Notes on Positionality and Racialization in a PAR Project

Critical reflection on a cross-racial participatory research project: The Improving Schools Project in post-Katrina New Orleans.
Focus on race, space, and positionality within PAR; how racialization of organizations mediated engagement, control, collaboration, and commitment.
Employed multi-layer reflexivity to examine unintended impacts on participatory processes in cross-racial PAR.

Participatory Research (PAR): collaborative, aims to address inequities through community involvement.
Racialized identities: how race of individuals and organizations shapes engagement and power dynamics.
Positionality: interplay of race, space, and organizational role in research participation.
Reflexivity: self, interpersonal, and collective reflection used to understand how power and identity affect research processes.
Insider/outsider spectrum: not only individual identity but also organizational embedding in racialized spaces.
Space/place: geographic and historical context as a determinant of participation and power.

Nicholls’ three layers of reflexivity:
- Self-reflexivity: examining personal beliefs, biases, and power/privilege.
- Interpersonal reflexivity: how identities/positionalities intersect in context (institutional, spatial, relational).
- Collective reflexivity: how collaboration evolves and affects outcomes.
Purpose: to guide systematic critical reflection and address power dynamics in PAR.

Umbrella Group: network of local organizations coordinating community education reform in New Orleans.
The Improving Schools Project: PAR initiative to empower African-American communities to influence public education.
Outsider/insider dynamics: Drame (Black, university-affiliated outsider) tasked to lead pilot PAR; local Black organizations carry historical legacies; some White outsider organizations are viewed as racially neutral but carry different agendas.
Context: distrust, post-Katrina policy changes, Act 35 and school takeovers shaped engagement and perceptions.

Co-inquirers: Elizabeth Drame (author, outsider Black woman), Decoteau Irby (Black male co-inquirer, internal perspective), Donata (community partner, insider leader of Umbrella Group).
Data sources: archival documents (agendas, minutes, reports, transcripts), 10 sessions of reflective conversations with Decoteau, 6 sessions with Donata, and project artifacts.
Analytic approach: manual, reflexive synthesis; master narrative of project phases constructed and cross-checked with archival records.

Phase A: establish initial goals; orientation to PAR and capacity building.
Phase B: Umbrella Group’s caution; pilot conducted by Drame; community facilitators trained later.
Phase C: increased Umbrella Group confidence; expansion of participatory activities; large-scale data collection (interviews, focus groups, surveys, demographic data).
Phase D: infrastructure solidified; funding expanded; role shift toward reporting, dissemination, and capacity building; ongoing tension around leadership and data use.

23 individuals from 18 organizations participated; embedded within their primary organizations.
Individual self-identities and organizational racialization shaped engagement levels and priorities.
Outsider status (Drame’s university affiliation) provided perceived objectivity but also distance from local histories; local insider organizations held more direct leverage on participation.
Racialized organization status mattered: some organizations could move the project forward due to historical legitimacy, access to resources, and community trust.
Movement along insider-outsider spectra was a form of power within the PAR context.

Naïveté about New Orleans racial dynamics at project start.
Tension between altruistic intentions and respect for community competence; shift from empowerment rhetoric to collaborative capacity.
Personal identity (Black, outsider, professional) interacted with others’ perceptions, enabling trust with Black informants while providing data-based legitimacy with White informants.
Realization: need to ground relationships in equal partnership and avoid presuming community needs.
Outsider status allowed neutral stance but could obscure deep local histories; informed by Donata’s perspectives in dialogue.

Umbrella Group sought racially neutral convening leadership but faced tensions with insider dynamics.
Hire of Celestina (Black insider) highlighted conflict between neutrality and advocacy for marginalized communities.
Drame’s role as PAR lead was initially necessary to demonstrate PAR capacity, but conflicted with ideal insider-led leadership goals.
Resource gaps and logistical demands revealed the need for institutional infrastructure and clear roles.
Donata’s leadership and Donata-Drame collaboration helped broker dialogue across competing agendas; data ownership and access created tensions.

Leadership transition: Donata joined; Drame moved to a behind-the-scenes role, supporting capacity building and facilitator training.
Emergence of community-based facilitators; emphasis on training, trust-building, and broader community reach.
Tensions around data access and governance: facilitators wanted data for their own organizational needs; researchers maintained control due to IRB and ethical obligations.
Dissemination decisions: resistance from White outsider organizations to provocative quotes; ultimately released a sanitized executive summary.
Professional incentives vs. community engagement: Drame faced pressure to publish, balancing university requirements with community trust.

Consider space/place and organizational embeddedness, not just individual insider/outsider status.
Use multi-layer reflexivity to navigate power, control, collaboration, and commitment across racialized contexts.
Value insider leadership and capacity-building while ensuring appropriate technical capabilities are in place.
Establish clear governance for data ownership, access, and dissemination with all partners.
Plan for dissemination that centers community voices, even when it conflicts with funder or organizational preferences.
Recognize that alliances and leadership must adapt to evolving community needs and historical legacies.

Race and space are integral to participatory research; organizational racialization shapes who can participate and how.
Insiders within racially neutral-looking organizations can wield significant influence due to historical legitimacy and proximity to communities.
Successful cross-racial PAR requires deliberate, ongoing reflexivity at individual, relational, and collective levels, plus attention to governance, leadership, and dissemination practices.
The study demonstrates that understanding power in PAR extends beyond individual identities to include organizational and geographic contexts within racialized histories.