Remembering the Ones Who Are Left Behind: Racial Inequality in the Education System

After Obama's monumental victory, allowing him to become the first African-American president, African-American youths are given reason to hope for a better and brighter future and the total realization of the Martin Luther King Dream. They go to school expecting the education system to foster, nurture, and develop this dream. They chant internally the 'Yes! We can! refrain. They say, "If Obama can do it, so can I." Then reality hits them like a brick wall. They encounter the barriers and limitations which prevent them from being adequately educated. They are stopped from achieving academically, which is the very thing which is required to become socially mobile and effectively compete with their Caucasian counterparts. Many of these limitations within the education system manifest themselves covertly rather than overtly.

Covert Limitations versus Overt Limitations

Covert limitations are more damaging than overt ones because they are not easily recognized, so they are not usually expected--and you cannot resist what you do not expect to be there in the first place. When African-American youths see a university professor being arrested, after attempting to get into his house, which he was accidentally locked out of, they say to themselves that it is useless to get an education. They begin to believe that no amount of education can save them from being perceived as inferior. At times, the very education system, which is supposed to foster the development of young African-Americans, can become one of their worst enemies.

Edward Rhymes in his article, "Acting White": African-American Students and Education, notes that "African American students are only half as likely as whites to be placed in Honors or AP English or Math classes." While they are 2.4 times more likely than whites to be placed in remedial classes, according to to Harvard's Civil Rights Project. Rhymes admits that although, at times, "African-Americans demonstrate equal ability with their white counterparts, they are less likely to be placed in accelerated classes." This, therefore, reiterates the African Americans' inferiority, in terms of intellectual capacity, and the Caucasians' superiority. Rhymes, who is an experienced educator, admits a dirty little secret of the American education system where African-American youths are inconspicuously steered away from Honors and AP classes and into basic and general courses." However, despite the racial discrimination, African-American students taking the Advanced Placement examinations "increased from 9 to 53 per 1,000 12th for graders between 1984 and 2000," according to statistical findings at the U.S. Department of Education's National Center Education Statistics.

Another academic limitation that African-American youths have to contend with is the high number of Caucasian teachers of other ethnic groups, especially those of African descent. According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics, 85% of secondary level teachers are Caucasian. At the Post-secondary level, it is 75% of the teaching staff which is comprised of Caucasians. Teachers who are struggling with prejudices against African-Americans can consciously and inadvertently pass on these prejudices to students in the classroom. Rhymes notes that,"unspoken and unconscious prejudices are no less real than vocal or unconscious ones. Our thoughts carry attitudes; our attitudes carry vibes; and once that undeclared, discriminatory vibe is felt by that student of color, it can create very real barriers to their desire to learn and that teacher's ability to teach them." Derrick Darby in his article, Educational Inequality and the Science of Diversity in Grutter: A Lesson for the Reparations Debate in the Age of Obama, concurs with the point illustrating the link between racial biases in "teacher perceptions" of the intellectual abilities of African-American students and African-Americans' academic performance. Caucasian teachers who have low expectations of African-American students tend to succumb to the act of grouping African-Americans in lower-level courses, as indicated earlier. If an African-American student feels as if he or she is being slighted, underestimated, or demoralized because of their race, he or she will become discouraged and feel that attaining academic excellence is futile. When a teacher allows his/her racial biases to color--no pun intended--their perceptions of an African-American student's intellectual ability then that teacher is racist--no ifs, ands, or buts about it! When an African-American youth has to deal with racism which is so subtle, covert, contrived and institutionally entrenched, he or she believes that academic excellence is unattainable, and is left despondent and without hope.

Donald Tomaskovic-Devey in his book, Gender and Racial Inequality at Work:the Sources and Consequences of Job Segregation, admits that,

a] significant proportion of US. racial inequality is a function of inequality in education and labor market experience. To reduce racial inequality requires education and training policies that reduce class inequality in access to education and experience...Many US. minorities, because of past and current discrimination, grow up in working class and poor households in disadvantaged communities...U.S. public policy tends to focus on racial inequality but to be insensitive to class-based inequities. The weakness of class-based equal opportunity initiatives means that racial in- equality is strongly reproduced through class inequality.

That describes the dilemma many African-American youths face. They desire a quality education and the necessary materials with which to learn, but are unable to do so. Their parents, who are usually of a low socioeconomic status, cannot afford to hire tutors, purchase necessary textbooks and other school materials to improve their children's performance. Hence, because of limited financial resources, African-American students are unable to compete academically with their Caucasian counterparts. Even African-American families from middle-class homes have to endure more financial strain than their Caucasian counterparts. This is because most of the African-Americans in the middle-income bracket would not be able to receive financial help from their parents, unlike their Caucasian counterparts, since they, most likely, would have been the first generation of their family to become apart of the middle class, as explained by Richard Rothstein in his article, Must Schools Fail? Not only would African-Americans be unable to access quality academic resources to compete with their Caucasian peers, but their ability to financially prepare for college would become limited. In addition, African American youths who live in impoverished communities are generally forced to attend public schools which are ill-equipped and under-funded. While the schools in the better communities, where primarily Caucasian students attend, are well-equipped and well-staffed.

The Dilemma of the African-American Graduate

So, okay, let's say for argument's sake that the African-American youth does overcome the limitations within the education system. He does well in high school, both in scholastic and extra-curricular achievements. The African-American goes to college and graduates with honors and a 4.0 grade point average. Rothstein notes a study which was done in the early nineties, where teams sponsored by the Urban Institute of Chicago and in Washington, D.C. trained applicants for jobs with similar resumes. They were taught to conduct themselves in similar ways in their interviews. Black males were still three times more likely to be rejected when compared to their white counterparts. Rothstein adds that the findings of other studies indicate that when applicants were offered jobs," whites were offered higher salaries." Rothstein indicate that findings of a recent study "found that whites' applications were more successful than blacks' even when the whites had a criminal record and the otherwise identical black did not." Essentially, the educational system and the labor force are teaching the African-American youths that they will never be good enough because of their skin color. He or she will always be perceived as being inferior because their skin tone is couple shades darker then the majority of the population. Dr. Carter G. Woodson, in his book The Mis-Education of the Negro, states that "to handicap a student by teaching him that his black face is a curse and that is struggle to change his condition is hopeless is the worst sort of lynching. It kills one's aspirations and dooms him to vagabondage and crime." Woodson equates teaching the African-American that he is inferior to lynching. This comparison is understood if one perceives this deliberate 'mis-education' of the African-American youth as an act to dehumanize him/her. It forces the black youth to perceive himself as an 'object' or property of the state which should know 'its' place. This 'mis-education' of the black person says: "How dare you try to be like the rest of us [meaning whites]. How dare you try to educate yourself so that you can become socially mobile. How dare you? You are black! You should know your place and any form of education you get should educate you about that." Hence, Woodson writes: "When you control a man's thinking you do not have to worry about his actions. You do not have to tell him not to stand here or go yonder. He will find his 'proper place' and will stay in it. You do not need to send him to the back door, he will cut one for his own benefit. His education makes it necessary."

Self-Empowerment: The Solution to Systemic Discrimination 

The whole point of systemic discrimination is to put one in a state of despair and hopelessness. It is to deceive a person into thinking that they are not the master or controller of their destiny--it is, instead, somebody or something else. The truth is other people, things, or circumstances will control your destiny if you allow them. Another fact you should know is you are only inferior when you consent to it. Nobody can allow you to feel inferior unless you allow them to. So you see, it does not matter what is happening to you--it matters how you respond. Instead of being reactive it is best to become proactive. The best ways to become proactive is through taking deliberate measures to empower yourself. Here are the ways you can do this:

Make a decision that you will become a success irrespective of the societal barriers or limitations. If you make a decision that you will become a success and believe that wholeheartedly then your subconscious mind will do everything to make that belief become a reality despite the limitations or barriers.

Decide to become the master of your destiny by creating your life mission statement. This life mission statement should be based on your talents, gifts, and abilities; and what you would like to see improved in the world around you. This life mission will give you a sense of purpose and direction as you go on your journey to realize your full potential.

Do not allow people to define you and limit your thinking. You should think for yourself! You should not allow other people to tell you how you should think about yourself. If you do this, then your thinking becomes limited. When your thinking is limited then your world becomes limited. When your thinking becomes unlimited then unlimited opportunities open up before you.

Research on ways to educate yourself. There are courses and lectures, both paid for and fee, which are available on the Internet, for example. Being master and controller of your destiny requires that you become pro-active and not depend on others. You need to be independent.

When there are no opportunities, create your own. When you are oppressed by systems and institutions then it is best to create your own opportunities rather than sitting down waiting for opportunities to knock on your door. For oppressed people, opportunity does not knock, it waits to be recognized.

Cultivate the self-discipline, focus, and determination to pursue your dreams. Discipline, focus, and determination are needed to achieve what you desire regardless of social background, economic status, or ethnicity. When you are disciplined, focused, and determined, you have a fair chance at becoming successful as anyone else.

Utilize self-improvement/self-help tools and resources to continuously empower and equip yourself to overcome social limitations and obstacles. These resources will teach you how to change your thinking so that you can change your world--or, at the very least, change your perceptions of it.

Woodson wrote that,"History shows that it does not matter who is in power...those who have not learned to do for themselves and have to depend solely on others never obtain any more rights or privileges in the end than they did in the beginning." When you decide to become the master of your destiny by making things happen for yourself rather than waiting for things to happen then you gain the right and privilege to realize your full potential and become respected for choosing to become a victor rather than a victim.

Jodi-Ann Walker is the author of Breaking Forth: Using the Light to Dispel the Darkness, which is an inspirational book , which teaches persons how to overcome mental limitations, societal barriers, and even witchcraft. It is now available at smashwords