The women navigated and processed feelings of guilt, fear, and shame to cultivate a critical awareness of their complicity in systems of oppression. The findings revealed that community and relational networks were vital for sustaining anti-racist efforts, providing spaces for processing emotions, critical reflection, dialogue, accountability, and solidarity. The study highlights the influences of life stage, geography, and personal circumstances that influenced the ebb and flow of the women’s work, emphasizing the non-linear and dynamic nature of their anti-racist praxis. The research contributes to critical whiteness studies (CWS) by advancing an intersectional understanding of whiteness that accounts for its interaction with gender, class, and daily lived experiences. This dissertation argued that white women’s anti-racist work required embracing discomfort as an integral part of growth and transformation. By fostering spaces for collective learning and emotional resilience, this research underscores the importance of sustained engagement as a means for dismantling white supremacy. These findings offered practical implications for educators, activists, and policymakers seeking to cultivate critical consciousness and promote social justice in an era of intensified racial inequity.