This thesis seeks to challenge the prevalence of interpersonal racism in the workplace and the existence of substantial racist workplace policy in organizations that both harmfully affect non-white employees in organizations and makes developing anti-racist policy in the workplace difficult. This thesis utilizes poetic inquiry as a methodological practice to explore the relationship between racism, work culture, and work policy in nonprofit and arts organizations. The poems crafted in this inquiry are responses to literature exploring the impacts and historical contexts of white supremacy and racial discrimination in relation to the operational strategies of public and nonprofit arts organizations. This literature establishes a foundation for future inquiries about work culture, workplace policy, race, social hierarchy, cultural analysis, and art.
The metaphor of “home” literature is used to describe this literature. Home literature is the group of theoretical frameworks and writings that a researcher grounds their expertise in and is formulated based on one’s core research interests. The literature reviewed covers the topics of defining professionalism, understanding theory concerning race and power, and specifying critiques on racism in the workplace. The authors covered in this review of literature are Judyth Sachs, Gloria Ladson-Billings, William F. Tate, Kimberly Crenshaw, Cheryl Harris, David Theo Goldberg, Stefano Harney, Fred Moten, Achille Mbembe, Roderick A. Ferguson, Victor Ray, Ericka Brown, Lu-in Wang, Zachary Brewster, Courtney L. McCluney, Adia Harvey Wingfield, and Renee Skeete Alston.
In the methodology portion of the text, the rationale for the use of poetic inquiry is explained. The is a separation made between poetic inquiry and poetry as research, two concepts this research embodies. It is also explained what separates arts-based research from other forms of qualitative methodological practices. The form of poetic inquiry used in this research functions to “synthesize, process, and make meaning” out of the multiple texts and theories I have gathered in answering my research question (Gerber and Myers-Coffman, 2017). These sub-questions used to locate literature and highlight quotes relevant to this inquiry were:
1. How has policy and law been formulated, implemented, and interpreted in relation to race?
2. What are the policy conditions of the workplace and the culture it creates?
3. What are the policy conditions within “the arts” and the culture it creates?
Many of the poems written were reflections of my experience as a graduate student and in other workplace conditions as a Black person operating in a new and shocking environment. That experience, along with the discovery of literature as data, reaffirmed the utilization of poetry as a critical device and further motivated this choice of methodology. Lastly, the strengths and weaknesses associated with the usage of poetic inquiry as a methodological choice for presenting data are detailed.
In the fourth chapter, a collection of 20 poems is presented. These poems are not presented in chronological order based on the dates they were written. These poems are carefully assembled to reflect the growth of my critique during the research process. These poems explore themes of curiosity, personal revelation, intergenerational responsibility, lack of freedom, desperation, and contempt. The thesis ends with a reflection on the research process, limitations, recommendations, and concluding thoughts.