What is it about?
Black children experience the world differently than their white counterparts because of implicit racial bias in schools. It is a burden they do not deserve to shoulder. Schools can do much to ease, if not eliminate bias by taking deliberate, proactive action to create more inclusive and welcoming environments. The author provides evidence -based recommendations for doing so.
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Why is it important?
Racial bias is mentally and emotionally exhausting. The burden of having to continually justify their actions or disprove preconceived ideas about who they are can impede academic achievement and progress. For schools who are committed to achieving equitable outcomes for all students, an internal examination of cultural values, beliefs and how they are manifested in school policies and practices is required. This article provides cogent questions a school should examine to further the work in equity.
Perspectives
As a Black scholar and the mother of two brilliant Black sons, I have battled racial bias most of my life. I am committed to helping professionals examine their cultural lens and surface unconscious beliefs that are contrary to the health and well-being of others. I am deeply grateful to the work of so many other contemporary scholars who are also advancing this work through research.
Dr. Vernita Mayfield
Leadervation Learning
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The burden of inequity — and what schools can do about it, Phi Delta Kappan, February 2017, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/0031721717690358.
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