Transcendence Through Awareness

Haw can one ignore what the eye naturally sees? No matter how inclusive our understanding is of the greatness of the human race, no person can deny the characteristics, both physical and spiritual, that separate us. Because those divisive qualities not only revere our differences, but they celebrate our individual ancestry and culture that has shaped each of us into the people we are today. So what compelled the earliest of humans to recognize these differences as a mark of weakness rather than of strength? One does not need to be a historian to answer this question, because the explanation is still visible throughout the world today. Whether it be a radical Islamic organization murdering those who do not conform to their cultural beliefs, a travel ban on nations coinciding with the Muslim religion, or even an unnecessary request for proof of residency to be served at a restaurant, a problematic conception of “othering” drives our world into states of systemic racism. Although racism remains a fundamental quality of modern human life, authors, such as Mica Pollock and Gloria Ladson-Billings, challenge this expansive bigotry by deconstructing the everyday reflections of racism, even through those who fear it the most. They also challange the cultural and educational structures that do little to promote a healthy comprehension of race.

The truth is that no person is free from this awareness of race and cultural differences. In fact, those that choose to convey a state of “colorblindness” feed the beast of racism rather than taming it. This is because identifying someone as different is not the problem, far from it. Understanding another person’s differences through cultural upbringings, religious preferences, or physical characteristics is key to formulating a union of genuine respect and mindfulness. As stated by Mica Pollock, “Antiracism requires not treating people as racial group members when that is harmful, and recognizing them as racial group members when that helps people to analyze life experiences and equalize opportunity”(xxii). Here Pollock illustrates the key differences between racial perception for hate and racial perception for comprehension. Many people confuse these two ideas and believe that any acknowledgement of disparity will lead to a perception of inequality. However, understanding a person’s background, whether most infuenced by culture or race, is imperative to understanding who they are as a person. In fact, when you deny a person’s skin color, you also deny a part of their identity incomparable to their other features. This awareness of diversity is also a key issue found in school teachers attempting to address their students with a sense of equality.

With this same desire to illuminate and celebrate the differences of all humans, Gloria Ladson-Billings, gave an award-winning lecture attempting to teach educational staffs, throughout the world, how to properly address racial differences in the classroom. In this lecture Ladson-Billings claims,“What I mean by this is that culture is randomly and regularly used to explain everything. So at the same moment teacher education students learn nothing about culture, they use it with authority as one of the primary explanations for everything from school failure to problems with behavior management and discipline”(104). In this excerpt of her speech Ladson-Billings is attempting to emphasize the hypocritical nature of the American education system today. A school system can not simply ignore the impact that each personal and culture background may have on a student, while also blamming them for many of the unsatisfactory levels of a school’s structure. Students belonging to a racial minority group statistically has a lower financial income and overall lesser privileges than the average U.S. student. Not only do educators today fail to teach and celebrate each student’s cultural background, in order to alleviate systemic racism, they contribute to this foundational bigotry by punishing these students without consideration for the hardships outside of school that may lead to their “unacceptable” behavior.

I am proud to say that my community partner, AVID, does an amazing job of following these social guidlines that Ladson-Billings and Pollock set forth in their work. This can strive for social equality is most strongly exemplified through the existence of AVID in general. The purpose of AVID is to provide students, from communities with lesser resources, with the educational tools and studying methods that will allow them to apply to college and reach their true potential. Although the majority of AVID’s population is from Latino descent, students of all races are given theese same opportunities and treated with equal respect during these tutoring sessions. In a sense it feels as if being in AVID has a strong enough social connection between students, that their race soon becomes an afterthought. But how does San Rafel High celebrate the diversity of it’s student population? San Rafael has established excellent Spanish classes, especially for native speakers, that embrace and teach the students the history of hispanic and Latino culuture. In my opinion one of these forms of Spanish class should be mandatory for all students, as a fundamental connection to latino and hispanic culture. In addition San Rafael High offers the best English-learning program in the marin area. Although this does not necessarily celebrate their culture, it does provide Latino students with the ability to become a more integrated part of American society. If there was one course I would suggest to benefit each student’s multicultural knowledge, it would be to establish a mandatory class focused solely on the various backgrounds of each racial group present in this vast melting pot, known as California.