What institutionalized racism looks like inside our system of education

In May of this last school year, I had a last straw moment. As a guidance dean and a part of an administrative team, this was truly nothing new, but this one was simply heartbreaking on a global scale as an example of what happens to Black children in schools.

Here’s a statistic I used this week to illustrate a similar point: the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights reported that in the 2012–13 school year the Chicago Public School system issued 32 suspensions for every 100 Black students. That number drops to 5 of every 100 white students. This data isn’t difficult to find. But this is what they don’t want you to know.

Check out The Hidden Cost of Suspension and find your state and district.

Within a two week time span we dealt with the discipline of two 8th grade boys: one white, and one Black. The disparity in how the school’s administrative team responded to their consequences was astounding in his scope and sheer, blatant racism. I’ve seen this play out numerous times both as a classroom teacher and an administrator. It’s the kind of thing that is kept quiet and we don’t talk about it. If you bring up race, you’re silenced, ignored, or punished. Whiteness protects itself within the system. How we responded to each boy is a stunning example of that.

The white student, Scott*, is an 8th grade student who has progressively gotten more failing grades since he came to us in 6th grade. He is likable and…