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More Than Men in White Sheets: Seven Concepts Critical to the Teaching of Racism as Systemic Inequality

Authors:
  • The Ethel Walker School

Abstract

Most college students tend to view racism as individual bias and prejudice and lack an understanding of the broader systemic nature of the problem. The purpose of this article is to examine how to help undergraduate students move from viewing racism as individual bigotry to recognizing its complex nature as a systemic phenomenon that pervades every aspect of United States society. Seven concepts are presented as necessary ingredients for any college course that seeks to address systemic racism. The seven critical concepts are: race as a social construction; dominant and subordinated groups; levels of racism; white privilege; internalized racism; multiple social group memberships; and historical inequality. The discussion of each concept includes a description, brief historical context, and an example of how the concept can be taught in the college classroom.
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Equity & Excellence in Education, 38: 110–122, 2005
Copyright c
University of Massachusetts Amherst School of Education
ISSN 1066-5684 print /1547-3457 online
DOI: 10.1080/10665680590935070
More Than Men in White Sheets: Seven Concepts Critical
to the Teaching of Racism as Systemic Inequality
Sheri Lyn Schmidt
Most college students tend to view racism as individual bias and prejudice and lack an understanding of the broader
systemic nature of the problem. The purpose of this article is to examine how to help undergraduate students move
from viewing racism as individual bigotry to recognizing its complex nature as a systemic phenomenon that pervades
every aspect of United States society. Seven concepts are presented as necessary ingredients for any college course
that seeks to address systemic racism. The seven critical concepts are: race as a social construction; dominant and
subordinated groups; levels of racism; white privilege; internalized racism; multiple social group memberships; and
historical inequality. The discussion of each concept includes a description, brief historical context, and an example of
how the concept can be taught in the college classroom.
Whenever I teach a class or workshop about
racism, invariably a student will comment
that racism “hardly ever happens,’is a “thing
of the past,’’ or is caused by “a few racist people.’’ From
these encounters I have concluded that most college stu-
dents define racism very simply, focusing almost exclu-
sively on individual acts of racial bias and hatred. A lit-
erature review reveals that many other higher education
professors who teach about racism also encounter stu-
dents who view racism as individual bias or hostility and
lack a clear understanding of the broader systemic nature
of the problem (Bidell, Lee, Bouchle, Ward, & Brass, 1994;
Bonilla-Silva & Forman, 2000; Goodman, 2001; Sleeter,
1995; Smith, 1998; Tatum, 1992).
Although college students’ lack of understanding of
the complexity of racism is disappointing, it is not sur-
prising. Students’ socialization gives them little alterna-
tive but to see racism as individual prejudice or hostile
actions between people of different races. High school
history classes have taught them that the Civil Rights
Movement made race-based discrimination illegal in this
country. Their personal experiences have taught them
that Whites, Blacks, Asians, and Latino Americans can
dine in the same restaurants, attend the same schools,
and work in the same businesses. With this “evidence,’’
they come to the conclusion that racism is no longer insti-
tutionalized, and if racism exists at all, it is in the hearts
Address correspondence to Sheri Lyn Schmidt, 45 Ward Street,
Amherst, MA 01002. E-mail: sschmidt@mac.com
and minds of a small group of bigoted men who parade
around in white sheets (Bonilla-Silva & Forman, 2000;
Feagin, 2001).
The purpose of this article is to examine how higher
education social justice educators can help undergrad-
uate students move from viewing racism as individual
bigotry to recognizing its complex nature as a systemic
phenomenon that pervades every aspect of United States
society. The shift from conceptualizing racism as an in-
dividual phenomenon to seeing it as a systemic prob-
lem is particularly challenging because the notion of
racism as systemic is in direct contrast to many students’
core values and assumptions that America is built on
the principles of hard work and merit (Goodman, 2001;
Nieto, 2000; Smith, 1998; Tatum, 1997). White students
in particular tend to believe that all Americans are seen
and treated as individuals and that any individual who
works hard will be rewarded through a fair and just soci-
ety (Bonilla-Silva, 2001; Brown et al., 2003; Feagin, 2001;
Smith, 1998). Most white Americans also do not see slav-
ery, legal segregation, or contemporary racism as aspects
of an American system of racism. They see them, instead,
as brief incidents that unfortunately were “tacked on to a
great nation for a short time’’ (Feagin, 2001, p. 16). Racism
is seen as a blemish on American history that, with the
exception of a few “bad’individuals, has essentially been
eradicated (Feagin, 2001). Many students hold so tightly
to a view of racism as an “incident’ in history and to be-
liefs in meritocracy that it is very hard for them to see
that racism can be anything more than random acts of
thoughtlessness and hatred.
110
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MORE THAN MEN IN WHITE SHEETS 111
Although racism does include individual acts of prej-
udice, this is simply one dimension within what Patricia
Hill Collins (1993) calls an “interlocking system.’ This
system of inequality is deeply embedded in the insti-
tutions as well as the cultural ideology of our society
(Bell, 1997; Nieto, 1995; O’Donnell, 1998; Tatum, 1992;
Wellman, 1993). Feagin (2001) defines systemic racism as
the combination of “a diverse assortment of racist prac-
tices; the unjustly gained economic and political power
of whites; the continuing resource inequalities; and the
white-racist ideologies, attitudes, and institutions cre-
ated to preserve white advantages and power’’ (p. 16).
Most college students have not previously studied the
concept of racism as institutionalized, let alone as a far-
reaching systemic phenomenon as described by Feagin
(2001; see also Bidell et al., 1994; Bonilla-Silva & Forman,
2000; Sleeter, 1995; Wellman, 1993). The key is the shift
from teaching about racism as primarily an individual
or even institutionalized phenomenon to one that is em-
bedded in American culture, in individuals, and in our
systems of education, justice, business, health care, and
government. Students need to understand that American
racism is a “centuries-long, deep lying, institutionalized,
and systemic’’phenomenon (Feagin, 2001, p. 16) that can-
not be understood in individual terms alone (Bell, 1997).
This article is an attempt to outline the critical concepts
needed to help students understand the complex and
systemic nature of racism. Seven specific concepts are
briefly outlined, making clear the role that each concept
plays in helping students understand the complexity of
racism. For each concept I have included a description,
brief historical context, and an example of how the con-
cept can be taught in the classroom. It should be noted
that the categories are separated here for ease of discus-
sion. In reality, the concepts overlap significantly; for ex-
ample, the concepts of “the levels of racism’ and “his-
torical inequality’’ should not be taught separately. For
students to fully understand institutionalized racism, the
instructor must include an exploration of the history of
institutionalized racism along with present-day forms of
institutionalized racism.
METHOD
To learn how higher education professors teach about
racism I reviewed college textbooks, teaching journals,
teacher training materials, and other sources in which
college instructors wrote about their classroom experi-
ences with teaching about racism (Fox, 2001; Goodman,
2001; Tatum, 1992). The literature is drawn primarily
from the fields of sociology, education, and social psy-
chology. Because I am focusing on teaching about racism
as a systemic phenomenon, I did not include literature
that focuses on interpersonal issues, such as teaching
people to appreciate cultural differences and to work and
communicate more effectively with people across racial
lines (Gudykunst, 1998; Okun, Fried, & Okun, 1999). Al-
though a great deal can be learned from this body of
literature, it is outside the scope of this article.
The selection of literature and my discussion of it are
guided by my training within the field of Social Jus-
tice Education and the corresponding conceptual lenses
that I bring to this review. Those familiar with social
justice education and multicultural education will rec-
ognize most, if not all, of the terminology used in the
titles. I apply a social construction lens that recognizes
that human social categories, including race, have been
created and manipulated over time to reflect the belief
systems and to accommodate the needs of socially pow-
erful groups (Omi & Winant, 1986; A. Smedley, 1999).
I also rely on a social oppression lens, which assumes
that the statuses assigned to socially constructed cate-
gorizations are maintained through systems of power
and privilege (Bell, 1997; Hardiman & Jackson, 1997;
Young, 1990). Finally, I acknowledge that my discussion
is limited to a white/black, non-immigrant, U.S. racial
paradigm. While recognizing that there are profound
limitations to this paradigm, I have made this choice con-
sciously and thoughtfully. There are limitations to how
much one can discuss in one article. I agree with Fea-
gin (2001) that “white-on-black’ racism represents the
“archetype’’ of racial oppression in North America and
has played the central role in the creation and evolution
of systemic racism for almost 400 years.
A set of seven concepts emerged from the literatures.
I have labeled these concepts: race as a social construc-
tion; the levels of racism; dominant and subordinated
groups; white privilege; internalized racism; multiple so-
cial group memberships; and historical inequality. The
terminology that I use to label these concepts is not new.
See the Appendix for a summary of the suggested strate-
gies and tools for teaching each of the seven concepts.
SEVEN CONCEPTS CENTRAL TO TEACHING
ABOUT RACISM
Race as a Social Construction
For most of U.S. history, the concept of race has been
viewed, taught, and enforced as a set of inherent biolog-
ical characteristics used as a critical means of classifying
human beings (Haney-Lopez, 1995). While it is still a
powerful form of classification, most scholars no longer
view race as a true biological entity, but instead as a so-
cially constructed one (Feagin & Feagin, 1996; Haney-
Lopez, 1995; Omi & Winant, 1986; A. Smedley, 1999).
Omi and Winant contend that the meaning of race has
changed dramatically over time to express specific so-
cial relationships that have been defined by social, po-
litical, and economic processes and institutions within a
specific context of history. They use the term “racial for-
mation’’to describe the ways that racial categories have
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112 SHERI LYN SCHMIDT
been “created, inhabited, transformed, and destroyed’’
(p. 55) over time.
Audrey Smedley (1999) explains the history of the for-
mation of the concept of race. She contends that race as a
worldview is a relatively recent concept that originated
in the United States during the 16th through the 19th cen-
turies. She argues that it coincided with colonization by
Western European countries and the creation of the only
system of slavery with an exclusively racial rationale.
A. Smedley (1999) outlines five basic ideological
premises that together formed the paradigmatic view
of race in North America by the early years of the 19th
century. This worldview professed that human beings
could be classified into discrete biological categories; that
these categories could be ranked in relation to each other;
that the outer physical characteristics of different groups
were indicative of inner realities; that all of these char-
acteristics, as well as the social rank ascribed to them,
were inheritable; and finally, that each distinct group
was deemed so by nature or by God. The belief in bio-
logical differences led to a view of “essential’’differences
between the groups—differences that were seen as fun-
damental and immutable (Jones, 1998). Creating a rank-
ing of racial classifications based on these “differences’’
allowed justification of colonization and slavery (Feagin
& Feagin, 1996; A. Smedley, 1999). However, as powerful
as the concept of race has been in global history, no dis-
tinct biological reality has ever been determined using
sound scientific procedures, and most social scientists
today view race as a socially constructed phenomemon
that gives social meaning to a set of physiological at-
tributes (Feagin & Feagin, 1996; Haney-Lopez, 1995; Omi
&Winant, 1986, A. Smedley, 1999).
A powerful legacy of this early stratification is a con-
tinuing widespread belief in racial categories based on
unalterable biological differences, a belief held by most
students when they enter college classrooms and one
that is reinforced by the way racial categories are used by
instructors. Emphasizing to students that race has been
reinvented throughout U.S. history to promote a position
of economic, political, and social dominance for white
Americans is central to teaching about racism (Andersen,
1999; M. Blumer & Solomos, 1999; Wijeyesinghe, Griffin,
& Love, 1997). Although the evolution of the concept of
race is indeed complicated, instructors can use histori-
cal references to demonstrate the social creation of race
through economic, legal, and “scientific’’forces and effec-
tively challenge the student’s view of race as a biological
reality (MacDonald-Dennis, 2002).
Economic.Atimeline provides students with numer-
ous examples of how race has been socially constructed
throughout U.S. history. For example, an explanation
of “Bacon’s Rebellion’’ of 1676 can be used as one way
to demonstrate the economic influence on the develop-
ment of the concept of race. After the rebellion, dur-
ing which black and white indentured servants joined
forces to fight against aristocratic control of resources,
a number of laws were enacted that shifted the system
of indentured servitude toward one of permanent slav-
ery for Blacks (Feagin, 2001; Takaki, 1993; Zinn, 1995).
A powerful result of this separation, was the creation of
“a sort of consciousness of kind that eventuated in the
formation of the white race’’ (A. Smedley, 1999, p. 109).
Poor Europeans began to identify with wealthy Euro-
peans through the bond of “whiteness.’ By dividing la-
borers along color lines, class affiliation was reduced and
an affinity across whiteness (across all European ethnic
groups) was created—a situation that has persisted ever
since (Feagin, 2001; Pharr, 1996).
Legal.An explanation of various historical court de-
cisions lays bare how the U.S. legal system has been cen-
tral to the process of defining race (Banks & Eberhardt,
1998). For example, in 1909 Asian Indians were declared
to be non-white by U.S. courts, while in 1910 and 1913,
they were declared white; then non-white again in 1917;
white in 1919 and 1920; and non-white after 1923 (Obach,
1999). In addition, within the rule of hypodescent (used
for much of the nation’s history to determine one’s sta-
tus as black or white), individual states used different
measurements to determine legal status. Some states re-
quired only 1/32 of “black blood’’to make a person black,
others required 1/8 and still others as much as 1/4 (Banks
& Eberhardt, 1998). There are countless other examples
in which U.S. courts and other institutions changed racial
designations to fit the needs of society. These examples
can cause students to question the inherent biological
status of race when they show how racial designations
have been manipulated through time.
“Scientific.” A third way to talk about the social
construction of race is to address the fact that there is
no scientific basis for racial classification. Although the
pseudo-science of the 19th and 20th centuries resulted in
a hierarchy of “races’’ with white Aryans on the top, it
is now clear that this “science’’ simply reflected the so-
cial, political, and economic needs of the time (A. Smed-
ley, 1999). The key is to show students that categorizing
humans according to genes that govern skin color, hair
texture, and facial features reflects the significance given
to those attributes by humans, not by nature. The instruc-
tor’s role is to challenge students to think about why
racial classification persists if modern genetic science
tells us that there are no distinct biological/genetic dif-
ferences between the currently designated racial groups
(Haney-Lopez, 1995; Omi & Winant, 1986). In addition,
we need to challenge students to see how these racial
classifications currently, just as they have in the past,
provide a means for the continued justification of sub-
ordination of people of color (Feagin, 2001). The Public
Broadcasting Service sponsored a video series, Race: The
Power of an Illusion (Alderman, 2003a), and has a web-
site (Alderman, 2003b) that provide excellent resources
for teaching about the social construction of race. The
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MORE THAN MEN IN WHITE SHEETS 113
video can be shown in class and students can access the
website to retrieve online activities, quizzes, and several
timelines outlining relevant historical information.
The Interconnected Levels of Racism:
Individual, Institutional, and Cultural
Most students walk into the classroom with some
awareness of racism at the individual level; the individ-
ual level is certainly the easiest level for students to un-
derstand. As defined by Wijeyesinghe et al. (1997), indi-
vidual racism entails, “the beliefs, attitudes, and actions
of individuals that support or perpetuate racism’’(p. 89).
There are many readily available examples of racism
at the individual level, ranging from the daily occurrence
of racial epithets and jokes directed at people of color by
white individuals or groups of individuals, to the sense-
less brutal murder of a person of color by white people. It
includes the actions of any white person who refuses to
hire, serve, or provide equal and appropriate treatment
for any person of color because of his or her race. This
form of racism is clear-cut, tangible, and very few people
would contend that this does not exist.
Understanding racism at the institutional level is
a bit more complicated. Institutions can be defined
broadly to include any organization that “influences so-
cial norms ... [and] covertly or overtly controls the al-
location of resources to individuals and social groups’
(p. 93). Thus institutions include the justice system,
schools, media, banks, business, health care, governmen-
tal bodies, as well as family units, religious organizations,
and civic groups. Helping students to see how racism is
firmly embedded in every institution within our society
is key to their ability to see racism as more than simply in-
dividual race prejudice. Kwame Ture (formerly known
as Stokely Carmichael) and Charles Hamilton are two
people credited with expanding our understanding of
racism through the introduction of the concept of “in-
stitutional racism’’(Feagin, 2001; Feagin & Feagin, 1996;
Mason, 1999). Their 1967 book Black Power moved the
focus beyond individual bigotry and onto the larger sys-
tems of society. According to Carmichael and Hamilton,
institutional racism leads dominant group members to
subordinate others whether or not they intend to or have
any knowledge that they are doing so. Racism is part
of a system that is larger than individuals and operates
with and without conscious support. Wijeyesinghe et al.
(1997) define institutional racism as “the network of in-
stitutional structures, policies and practices that create
advantages and benefits for whites, and discrimination,
oppression, and disadvantage for people from targeted
groups’’ (p. 93).
To help make the concept of institutional racism con-
crete for students, it is important to use statistics and
clear factual examples of the current disparities found
in a wide range of institutional settings. While there are
countless examples of past institutional racism (for exam-
ple, denial of citizenship based on race, Japanese Ameri-
can internment camps, and Jim Crow segregation laws),
it is very important to concentrate on current examples
so that students can see that racism is still very much a
part of every aspect of our institutions.
Several excellent examples exist in the enforcement of
laws related to illegal drug use and distribution. Gov-
ernment studies show that while Blacks make up only
about 15–20% of drug users in the U.S., they account
for one-half to two-thirds of all those arrested for drug
offenses nationwide—with even higher percentages in
large cites (Duster, 1995). In addition, there is a remark-
able racial difference in sentencing for drug use. For ex-
ample, possession with intent to distribute five grams of
powder cocaine can bring a sentence between one and
three years. On the other hand, possession with the in-
tent to distribute five grams of crack cocaine leads to a
mandatory minimum five-year sentence (Coyle, 2002).
These sentencing guidelines do not seem to have any-
thing to do with race until we consider that Whites are
more likely to use and distribute powder cocaine, while
Blacks are more likely to use and distribute crack cocaine
(Duster, 1995). These examples show students that Blacks
and Whites are not treated equally under the law even
though the laws do not appear at first to have a racial
bias. This information will hopefully cause students to
question other seemingly race-neutral polices to search
for underlying discrimination.
Perhaps the most effective reading to teach about
current institutionalized racism is Chapter 1 in George
Lipsitz’s (1998) The Possessive Investment in Whiteness.
This chapter provides a devastating critique of institu-
tional racism within housing, health care, and the jus-
tice system. Additional examples can be drawn from
education (Brown et al., 2003; Kozol, 1992), employ-
ment (Hacker, 1995; Steinberg, 1995), the home mort-
gage market (Oliver & Shapiro, 1997), reproductive
rights (Roberts, 1997), and health care (Lipsitz, 1998;
B. Smedley, Stith, & Nelson, 2003).
In addition to individual and institutional racism, the
third level of racism is cultural racism. Bell (1997) de-
scribes cultural racism as unconscious attitudes and be-
haviors based on a white cultural norm. This norm is
quietly embedded in our language, cultural practices
and traditions, standards of beauty, conceptions of time,
and notions of good and bad, while being presumed to
be neutral and inclusive. This form, sometimes referred
to as “societal’’ (Griffin, 1997a) or “ideological’’ (Feagin,
2001; Wellman, 1993) appears to be the hardest for stu-
dents to understand. One reason it is hard to pinpoint
is that as Americans, we are so surrounded by “Ameri-
can’’culture that it is very hard for us to see that Ameri-
can culture is actually a refection of white American cul-
ture. The dominant group of any society dictates cultural
norms, including views of philosophy, morality, and
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114 SHERI LYN SCHMIDT
even science (Goodman, 2001). Dominant culture dic-
tates what is “good, bad, just, natural, desirable, and pos-
sible’’(Charlton, 1998, p. 51). Feagin (2001) sees racist ide-
ology as a prominent piece of the dominant cultural norm
that has been “critical to maintaining the subordination
of black Americans and other people of color’’ (p. 32).
Most Americans are indoctrinated (Feagin, 2001) or so-
cialized (Harro, 2000) into this racist ideology from child-
hood, thus creating a self-perpetuating system of racism.
It is critical for students to see that dominant cultural
norms are not neutral, but instead project an invisible,
yet powerful, bias toward supporting white superiority.
Tatum (1997) compares the invisibility of cultural
racism to “smog in the air.’’ Whether we can see it or not,
we are continuously breathing in messages that “affirm
the assumed superiority of whites and assumed inferi-
ority of people or color’’ (p. 6). For example, the liter-
ature, visual arts, music, and dance of Europeans and
European Americans is viewed as superior and more so-
phisticated than that of other groups (Goodman, 2001).
Similarly, white (male and middle-class) norms of speech
and dress mark the standard of appropriateness in busi-
ness, educational, and civic organizations. Standards of
beauty for women are based on the white norms of fine
blond hair, fair skin, and blue eyes (Griffin, 1997b). Even
the holidays that are given full recognition in United
States culture reflect European American centrality (for
example, Thanksgiving, Columbus Day, and Christmas),
while those representing other cultures receive little at-
tention (for example, Chinese New Year, Juneteenth, and
Three Kings Day) (Griffin, 1997b).
To explore cultural racism in the classroom, students
can examine various aspects of “American’’ culture and
think about who is reflected in them (Griffin, 1997b). As
part of this exercise, ask students to think about how
Americans use the word “classic”. For example, the def-
inition of the word classic generally means “serving as a
standard of excellence’’ (Merriam-Webster, 1991, p. 95),
but in common usage, the label of “classical’’ has been
given to one specific style of music. Additionally, litera-
ture in a list of classics reflects the writing of white males
of European descent.
Finally, it is important to help students see that the in-
dividual, institutional, and cultural levels of racism are
interconnected. Although they can be defined separately,
they do not necessarily exist separate from one another,
but instead combine to create a web that continuously
reinforces each of the three levels. To illustrate this for
students, take almost any example of racism and show
how it is influenced by at least two of the three differ-
ent levels. For example, the following illustrates the in-
extricable connection between institutional racism and
cultural racism. Duster (1995) cites studies showing that
retail establishments were far more likely to discriminate
against black youths than were manufacturing establish-
ments. Whites were more than four times as likely to
be fully employed in the service sector. Researchers at-
tribute the preponderance of this discrepancy to cultural
racism in the form of expectations in the service sector
that dictate a preference for white norms of appearance,
dress, and speech. While high school education rates are
about equivalent between black and white youth, unem-
ployment rates are not. The gap will widen as the man-
ufacturing sector of the U.S. is expected to shrink and
the service sector is expected to grow. In this example
the incidence of institutionalized racism within hiring
in the retail versus the manufacturing sectors is directly
related to cultural racism that dictates a preference for
white cultural norms. What may seem to be individual
or even institutionalized acts of racism or racial prejudice
must also be understood as linked to a well-developed
racist ideology that has been at the center of dominant
American culture for generations (Feagin, 2001).
Dominant and Subordinated Groups
One of the primary ways to help students recognize
the systemic nature of racism is through an explica-
tion of the concept of dominant and subordinated sta-
tuses. Whites in the United States experience a system of
racial advantage that creates hierarchical relationships in
which they, as the dominant group, experience privileges
or benefits because of the subordinated position of peo-
ple of color (Bell, 1997; Brown et al., 2003; Feagin, Vera,
& Batur, 2001; Goodman, 2001; Operario & Fiske, 1998;
Wildman & Davis, 2000). This system of Whites as dom-
inant and people of color as subordinated has become
so ingrained in our society that it is virtually invisible to
most students. The hegemonic acceptance of dominant/
subordinated relationships creates a commonsense real-
ity where white supremacy is unconsciously seen as part
of the natural order of things (Bell, 1997; H. Blumer, 1958;
Bonilla-Silva, 2003; Feagin et al., 2001; Young, 1990). Both
dominant and subordinate group members internalize
the idea of the system as normal and correct and thus
help to perpetuate it (Bell, 1997; Goodman, 2001). White
supremacy is thus supported by an invisible notion of
white as the “defined norm’’ that is backed up by access
to both economic and institutional power (Jones, 1998;
Pharr, 1988).
Introducing a framework that has placed Whites in
the dominant position and people of color as subordi-
nated often leads students to question who can be called
“racist.’’ Because most students come into class view-
ing racism as individual prejudice and bigotry, it makes
sense to them that anyone can be “racist’’ and anyone
can experience “racism’’ directed at them. Many schol-
ars, however, use the term “racist’’ or “racism’’ to describe
only the actions of Whites, while using the terms, “racial
hatred,’’ and “racial bias’’ for actions practiced by any
other ethnic group (Feagin & Feagin, 1996; Fox, 2001;
Goodman, 2001; Operario & Fiske, 1998; Tatum, 1997).
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MORE THAN MEN IN WHITE SHEETS 115
For example, Tatum explains that while any person can
hold negative racial prejudices and engage in discrimi-
natory behavior against any other person, she reserves
the term “racist’’ for actions by white people or dominant
institutions against people of color. While prejudice from
both people of color and white people is problematic, it
is important to distinguish the power differential in the
two. Specifically she says:
People of color are not racist because they do not sys-
tematically benefit from racism. And equally important,
there is not systemic cultural and institutional support
or sanction for the racial bigotry of people of color. In my
view, reserving the term racist only for behaviors com-
mitted by Whites in the context of a White dominated so-
ciety is a way of acknowledging the ever-present power
differential afforded Whites by the culture and institu-
tions that make up the system of advantage and continue
to reinforce notions of white superiority. (p. 10)
Tatum’s (1997) practice points to the important distinc-
tion between the concepts of discrimination and oppres-
sion. Racism is defined as a form of oppression, and it
must be made clear that while white people may experi-
ence discrimination based on their race, white people as
a whole, in American society, do not experience oppres-
sion (racism) based their race. This is because Whites can
experience discrimination at the individual level, and in
rare cases at the institutional level (Pincus, 2000), but be-
cause the nature of cultural racism places White as the
cultural “norm,’’ white people do not experience racism
at the cultural level. It is the combination of all three lev-
els working together over a period of time that results
in oppression. The term racism, then, refers only to op-
pression based on race, not discrimination based on race.
Although some authors prefer to point to the distinction
between individual prejudice and institutionalized dis-
crimination as critical (Nieto, 2000), using Tatum’s dis-
tinction makes clear to students that racism is not some-
thing that white people experience (similarly to the way
that men do not experience sexism and heterosexuals do
not experience heterosexism). This is a critical distinc-
tion, and while it may not be clear to students at first,
reinforcement of this concept with numerous examples
of current and historical racism at the institutional and
cultural levels can lead them to a greater understanding
of the systemic nature of racism.
Also important to this discussion is the distinction be-
tween passive and active forms of racism. Active racism
involves actions that have the stated goal of perpetuating
the system of racism, while passive racism is any action,
belief, or attitude that contributes to the perpetuation of
racism without the conscious consent of the individual
(Wijeyesinghe et al., 1997). This is an important distinc-
tion, particularly for white students, as they grapple with
this new way of conceptualizing racism and the roles of
dominant and subordinated groups.
Tatum (1997) uses the wonderfully descriptive anal-
ogy of an airport moving-walkway to illustrate the dif-
ferences between active and passive racism. On such a
moving-walkway, we have a choice to walk while on the
walkway or simply to stand and let the walkway carry
us. The person who walks on the walkway is analogous
to a person who is engaged in active racism. The person
simply standing on the walkway is analogous to most
people in our society who are simply standing still, but
who will eventually arrive at the same destination as the
person who is actively racist. The system (walkway) con-
tinues to support oppression (move) whether we actively
contribute to the atmosphere of racism or simply stand
by (walk or stand). In addition, the only way to move in
the opposite direction is to turn around and walk twice
as fast as the walkway is going. So, because this walkway
is always moving, to be antiracist, we must work twice
as hard to work against the system.
So far, this basic analysis of dominant and subordi-
nated groups has been limited to the categorization of
Whites as dominant and people of color as subordinated.
Students do need to understand that there are certainly
gradations of both “dominant’’ and “subordinated.’
These are not monolithic experiences, but instead are im-
pacted in complex ways by an individual’s multiple so-
cial group memberships. Understanding the intersection
of an individual’s various social groups, such as class,
gender, and sexual orientation, leads us to recognize that
not all white people experience racial “dominance’’ to the
same degree, and likewise, not all people of color expe-
rience racial “subordination’’ to the same degree (Tatum,
1997). This issue is critical and is discussed further in the
section titled “Multiple Social Group Memberships.’
Internalized Racism
In addition to understanding how racism resides
within our institutions and culture, it is important for
students to understand how racism has become inter-
nalized within the human psyche (Bell, 1997; Fox, 2001;
Hardiman & Jackson, 1997; Wijeyesinghe et al., 1997).
Internalized racism is usually characterized as the self-
doubt, anxiety, and even hatred (Fox, 2001) that subordi-
nated groups hold of members of their own group and
is the result of the subordinated group believing in and
acting out the stereotypes held by the dominant group
(Wijeyesinghe et al., 1997). This psychologically-based
concept was perhaps first presented by Albert Memmi
(1965). Although he does not use the specific term “inter-
nalized oppression,” he describes the dangers of the psy-
chological process by which the colonized individual be-
gins to believe the colonizer’s perception of him. He says,
in part, “this mythical and degrading portrait ends up
being accepted and lived with to a certain extent by the
colonized. It thus acquires a certain amount of reality and
contributes to the true portrait of the colonized’’ (p. 87).
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116 SHERI LYN SCHMIDT
Memmi’s description points to the reason this concept
is sometimes referred to as a “self-fulfilling prophecy’’
(Khan, 1999). The oppressed person not only comes to
believe the expectations that the dominant group holds
but also incorporates that image into the “true portrait’
of himself or herself. In other words, the subordinated
group members act on the perceived notions and then
live up to (or down to) the expectations of the dominant
group.
Internalized racism plays a major conceptual role in
racial identity development theory. Within Hardiman
and Jackson’s (1997) theory of “Social Identity Develop-
ment,’’the acceptance stage for subordinated groups re-
flects internalization and acceptance of messages about
the inferiority of their group. In their nigrescence theory,
Cross and Fhagen-Smith (2001) report that internalized
racism among black children is expressed through the be-
lief of negative and misleading information about Blacks,
negative judgments on dark skin and African physical
features, and personal self-loathing or racial self-hatred.
Suzanne Pharr (1988) considers internalized oppres-
sion to be a “common element of oppression’’ (p. 60). She
contends that within every form of oppression, subordi-
nated group members may internalize their role, which
leads to a weakening of self-esteem and can result in de-
pression and self-abuse. Sometimes the self-degradation
brought on by internalized oppression may be acted out
as “horizontal hostility,’’ in which members of subordi-
nated groups disrespect or become hostile toward mem-
bers of their own or other oppressed groups (Pharr, 1988).
Internalized subordination has dire consequences, in-
cluding convincing a subordinated group to accept their
oppression and therefore not resist it. Internalized sub-
ordination is a powerful force in the maintenance of sys-
temic oppression.
One way to demonstrate internalized subordination
is through the use of the classic video recording “A Class
Divided’’(Peters, 1985). In this video, third-grade teacher
Jane Elliot divides her class into two groups according
to their eye-color. The children are then told that the
brown-eyed children are not as smart as the blue-eyed
children. Within a few hours the brown-eyed children
performed very poorly on a class assignment—worse
than they ever had before. This video is a dramatic exam-
ple of the self-fulfilling prophecy concept. It provides a
jump-start for a class discussion focusing on the experi-
ences of these children and then generalizing to a variety
of situations.
While most authors speak of internalized racism
strictly in terms of how subordinated group mem-
bers internalize their subordination (Fox, 2001; Khan,
1999; Pharr, 1988; Smith, 1998), some examine how
racism also is internalized by members of the domi-
nant group (Goodman, 2001; Hardiman & Jackson, 1997;
Wijeyesinghe et al., 1997). Hardiman and Jackson (1997)
write of internalized dominance as the ways in which
dominant group members have learned to express their
feelings of “entitlement and privilege’’ (p. 21). For exam-
ple a white person may take for granted that she will
be safe, respected, and trusted in daily interactions with
people she does not know (McIntosh, 1995). While keep-
ing in mind that an individual white person’s level of
internalized entitlement is impacted by that individual’s
other social group memberships (that is, gender, class,
sexual orientation, and other social identities), white
people experience the same socialization process that
reinforces the inferiority of people of color and the supe-
riority of white people (Harro, 2000). Internalized dom-
inance seems to be both harder to describe and harder
for students to recognize. Returning to the notion of the
dominant group as the defined norm, it appears to be
difficult to recognize a sense of entitlement as anything
other than the natural order of things.
Although it does not address all issues of entitlement,
the “Class Divided’’ (Peters, 1985) video can be used to
show internalized dominance. The children who are told
they are smarter and better than the other children per-
form better on the academic test than they ever had be-
fore. They internalized that they are competent and able
to achieve.
It is important that both internalized subordination
and internalized dominance are addressed. Helping stu-
dents to recognize how racism is internalized in their
own lives, whether they experience a dominant or sub-
ordinated status, is one more way to help them to see
how racism occurs as part of a larger system. When in-
ternalized racism is framed only from the perspective of
subordination, white students are able to separate them-
selves from the issue of racism. By examining internal-
ized dominance, it is reiterated for students that the sys-
tem of racism is something that impacts every member
of society.
White Privilege
Although it is important to teach about racism from
both a perspective of exclusion and privilege, traditional
teaching tends to focus primarily on how people of color
are disadvantaged without a thorough analysis of how
Whites are advantaged by the same system (Bidell et al.,
1994; Derman-Sparks & Phillips, 1997; Fritschner, 2001;
Goodman, 2001; Tatum, 1997; Wellman, 1993). Fritschner
explains that this is because race is often described using
the “absence/presence’’ approach, which suggests that
Whites are not a race, and so they are not affected by
race and racism. Fritschner suggests that race, instead,
must be taught from a “relational’’ approach that directs
attention toward racial relationships with emphasis on
both advantages and disadvantages. To do this, teaching
must move past an understanding of racism as simply
the ways in which people of color experience discrimina-
tion and must also focus on how white people experience
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MORE THAN MEN IN WHITE SHEETS 117
subtle, yet powerful, institutional practices that work
to their advantage (Goodman, 2001; Pence & Fields,
1999).
Although stressing the concept of white privilege may
be considered a fundamental part of teaching about
racism, it is not always easy to convey, particularly to
white students. Peggy McIntosh (1995) describes white
privilege as an “invisible package of unearned assets’
(p. 94) that white people are taught not to recognize. Most
white people do not see their privilege; they simply see
themselves as “normal’’ and tend to believe that all others
experience the same opportunities they do (Goodman,
2001). Educators can make visible to both white stu-
dents and to students of color the many subtle and un-
conscious ways that white people experience privilege.
One reason white privilege is so “invisible’’ is that white
superiority has become fully entrenched in our overall
culture. A sense of racial superiority is part of the life
lessons that white children learn and bring with them to
adulthood (Feagin & Feagin, 1996). These lessons are a
result of an environment where white people are sepa-
rated from people of color and absorb socializing mes-
sages about the superiority of Whites from the media,
schools, and the family (Feagin & Feagin, 1996; Harro,
2000). McIntosh writes, “Whites are taught to think of
their lives as morally neutral, normative, and average,
and also ideal’’(p. 96).
The concept of cultural racism suggests that the cul-
tural norms of the dominant group are adopted as the
norms for all of society (Feagin, 2001; Goodman, 2001;
Tatum, 1997). Along with being associated with what is
considered “normal,’’ Goodman (2001) also believes that
dominant groups are associated with what is considered
“superior.’’ These conscious and unconscious lessons of
superiority result in an unconscious sense of entitlement.
This sense of entitlement parallels with a belief in mer-
itocracy. Many authors point to a belief in the United
States as a meritocratic society as a primary block to
students’ recognition of white privilege (Bonilla-Silva &
Forman, 2000; Goodman, 2001; McIntosh, 1995; Sleeter,
1995; Smith, 1998). Accepting the presence of white priv-
ilege means giving up a belief in the myth of meritoc-
racy and accepting that individual effort is not necessar-
ily what determines one’s success (McIntosh, 1995). This
idea is contrary to the socializing messages that most
students, particularly white students, have received all
of their lives.
Because this myth of meritocracy is so ingrained and
white privilege so invisible, federal interventions de-
signed to benefit people of color, such as affirmative
action, are seen by most white people as an unfair ad-
vantage (Nieto, 1998; Wijeyesinghe et al., 1997). Teach-
ing about white privilege can help students to see that
although overt forms of discrimination are no longer
legally sanctioned, the presence of an invasive system
of white privilege still creates an un-level playing field,
and measures such as affirmation action are, in fact, rea-
sonable and necessary (Pence & Fields, 1999).
Because white privilege is taken for granted, many
students will not recognize it unless it is expressly
brought to their attention through class material. Read-
ing the classic article by Peggy McIntosh, “White Priv-
ilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,’’ which origi-
nally appeared in 1988, is still possibly the single most
effective way to help students understand the rudimen-
tary nature of white privilege. McIntosh (1995) provides
a concrete list of everyday examples that students can
see exhibited in real life.
Goodman (2001) elaborates on McIntosh’s argument,
presenting students with a more thorough discussion
of how privilege is hidden within a sense of superior-
ity and entitlement and how and why individuals resist
seeing themselves as privileged. An additional benefit
of Goodman’s chapter is that she presents the issue of
privilege as it is attached to all dominant status groups
(that is, males, heterosexuals, able-bodied, and so on)
and discusses how privilege is mediated based on an in-
dividual’s multiple social group memberships. This al-
lows students to make a personal connection with the is-
sue of privilege, whether or not they are white. So while
McIntosh’s (1995) article provides specific and concrete
examples of white privilege, Goodman’s chapter gives a
broader picture of the overall concept of privilege. The
combination of the two provides an excellent founda-
tion for students’ written reflection and subsequent class
discussion of the topic of white privilege.
The recognition of white privilege is indeed a turn-
ing point, particularly for white students, in their ability
to understand racism and is possibly the most powerful
component in their learning about racism. Likewise, stu-
dents of color can gain a label for the phenomenon they
have sensed all their lives—having the concept both ac-
knowledged and defined provides an important sense of
validation.
Multiple Social Group Memberships
To fully understand racism, one must recognize that
the structure of racism lives within an interlocking sys-
tem of intersecting hierarchies based on race, ethnicity,
class, age, gender, sexual orientation, ability status, na-
tionality, and religion. Therefore, to gain a full view of the
impact of race within an individual’s life, students must
learn to consider how race intersects with other social
group memberships and subsequently, other forms of
oppression (Collins, 1993; Goodman, 2001; Tatum, 1997)
For many years, race was spoken of as an iso-
lated concept (Mason, 1999). Within the field of sociol-
ogy, black women, feminists, lesbians, and others from
marginalized groups have been credited with bringing
the concepts of multiple social group memberships and
identities into the theoretical literature (Allen & Chung,
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118 SHERI LYN SCHMIDT
2001; Bell, 1997; Mason, 1999). The concept of multiple
social group memberships recognizes that each individ-
ual belongs to many different social groups, all of which
have an impact on their identity.
Today, many authors consider the intersection of mul-
tiple social group memberships on a person’s experience
with racism (Allen & Chung, 2001; Bell, 1997; Goodman,
2001; Tatum, 1997). Additionally, many recognize that
these hierarchies materialize in such a way that causes
individuals to simultaneously experience both domi-
nant and subordinated statuses (Bell, 1997; Tatum, 1997).
Each person’s experience with racism is heightened or
buffered by their other social group memberships. For
example, a white poor or working-class woman may ex-
perience white skin privilege, however her gender and
class status reduce her access to social, political, and eco-
nomic power. Likewise, a wealthy Latino business ex-
ecutive may experience the impact of racism much less
directly than a poor Latina fieldworker. The concept of
power and privilege becomes more complicated when
we recognize that each individual holds “multiple and
crosscutting social group memberships’’ (Bell, 1997, p. 5).
Smith (1998) contends that the intersection of identities
can be used as an important teaching tool. For example,
he believes that one reason it is often easier for white
women to gain an understanding of racism than it is for
white men is the connection they can make via sexism.
It is important to start early in the semester with a
thorough exploration of the concepts of social groups
and multiple social group memberships. Beverly Tatum
(1997) provides a clear overview of how social group
memberships interact with one another within systems
of oppression. After defining the concepts, students can
apply them to their own lives by writing a response to
Tatum’s chapter in which they must identify their own
social group memberships and whether they are in the
dominant or the subordinated status for each. They can
then reflect on the impact of these memberships on their
identity through addressing questions in writing and via
class discussions that include, “Which of these member-
ships are you most aware of on a daily basis? Why?
In what ways?’’ and “Which of these memberships pro-
vide benefits, access, or advancement? In what ways?’’
Through this exercise students have the chance to clar-
ify their own identity by talking about their social group
memberships with others. They also have the opportu-
nity to hear how other people think and feel about their
own social group memberships. The sharing of these
stories and experiences serves to help a class coalesce
through personal disclosure and expand each student’s
awareness of how multiple social group memberships
impact people in unique ways.
This activity encourages white students to think about
how their membership in the “white group’’ impacts their
identity; for many, this will be the first time they have re-
flected on this aspect of their identity. For students of
color, this activity is a way to recognize their own expe-
rience with privilege as it plays out in aspects of their
identity other than race. We all tend to be more aware of
those social group memberships that place us in a sub-
ordinated status than we are of those that place us in the
dominant status (Tatum, 1997). Therefore, it is likely that
many students of color have not focused as much on the
privileges they receive from their dominant group sta-
tuses (for example, male, middle-class, or heterosexual)
as they have on their subordinated status within racism.
Examining aspects of their identity other than race also
can provide a clearer understanding of the mechanics of
racism. For example, men of color may understand for
the first time the invisibility of white privilege when it
is compared to the invisibility of their own male privi-
lege. This comparison provides men of color with both a
chance to reflect on their own understanding of sexism,
and a deeper understanding of just how invisible white
privilege can be to white people.
The exploration of multiple social group memberships
and identities is a valuable teaching tool, and it is impos-
sible to fully address racism without also addressing the
concept of multiple social group memberships. Students
need to see that racism plays out differently in each of
our lives, based on the combination of our many different
social groups.
Historical Inequality
Understanding history is central to an ability to under-
stand ourselves and the world in which we live. History
is a valuable tool that social justice educators can and
should use as a foundation upon which to construct the
current realities of oppression. Unfortunately, as Loewen
(1995) discovered in his extensive study of history edu-
cation, high school textbook treatment of the subject of
racism is inadequate. None of the books he reviewed
explains or documents racism thoroughly, and some do
not address the topic at all. He believes that the books
“underplay white racism .. . [and in doing so,] the very
essence of what we have inherited from slavery is the
idea that it is appropriate, even natural, for whites to be
on top, blacks on the bottom’’(p. 144).
What are the implications for social justice educators
if students come into the classroom with a limited under-
standing of United States history? Most students likely
take an “ahistorical’’ view of current racial situations, and
from that vantage point, it is easy to see how they come
to the conclusion that an affirmative action policy is “re-
verse discrimination,’’ and that anything that provides
a hand-up to people of color is an “unfair advantage.’
Events like slavery, the displacement and genocide of
Native Americans, and even Jim Crow segregation seem
like ancient history, and with little or no understanding of
these events, students cannot see a connection between
those events and current reality.
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MORE THAN MEN IN WHITE SHEETS 119
History can be studied as a way to understand
the current situation of all racial groups. For exam-
ple, a powerful tool is to present a timeline of federal
policies that have assisted white Americans to accu-
mulate wealth, and those that have impeded African
Americans’ accumulation of wealth. This information
explains the current drastic wealth inequities between
black and white Americans. Currently, middle-class
black American households possess only 15 cents for
every dollar of wealth owned by middle-class white
American households (Oliver & Shapiro, 1997). As an
explanation for this discrepancy, most students think
of slavery but no other historical incidents or policies
that have inhibited the accumulation of wealth by black
Americans. Using Oliver and Shapiro’s (1997) concept,
“the racialization of state policy’’ (p. 37), there are nu-
merous other examples of ways that federal policies
have prohibited the accumulation of wealth by people of
color (for example, the Naturalization Act of 1790, Indian
removal and reservation policies, Treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo [1848], Jim Crow segregation, and Japanese
American internment). In addition, because it is impos-
sible to see the whole picture of racism by looking only
at discrimination against people of color, it is important
also to focus on the number of federal programs that
have helped white Americans accumulate wealth. A se-
ries of programs designed to stimulate the U.S. econ-
omy, as well as to raise social class status (for example,
the Homestead Act of 1862, National Housing Act [1934],
and the G.I. Bill [Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944]
were available either exclusively or disproportionately to
Whites.
When a history that has systemically and continu-
ously advantaged one group over all others is revealed,
current affirmative action policies take on an entirely new
appearance for students (Bell, 1997; O’Donnell, 1998).
Also, through a review of past federal policies, students
begin to see that the U.S. has often taken actions to help a
segment of society with the central purpose of support-
ing the greater good through economic prosperity for its
citizens.
In addition to understanding how current economics
reflect the legacy of oppression, a historical review can
help students see that oppressive circumstances can
change through the concerted efforts of committed in-
dividuals (Bell, 1997; Moulder, 1997; Tatum, 1994). Many
social justice educators teach about the history of racism
by focusing on facets of oppression and too often leave
out the historical examples of resistance and liberation.
Most students have no personal experience with so-
cial change movements. If stories of resistance are ab-
sent from classrooms, students may feel powerless to act
against racism. The study of the history of racism should
include readings, speakers, and videos representing both
white people and people of color involved in working to-
ward change (Moulder, 1997; Tatum, 1994).
Finally, it is important to note that one major com-
ponent of cultural racism is the simple fact that history
taught in public school systems has always been written
by the dominant group (Loewen, 1995; Panayi, 1999).
Therefore, it has been used as a tool to support the hege-
mony of white supremacy. Knowles (1999) asserts that
this kind of history is one in which the past is recon-
structed and “sanitized’’ through “selective acts of histor-
ical forgetting’’ (p. 48). According to Loewen (1995) this
sanitized history is the kind found in most high school
and college textbooks in which America is portrayed as
the “hero’’ of the story and therefore cast in a positive
light. Because of this, it is not just important that his-
tory is taught, it is also important which history is taught
(Knowles, 1999). The texts A Different Mirror: A History
of Multicultural America (Takaki, 1993), A People’s History
of the United States (Zinn, 1995), and The Unsteady March:
The rise and Decline of Racial Equality in America (Klinkner,
1999), are excellent examples of non-sanitized versions
of history.
It is not surprising that most students arrive to class
with a firm belief in the fundamental fairness of U.S.
society. Centuries of “historical forgetting’’ have taught
them that the United States is a place where anyone who
works hard can get ahead. Therefore, it is crucial to share
with them a history that makes clear the ways that past
events and policies have directly shaped the social reality
of today.
CONCLUSION
I have outlined seven concepts that are key tools to
help educators teach about the systemic nature of racism.
These seven concepts are fundamental ingredients for
any course that seeks to address racism as a complex so-
cial phenomenon. Certainly there are additional concepts
and information that bring value to a racism curriculum;
however, the seven concepts discussed here cover the
fundamental issues needed to help students move their
perspective of racism from primarily an individual issue
to one of systemic inequality.
Because most college students have not previously
studied the concept of racism as a systemic phenomenon,
social justice educators are challenged to expand stu-
dents’ views of racism to encompass its complexity.
Explicating the complexity of racism and framing it
in the context of a system of advantage for white
people (Tatum, 1997; Wellman, 1993) is what distin-
guishes social justice education from much of the
work in fields that frame racial groups as part of the
“race problem,’’ rather than racism as the maintenance
of power by Whites (Feagin, 2001). A focus on jus-
tice necessitates an examination of racism as ideology,
as relationships, as profound continuing inequities in
all social institutions, and as a central player in ev-
ery moment of United States history from the earliest
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120 SHERI LYN SCHMIDT
European colonists onward (Bonilla-Silva, 2001; Feagin,
2001).
One of the most insidious aspects of contemporary
racism is its ability to remain camouflaged in everyday
practices, policies, notions, and ideas (Bonilla-Silva,
2003; Goodman, 2001; Tatum, 1997). Americans of all
ages and racial groups continue to believe in the myth of
meritocracy, to blame the victims for their circumstances,
and to reserve the label of “racist’’ exclusively for those
misguided souls parading around in white sheets.
The true nature of racism continues to be well hidden
within society and within college curricula. Because of
this, educators need to be vigilant in helping students
unearth the complexity of racism. Racism should be
seen not as an artifact of American history but as a
current social reality that impacts virtually every aspect
of students’ current lives.
NOTE
1. The author would like to thank Dr. Ximena Z´u˜niga for her
help with an earlier version of this paper.
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APPENDIX
Concept Teaching strategy Teaching Tool
Race as a social
construction
Present examples showing how economic,
legal, and “scientific” forces have created
race as a means to promote a position of
dominance for white Americans.
Website and video series: Alderman (2003a, 2003b) Race:
The Power of an Illusion [Part 1]
http://www.pbs.org/race/000 General/000 00-Home.htm
Interconnected levels
of racism
Provide concrete examples of institutionalized
racism in housing, health care, education,
judicial system, etc.
Reading: Lipsitz (1998) The Possessive Investment in
Whiteness: How White People Profit from Identity Politics.
[Chapter 1: The Possessive Investment in Whiteness]
Have students recognize cultural racism
through an exploration of dominant U.S.
cultural norms
Reading: Goodman (2001) Promoting Diversity and Social
Justice: Educating People from Privileged Groups.
[Chapter 2: About Privileged Groups]
Dominant and
subordinated
groups
Make clear that white Americans do not
experience racial oppression through an
explanation of the differences between the
concepts of discrimination and oppression,
as well as by examining the history of
systemic racism in the U.S.
Reading: Feagin (2001) Racist America: Roots, Current
Realities and Future Reparations. [Chapter 1: Systemic
Racism]
Reading: Tatum (1997) Why are All the Black Kids Sitting
Together in the Cafeteria? [Chapter 1: Defining Racism]
Internalized racism Help students recognize the ways that the
ideology of racism has become integrated in
their everyday lives either in the form of
internalized dominance or internalized
subordination.
Video: Peters (1985). A Class Divided
White privilege Make visible for students the often hidden,
concrete benefits and psychological
freedoms, that go with being white in a
society infused with racism.
Reading: Goodman (2001) Promoting Diversity and Social
Justice: Educating People from Privileged Groups.
[Chapter 2: About Privileged Groups]
Reading: McIntosh (1995) White Privilege and Male Privilege.
In Collins and Anderson (Eds.), Race, Class and Gender:
An Anthology.
Multiple social group
memberships
Have students begin to investigate and
understand their own multiple identities
through writing and reflecting on their
identities and listening to the stories of others.
Reading: Tatum (1997) Why are All the Black Kids Sitting
Together in the Cafeteria? [Chapter 2: The Complexity of
Identity]
Historical inequality Present a timeline of federal policies that have
assisted white Americans to accumulate
wealth and those that have impeded
African Americans’ accumulation of wealth
Reading: Oliver & Shaprio (1997) Black Wealth/White Wealth.
[Chapter 2: A Sociology of Wealth and Racial Inequality]
Website and video Series: Alderman (2003a, 2003b) Race:
The Power of an Illusion. [Parts 2 & 3]
Tatum, B. D. (1997). Why are all the black kids sitting together in the
cafeteria? And other conversations about race. New York:
BasicBooks.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. (1848). 9 Stat. 922.
Wellman, D. T. (1993). Portraits of white racism (2nd ed.).
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Sheri Lyn Schmidt is a 2005 graduate of the Social
Justice Education Doctoral Program at the University of
Massachusetts Amherst. Her current research focuses on the
intersections of stratification beliefs and conceptualizations of
racism.
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This article is inspired by my experience of aiming to teach against oppression on my return to an elementary school classroom after completing doctoral studies in education. The tensions that surfaced as I attempted to disrupt oppressive school knowledge in my second and third grade classrooms motivated me to engage in self-study. Locating my work within the context of the Canadian Prairies, I answer the question of how power relations both constrained and opened up possibilities for disrupting oppressive discourses circulating in everyday life at school by offering a power/knowledge analysis of three critical incidents. My analysis traces how power was always at play through competing discourses of Whiteness, femininity, and colour-blindness as I aimed to resist traditional norms around school discipline; work against the privileging of White, male students; and accept the discomfort of talking to my young students about race and racism. By demonstrating how anti-oppressive practices necessitate the disruption of cherished narratives of neutrality and innocence in education, the findings contribute to understandings about what makes anti-oppressive education both difficult and possible. I emphasize the potential within everyday moments at school for disrupting oppressive discourses and highlight the usefulness of self-study as a tool for learning to teach against oppression as a lifelong endeavour.
Book
This book is a ringing indictment of disability oppression, which, it states, is rooted in degradation, dependency, and powerlessness and is experienced in some form by five hundred million persons throughout the world who have physical, sensory, cognitive, or developmental disabilities. This book provides a theoretical overview of disability oppression that shows its similarities to, and differences from, racism, sexism, and colonialism. The book's analysis is illuminated by interviews conducted over a ten-year period with disability rights activists throughout the Third World, Europe, and the United States. The book finds an antidote for dependency and powerlessness in the resistance to disability oppression that is emerging worldwide. The interviews contain stories of self-reliance and empowerment evoking the new consciousness of disability rights activists. As a latecomer among the world's liberation movements, the disability rights movement will gain visibility and momentum from the elucidation of its history and its political philosophy of self-determination, which is captured in the title of the book. The book expresses the conviction of people with disabilities that they know what is best for them.
Book
First published in 1977, Portraits of White Racism advanced a distinctively sociological theory of racism. Based on five case histories, it critically assessed the prevailing social-psychological paradigm that equated racism with prejudice and provided an alternative interpretation. Racism, the book argued, could be understood as a culturally sanctioned strategy for defending social advantage based on race; it was not simply the product of psychological abnormalities. In this revised edition the theoretical perspective is updated, taking into account recent theorising in the sociology of racism.
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Updated version of her famous essay "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack."