Racism 101 Asked And Answered: Combating Systemic Racism In Higher Education

Published Feb 12, 2021 7:00 AM

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We've solicited questions from our audience -- awkward, tough-to-ask, even silly questions -- that they've perhaps wanted to ask people unlike themselves but have been too shy, embarrassed or afraid to ask.

WHAT IS RACISM 101?

We created Racism 101 to help our audience facilitate their own thought-provoking talks around race, with a conversation "starter kit," and extensive anti-racism resource guides to inform and educate. To field these questions, we assembled a panel of Angelenos willing to answer so folks didn't have to ask their friends, or even strangers.

Q: "What are some actionable steps professors can take to combat systemic racism in the classroom and on campus in higher education settings?"

HOW OUR RACISM 101 PANELISTS RESPONDED

Matthew is a multi-ethnic Afro-Indigenous educator, poet and rapper. He co-founded the Spoken Literature Art Movement, an L.A.-based writing and performance workshop series, and currently teaches writing to incarcerated youth.

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He says of white educators, even those who have done the work to understand the history of cultural appropriation, racism and injustice:

"You still probably don't know what it's like to be in the skin of a person of color. And so because of that, it's important to know there are still things you can learn. It's important to know you still have to work on educating yourself on different problems and systemic issues that come from being a person of color, especially on a college campus, knowing that so [many] college campus were originally created to be an additional form of segregation."

Listen to Matthew's answer:

Listen • 3:56

Racism 101: Matthew Cuban Hernandez on systemic racism on campus

Roseanne is a descendant of the Mescalero Apache and Tewa tribes. For many years, she was told that she wasn't "college material." She's currently a doctoral student in a medical anthropology program. Upon graduation, she plans to devote her career to improving Native American health care policy.

"I think what would help, in my opinion, is if we gave more voices to the students of different ethnicities and to not only teach the original theorists, but also to bring in other scholars of different ethnicities into the curriculum."

More from Roseanne:

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ANTI-RACISM AND HIGHER EDUCATION IN CONTEXT

Higher education has been in the limelight, as campuses across the country released statements condemning racism following the police killing last year of George Floyd in Minneapolis. How effective has that response been? Inside Higher Ed reported "few explicitly mentioned Black people, referenced the Black Lives Matter movement or included any concrete action items to address inequities on campus or in wider society."

Administrators at some universities took steps to rename campus buildings with racist legacies -- in some cases to satisfy students' demands. Students also have taken matters into their own hands. The Confederate monument known as "Silent Sam" at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill was toppled by a crowd of protesting students, faculty and local residents in August 2018.

EAB, a best practices firm that addresses challenges within the education field, conducted an analysis which revealed:

"While some institutions identified longer term initiatives such as developing anti-racism trainings and advancing the recruitment of faculty of color, they did not provide a timeline or specific metrics to measure success. Overall, EAB's analysis showed that few institutions offered substantive and systematic approaches to tackling racism on their own campuses."