The Hidden Prejudice We Harbor

Executive Perspective

Racial inequity has a long history in America reinforced by the false science that has perpetuated white supremacy. As recently as 2007, Nobel Prize-winning scientist James Watson came under criticism for claiming that Black people were intellectually inferior to whites. Nobel Laureate William Shockley in 1956 stated that people of African ancestry belonged to a lower species of humanity.

These false, damaging and unproven claims by renowned scientists and many others going back hundreds of years continue to influence racial disparity. Just when many of us may have thought that racism had taken a step back with the election of Barack Obama, we recently have witnessed the public resurgence of white supremacist groups that have been encouraged perhaps by those who perceived a political advantage to a divided nation.

As we pursue the elusive goal of achieving racial equity, we must first be aware of the hidden bias and prejudice that we all harbor. In their book Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People, Mahzarin R. Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald make us realize that over the years the science of racism has affected us all, even the very people who are the subject of racism.

Unconscious Harm

White supremacists wear their prejudice on their sleeves. However, those of us who consider ourselves to be enlightened tolerants need to face up to the systemic racism that permeates our schools and accept responsibility for its existence. Why do we continue to permit and support practices that promote inequity? Is it possible that we might still unconsciously believe that children of color are intellectually inferior?

Let us recall that it was in 1954 when the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that racial segregation of public schools was unconstitutional. This was in recognition of the fact that segregated schools attended by Black children promulgated inequity. Sixty-seven years later, a persistent achievement gap remains between white students and children of color. If intellectual inferiority is not the case, what explains the achievement gap?

Numerous studies have shown that poverty directly affects academic achievement and low achievement is closely correlated with the lack of resources necessary for student success. One of my favorite graphs that I use to prove the point is where we chart NAEP performance relative to the percentage of students in a school eligible for free or reduced-price lunches. The higher the number of qualifying students the lower the NAEP performance. Almost a perfect correlation.

According to the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey Annual and Economic Supplement of 2019, poverty rates for Blacks and Hispanics improved but are still significantly higher than for whites: 18.8 for Blacks, 15.7 for Hispanics and 7.3 for non-Hispanic whites. Poverty affects academic achievement, and Blacks and Hispanics hold the highest poverty rates.

We also are aware of the huge differences in per-pupil expenditures in school districts across America. It has given rise to the popular assertion that you can determine the level of achievement in a school by its zip code. The COVID-19 pandemic further uncovered the depth of inequity in our schools. As education pivoted to remote learning, millions of students were deprived of any learning because they did not have devices at home and/or did hot have internet access.

A recent McKinsey Report indicates that loss of learning thus far has been greatest for Black and Hispanic students. COVID-19 death rates are reported to be highest for Black and Indigenous people at twice the rate of other races. These blatant inequities persist and yet nothing is done about them. Trillions of dollars are allocated, but a relative pittance for education or for leveling the playing field.

Excising Barriers

We keep hoping the pandemic will be the impetus to moving forward, away from a return to normalcy and away from school practices that promote inequities. Schools often are more about exclusion than inclusion. Assessments can be barriers blocking students from the educational opportunities they need most. The students with the greatest education needs are those most commonly suspended or expelled. Students who require more time to learn are forced to keep pace with the class and fail.

We disregard the difference between equity and equality by assuming we must provide all students with the same rather than providing each student with what they need to succeed.

Superintendents are in the best position to eliminate the barriers to racial equity. Use the power of the office to identify the barriers in your district and move to eliminate them. In this case, action is better than words.