Introduction

Abstract

According to the 2010 U.S. census, the Hispanic population has reached 50.5 million people, making Hispanics the largest minority group in the United States. Between April 1, 2000, and April 1, 2010, the Hispanic population increased 43%, which makes it the fastest growing population in the United States. Perhaps even more indicative of the country's changing demographics and views on race was the election of the first African-American president of the United States, Barack Obama, in 2008. While the nation has shown progress by electing its first African-American president, the education, employment, income, and health disparities between White Americans and historically marginalized groups still exist. Because of these inequities, African-American, a group whose civil rights movement has served as a model for historically marginalized people around the world, continue to have the strongest political and racial group identity in the United States. While scholars from various disciplines study the effects of major demographic and social changes in the United States, they also acknowledge that these changes have not alleviated obvious, and sometimes growing, inequities in health, wealth, and education. Noting these major changes in the United States, we are not surprised that a national discussion

Disrupting the Past to Disrupt the Future: An Antenarrative of Technical Communication

“…A recent special issue of the Journal of Business and Technical Communication (JBTC) extended the discussion with an exclusive focus on race and ethnicity. Special issue editors Williams and Pimentel (2012) acknowledged that part of the difficulty of garnering and sustaining scholarly conversations about race and ethnicity is that "many, inside and outside of our field, believe that race is not a relevant concept in our society or field. Some argue that we live in a nonracist society, and thus the need to acknowledge color no longer exists" (p. 272).…”

“…Some argue that we live in a nonracist society, and thus the need to acknowledge color no longer exists" (p. 272). The scholars in the JBTC special issue (Evia & Patriarca, 2012;Haas, 2012;Pimentel & Balzhiser, 2012) and their subsequent edited collection (Williams & Pimentel, 2012) help pave the way for other scholars to "move beyond issues of diversity in the practice of technical communication" (p. 1). Doing so acknowledges the fact that the field's relative silence about how race and ethnicity affects the invention, practice, delivery, and engagement of technical communication can and has negatively affected groups that are marginalized and disenfranchised (p. 1).…”

Slow Civic Violence and the Removal of USPS Mail Sorting Machines During the 2020 Election

“… 4. A focus which has been largely absent until fairly recently (Williams and Pimentel, 2014; Johnson, Pimentel, & Pimentel, 2008; Medina, 2014; Williams, 2014). …”

About Face: Reflexively Considering “Audience” in Hiring Situations

“…In technical and professional communication (TPC), several articles legitimize their critical perspective by showing its practical application: A common justification is that intercultural, diversity, or social justice outcomes benefit technical communicators in an increasingly intercultural workplace (e.g., J. R. Johnson, Pimentel, & Pimentel, 2008;Jones, Savage, & Yu, 2014;Thatcher, 2006;M. F. Williams, 2013; M. F. Williams & Pimentel, 2012, 2014. Although this justification is accurate, scholars also include it to satisfy dominant TPC narratives of "efficiency, technological expertise, and innovative infrastructure" (Jones, Moore, & Walton, 2016, p. 213).…”