What does it mean to be Black? What does it mean to be white? If a Black person is wealthy and highly educated, does this mean that person is 'acting white'? For example, is Oprah 'acting white'? What does the saying 'acting white' even mean? I believe some might feel if someone is wealthy or well educated they are acting white and defying the expectations of Black people. But I don't agree with this. I believe that people are people, no matter what the color of their skin. Everyone has the innate ability to accomplish great things, however because of race, which is a socially constructed thing, it isn't as easy for some to wok within societal stereotypes as it is for others.
There are multiple forms of oppression in society today. People are discriminated against for being female, gay/lesbian, Black, Latino, Jewish, poor, and having a physical and developmental disability. The question then is, is a male Latino less capable than a Black male? Is a Black female less capable than an Asian female? Why is there such an emphasis on race? I believe all people were truly created equally. However, with that being said, I think everyone is different. Everyone has different gifts and talents, and race does not affect that talent or ability. Race is not biological, it is completely an experience that society has constructed to label people and keep them in different socioeconomic classes. What would our world look like if there was no such thing as affirmative action and no specific race or gender was in complete power because everyone was in fact equal? Unfortunately, not everyone is treated equally. This is why I think teaching social justice in schools is so imperative today.
Schools are forming the future citizens of our society. If teachers today teach equality and multiculturalism to students, we can move one step closer to justice for everyone.
The question is though, how can teachers teach social justice to their students? The first step teachers should take is to make sure students are aware of the unjust society we live in; they can do this through teaching current events. As mentioned by Asa G. Hillard III in the book, Rethinking Multicultural Education, there needs to be more of an emphasis on hegemony rather than race because that is what the real problem is. Often times teachers and parents try to shield children from the world's negativity. But what good is that doing? While I always believe in keeping the material that is being taught age appropriate, it is essential that we talk about real issues also, and through this we can bring social justice to reality. Like Prof. KM Smith always says - parents, community, and teachers need to take responsibility to make sure our children are learning about real issues of race, hegemony, and diversity.
I have posted a link above that discusses racism in America. In the interview Al Roker interviews Charles Barkley on his book "Who's Afraid of a Large Black Man". After watching this interview it taught me that in order for an oppressed group to truly gain social justice, they need to unify together. Charles Barkley says in the interview that "Black on Black" crime needs to stop and people need to stop having children they can't afford (which then leads to more poverty); the way I interpreted this, is that when people in general start having respect for people of their own race or ethnicity and unify together, justice can be a more likely a reality.
