On Race and Identity as a Researcher

Cleaning Out My Journals

From Katherine Grace Hendrix (2005) An invitation to dialogue: Do communication journal reviewers mute the race‐related research of scholars of color?, Southern Communication Journal, 70:4, 329-345, DOI: 10.1080/10417940509373338

Although numerous questions ultimately were asked of me by some research participants, fellow graduate students, and professors during and after the dissertation research project, the most prevalent and provocative was, "Do you think that being Black introduced bias into your research?" 
The answer to that question is certainly no more so than being White introduces bias into the research of Whites who study Whites. 
In fact, I would argue that because I do not take who I am for granted, as do many Whites, I possess a heightened sense of reflexivity that may make me a better researcher than White colleagues who are inexperienced with assessing their social and/or professional position in surroundings that place them in the role of "minority" or in circumstances that require exploring their Whiteness when conducting research with White participants.