Speaker says celebrating diversity does not end racism

Activist challenges educators to face their prejudices

By Andrea J. Cook, Journal staff | Friday, September 21, 2007

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RAPID CITY -- Celebrating the joys of diversity does not make a school more comfortable for racially oppressed students and does not address the systemic racism in education, according to Paul Gorski, associate professor of graduate education at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn. 

Hear Gorski's views on racism.

Gorski was a featured speaker at Thursday's session of the South Dakota Department of Education's Indian Education Summit at the Best Western Ramkota Hotel in Rapid City. The summit concludes today.

A self-described activist who became involved in education after he was an activist, Gorski said the first step in addressing racism is to address our own racial prejudices and biases.

Teachers need to look for ways they can promote social change in their classrooms and in their spheres of influence.

Education often addresses racism by making small, insignificant shifts in programs and curriculum without looking at the bigger issues, Gorski said.

Food fairs, multicultural nights and festivals that schools hold to salute the diversity of their students may bring people together temporarily, but they do not solve the racial inequities that exist in schools.

Approximately 88 percent of teachers in the United States are white, and that number is increasing, according to Gorski.

Only about 12 percent of teachers are teachers of color, and students of color account for two to three times that number.

Fifty percent of black teachers who get a teaching certificate never teach, he said.

"When they do their student teaching, they learn that nothing has changed," Gorski said. "The school is just as hostile to them as a teacher as it was for them as a student. What does that mean about education?"

Schools need to get beyond "taco night" and "making oatmeal box drums" and deal with the issues of racism.

Gorski said conflict resolution and focusing on keeping the peace does not solve racism.

Teachers should strive for equity and justice for everybody, without regard for race, gender, religion or sexual preference, he said.

"We should be screaming our heads off about it. It's not enough to settle back and say, 'Change takes time,'" Gorski said.