Welcome to:
Building Anti-Racist Schools:
Talking about Race and Racism with Students
Bianca Anderson| Dallas- Fort Worth Director, Border Crossers
@bordercrossers
#DisruptRacism
bordercrossers.org
Our Objectives
• Enhance understanding of the how race and racism
manifest in classrooms, schools and the lived
experiences of students
• Practice applying a racial equity lens to scenarios related
to race and racism in educational settings
• Gain strategies for creating racial equity in classrooms,
schools, and educational settings
Agenda
I. Setting the Stage
•
How Children Come to See Race
•
Reflecting on our own experience
II. Analysis
•
Manifestations of Racism in Schools
III. Application
•
Scenario Analysis
Community Agreements
• Be a learner and take risks
• Keep the focus on race and racism in the
US
• Assume positive intent and take
responsibility for impact
• Expect and accept a lack of closure
Mingle Huddle
When I talk about
race or racism, I
feel…
Mingle Huddle
The last time
I talked about
race/ racism at my
school/ organization
was…
Mingle Huddle
One challenge I am
facing in addressing
race/ racism at my
school/ organization
is…
Why should we talk about race and
racism with children?
Initial awareness of race begins at six months or even earlier.
Children of Color ( >5 yrs old) show evidence of being aware of & negatively
impacted by stereotypes about their racial group (Hirschfeld, 2008)
Children should be “presented with appropriate –
not dumbed down – descriptions of the nature and
scope of structural racial inequity.”
(Hirschfeld, 2008)
“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, 1997)
Children Are Not
Colorblind: How Young
Children Learn Race
Erin N. Winkler, Ph.D.
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Hirschfeld, 2008; Katz, 2003; Katz & Kofkin,
There is a myth in popular cultur e that
1997; Patterson & Bigler, 2006; Van Ausdale &
young children are “colorblind” or don’t
Feagin, 2001). This research suggests that we
notice race. By this logic, childr en are
must rethink what we “know” about young
“blank slates” who cannot develop racial
children and race.
prejudices until they are explicitly taught
to do so. This leads many
adults to argue that we
What do children
should not discuss race
Research
clearly
shows
with preschoolers because
learn, and when?
they are “too young,” and
that children not only
In a study that followed
even mentioning race will
recognize race from a
approximately 200 black and
“put ideas in their heads” or
very young age, but also
white children from the ages
“poison their minds.” When
of six months to six years, Katz
develop racial biases by
young children talk about
and Kofkin (1997) found that
race or express any bias,
ages three to five.
infants are able to nonverbally
it is often either dismissed
categorize people by race
(“She doesn’t know what
and gender at six months
she’s saying.”), blamed
of age. The
a infants looked
n
on parents or other adults (“Someone
si
gnif
i
cntly
l
o
ger a
t
a
n
d
u
n
f
a
mliar f
a
c
e
o
f
a
must have said that at home.”), or only
different race than they did
i at an unfamiliar s
indirectly addressed as general bad
face
of
their
h
same
race. c
The
n r esearchers
behavior (“We don’t say things like that
a
r
g
u
e
t
a
t,
b
e
a
u
s
e
t
h
i
f
i
n
g
i
s
v
e
r
y
because it hurts people’s feelings.”).
consistent
in
six-month-olds,
“initial
awar
eness
However, current psychological research
[of race] probably begins even earlier” (Katz
suggests this approach is all wrong. In
& Kofkin, 1997, p. 55).
fact, research clearly shows that childr en
not only recognize race from a very
young age, but also
y develop
e racial
bi
aseso
b i
a
gs v
t
h
r ee
e
t f t
h
a
t d
o
n
o
t
i
necessarily resemble the racial attitudes
of adults in their lives (Aboud, 2008;
All rights reserved.
Toddlers as young as two years use racial
categories to reason about people’s
behaviors (Hirschfeld,
h
2008),
aand numer ous
y
studi
essow v
t
h
t ­
t
h
r
e et
e­
o f
i­ea
r
old
s
n
o
t
only categorize people by race, but expr ess
1
PACE Vol. 3- No. 3 | © 2009 HighReach Lear ning ® Inc.
“Kids on Race”
What is racism?
Racism
A system of social structures that provides
or denies access, safety, resources and
power based on race categories and
produces and reproduces race-based
inequities.
It affects us individually, is built into our
institutions and is woven into the fabric of
our culture.
Though racism is a system, it
has many manifestations.
Here are three…
Three ways
racism
manifests…
Institutional
Interpersonal
Internalized
Redlining
School to Prison Pipeline
Institutional
Racism
The way racism manifests itself
within various institutions in
society. This includes the
policies and practices that
perpetuate a cycle of racial
inequity and are promoted
(overtly or subtly) by institutions
(i.e. schools, government,
housing, media).
Media
Stop and Frisk
Food Deserts
Language
School Discipline
S
Multiculturalism Vs. Anti-Racism
Consciously or subconsciously
discriminating against a person
or a group simply because of
their race.
This is usually manifested
through communication (verbal
or non-verbal) or actions. It
occurs when those with racial
privilege (White people)
discriminate against, isolate,
minimize the experience of or
oppress those with no (historical)
structural power (People of
Color).
Interpersonal
Racism
Social Exclusion
Microaggressions
Financial Aid Assumptions
An individual’s conscious or
subconscious acceptance of a racial
hierarchy in which White people are
consistently ranked above People of
Color.
Internalized
Racism
I Belong Here
Is that really racist?
Let me show you what is!
It is manifested by, but not limited
to, exhibiting patterns of thinking
that one’s racial group is inferior
(i.e. as questioning ones’ self worth
based on their racial identity) or/and
or thinking aspects of the dominant
culture are superior (i.e. assuming
Whiteness is the ‘normal’).
Owning Vs. Renting
Code Switching
Having all the Answers
How do
students
experience…
Institutional
Interpersonal
Internalized
…racism?
Talking about race and racism
provides children with an
understanding, awareness and
vision of racial equity and
justice.
When someone with the authority
of a teacher describes the world
and you are not in it, there is a
moment of psychic disequilibrium,
as if you looked into a mirror and
saw nothing.
- Adrienne Rich
Scenario Work
Applying a Racial Equity Lens:
How is institutional, interpersonal or internalized
racism manifesting in this scenario?
Scenario 1
I am a third grade teacher, and on Mondays we talk about
current events. I usually ask students to share about
something in the news that’s on their mind. When it was
Ryan’s turn, he tells me about how he saw Donald Trump
give a speech on TV. He then proceeds to say, “He said that
Mexicans are bad and that he is going to build a wall so they
won’t hurt us…” Linda, who’s Mexican, gets really upset and
screams at Ryan and says, “That’s not fair!” Ryan is
shocked by the response and quietly says “My mom said it
was true.” At this point, everyone at in the room is quiet and
all eyes are on Linda.
Scenario 2
Today in my 8th grade US History class, I introduced a
unit on the civil rights movement. We talked about the
marches in the 60s and the fight for equal rights then, and
made connections to the current struggles today. We
discussed the protests in response to the deaths of
Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Philando Castile, Alton
Sterling, and more… and why people were marching.
One student said, “Because the cops are all racists who
hate Black people.” To which another student
responded—“My dad is a police officer and he’s not a
racist…people just need to know how to behave…it’s not
always about race.”
Scenario Work
What strategies could you apply to this situation, in
short-term and long-term?
•
Short Term: What would you say/ do in the
moment?
• Long Term: How could you and/ or the
institution follow-up?
Strategy Brainstorm
Short Term
Long Term
Breathe
Educate yourself
Affirm child
Talk about race and the
impact of systemic racism
as a community
Inquire
Continue the conversation
Intervene
Apply a racial equity lens
Analyze school structures
through a racial equity lens
Be proactive and build
alliances
Closing Reflection
What are you taking away from today?
Where was your growing edge today?
What is one action you could put into place
upon return to school/organization
tomorrow?
Thank you.
[email protected]
www.bordercrossers.org