Structural Racism and Its Dangers

What? Some things I learned about structural racism through the podcast is the different privileges which white people have in comparison to people of color. In this podcast specifically, the biggest privilege that white people had is the opportunity to go to better schools than people of color. As Ira Glass mentions, “The bad schools never caught up to the good schools. And the bad schools were mostly black and Latino, the good schools mostly white. And sure, there might be a principal here or a charter school there who might do a good job improving student scores. But even there, they were just improving the students’ scores The minority kids in their programs were still not performing on par with white kids” (“The American Life”). The fact that the quality of education among the minority kids is significantly lower in comparison to the quality of education among white kids, this shows how education is perpetuates the marginalization of people of color. In fact, there is even evidence to back this up. According to Ira Glass, “On standardized reading tests in 1971, black 13 year olds tested 39 points worse than kids. That dropped to just 18 points by 1988 at the height of desegregation” (“The American Life”).This shows the achievement gap between minority kids and white kids, as white kids do much better compared to minority kids due to the better opportunities and privileges that they have. The poor quality of education that people of color have in comparison to white people show the disadvantages they have due to their skin color. In addition, the poorer quality of education is not something that has been chosen, but rather, something that has always been implemented and accepted among many people. Therefore, due to the privileges that white kids have over people of color which are implemented in society, this shows the structural racism existing in our society. The idea of the education system being unfair corresponds to the reading “A Perilous Path: Talking Race, Inequality, and the Law.” This book mentions, “A quarter of the schools with the highest percentage of black and Latino students did not offer Algebra 2.” I find that this book parallels to the podcast in talking about the structural racism in the schools that people of color attend in comparison to the schools that white people attend. People of color do not have access to as many resources as white people because they don’t have classes such as the Algebra 2 class. Therefore, this further displays the structural racism and marginalization between people of color and white people.

Some things I learned about structural racism through the chapter “Is police brutality really about race?” is the fear people of color have to go through when it comes to police brutality. Whenever people of color drive, they have to always be on the lookout for the police, while white people don’t have to worry about being pulled over. According to the chapter, the author mentions, “The fact is that black drivers are 23 percent more likely to be pulled over than white drivers, between 1.5 and 5 times more likely to be searched . . . and more likely to be ticketed and arrested in those stops” (86). This shows how white people have privileges over people of color because they don’t have to worry about getting pulled over. On the other hand, people of color have so many disadvantages because they always have to be on the lookout for police whenever they drive. At one point, the author mentions how people of color always have to tell the police what they are doing so they aren’t shot. This is something that white people don’t have to worry about as much in comparison to people of color, which shows the structural racism present. This criminal justice system perpetuates the marginalization in people of color because people of color are constantly the targets for police brutality, and they always have to be on the lookout for police. Therefore, this shows the marginalization of people of color in the criminal justice system. Additionally, the video “Ending the Cradle to Prison Pipline” further talks about structural racism using the fact that so much money is being put into prisons and the drug war due to the violence among the communities. Because all this money is being put into prisons and drug wars, this is opening the door to allow policemen to check on people any time those policemen feel that people are a threat. This has initiated a feeling of fear among people of color, and it has led to police brutality. Therefore, this video brings up a possible solution of putting money into jobs rather than putting it into prisons, which will ultimately lead to structural racism in the form of police brutality.

This is a structural issue and not about people not trying hard enough because minority kids don’t have the resources they need to do as well as other. One possible example of this could be telling two people to cut down a tree in five minutes and giving one person a chainsaw and the other a kitchen knife. Obviously, the person with the chainsaw would finish much faster in comparison to the person with the kitchen knife no matter how hard the person with the kitchen knife worked. This is due to the resource that the person with chainsaw has. In the same way, it’s not that minority kids aren’t working hard, but they don’t have the resources they need in order to be as successful as white kids. They may not have teachers, counselors, tutors, or the one on one help that they need in order to succeed in school. Therefore, this is a structural issue rather than an issue about “not working hard enough.”

So What?Some structures of systems that negatively impact the people I am working with is the fact that the school may not have as many resources due to the financial status of many children that go to the school. I remember a lady talking about Davidson Middle School, and she told me how there were a large amount of Hispanic students at the school because of financial difficulties. While I was at the school, I also noticed how there were more students than the amount of teachers or teacher assistants to help out these children. In addition, there were many children that were struggling and needed a lot of help, and it seemed like it would be best if those children got one on one help. However, there weren’t enough teachers there to give the students one on one help, so the teacher was very glad when I came to help out the students. The reason why these children needed one on one help was because they had a very difficult time reading. I remember that when I was helping a child, he had a very hard time reading some text, and he could not pronounce many different words. I also remember seeing another child who had a very difficult time reading because Spanish was her first language, and she wasn’t too familiar with English. In addition, the child I was tutoring for math had a very difficult time with fractions, so I was glad that I got the opportunity to offer him the one on one help that he needed. I think one of the biggest challenges that Davidson Middle School is trying to address is to help these children improve a lot in their academics. However, the lack of resources and the lack of teachers to help children who need more help than others may negatively impact the people at Davidson Middle School since the children who need the resources are not able to have access to the help that they need. The fact that the children at this school aren’t able to have access to the resources they need can possibly explain the the achievement gap between students of color and white students. As Ira Glass mentions, “The bad schools never caught up to the good schools. And the bad schools were mostly black and Latino, the good schools mostly white. . . .The minority kids in their programs were still not performing on par with white kids” (“The American Life”). To be clear, I’m not trying to say that Davidson Middle School is “bad school” in any way. However, since Davidson Middle School may not have as many resources as a more privileged school that while students can go to, that could possibly explain why minority kids don’t perform “on par with white kids” as mentioned by Ira Glass in the podcast. According to Sherrilyn Ifill from “A Perilous Path”, she mentions, “In terms of the schools, part of what I think is the problem is that these metrics that Bryan is talking about are supposed to get us back to some period when we think that school was ‘great’, instead of transforming the schoolhouse to be a locus in the community that provides all the things that children need- counselors, social workers, physical activity, parent learning classes in the evening, all the meals that you need, the instruction- in a kind of one-stop century: to give those children a future, to educate them, to salvage their families, to give them a place of release from trauma” (55). What Sherrilyn is mentioning is that many schools need to have resources that can support children and help them do better in school. This connects with what I am talking about because Davidson Middle School is one of the schools that may be in need of resources. There are many kids there that are underprivileged, and they may need more help than others. Therefore, in order to help the children do better and excel in their classes, it’s important to provide “all the things that children need” in order to help those children go to college and eventually be successful. Therefore, I am more than happy that I can play a part in doing something about the challenges at Davidson Middle School by being a resource that they children can turn to so they can excel in school.

After doing my Service Learning at Davidson Middle School, I think this partner gauges success by how well the students do in their academics. At Davidson, the biggest thing is for children to learn the content, do well in school, and eventually go on to a good college. I also think the school gauges success based on how well the students do on the national math and reading exams that they have to take, as that shows how much the students have learned. Therefore, I think that is how Davidson Middle School gauges success.

Now What? It is so important to use a structural analysis of social issues because structural analysis is such a big deal in our society today. It is important to understand that people of color don’t have many privileges that others may have due to their skin color or financial status. According to Ira Glass from the American Life, “On standardized reading tests in 1971, black 13 year olds tested 39 points worse than kids. That dropped to just 18 points by 1988 at the height of desegregation” (“The American Life”). Structural racism is something that has been going on for a long time, and it is something that continues today as well. Therefore, it is so important to use a structural analysis of social issues in order to know what issues are right and what issues are wrong and to be able to stand up against the injustices of structural racism among the community that is being oppressed.

Ever since the start of my semester, I was unsure of what to expect before going to Davidson Middle School. I originally thought that the middle school was just like any normal middle school with all the resources that any other school had. However, after coming, my thinking and understanding that Davidson Middle School was just like any ordinary middle school changed a lot. I came to realize that a majority of the kids attending this school were Latino children with a limited access to resources. The teachers at the school were so thankful for my help because there were many children in need of assistance. Now that I learned after listening to the podcast, reading the readings, and watching the video, that many schools that people of color and Latino people go to are not as privileged as the schools that white people go through. Knowing this opened my eye up to the understanding of institutionalized racism existing among schools, and it makes me so happy to help those who are not as privileged. Therefore, getting a chance to read about institutionalized racism and doing my Service Learning at Davidson Middle School has shifted my thinking and increased my understanding a lot.

Yes, my work with actual people in the community has expanded and supported my understanding of structural issues. In the beginning of the semester, I was slightly unaware of the structural institution taking place among people of color and white people. I will be honest that going to the school and helping out didn’t exactly shift my thinking, as I was unaware of the structural institution taking place. However, after reading the readings and answering the prompts above, I can start to see where structural racism can occur. I remember talking to one of the teachers, and she told me how many latino children went to the school due to financial issues. Based on what I learned from the readings, the schools which many latino kids go to usually have a lower amount of resources in comparison to the schools which many white kids go to. After reading about the structural issues that people of color usually face, I am gaining more of an understanding of structural issues. Therefore, my work with actual people in the community expanded and supported my understanding since it allowed me to realize that many children going to the school usually don’t have access to the support that they need due to financial problems and lack of resources. Therefore, my role at Davidson Middle School is very important since I can be a resource for the children to help them do better in school and achieve their full potential.