The Importance of Antiracism in Speaking Center Pedagogic Materials: 'Neutral' Is No Longer Neutral

At the University of North Carolina Greensboro's Speaking Center, recent formation of an Antiracist Values Committee, as well as former research completed by its members, have governed antiracist efforts. As one resource to students, the University of North Carolina Greensboro's Speaking Center offers tip sheets. These tip sheets are pamphlets that cover numerous communication-related topics from introductions to group cohesion. The measure of Black Language to White Mainstream English can be compared to the measure between antiracism to racism. In an effort to assess the antiracism or lack of antiracism in the materials offered by the UNCG Speaking Center, a textual analysis of 20 online tip sheet resources was conducted. Upon analysis and discussion, there are clear areas where antiracist efforts and language can be applied to a further extent. This article shares two of the study's findings which provide an example of unintentionally harmful rhetoric.