For a timeline of these events, this might help.
Discussions get heated as members of these groups reveal their positions on the issues of racism and white privilege. One of the biggest mistakes that a person can make is to claim "colorblindness" and argue that in our "post-racial" society, none of this matters anymore and a person is only judged on the content of his/her character.
On paper, de jure, progress has been made. On paper, it is no longer acceptable to have "whites only" schools. On paper, it is not okay to bar a woman of color from using the public swimming pool. By law, an employer cannot refuse to hire a person because of the color of his/her skin.
De facto we are still missing the mark.
Because in reality, we have segregated neighborhoods. In reality, the high achieving schools are mostly white. In reality, a woman named Yolanda conducted an experiment where, after having had no success finding a new job, she pretended to be white and all of a sudden there was more interest in her as a prospective employee. And in reality, another friend of mine, who also has a typically African-American name, was wondering the same thing.
Regarding privilege: the most difficult thing for a person who is white and economically disadvantaged to understand is that they still have privilege. They may be lacking in economic privilege or social privilege. One particular poor white person may be having a harder time than one particular well-off black person. That particular white person did not "do" anything for which he/she should feel guilty regarding having that privilege.
The Southern Poverty Law Center sums this up very well:
- When I cut my finger and go to my school or office’s first aid kit, the flesh-colored band-aid generally matches my skin tone.
- When I stay in a hotel, the complimentary shampoo generally works with the texture of my hair.
- When I run to the store to buy pantyhose at the last minute, the ‘nude’ color generally appears nude on my legs.
- When I buy hair care products in a grocery store or drug store, my shampoos and conditioners are in the aisle and section labeled ‘hair care’ and not in a separate section for ‘ethnic products.’
- I can purchase travel size bottles of my hair care products at most grocery or drug stores.
- My skin color does not work against me in terms of how people perceive my financial responsibility, style of dress, public speaking skills, or job performance.
- People do not assume that I got where I am professionally because of my race (or because of affirmative action programs).
- Store security personnel or law enforcement officers do not harass me, pull me over or follow me because of my race
- When I am told about our national heritage or “civilization,” I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.
- Related, the schools that I attend or have attended use standard textbooks, which widely reflect people of my color and their contributions to the world.
- When I look at the national currency or see photographs of monuments on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., I see people of my race widely represented and celebrated.
Many people will argue that they have lost opportunities of one sort or another because they are white. I'm ashamed to admit that I've said that before. I have learned better. People will say that they experience "reverse racism." Sorry, there's no such thing. Racism is more than just racially-based discrimination, which is probably what has happened in those instances. Racism is institutionalized. Racism is systematic. Racism is built up over generations. Same thing with sexism, but that may be a different discussion.
White privilege means that if you have locked your keys in the car, and you are white, it is more likely that a stranger will stop to help you rather than call the police and assume that you are trying to steal the car.
Here are two examples of a white person using his or her privilege in order to assist a black person (one a wife, the other a sister-in-law). One is written down, and the other is a short video worth watching. This is worth a look.
So, how does this relate to education? Teachers and school administrators need to take a close look at how they perceive their students. Unfortunately, there are more children of color who come from impoverished families, and their experiences do not always help them get ready to learn. Even so, those children need to be given a chance to learn and grow in school. A child who sees violence at home and in his/her neighborhood is going to have a harder time learning to function in school than a child who comes from a peaceful home. School policies should be restorative in nature. We need to stop the school-to-prison pipeline and instead devote the resources to helping children become contributing citizens.
Many of the educational practices that will improve schools are ideal for all students, not just students of color. If all children are given more opportunities for success, children of color will be included, and have better experiences, and they will prove the stereotypes to be incorrect.
All that said, IT'S NOT FAIR TO THESE CHILDREN that they should have to work doubly hard in order to prove themselves worthy of not being treated as lesser beings because of their race. Some of the work in improving perceptions is generational. The racist uncle of yesteryear has become more subtle and less socially acceptable. Even so, giving extra love and attention to children who need it will help them deal with the world as it is now.
I will end with a gaming analogy. Let's say you're playing a video game and you decide to play the game at the "easy" level. You find that you have no trouble navigating the boards. You find the enemies to be easily defeated. It's almost boring. Then you change your difficulty level. The analogy is explained in further detail here.
It would be fantastic if we were all judged only by our character and qualifications, instead of by our appearances and our backgrounds. But we aren't there yet.
