Page 10 The Broncos’ Voice October, 1991
Racism In Education Wayne Hodges
COVER
STORY
There are hardly any realms of the
modem world left unscathed by the
thrashing whip of racism. One of the
most significant sectors of life that has
definitely fallen victim to the stinging
lash of racism is that general, precious
field of study - EDUCATION. Racism
is manifesting itself daily in all aspects
dealing with formal education in the
American public school system.
Scholars have long conceded
that humans are capable of possessing a
"double-consciousness" or a "dual
education" - one is taught to you by
others and the other is taught to you
(self-education) by yourself. Of the two
types, the latter is preferred. For
example. Black activist Malcolm X saw
it fit to educate himself while confined
in a prison cell. In Southwestern Texas
in the 1960’s, Jose Angel Guitierrez and
his political party. La Raza Unida,
called for bilingual education in
neighborhood public school systems.
Despite these diligent efforts to
procure equal and self education which
is free of racial bias, the evergreens of
formal schooling still bum with the
withering flame of racism.
Evident in most textbooks is
the distortion of and conscious
disregarding of actual history. Blacks,
mainly, continue to receive little, if any,
education on African and African-
American history. This neglect has led
to the perpetuation of ignorance to a
history that many scholars - Black and
white - have foimd and acknowledged as
the greatest in the world. These
historical distortions have fueled the fire
of disconnection with Africa.
For example, in Kush’s What
To even suggest that race can
be a unifying theme is ludicrous. Face
it, there are no possibilities of this
happening within the next decade, no
magical cures that could possibly fall
from the sky and cause human beings to
lose consciousness of the separate but
unequal concept of race that sailed over
with the Mayflower.
The concept of separating
people into various racial categories is a
European concept. It grew from a white
aristocratic vine of thought and was
subordinately consumed by all. The aim
of dividing people by race was not to
bring unification, it was to separate. As
long as groups remain separate, they
have less power. To take pride in race,
at the exclusion of all other races, is to
forget the ultimate race, the human race.
This kind of thinking feeds right into the
biased system that breeds racism.
Racism is not just a black and
white issue. There is a grey area that is
They Never Taught You In History
Class, it is revealed that Greek
mathematician Pythagoras actually did
not originate the mathematical theorem
with which he is credited. According to
Kush, it was actually taught to
Pythagoras by African scholars at the
Egyptian University of Karaak, where
he went to study. In the textbook. The
United States : A History of the
Republic, it states - in reference to the
Emancipation Proclamation - that
"[Abraham] Lincoln recognized the
growing call for abolition and was
willing to respond...so that emancipation
would be seen as a bold, new policy."
According to Journey of the Songhai
People by the African organization
PAFO, it is revealed that Lincoln was
pressured into issuing the proclamation
because the North was losing the Civil
War and there were Blacks who were
ready to fight and take out theif
frustrations on the southemers who
enslaved them; moreover, Lincoln said
in his inaugural address that he had "no
intentions of interfering with the
institution of slavery."
Many more historical
distortions of this type can be found in
textbooks all over America and are
promoting racism through their constant
glorification and racial exaltation of the
majority group here in America.
The progress of other groups
(e.g. Chicanos, Latinos, Asians) in
America has also been limited in its
revelations to the rest of mankind.
However, the problem is not as severe
for Chicanos, Latinos, and Asians who
immigrate to America because they have
their own nation and direct connection
Kimberly Smith
ofttimes excluded from media coverage.
Asians and Hispanics are numerically
growing at a rate that far exceeds all
other groups in the United States. This
growth has led to expanded affirmative
action, which in tum has fanned the
flames of racism in their direction.
Blacks and women feel they have been
discriminated against for so long, that it
is time for them to reap the benefits of
society. They feel they have been
standing in line long enough and that
they deserve equality before these other
groups lake their place in line. Thus,
this amounts to discriminated groups
discriminating against others. This
seems an unbreakable cycle as long as
people that comprise these groups are
willing to accept the labels given them.
Children are not bom with
prejudices or racist tendencies; these
aspects of personality are direct results
of socialization. As long as children are
tend^tiously taught these views, these
with their culture, customs, and
language.
Blacks in America do not have
this connection because of the denial of
education on Africa, especially in the
antebellum days of slavery.
However, the distortions in
basic education are nothing when
compaied to the misrepresentation of
ethnic groups in standardized tests.
Standardized tests, although not the only
key, have become the first key one
needs in order to unlock the doors of
higher education.
Perhaps the most important of
these college entrance examinations is
the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT).
Known to all who take the test is that it
consists of two parts: verbal and
mathematics. Unbeknownst to most is
the fact that although the mathematics is
universal, the verbal is, the majority of
the time, racially biased. The questions
and reading passages that compile the
verbal section are usually conceived by
white Europeans, taken from white
European literature, and/or geared
towards a white European lifestyle.
Since this lifestyle is not part of
minorities, they severely augment their
chances of failing or obtaining a "less-
than-standard" score on the verbal
section. This, in effect, lowers
minorities’ chances of entering an
institution of higher leaming.
Most colleges take a profound
look at applying students’ SAT scores.
A simple, but serious thing such as
social bias can make the most intelligent
student appear ignorant or incompetent.
Race and education do not, and should
not coincide. Race knows education but
views will remain a focal point in
society. The United States is a multi
cultural mix of people of many colors.
In such a heterogenous society, radical
tensions will always exist, whether due
to social or political differences.
History cannot be changed;
what was has akeady been, but what
will be can be influenced by redirecting
energies. Blacks are not the only group
that have experienced racism and
prejudice in America. Not all whites are
direct descendants of slave owning Rhett
Butler and Scarlet O’Hara types.
American history cannot be erased to
exclude these events because they are
painful, but history can be taught in
ways to make learning more
advantageous to all groups. It is of
utmost importance that history be taught
to include all cultural and ethnic
backgrounds, not just a predominantly
white European version. When history is
slanted this way, everyone is cheated
education does not know race. Race can
hinder, distort, or totally disregard
education. Education cannot do the same
to race.
Despite the validity of that
statement to some extent, the minorities
in America - mainly Blacks - however,
have not known education - an
education of one’s self particularly - is
the first step in achieving true
prosperity. This statement is not
intended to imply the disregarding of the
historical progress of other races. That
type of hypocrisy would not be
advocated by minority groups here in
America. As Dr. Carter G. Woodson
states in Miseducation of the Negro, we
must "hold on to the real facts...as they
are, but complete such knowledge by
studying...races and nations which have
been purposely ignored."
- Wayne Hodges
The "future" and "careers"for which
American students now prepare are.. .in
tellectual and moral wastelands. This
chrome-plated consumers paradise would
have us grow up to be well-behaved chil
dren. But an important minority of men an
women coming to the front today have
shown that they will die rather than be
standardized, replaceable and irrelevant.
Mario Savio, 1964
Century?
regardless of race, color or creed. It is
one small step that could lead to large
progressive steps in helping narrow the
racial lines that separate one group from
another. Ignorance is not bliss;
ignorance leads to discord. With
America becoming a predominantly
mixed nation, where whites are
becoming more of a minority, it only
makes sense to teach children of all
races about all races. Perhaps if children
are the future, there may yet be hope for
the future as far as race relations go.
All people discriminate in some
shape, form or fashion, and this is not a
practice that is exclusive to Americans.
It is a world wide phenomenon. Think
about it blacks, whites. Native
Americans, Asians, Latinos, Haitians,
Cubans, and all the other racial groups
discriminate against and amongst each
Unifier continued on p. 18
Can Race Be A UniHer In The 21st