“Why is This Still Happening?”: International Students of Color’s Racial Sensemaking and Perceptions of Racial Conflicts and Racial Movements in 2020

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine international students’ racial sensemaking and perceptions of race, racism, and racial conflict in the United States in the years 2020/2021. The past year was one filled with contention, including the politiciz-ing of a global virus and racial conflict from anti-Blackness and anti-Asian violence. Although racism felt far removed from many participants’ personal sphere until the arrival of the pandemic and racial conflicts in the year 2020, George Floyd’s murder served a critical incident that elicited reactions to U.S. racial dynamics, the Black Lives Matter movement, and racial protests. The participants’ experiences challenged what they thought they knew about race and shaped how they moved forward while living and learning in the United States.