Achieving Against The Odds

5 Racial Problems in Society and in the Classroom

Castellano B. Turner 5 Racial Problems in Society and in the Classroom THE MAJOR aim of this chapter is to discuss how the dynamics of race relations as they exist in U.S. society at large also appear in the college classroom. A second aim is to explore ways in which the dynamics of race and race relations can be made explicit and worked on in the college classroom. (I focus on race in this chapter, but other intergroup problems and social problems might be considered in similar ways.) Some of what I relate is based on personal experiences, but I begin with the premise that my experiences have not been unique and that the lives of most Americans (not only African Americans and other peoples of color) exemplify at least some aspects of the racial problem we share. This is because race and racial conflicts have been defining elements of our country from its beginning. Although material abounds to support such an assertion from both history and contemporary social analysis, I find quite sufficient evidence in the span of my own life. We are all carriers of our cultures and the internal social structural maps drawn by experience. A second premise is that when we enter classrooms (here I focus on college classrooms), we all bring our selves along—our experiences, cultures , and maps. Moreover, it is both what we share in common and how our perspectives differ that make race relations in the classroom problematic—and also full of opportunities. The problem is that we may simply find in the classroom yet another venue for racial conflict. The opportunity is that, in the context of the classroom, sharing perspectives and learning the perspectives of others may be valued and used to reduce racial conflict. Among the differences between blacks and whites in the United States are their perspectives on the extent and pace of change in race relations—in all its aspects, including racial bias, discrimination, opportunities , and so on. Over the last thirty years of teaching undergraduate and graduate students and interacting with colleagues, I have found remarkable consistency in this difference. African Americans (and other 91 people of color) who I have met believe that examples and evidence of racial bias are readily apparent and have changed only modestly over time. It appears that some consider the subtlety and indirection of “modern racism” even more offensive than “old-fashioned” racism. The range of perspectives among whites is perhaps greater. Some react with shocked indignation or disbelief at the notion that blacks might still consider themselves at all disadvantaged. Others may be aware of continuing inequities but regard them as vestiges of historical racism that are rapidly receding. My own perceptions of the state of race relations necessarily reflect the perspective of an African American. In my own case, the extent and pace of change may be exemplified by the following two experiences. At the age of thirty, soon after finishing graduate school, I left Chicago, where I was born, grew up, and received almost all of my education . I have been away almost thirty years now, but like many adults with such long formative periods in one place, I have never quite abandoned my identity as a Chicagoan. My memories of Chicago are both bitter and sweet, but on balance I think of the city with the kind of deep fondness that many adults eventually feel toward their aging parents. Whenever I run across articles that focus on Chicago in local newspapers or national magazines, I attend to them automatically, without selfconscious reflection. (My loyalty to the Bears, the White Sox, and the Bulls has never been threatened.) Sometimes what I read causes me to feel sad or embarrassed. Recently a front page story about Chicago appeared in the major local newspaper. The story: three African American teenagers rode their bikes out of their black community on the near west side (where I grew up) into a bordering white community. They were attacked by three white teenagers. One black thirteen-year-old was beaten so severely that he remained in a coma throughout the following week. The article described the sense of horror expressed at every level of the city— from the local citizens (black and white) and community organizations to the city’s mayor, who had grown up and spent most of his life in that particular white community. I had two reactions. First, I resented the...