“We need you to hear us”: the compounded emotion labor of multilingual teachers of Color in dual language bilingual education

Recent research has demonstrated that many racial and linguistic inequities exist in dual language bilingual education (DLBE) programs. The increase of DLBE programs in districts across the nation has complex connections to existing racial hierarchies embedded in educational landscapes. Less research has examined how these dynamics impact teachers, particularly multilingual teachers of Color. This critical, qualitative study followed a group of five multilingual teachers of Color over two years. The study centered on teachers’ experiences with racial and linguistic inequities, and their emotional reactions to these inequities. I draw on an understanding of emotion labor as linked to racial and linguistic identity to argue that multilingual teachers of Color in DLBE are required to engage in additional, unrecognized, emotion work. This study has significant implications for research on emotions and emotion labor from a raciolinguistic perspective and their connections to racial and linguistic (in)justice.