Engaging the ‘Race Question’: Accountability and Equity in U.S. Higher Education by Alicia C. Dowd & Estela Mara Bensimon (review)

Engaging the ‘Race Question’ begins with reflections from the authors on the state of race in America as they were writing the book—2013–2014. As I read the book, I also reflected on the current state of race in America—right now—2015. In recent weeks, I’ve had so many conversations with friends about race, and I’ve also been called by a number of reporters to talk about race within the world of higher education. Why? Racial tensions are bubbling up rapidly in the country. Racial issues have been prevalent since the beginnings of the United States, but the tensions are particularly acute right now. I have two theories at to why: 1) Some Americans just can’t handle the fact that a Black man was elected president twice and that the majority of the country thinks he is doing a good job as president; 2) The demographics of the nation are changing rapidly—we are becoming more Latino and Asian—and some people are afraid that their privilege is going to be taken away and limited. Why? Because they have taken away and limited the privilege of people of color and know it can be done systematically.

Dowd and Bensimon’s book is timely in the midst of the racial chaos happening in the country. The book focuses on the good work that these two scholars have been doing through a project called ‘The Equity Scorecard.’ The Scorecard is a practical tool developed by Dowd and Bensimon and their team at the Center for Urban Education at the University of Southern California. The Equity Scorecard was developed after the scholars noticed that many colleges and universities were introducing widespread efforts to diversify their campuses and to provide interactions among people from various racial and ethnic backgrounds. However, the authors noticed that these efforts lacked a strategy to achieve equity. That is where The Equity Scorecard makes the difference as it helps colleges and universities to strategically think about issues of racial equity.

Although the book is deeply theoretical—which some scholars will truly appreciate—I found the examples throughout to be the most interesting part of the book For example, in a chapter titled ‘Enacting Justice as Care,’ the authors discuss the meanings that can come forth through syllabi. They see syllabi as artifacts. Faculty members often don’t consider the impact of their syllabi—scrambling to put them together at the last minute before classes begin. They don’t consider the voices that they present, focusing more on the content than who is writing the content and failing to see the larger narrative that is fostered by their syllabus and in their classes. Dowd and Bensimon urge readers to consider the ramifications of syllabi when it comes to justice and caring about the many different individuals enrolled in various classes. In the examples presented by the authors, after examining their syllabi, faculty realized that they often had a harsh tone, used language that was far from empowering, and failed to focus on student learning. Syllabi were often written for them and not students. Once they realized how students interpreted their syllabi, they wanted to change them, making them more inviting, empowering, and learner-centered.

One of the most interesting aspects of the book’s narrative is the way the authors are upfront about the pushback they received when employing The Equity Scorecard on various college campuses. Some administrators and faculty members didn’t like it and provided on-site critique. Dowd and Bensimon are open to the feedback and incorporate what they learned and how they adjusted The Equity Scorecard in the book’s narrative. I think many scholars could learn from these discussions in the book as they reinforce the notion that we are always learning and have to be open to learning in order to make our work stronger...