ABSTRACT
Racism is a system of oppression which is pervasive, restrictive, and hierarchal. Racism functions not only through overt, conscious prejudice and discrimination but also through the unconscious attitudes and behaviors of our society. Perhaps the most urgent challenge is providing high-quality schooling for all students, especially students of color, low-income students, English language learners, and students in rural and urban settings. Every aspect of our education system, including teacher demographics, instructional strategies, curriculum, textbooks, disciplinary practices, testing and tracking policies, retention practices, and graduation rates, contributes to the marginalization and academic failure of many students of color in our society. Disparities in education and the achievement gap are reflected in, among other things, high school graduation rates. Other troubling national statistics include the percentage of black male high school students who are suspended and expelled from school. Disparities in funding, access, and achievement in education are intimately tied to race. Everyday practices in schools perpetuate inequities, but the actual processes can be hard to see. If we want to understand why schools continue to reproduce social inequities, we must develop a more complex understanding of the role white teachers play, consciously and unconsciously, in perpetuating institutionalized racism.
