When we think about racism in schools we are always drawn to the idea of ​​separate toilets, sitting in the back of the bus, and derogatory comments towards students from an ethnic or religious minority. However, a major problem in today’s school is the idea of ​​institutional racism, which is not so easily seen, but the effects are the same. In May 1998, a teacher named Evelyn Hanssen wrote an article titled A White Teacher Reflects on Institutional Racism. In this article, she goes on to cite multiple instances of institutional racism that, in her opinion, had a profound effect on both students and faculty, even though most of the time they may not even have been aware of it. . It is these ideas that we will discuss with respect to a chapter in Malcolm X’s autobiography to illustrate and give examples of a famous case in American history.

Institutional Racism: Discussion based on Hanssen and Malcolm X

Most of the time, when a teacher first enters the workforce, he or she envisions himself or herself as someone who will have a positive influence on the lives of his or her students, who will be free from prejudice and labels, and who will will give each student an equal opportunity in learning. This is exactly what Evelyn Hanssen wanted, as she stated in her article on institutional racism. What she discovered, however, was that not all things work in real life as we would ideally. It was surprising to her that even though her colleagues, supposedly educated people, were creating racial prejudice that they even thought they might not have been aware of, it was still happening. In one case, she participated in an English department meeting to decide on the new curriculum for the students. She was surprised to discover that many African-American plays were rejected, even though they were a better fit for classes on the basis that they were sexually explicit (Hanssen 1998). She was also surprised to see that an obviously qualified African-American teacher candidate was passed over by an inferior white person for an open position at her school. When asking the manager about hiring, she was told that while it is important to hire minorities, it was difficult to find suitable candidates. When Hanssen reminded the person about the overlooked candidate, she was presented with an example of circular logic that never explained why the African-American candidate was not hired. This idea is the basis of her entire article that people, even if they don’t know it, have some racist ideas, and this can affect minority students in profound ways, as shown in Malcolm X’s autobiography.

In Malcolm X’s autobiography there is a chapter titled Pet, where he goes on to describe his experiences at school that led to him becoming what he was. In the chapter, he discusses many examples of institutional racism, the fact that he was the only black student in his class, and while many of the instances where people today would have been seen as horrible examples of racism, they were just what it was acceptable by the time he grew up. The excessive use of the word, nigger, while it’s definitely something that’s meant to separate Malcolm from the other students, doesn’t seem to be that damaging, but like he says, it was kind of weird, like a pink poodle, and even though it was supposed to he was not supposed to talk to white girls or exhibit any sort of ethical pride, he was seen as some kind of mascot, something other than what people somehow gravitated to based on just one aspect of his character, his skin. (Malcolm X, 1964)

Being a mascot may seem like a good thing in some respects, but when Malcolm realized that while it was accepted, there were some things that today would be classified as institutional racism. He gives an example of when he is attending a class taught by what he thought was a great teacher who always helped him, but at the same time when Malcolm expressed the desire to become a lawyer, the teacher basically laughed at him and told him that he needs to see the real picture and that as an African American he would never be a lawyer and that he would be better off being a carpenter. This is very much an example of institutional racism, because although the teacher thinks he is helping Malcolm by telling him how he perceives the world to work, in fact he is hammering away at Malcolm’s ability to be who he wants to be. What happens in this case is the same thing that happens very often, and after that, that teacher was not Malcolm’s favorite anymore, and he dreaded going to the man’s class, thinking differently now about the teacher than before the comments racists. done.

As teachers, we need to be aware of many different things that can hinder a child’s ability to learn. We must be careful not to say or do things that can negatively influence a child, even if we think it will help. Even if in your heart you don’t believe that the student can be what he wants to be, as a teacher you need to help him with his dream no matter what. If what Malcolm described ever happened in one of my classrooms, I would make sure to intervene as quickly as possible and reassure the child that with hard work, honesty, and integrity, they could achieve whatever they wanted, regardless of what anyone else wanted. After all, if no one tried to change what is expected of them, this world would be very different from what it is today, and we would never know about the efforts of some of the most influential people in the world.

References

Hanssen, E. (1998). A white teacher reflects on institutional racism. Phi Delta Kappan

79(9), 694-698.

X, Malcolm; with Haley, Alex (1964). Chapter 2: Pet. In the autobiography of

Malcolm X. New York: Ballentine Books. pages 27-44.