Racial discrimination in Education

Heydi Serrano
Professor Gabriel
English 5A
March 22, 2014
Racial Discrimination and Its Effects on Education Education has became a problem of racism and ethnic identity throughout the years, in which many don't see the effect it has caused to many the privilege of getting educated. Education can mean the world to many whom wish to have the privilege to have the same equality as the race seen as normality, in this case the white race verses to the other races. Many of racial discrimination can be taught throughout the years or can be learned by the people around you and not having the minor clue that is being sunk into your head, as well as learning who you are and thinking of who you might want to become when you grow up. Whether being the reason of such discrimination for division of racial groups; when it has to deal with your education nobody has the right to say or decide whether you will be able to get educated. Racial discrimination and separation of the ethnic groups happens everywhere in society and at a certain time. While in elementary many of the children don't worry about who they are, where they belong, or the reasons in which there might be a probability of being treated different till the day puberty strikes ( Tatum, Pg 359). Although we know that racism and critics are everywhere, many of us don't notice the day we were being taught and we were learning all the factors of racism or the privilege that we obtain for just being a certain race. According to McIntosh, she states that " My schooling trained me to not see myself as an oppressor as an unfairly advantage person" ( McIntosh, Pg 352 ). With this being said she explained that without wanting, she slaved many, who are not her race, wanting the rights she has because of who she is and where she might come from. Many who are seen as " the normal race", or simply known as the white race, are being taught to believe that they have no flaws, as if for any other race, the stereotypes being said, haunt them. Race shouldn't be a reason why education should be limited to students because they are not seen as normality because of who they are, or in what category in race they belong to. We will never fully understand the reasons in why people decide to further their education, who have a lower percent chance of opportunities and help given to them. I believe that this can be one of the most racial discrimination there could be just because the stereotypes said by dominant race. McIntosh explains that, " Many, perhaps most, of our white students in the United States think that racism doesn't affect them because they are not people of color; they do not see "whiteness" as a racial identity " (McIntosh, Page 356). keeping this quote in mind, it might not mean the same result for other races when it comes to being educated as I had mentioned before. Tatum states that " though many black girls living in the context of a large Black community may have more social choices, they too have to contend with devaluating message about what they are and who they will become ( Tatum, Page 362). Now keeping this quote in mind; maybe going through your mind right now you might think a lot of those black girls have a higher chance of dropping out of school, becoming teenage mothers supported by Welfare, being drug addicts might not have the same ending results as a young white girl because of the stereotypes being said about her race and what the girls commonly grow up to be because of all the negativity given to them ( Tatum, Page 363). Although many stereotypes have been said about these young ladies it is not certain that all the young black ladies will become to be what they are believed to become. Whether you decide to further your education or not, nobody has the right to decide for your future and what your dreams are. If they are to become something bigger then what you've seen throughout your life or not, nobody really has a say to your future other than yourself. The story said about Malcolm X on Tatum, shows that this boy didn't let the society decide what black was meant to be, he made his own decision to prove that not all the stereotypes are all true. As Tatum describes. " As a junior high school student, Malcolm was a star. despite the fact that he was separated from his family and living in foster home, he was an A student and was elected president of his class" ( Tatum, Page 363). Whether at the end you make the decision to further your education is only because most of reason you don't want to end up like you parents maybe working a full time job in a fast food place or in the fields and not becoming something important in your lifetime. My mom always tells me " Don't let society or people decide whether you will have a successful future or not, if at the end of the day people around your bubble don't worry if you eat or if you have a place to sleep at night." Keeping this in the back of my head, makes me think, and every single time I think about that say that my mom repeats to me over and over again, at the end of that thought I say to myself " Who cares if people don't believe I will get where I want to be sooner or later, if it's what I want not what they want." Do not let anybody tell you different, be your own motivation to make you dreams come true. The racial discrimination to a young adult in their every day live can make a big impact and future results in which could result to changing their minds of racial discrimination, but also figuring who they are and who they might want to become. As in for Malcolm X, Tatum explains the goals Malcolm had for his future, Malcolm explained that he would want to become a lawyer, but since his race was black, his teacher said that it was impossible. " That's no realistic goal for a nigger" ( Tatum, Page 363). After hearing that message, Malcolm quickly understood where he belonged and what many believed he would become because of all the stereotypes known. Malcolm went from being a straight A student to not wanting to go and participate in class, resulted on moving to Michigan with is sister. Whether we believed it or not, racial discrimination can be harmful to many young adults we are still being taught that the dominant group will be and will most likely always be the white race. Education has became a problem of racism and ethnic identity throughout the years, in which many don't see the effect it has caused to many the privilege of getting educated. Stating about the feelings of a different race and where they are put when it comes to society can hurt them and maybe even make decision like Malcolm X, to doing all the successful achievements he was working for to become a lawyer in his future, to giving up just because the dominant race said that it wasn't a role for a nigger like him. Many of us have dreams to become something more then what we've seen in our homes and simply because the dominant race doesn't see us capable of achieving what we want, simply because of the stereotypes being affected to our own race, shouldn't be a reason to stop your dreams. We decide for our future, and we are the only ones who struggle throughout life to get there.