Exploring Racism and White Privilege in Urban Schools A34056400

What is Racism?

Racism has had many definitions over the years. One could define racism as discrimination from one individual to the next, based on skin color. Until this course, I would have unblinkingly bought into this definition. After all, I don't mistreat people based on their race, therefore I am not a participant in racism. I now realize though, that racism is much broader and deeper than that. Beverly Tatum uses a definition of racism offered by Wellman which I found useful and that is "a system of advantage based on race" (Wellman, 1977, Ch 1).

To think of racism as only a prejudice based on skin color held by individuals, assumes that racism can only exist on an individual level. Under this definition, there is no place for institutional or structural racism. Discussions focusing on racism in education, health care or housing policies make little sense if one only sees racism as being held by individuals. However, through the lens of racism as a system, one can begin to think critically about institutions such as education.

Why Is It Helpful To See Racism As a System?

When one stops viewing racism as an attitude or discriminatory belief held by others, and starts viewing it as a system of advantage (and conversely, oppression) based on race, only then can progress be made. We all are participants in our racist society whether or not we consciously hold discriminatory beliefs. Beverly Tatum describes cultural racism "like smog in the air. Sometimes it is so thick it is visible, other times it is less apparent, but always, day in and day

out, we are breathing it in" (Tatum, 2000, p. 79). By understanding that we live in a racist society, we can all take personal accountability and ownership of the problem and not just see it as a fringe issue relevant to only extremists. It is easy to step back and say that the problem isn't our fault but as Tatum reminds us, "To say that it is not our fault does not relieve us of responsibility, however. We may not have polluted the air, but we need to take responsibility, along with others, for cleaning it up" (Tatum, 2000, p. 80). This is, of course, easier said than done.

Although racism in the United States has traditionally favored whites (a category that itself has evolved over time), one can see discrimination between any group of different people. Some studies have examined how African American, Latino and Asian American students experience discrimination based on their skin color. These students reported a great deal of both inter- and intra-group tension based not only on race but immigration status, language proficiency, etc. (Rosenbloom and Way, 2004). An underlying question to these types of studies is: are these students racist? Some would argue that (in this society) only whites can be racist and that any other type of racial discrimination is internalized oppression. Since minority student -- minority student discrimination occurs within a system that favors whites (whether that be in or out of school) it can't qualify as racism under our definition.

Defining racism as a system of advantage fundamentally clashes with most people's belief in the meritocratic nature of the United States of America (Tatum, 2000). We are raised to believe that if you stay out of trouble, try your best and work hard, success is inevitable. We as Americans want to know that we experience success because of years of hard work (some people even give

credit to luck). It is so much easier for me to convince myself as a White, middle-class, heterosexual, non-religious, average-sized male that I have experienced academic and professional success solely because I have worked hard for it. To see racism simply as prejudice would make me feel more comfortable about my successes because it would allow me to deny that I am the recipient of a privileged system. Unfortunately, this is just false. As a by-product of my race, I have benefited from a load of unearned entitlements: these entitlements can be referred to as White Privilege.

What is White Privilege?

White privilege is, like racism in general, a socially constructed system. It is the advantage conferred upon a group of people (in this case white people) and allows them to move easily through society. Peggy McIntosh likens it to an invisible knapsack, "of unearned assets which I can count on cashing in each day special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools and black checks" (McIntosh, 1989, p. 10). Therefore anyone without this toolkit, without this white privilege, is systematically disadvantaged in society. White privilege is intimately woven with notions of power. One does not have to think very hard to realize why there isn't a brown or black or red or yellow privilege. Power and privilege go hand in hand. So long as one racial group holds disproportionate power over others, one group will be privileged at the expense of others. This power can be seen in business, government, education, media etc. As if this "invisible knapsack" wasn't valuable enough, whites are taught not to even recognize white privilege (McIntosh, 1989). Obliviousness to the problem ensures that they will do little to affect change. This comes as no surprise, after all, those who do realize that they are the

recipient of this privilege are unlikely to do much about it. It is not human nature to give up power once it is attained. I can personally attest to this denying of white privilege. Growing up, it was often pointed out that certain groups were disadvantaged, but the fact that I was advantaged was NEVER consciously demonstrated to me.

How is White Privilege Manifested in Urban Schools?

Evidence of white privilege in American schools dates back to the early days of formal schooling in this country. The Native Americans had different ways of teaching children survival skills necessary for life. White people, as a part of government treaties, set up schools for Native American children. "The values that formed the backbone of these schools were considerably different from those of Native communities" (Klug and Whitfield, 2003, p. 30). Native children suddenly found themselves strangers on their own land. From the very beginning of formal education in the United States, whites have made the rules to the game of school. The tradition of white privilege today an be seen manifested in three areas: the high dropout rates of African American and Latino students, the over-representation of African American and Latino students in special education programs and the under-representation of those same students in gifted and talented programs.

We are constantly reminded that low-income and minority students drop out of school at a rate much higher than other students. Dropout rates in the 30 to 60 percent are common in many urban schools (Rubinson, 2004). Today, dropping out of school comes at a great cost, not only for the student but for society as a whole. Students who leave school before graduation are met

with few job prospects, especially as the economy moves away from manufacturing jobs requiring few specialized skills. Not only that, high school dropouts account for half of the prison population (Rubinson, 2004). Most of the literature places the blame of dropping out on the student and their families, while little blame is placed on schools themselves. In reality, dropping out of school is usually the culmination of many years of failure on the part of schools, not simply a discrete event or decision made by a student (Rubinson, 2004). Given this sharedblame perspective, what's causing these urban students to leave school? To answer this question, one cannot ignore white privilege inside the school. Most teachers and administrators in a school (even an urban school) are white. Teachers especially need to be able to relate to their students on a basic level. If teachers' cultural backgrounds are drastically different than their students', it becomes much more difficult to form a tight-knit learning community in the classroom. Racial differences between teacher and student can cause the teacher to have lowered expectations. This subtle form of racism causes the student to have a depreciated self-confidence and ultimately self-efficacy. If a student's own teacher doesn't believe in her, it doesn't take long before that image is internalized. The student may resist learning from dominant (white) teachers because "to agree to learn from a stranger who does not respect your integrity causes a major loss of self. The only alternative is to not-learn and reject their world" (Kohl, 1994, p. 134). When one takes a closer look, white privilege is intertwined with non-white dropout rates.

Through classroom discussion, we've discussed the disproportionality of placement into special education programs based on race. Since teacher referral is one of the first steps toward receiving special education services, racial biases from the teacher can misidentify students' abilities. This is especially true at young ages, when intelligence is often associated with speech.

Therefore, students speaking a different primary language or dialect may appear less intelligent simply because they are different. Here, white privilege dictates that if someone does not speak and learn the "right" way, they must belong in special education.

While African American and Latino students are overrepresented in special education, they are underrepresented in gifted and talented education programs. Many of the same reasons that cause these students to be placed into special education programs, cause them to be excluded from gifted and talented programs. Again, teacher referral is often the first step and many students simply are not identified. Once a student is identified, they are often given an assessment of some kind. It would seem at this point that meritocracy prevails and all students would be given a fair shake. Upon further inspection however, one can see that the assessments are often very culturally biased in favor of white, mainstream culture. For example, there may be vocabulary words or ideas that are common sense in the context of white history or culture. These questions will be more easily answered by white students who therefore are more likely to be in gifted and talented programs.

How Can We Counter White Privilege in Urban Schools?

To counter white privilege in schools, one must first acknowledge its existence. Educating teachers about ways they themselves may be culturally biased in their classrooms can be a sensitive issue but is ultimately in the students' best interest. At that point, teachers can embrace a more culturally relevant pedagogy. Students of all cultural backgrounds feel more engaged in classrooms where the teacher is seen as valuing their cultural assets. Another way white

privilege can be reduced is by making assessments for special education and gifted and talented programs multi-modal and as culturally neutral as possible. By doing this, all students, regardless of their cultural background, will be given the fairness they deserve. Recruiting high quality, passionate teachers in urban schools will help to combat white privilege in our nation's education system. The woes of urban schools can partly be blamed on an inexperienced or substandard teaching staff. Urban schools serve mainly low-income and minority students. Therefore, those students are being systematically disadvantaged. Programs that offer emergency certifications are great in theory, but I realize now how grossly unprepared I would have been had I entered a classroom through such a program.

There are numerous issues to address in the world of urban education. Understanding that, and how, racism is manifested in urban schools as white privilege can take us one step closer to finding solutions. Yes, as the politicians say, we do need better teachers, but we also need to realize that our urban schools are microcosms of our society. We know there are problems but there are also opportunities. Millions of students attend urban schools and they rely upon the system to prepare them for their futures. As educators we must acknowledge racism as a system and work to be openly anti-racist if we hope for a better future.

References

Klug, B. J., & Whitfield, P. T. (2003). A brief history of American Indian education. In Widening the circle: Culturally relevant pedagogy for American Indian children (pp. 2947). New York: Routledge Farmer. Kohl, H. (1994). I Won't Learn from You: Confronting Student Resistance. In Rethinking Our Classrooms: Teaching for Equity and Justice (p. 134). Milwaukee McIntosh, P. (1989, July/August). White privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack. Peace and Freedom, 10-12. Rosenbloom, S. R., & Way, N. (2004). Experiences of discrimination among African American, Asian American, and Latino adolescents in an urban high school. Youth and Society, 35(4), 420-451. Rubinson, F. (2004). Urban Dropouts: Why So Many and What Can Be Done? 19 Urban Questions: Teaching in the City, (pp. 53-67). Tatum, B. D. (2000). Defining racism: Can we talk? In Adams et al. (Eds.), Readings for social justice and diversity (pp. 79-82). New York: Routledge Press. Wellman D. (1977). Portraits of White Racism. Ch. 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.