Getting Real About Whiteness in Independent Schools

E d w a r d C a r s o n

H o u s t o n C h r i s t i a n H i g h S c h o o l

e c a r s o n @ h o u s t o n c h r i s t i a n . o r g

h t t p : / / p r o f e s s o r c a r s o n . w e e b l y. c o m/

Getting Real About Whiteness in Independent Schools

2012 NAIS People of Color Conference

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http://professorcarson.weebly.com/

http://professorcarson.weebly.com/

Purpose


The goal of this session is to discuss historical, cultural, economic, and anthropological constructs that impact both students and faculty members; addressing the argument that independent schools profess an attitude towards diversifying their campus; however, according to faculty members and students of color, there is a sense that there is a right kind of diversity

Methodology


Surveys sent to sectarian and non-sectarian independent schools

Qualitative data gathering Review of LiteratureCampus affinity group gathering and discussion

Being Invisible


Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison:

“I am an invisible man. No, I am not a spook like those who haunted Edgar Allen Poe; nor am I one of those Hollywood-movie ectoplasms. I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids-and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me. Like the bodiless heads you see sometimes in circus sideshows, it is as though I have been surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass. When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination-indeed, everything and anything except me.”

Iceberg Model


Born in the 1960sMission: Educating white leaders on the

inclusiveness of people of color, gays and lesbians, and gender differences

Aligned with the Civil Rights Movement, circa 1960sIt sought cultural change during the decades of the

60s, 70s,and 80s….Turbulent decades regarding race relations

Iceberg Diagram


Furthering the Iceberg


On your campus, what observations do you make about your white allies and your black brothers and sisters regarding race and culture?

What polarizing constructs exist on your campus, and have you and your colleagues dealt with them?

If you had to convey a MYTH or a LIE that exist on your campus regarding race, what might that be?

Iceberg Analysis


Why Does It Matter?


I am confused as I do not see the difference from a White person to a Black person.. I will teach my children the same.. We are all the same... The title of this article says it all I need to know about the author. I do not need to teach my children any thing different.. WE ARE 1.

I wish people would stop teaching their kids that we're all the same. We are NOT all the same. Every individual on this planet is unique in some way. And in terms of race, each one has its distinct and non-distinct differences also. By telling children "We're all the same", you're basically saying race/ethnicity doesn't exist. Each group of people weren't given classifications for no reason.

But it Does Matter To Some


Students’ ThoughtsStaff Members’ ThoughtsFaculty Members’ Thoughts

Defining The Decades: Making Generalizations


Using the iceberg model, what historical conclusions can be drawn for the

1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s Present

Hollow Head Activity

Fill in the person’s head with their point of view towards the challenges and conditions constructed during a particular decade

I. Example: What behaviors, actions, languages, and styles defined the black plight during 19__?

II. How about Invisible characteristics?


Uncle Tom


Origin of Uncle Tom


1852 novel by Harriet Beecher StoweTom the protagonists for abolitionists Tom the antagonist by 1960s following the Civil

Rights MovementBlacks acting whiteThe Oreo Notion

Chris Rock on Race


Minstrel Show


Uncle Tom and Black Ideology


The End of Racism by Dinesh D’SouzaDinesh D’Souza challenges deeply held orthodoxies

about race and racism in America Was slavery a racist institution? Is America a racist society? Is Eurocentrism a racist concept? Can African Americans be racist? D’Souza argues that the liberal crusade against racism is

detrimental to both blacks and whites, and that our next step must be to eliminate race as the basis for identity and public policy.

Conservative Black Ideology


Black people who prefer white lawyers, white bankers, white dentists are seen as Uncle Toms

Dating back to the days of Booker T. Washington, he argued that if black people do not visit and help black professionals, who will

Black conservatives gave rise to the middle class notion by the 1980s with the likes of Thomas Sowell



Homophobia and anti-gay attitudes are pervasive as seen by the fact that many black Americans are anti-gay marriage

Affirmative action policies, though it helped many ascend to middle class status, are no longer needed

Black politicians are needed to protect the economic status of the black middle class, not to speak about social justice

Black liberals have no focus and can no longer speak for the burgeoning black middle class



Intra racism has long been the standard among blacks of different shades of blackness

Academic underachievement is the result of the black home, not institutional problems such as racism dating back to Jim Crow

Poverty is a problem that should be addressed by local communities and not the federal government a la taxes and welfare

Black Liberal Ideology


Blacks continue to eye states with a great deal of suspicion. As a collective group, blacks shifted their political loyalty by the 1960s; it was at this point that blacks supported Democrats over Republicans, though an embryonic move was in place during the New Deal

Black folks did not embrace Ronald Reagan. Better yet, he was seen as a racist — one who catered to groups looking to recapture the traditional elements before the civil rights movement of the 1960s



The traumas of the 1960s and 1970s created a loss of confidence among Americans; Reagan capitalized on this feeling by easily winning the 1980 election

Reagan promised to rebuild the nation’s defenses, cut inflation, restore economic growth, and reduce the size of the federal government

Reaganomics and its assault on welfare are linked to racial issues of the 1980s



The poorest Americans fared poorly during the 1980s

The bottom tenth saw their low incomes decline by 10 %

In 1986, a full-time minimum wage worker earned $6,700 per year – almost $4,000 short of the poverty level for a family of four

One out of eight children went hungry and 20 percent lived in poverty, including 50 percent of black children during the 1980s

Transformation of Black Thought


Black Power Movement of the 1960s gave way to hip-hop from the 1970s to the present

Shift from color-conscious racism that was predicated on the norms of strict racial segregation to what is now colorblind racism

Colorblind racism constructed a skeleton that promised equal opportunities…but it provided no avenue for African American advancement

Impact of Transformation


New “sense” of blackness by 1986 MTV, Run DMC, Michael Jackson represented whiteness Yo MTV Raps and NWA represented blackness

Pride in languageCapitalism and exploitation of the black image

White kids being black Again, how do we define “blackness”?

Fear of Uncle Tom MC Hammer – sellout

Impact of Transformation: A Conservative Reaction


The 1980s Cosby Show, 1984 – 1992

Impact of Transformation: A Conservative Reaction


The 1980s Webster, 1983 – 1987

Black Anger


Rap group Public Enemy

White Perception, Black Reality

DrugsEducationPrisonSportsGangstersGhettoTeen pregnancySingle parent home

Examining Whiteness


Scholars serving on a panel from the likes of Haverford, Bryn Mawr, and Swarthmore noted:

The problem on many traditionally White campuses seems to be that the majority of students, faculty, and administrators are oblivious not only to what it means to be White, but to the extent to which their Whiteness dominates the campus culture, making it uncomfortable for many people of color

Examining Whiteness



NY Times article Admitted, but Left Out published Oct. 19, 2012

In New York City --African-American, Hispanic and Asian children, according to the National Association of Independent Schools, up from 21.4 percent a decade ago. (Nationally, the figure was 26.6 percent for the same period, up from 18.5 percent 10 years before)

Once students are enrolled, they become part of a vanishing community

There are not enough faculty members of color who can understand their plight

Diversity


From The Colors of Excellence

"People of color, be they African-American, Native American, Asian, Middle Eastern or whatever ethnic group, have spent years discovering their roots, developing a keen pride in their heritage, and accepting who they are. So don’t expect the current crop of prospective faculty to fit into your conservative profile. Many of them will not, and, frankly, I don’t think they should even try! Is that shocking? Is that unacceptable to you and your clientele? Then, perhaps, diversity is really not for you. If a turban or a dashiki pants suit offends, then so will diversity! Diversity by definition implies that the status quo will be upset."

Getting Real About Whiteness in Independent Schools

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Transcript of Getting Real About Whiteness in Independent Schools