Discussing race is undoubtedly difficult for many people, but however uncomfortable the subject matter may be, it is crucial in today’s world. Recently, student activists have brought to attention the issue of whitewashing in theatrical productions at IHS, which has sparked a debate in our community on how to address issues related to race. Students have used their voice to challenge the injustices they saw and have shown willingness to take action; however, it seems that many students want to learn about race but don’t know how to best do so. Teachers at IHS should educate students and provide them with the tools to inspire positive social change by giving them a safe environment to learn about and discuss the racial inequities that exist today, and a district-wide race-conscious curriculum should be implemented in order to continue to increase awareness about racial issues.
The IHS administration has already taken steps to create a more accepting environment for students to learn about race and to call attention to the prevalent issues surrounding race in our community. In an effort to create a more diverse cast, anyone who auditioned for Hairspray, this year’s spring musical, had the opportunity to be a part of the play. In the aftermath of the showing of Hairspray, Superintendent Luvelle Brown worked in collaboration with Cynthia Henderson and David Brown to create a workshop for students and ICSD administrators to “examine perspectives and experiences with various aspects of race.” The IHS production of Hairspray has also given members of the Southside Community Center the opportunity to write about topics surrounding race in a section of the program for the musical titled, “A Black Feminist Perspective on Hairspray,” opening the possibility for further reflection. Additionally, Associate Principal Ms. Sessoms has created facilitated lunch conversations on race and racism, with a series of workshops planned for May. While these efforts are an important start, this momentum should be continued with a focus on implementing a race conscious curriculum in classes throughout IHS.
Ithaca seems like a very liberal and accepting city to many, but that does not mean that it is excluded from perpetuating racial inequities; the musical controversy was important in bringing this to light. Having a race conscious curriculum in schools is important because it is hard to move forward and develop solutions when uncomfortable topics are avoided, and schools are the perfect venue in which to foster this discussion. IHS should provide a safe and constructive environment for students to express their experiences with race and how it has affected their lives. By providing students with a curriculum that consciously takes race into consideration, there is a context to have these critical discussions. The exposure to different perspectives, experiences, and viewpoints creates a greater understanding of the underlying issues surrounding race.
Right now, the topic of race is usually limited to Civil Rights units in history classes. However, race permeates our society in a much broader way. The topic of race needs to be discussed and expanded upon to connect the past injustices to racial inequalities that persist today. For example, when discussing police brutality during the Civil Rights Movement, teachers can connect this to the Black Lives Matter movement or the disproportionate incarceration of minorities. Additionally, community members, such as Dr. Nia Nunn and Nydia Blas from Southside, could be invited to speak in classes, and workshops on race could be incorporated into class time to ensure students are able to participate even if they don’t have time outside of school or an environment to discuss this topic. Southside already conducts workshops on race called “Real Talk”, which serve as an excellent example of a lesson style that could be implemented in classes. It’s time for another approach that more holistically addresses race and how it affects the lives of students today.
A curriculum to teach tolerance wouldn’t necessarily take time out of class. In fact, most classes already run into these topics in one way or another. Identifying and discussing racial prejudice in classes should not solely be the history department’s responsibility. Race conscious curriculum can be implemented in English classes, and even Biology classes. For example, when students learn about Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, this could be taken further to analyze how Darwin’s theory was used to justify racist ideology. In English classes, books like Huckleberry Finn provide literary context for issues like slavery. Instead of glossing over the topic and focusing on the literature, teachers could bring in community members as previously mentioned, hold “socratic seminar” style discussions focused on race, or implement other methods to go further in depth on this issue. One goal should be to teach students how to discuss these sensitive issues in a manner where both sides learn from each other and neither side “wins.” Unstructured debates have a tendency to become destructive instead of constructive, but we should not shy away from discussing issues just because of the difficulty of the subject matter.
By providing teachers with the proper training and tools, they would be able to effectively approach these subjects. Teachers would have to be trained in how to facilitate discussions without introducing bias and in a way that all students feel comfortable sharing their opinions, even if their opinion differs from others. For example, teachers could be trained to recognize implicit biases and how it affects their teaching. Organizations such as the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Teaching Tolerance materials could provide lesson plans for teachers to implement in their classrooms, and these plans can be easily adapted to be taught at the elementary school level, or even at the high school level and beyond.
A race conscious curriculum should be implemented district wide, not just at IHS. It is critical to start education on race at a young age to combat the development of racial stereotypes and barriers. A race conscious curriculum teaches students to practice tolerance, question the injustices they see in society, and relate to and empathize with people of different backgrounds. A race conscious curriculum is a socially conscious curriculum, and teaching tolerance could be applied to countless other social issues, such as gender. Perhaps most importantly, it can change the way issues are discussed. Education can and should be used as a tool to work towards creating a society of acceptance and empathy no matter one’s background, socioeconomic background, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or religious and political beliefs.