There’s Going to Be An Elephant On Your Campus
Addressing The Unspoken Challenge of Privileged Students
Okay, so here I go again, being true to myself — the self that is more often than not, labeled a trouble-maker and pessimist, and is often summarily dismissed by the oh, so trusty trope of the angry Black woman. To self-disclose, I am that teacher who always has to interject those pesky, unpleasant racial aspects into an otherwise perfectly sanitized discourse among educators. Honestly, I struggled with the decision to speak openly about this situational problem that will be walking into a classroom near me (and you), relatively soon. I am speaking about privileged and yes, racist students. They existed before COVID-19 shuttered their schools. They existed long before George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and countless other Black men, women and children became blatant examples of the existential truths that Black people have spoken for far too many generations. Make no mistake, there will be that one (or more) student who will feel empowered enough to direct racial slurs toward their fellow classmates, teachers and anyone else over whom they feel justified in attempting wield their privilege. The large number of people who support the white-supremacy that is unabashedly evident in our society should give us pause and should cause us to remember that many of those people who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021 have school-aged children who have received first-hand tutelage on how to be a contemporary, privileged racist. And they will return to our classrooms more empowered than ever before. As I listen to the concerns that are being expressed by those in positions of leadership over the need to safely return students and teachers to school, while leaving out the troubling displays of racism that we all have witnessed, I am disappointed and less than confident that the issues of racism are truly being addressed in school settings in ways that are more than the typical, superficial and comfortable ways. The primary focus that has been the response of education has been on teaching educators to create culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP). Although it carries merits, CRP does not even come close to providing the necessary breadth or depth of insight and knowledge that will be needed in order to respond to this severe form of racism, which is unlike any racial display that most contemporary, non-Black teachers have ever allowed themselves to contemplate.
Now, before anyone starts screaming about how my recognition of these facts make me the problem, or starts tuning up their vocal cords to call for my immediate dismissal, as is customary whenever an educator speaks their mind freely about race, understand this: Unless you have been on the receiving end of one of these types of verbal or physical assaults from an innocent child, then the position of listener would probably be the best stance for you to take at this moment, so that you can hear this most uncomfortable narrative. It is time that the racial experiences of Black teachers on school campuses gets brought to the forefront, so that it does not get swept under the rug and stomped into the crevices of the sub-flooring. This particular discourse is not about trying to place blame, it is about anticipating how a school district and school administrators will respond to, and attempt to avoid allowing this type of situation to occur in the first place. It is about me trying to ensure my own safety and that of my Black colleagues and our many allies who will all be facing this situation in the coming weeks as schools across the United States begin to re-open.
Whether we have the foresight to allow ourselves to acknowledge the troubling condition, or not, the problems of privilege and racism exhibited by students have long existed in educational environments and continued ignoring of it will not make the problem go away. Students who espouse these types of beliefs are not often spoken of in educational settings for any number of reasons. In my experiences of racism in my workplaces, these types of situations do not receive responses that attempt to address the underlying issues, but are instead turned on the Black educator who has the audacity to report these types of offenses. Going through the motions of reporting our experiences can often feel like a fool’s errand — that of the Black educator being foolish enough to expect that an already biased system will produce an honest effort at addressing the problem. I’ve now sat through nearly a full school year of professional development and faculty meetings in my K-12 work environment, and I have yet to hear even a mention of the complex racial problems that we know are lurking around the perimeters of all American schools, looking for new ways for White privilege to infiltrate the space. It will show up in the form of the student who demands to exercise their “right” to not wear a mask, and then becomes defiant. Or worse, the student who takes offense with a Black teacher trying to enforce rules in a space which many of the privileged see as their own. If we replace the “mask” for “uniforms” or other school issued mandates, these examples are not new by any means, but given the nature and climate of today, they are serious enough to warrant the attention of school administrators who must consider the well-being of not only students, but their teachers as well. For far too long, school districts and the appointed school administrators have allowed racial prejudice to exist and fester by the way that they ignore the complaints and reports of Black teachers. Administrators often continue the harm by making light of, justifying, or feigning ignorance of the circumstances and actions related to accusations of racism.
Another self-disclosure: I dread the thought of being closed up in a classroom with the child of someone who marched on our nation’s Capitol on January 6th. I’ve been on the receiving end of racist student rants and threats, and those middle-school students were no less dangerous in their actions and racist beliefs than would be an adult who espoused those philosophical ideals. We like to think that children are so innocent, because we believe that they must be taught to be racist. I also believe whole-heartedly that children must be taught to hate, however, that understanding does nothing to diminish the lessons of racism that I am now more than ever, certain that many school-aged children have learned very well. I am not looking forward to having to figure out which of my colleagues holds racial beliefs that have made them unashamed to treat Black people with disdain. I am highly concerned about the classroom experiences that Black students will be subjected to should they be placed in a classroom of a teacher who is even at little bit sympathetic toward racist expression, let alone one who outright advocates for racism.
Over the course of this past year of faculty meetings and professional development, I’ve painfully watched the obvious redirection of conversation around racism and the lack of direct dialogue about it. As educators prepare for the return to campus some day soon, it is my sincere hope that considerations of race and racism within educational spaces begins to receive a different type of response. Most definitely, it is important to continue to educate students around the ideals of acceptance of all cultures, but it is also important to recognize the limitations of the practice which does not extend far enough to bring in a dialogue that helps learners, students or teachers, recognize their own implication in perpetuating racism. It is not so difficult to facilitate lessons around culture and racism to students who are open to such learning. It is quite another to attempt to teach culturally relevant or anti-racist pedagogy to those who are unashamedly bigoted or racist and see no need for change. There is an African proverb that says, you can’t hide the smoke when the house is burning. Now is not the time to continue ignoring the embers that have the potential to turn into raging fires. Now is the time to take intentional and purposeful action toward ensuring that the fires of racism within places of education are fully doused and unable to rekindle.
