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In our class discussion, as well as through our readings on racism, I am beginning to grasp a definition of racism that is more specifically related to institutional power than I had formerly realized. I don’t think I ever looked up “racism” in the dictionary before, where, having now done so; it indeed specifies that racism is directly linked to the power that is used in perpetuating it. In our reading from “What is Racism” the author defines racism as “a pervasive and systemic exercise of real power to deny minorities equal access and opportunity” (Sue, 2003 p.31). My more complete understanding of racism informs an interesting observation I had this week. I would like to show how through this observation, a form of racism is perpetuated through lowered expectations of people of color and how this specifically relates to the denial of equal opportunity for accessing education.
During my observation at Leuzinger High School this week I listened as students discussed the novel “Montana 1948” by Larry Watson. Personal anger aside that these 11th grade students of various racial backgrounds and ethnicities are reading a book about Sioux culture in 1948 through the lens of a contemporary white male author when they could be reading an authentic account by a Sioux, a student made a comment about Native Americans attending college that totally floored me. When asked why the male Sioux character didn’t go to college, one of the students raised her hand and said “He doesn’t have to go to college because the government just gives him money because he is Indian.” The teacher pointed out that A. Native Americans don’t get enough money from the government to support them completely, and B. That having money has nothing to do with the expectation that one should go to college. The reason that the character didn’t go to college was because at the time there was a pervasive belief that Native Americans didn’t belong at the university. The character was being denied...