Racism Within American Higher Education
This history of American higher education is plagued by systemic racism and oppression of many marginalized identities such as Black, Latino/a, and women. African American students were almost entirely banned from American higher education from the creation of Harvard College in 1636 until past the Civil War (Anderson, 2002). Slave states banned African Americans from education using the state law, while free states practiced institutionalized racism to keep African Americans out of college and universities. With the decision of Brown v. the Board of Education in 1954, African American students were legally permitted to apply for admission to any college or university, even if previously an all-White college (Anderson, 2002). While African Americans have more access to higher education than any other time in American History, systemic racism is still overwhelmingly present in 2016. On Wednesday, October 19 a Black female student at Louisiana State University (LSU) arrived at …show more content…
As a White student, he does not have to police his words or facial expressions when talking with classmates or instructors. However, Chris should be aware of how his interactions are going to be viewed by marginalized students. Systematic racism is present within higher education, and what he perceives as innocent, may still be offensive to marginalized groups. Chris should be encouraged to take a diversity class to learn about white privilege, oppression, race, and racism. Chris should also be encouraged to research and talk about these issues and learn to be ok with feeling uncomfortable. If we reverse what Sy Stokes (2013) says in his UCLA video, the majority of students will be dressed, speak, and be White like Chris and he must understand the privilege that comes with
This history of American higher education is plagued by systemic racism and oppression of many marginalized identities such as Black, Latino/a, and women. African American students were almost entirely banned from American higher education from the creation of Harvard College in 1636 until past the Civil War (Anderson, 2002). Slave states banned African Americans from education using the state law, while free states practiced institutionalized racism to keep African Americans out of college and universities. With the decision of Brown v. the Board of Education in 1954, African American students were legally permitted to apply for admission to any college or university, even if previously an all-White college (Anderson, 2002). While African Americans have more access to higher education than any other time in American History, systemic racism is still overwhelmingly present in 2016. On Wednesday, October 19 a Black female student at Louisiana State University (LSU) arrived at …show more content…
As a White student, he does not have to police his words or facial expressions when talking with classmates or instructors. However, Chris should be aware of how his interactions are going to be viewed by marginalized students. Systematic racism is present within higher education, and what he perceives as innocent, may still be offensive to marginalized groups. Chris should be encouraged to take a diversity class to learn about white privilege, oppression, race, and racism. Chris should also be encouraged to research and talk about these issues and learn to be ok with feeling uncomfortable. If we reverse what Sy Stokes (2013) says in his UCLA video, the majority of students will be dressed, speak, and be White like Chris and he must understand the privilege that comes with