RACIAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT AND SCHOOLING, Module 2

1. RACIAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT AND SCHOOLING, Module 2 Facilitator: _______________________ A project of the Minnesota Department of Education, Division of Special Education and the Office of Continuing Professional Studies, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota

2. Agenda • Module 1 Review • Learning Objectives for Module 2 • Content and Activities

3. Module 1 Learnings • Share personal/professional experiences of “disproportionality” in your buildings (or other relevant contexts) • Share your working definition of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy with a partner

4. ACTIVITY • What do you visualize when you think of a culturally responsive classroom? • Make a list and relate it to the continuum

5. Module 2 Learning Objectives At the end of the session, participants should be able to: • Give an overview of Racial Identity development theory • Describe the stages of Anglo-American Identity development • Describe the stages of African-American Identity Development

6. Understand the influence of factors related to Anglo-American heritage, values and beliefs on schooling and achievement • Understand the influence of factors related to African-American heritage, values and beliefs on schooling and achievement

7. Racial Identity Development • Race is viewed as a socially and psychologically constructed process • “…a sense of group or collective identity based on one’s perception that he or she shares a common racial heritage with a particular racial group.” (Helms, 1990)

8. Turn to your partner: • Omi and Winant (1993) contend that our social reality is highly racialized. Share your interpretation of this assertion with you partner. Do our schools reflect this social reality? What evidence would you use to support or refute this statement?

9. “We Can’t Teach What We Don’t Know” • Gary Howard (1999) suggests that it is critical for White teachers to become self-reflective about their White Identity in order to be effective White educators in a multicultural society…

10. On being White • Giroux (1997b) suggests that it is still possible for Whites to exercise the privilege of choice regarding whether or not they will attend to their own identity as racial beings

11. “Whites living in western nations exist in the ironic and contradictory state of being blind to their own racial identity, on the one hand, while asserting the inherent superiority of Whiteness, on the other.” (Howard, 1999)

12. SOCIAL POSITIONALITY • In-Group vs. Out-Group • Dominance vs. subordination

13. Subjective: How I see myself; How others see me • Objective: quantitative and observable (income, education level, job title …)

14. SOCIAL DOMINANCE THEORYSidanius & Pratto, 1993

15. Social Dominance Theory (Sidanius & Pratto, 1993) • Humans are predisposed to form social hierarchies, with unequal power structures in place among groups • This hierarchy is in place for all groups, starting with youth • Social hierarchy is a survival strategy • Individuals develop beliefs that support and rationalize their place in the hierarchy

16. Rate Your Relationships activity

17. Discussion question: What implications does this have on relationships with students and families?

18. Race defined • What is race? • It is “a group of people sharing the same culture, history, language, etc.” (Oxford American dictionary, 2001)

19. Racism defined… Ask your partner to share their definition of racism…

20. Racism is… The belief that one race is superior to others.

21. Ethnicity Defined… • Ask your partner to define ethnicity

22. Ethnicity is… • A sense of peoplehood based on national origin.

23. NOTE: One theory does not fit all

24. Althen’s (1988) Guide for Foreigners • (Anglo) American values and assumptions identified as: • Individualism and privacy • Equality • Informality

25. The future, change and progress • Goodness of humanity • Time

26. Achievement, action, work, and materialism • Directness and Assertiveness

27. Lynch & Hanson (1999) “The emphasis on education and the futuristic, change-oriented outlook held by many Anglo-European Americans has led to the view of individuals as ‘masters of their own fate.’”

28. “Typically, adversity is seen as something that can be overcome with enough work, resources, and/or ingenuity.”

29. Contrasting Beliefs, Values and Practices • SMALL GROUP ACTIVITY (handout) • Discussion: Do these descriptions apply to all U.S.-Americans?

30. Since its founding, the United States has been multiracial and multiethnic.

31. Ethnic Groups in the U.S. Differed among one another: • Reasons for coming to this country • Voluntary reasons • Involuntary reasons • Expectations regarding life here • Conditions encountered upon arrival

32. AFRICAN-AMERICAN HERITAGE • Originate from the continent of Africa • Represent many Central and West African tribes: - Ashantis - Ibos - Yorubas - Bantu - Krus - Efiks - Mandingo - Hausas - Sengalese

33. Influential Historical Trends 17th Century • Majority of population brought over as slaves • 10 million estimated brought to the Americas between 15th and 19th centuries (4 million to North America)

34. Some Africans came to America as indentured servants (as early as 1619) • Economy heavily dependent on slave labor: • Plantation system in the south • Mercantile system in New England Rum, sugar, molasses tobacco, hemp, fishing, railroading …

35. The Road to Freedom • African-American slaves and free men fought in the Revolution and Civil War • Some won freedom after enlisting and serving • African-American soldiers paid at lower rates

36. …the promise of government • The American Revolution • The Emancipation Proclamation

37. A Dream unfulfilled • Freed African-Americans viewed as a threat to the White way of life • Produced years of contradictory social forces

38. The Reconstruction Era • 1867-1877 - African-American Representatives in legislature - Employed as civil servants - Served as judges - Freedmen’s Bureau (1865-1870) provided medical and educational assistance

39. Post Civil War Discontent • Klu Klux Klan (1866- ) institutionalized lynching; committed to conducting atrocities • The Black Codes (1865-1866) provided years of disenfranchisement of African-Americans

40. SEGREGATION • Plessy vs. Ferguson (1865-1866) U.S. Supreme Court wrote doctrine of racial separation and classification. Gave states the power to create “separate but equal” accommodations and institutions for different races.

41. The Migration North • 1890’s to WWII many African-Americans moved from the South to the North. • Competed with European immigrants in crowded cities for jobs, housing… • White American society viewed as a separate group – little assistance was given

42. The Growth of the Ghetto • Prejudice in the North perpetuated the growth of slum living conditions for African-Americans

43. The 20th Century • Jim Crow Myth Black-White relationships based on: - Skin color - Belief in genetic White superiority and Black inferiority For more info: www.nps.gov/malu/documents/jim_crow_laws.htm

44. Removing Voting Rights • States implemented “Grandfather Clauses” to disqualify African-Americans: • Literacy tests • White primaries • Poll taxes • Loopholes provided for Whites

45. The Impact of War • WWII - The Military officially desegregated • Brown vs. Board of Education - Eradicated “separate but equal” in education

46. Moving into the 21st Century Progress but still many challenges • Among those born in America, increasing diversity in educational and economic levels • High levels of poverty (24.4% of all African-Americans (U.S. Census, 2004) • Lower academic achievement compared to other groups • Increasing diversity of groups • Born in America • Born in Caribbean • Born in Africa • Immigration from Africa to U.S. in 20th/21st century

47. African-American Culture 101 • Religion • Early Tribal Practices • Supreme God created the Earth • Life force present in all things • Worship of ancestors and spirits of nature • Conditions • Slaves not allowed to practice their religion • Slaves were allowed to hear Gospel from Ephesians 6:5 (obedience) • Slaves sang openly as a means of communicating with God • Slaves not allowed to practice their language

48. Religious Organization and Leadership • 1787: First organized church “Free African Society” • African Methodist Episcopal Church • African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church

49. Discussion • What role does religion play in our students’ lives? • What religious institutions are important? • Are there groups or people that we should get to know?

50. Religion: The Nation of Islam • Black Muslims (1930s) • A religion as well as a social organization • Elijah Muhammed (prophet) • Koran and Christian Bible • Worship in mosque • Malcolm X (1952) • Louis Farrakhan