Achieving True Integration

• 1. john a. powell Director, Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and EthnicityWilliams Chair in Civil Rights & Civil Liberties, Moritz College of Law Summit for Courageous Conversation October 12, 2009 Baltimore, MD

2. Todays Conversation How do we talk about race? o Implicit bias Understanding true integration What true integration looks like o in the classroom o within a school o within a district How to achieve true integration o Legal considerations 2 3. Implicit Bias3 4. Race in the MediaCartersRacismChargeSparksWar ofWords 4 5. Perceiving Race Racial categorization occurs automatically, regardless of any effortsto divert attention from race. Within moments of perceiving someone, we automatically judgethat person in terms of in-group favoritism o Is that person is an us or a them? We unconsciously think about race even when we do not explicitlydiscuss it. o Drew Westens The Political Brain o Implicit Association Test5 6. Implicit Association Testhttp://thesituationist.wordpress.com/2007/08/19/ 6 7. Implicit Bias People have multiple networks that may be activated without ourawareness. o Depending on the situation, one network becomes dominant over the others Even though we may fight them, implicit biases reside within us 7 8. Our Unconscious Networks What colors are the following lines of text? 8 9. Our Unconscious Networks What colors are the following lines of text? 9 10. Our Unconscious Networks What colors are the following lines of text? 10 11. Our Unconscious Networks What colors are the following lines of text? 11 12. Implicit Bias Unconscious Modeling 12 13. Implicit Bias Unconscious Modeling The Kanizsa Triangle 13 14. Unconscious Operations Is your baby more likelyor less likely to be aracist if you talk aboutrace with him/her? 14 15. Talking About Race - Dont Present disparities only Frame action as robbing Peter to pay Paul Separate out people in need from everybody else Glide over real fears, shared suffering, or the fact that people are often internally divided Dismiss the importance of individual effortsPhoto source: Lester, Julius. Lets Talk About Race15 16. Talking About Race - Do Anchor the discussion to narratives that resonate with your audience Make sure everyone can see themselves in the story o Its about us, not just those people Acknowledge that individualism is important but that the healthiest individual is nurtured by a community invested in everyones success16 17. Effective Messaging Everyone needs help now and then; we all want to do bettero We share deep values, concerns, and hopes Addressing the problems that have a racial footprint has implicationsand benefits for all members of society, not just marginalized groups o Linked fate everyone benefitshttp://www.equaljusticesociety.org/2008/12/talking-about-race-in-the-obama-era/ 17 18. Underscore shared, deep valuesUnitySecurity OpportunityCommunityMobilityRedemptionFairnessLiberty18 19. Transformative Discourse on Race Not constructiveConstructiveDont frame issues around whatsReinforce the belief of opportunityfairfor all Assert that system flaws hurt everyoneDont focus on who or what isSteer the conversation toward theresponsible for present inequities results being sought (i.e., a quality education for everyone)Dont focus on exceptional Talk about where systems we all relyindividualsupon break down and how we can fix those systemsFrameworks Institute Message Brief: Framing Race 19 20. 20 21. Integration Integration is not just about representation; its constitutional. o It constitutes the structures we inhabit and who we are. o The table, and the people at the table. Are our structures doing the work we want them to do? 21 22. Cumulative Home & Neighborhood Disadvantages for Students of ColorHigh crime levels Environmental pollutantsInaccessibility of health care Poor housingstockLack of qualityearly childhoodeducation programs 22 23. Cumulative disadvantages interact within systems.23Systems Thinking: The Newtonian Perspective:AD ABCDE C BLinear causation ECausation is reciprocal, mutual,and cumulative. 23 24. Academics These cumulative disparities place students of color at an earlyacademic disadvantageo One study found that African Americans entering kindergartenalready performed 34 percentile points lower than their whitecounterpartsVE Lee & DT Burkham. Inequality at the Starting Gate. Washington, DC: Economic Policy Institute, 2002. 24 25. Desegregation True Integration Simple desegregation efforts often result in: o assimilation, o in-school segregation, or o tracking. Debates about integration often focus on Assimilation andSegregation instead of Integration and Segregation 25 26. Other Terminology Concerns Segregation is not just the exclusion of people; its also the limitation oftheir opportunities and resources. Integration is often equated with black kids, excluding Latinos and others. 26 27. Confusion in Educational Discourse Excellence and achievement are often posed as competing withintegration. Integration Excellence,Achievement 27 28. Understanding True IntegrationAlthough the terms desegregation and integration are oftenused interchangeably, there is a great deal of differencebetween the two Desegregation is eliminative andnegativeIntegration is the positive acceptance of desegregation andthe welcomed participation of [nonwhites] into the totalrange of human activities. Integration is genuine intergroup,interpersonal doing. Desegregationis only a short termgoal. Integration is the ultimate goal of our nationalcommunity.Martin Luther King, Jr.The Ethical Demands for Integration28 29. True Integration True integration is creative and respects inter-group relations based on mutuality, equality and fairness It is transformative rather than assimilative It both transforms and enriches the mainstream o In contrast, desegregation, at best, attempts to assimilate minorities into the mainstreamSource: powell, john a. A new Theory of Integrated Education: True Integration in School Resegregation: Must the South Turn Back? Ed. John Charles Boger andGary Orfield. 29 30. Benefits of Diverse Educational Settings Children in diverse educational settings are o more comfortable with people of other races as adults o better able to function in our multi-racial and multi-cultural world o potentially able to ease racial tensions as adults and help work for a democracy that embraces diversity o important to the position of the United States in an era of globalization and global economies 30 31. The Benefits of Racial Diversity in Education Helps students avoid or overcome stereotypes by providing a range of experiences and viewpoints; Promotes cross-cultural understanding and helps students develop interpersonal skills for a multiracial world; Prepares students for a racially diverse workplace; Trains and educates a diverse group of leaders; Contributes to better decision making on issues affecting our multicultural society; Fosters diversity among civic and business leaders.Source: Preserving Diversity in Higher Education: A Manual on Admissions Policies and Procedures After the University of Michigan Decisions.Compiled by the firms of Bingham McCutcheon, Morrison & Foerster, and Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe. Equal Justice Society, 2004.31 32. Support for Diversity Beyond Schools 65 Fortune 500 companies and the U.S. military submitted amicusbriefs in Grutter stating their need for employees who hadexposure to widely diverse people, cultures, ideas and viewpoints. The Supreme Court ruled that integrated, equitable education is anecessity for the American economic system and national security.Bikson, T.K. & Law, S.A. (1994). Global preparedness and human resources. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Institute on Education and Training. (Brieffor Amici Curiae, 65 Leading American Businesses in Support of Respondents, Grutter v. Bollinger, 2003) www.sxc.hu32 33. ClassroomsSchoolsDistricts33 34. Inside School In assessing integration efforts, we too often look at the racial composition of a school, and not at what happens in the school.Is Racial Integration Essential to Achieving Quality Education for Low-Income Minority Students, In the Short Term? In the Long Term?john a. powell in May/June 1998 issue of Poverty & Race 34 35. What a Truly Integrated School Looks Like A truly integrated school must employ teaching and techniques thataddress the multitude of student learning styles and utilize materialsfashioned by and about people of diverse racial and ethnicbackgrounds. Work toward transformative diversity o The work of creating a diverse institution does not end with a diverse student body 35 36. Integration then is both an external and an internal process; we need to integrate not only the students inside the building but the hearts and minds of the students as well.Source: powell, john a. A new Theory of Integrated Education: True Integration in School Resegregation: Must the South Turn Back? Ed. John Charles Boger and Gary Orfield. 36 37. Truly Diverse Schools Harness the genuine benefits of diversity within and across the school o Teachers, administrators and staff must share diversity goals and be culturally competent o Teachers must have the skills and knowledge to create a safe, supportive, and inclusive space o Curriculum should be challenging, engaging, and culturally relevant37 38. Creating Culturally Relevant Curriculum Teachers should be able to articulate why students should learn particular aspects of the curriculum o What am I trying to accomplish by having my students read this text? Culturally relevant teachers think about students long-term academic goals o Instead of focusing on next weeks lesson plans, think about semester- or year-long goals o Students should have a sense of why they are doing what they are doingLason-Billings, Gloria. Yes, But How Do We Do It? in White Teachers/Diverse Classrooms. Ed. by Julie Landsman and Chance W. Lewis (2006) 38 39. Creating Culturally Relevant Curriculum Culturally relevant teachers use many real-life and familiar examples Help students honor their own cultural beliefs and practices while acquiring access to the wider culture (p. 36)Lason-Billings, Gloria. Yes, But How Do We Do It? in White Teachers/Diverse Classrooms. Ed. by Julie Landsman and Chance W. Lewis (2006) 39 40. Navigating Parents Involved40 41. Context for Parents Involved Prior to Parents Involved, many districts concerned that thereversion to neighborhood schools and local control would result inrapid resegregation implemented voluntary integration plans. These plans included redrawing attendance zones, student transfers,magnet school programs to retain diverse schools amidst a backdropof residential segregation.41 42. Parents Involved In Community Schools v.Seattle School District No. 1 (2007) Parents of non-minority students sued the Seattle and Jefferson County school districts, claiming that the student assignment plans denied their children the equal protection of law under the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution. In 2007, the Supreme Court sided with the plaintiffs and declared, in a 4-1-4 decision, that the Seattle and Louisville school districts used impermissible racial classifications in student assignment in violation of the Constitution. 42 43. Parents Involved In Community Schools v.Seattle School District No. 1 (2007) The Court found that the plans at issue were not narrowly tailored.The use of the racial tiebreaker within a particular +/- range wasConstitutionally infirm. However, the Court also allowed for the use of race in somecircumstances and affirmed maintaining diverse schoolsas well asthe prevention of racially isolated schoolsas compelling stateinterests.43 44. What Can School Districts Do Post- Parents Involved? School districts are free to pursue socioeconomic integration, using indicators such as income, wealth, parental educational attainment. Districts can also be race conscious, according to the Supreme Court, when they drew school boundaries, chose sites for new schools and directed money to particular programs. But they are limited to taking into account the racial composition of a neighborhood rather than the race of an individual student.44 45. Opportunity Mapping While concentrated neighborhood poverty is often correlated withrace, race is not reducible to income differentials. o A multi-factor analysis best captures more than poverty rates alone do. Opportunity mapping of educational opportunity looks at manyindicators that correlate with educational performance. o Goal: identify neighborhoods that are the most disadvantageous environments for educational success, looking at a number of factors producing cumulative disadvantage for students residing in these neighborhoods. 45 46. 46 47. Other Options: School Siting Siting schools in areas that would naturally draw a diverse studentbody was another race-conscious suggestion in Kennedys opinionthat can be used to achieve integrative outcomes. Example: Charlotte, NC requires its school board to consider thesocioeconomic diversity of nearby housing and the availability ofpublic transit lines decisions about where to build schools. o This criteria could conceivably include consideration of neighborhood racial compositions. 48. Other Options: Inter-District Schools Interdistrict magnet schools are one of the remedies thatConnecticut adopted in response to a state Supreme Court rulingthat the state desegregate schools in the Hartford region. o Students are chosen from a lottery of applicants from both Hartford and suburban districts with preference given to siblings of students already attending the school. Inter-district transfers or the development of inter-district magnetschools could be a means of alleviating racial isolation andincreasing educational performance. 49. Other Options: City-Suburban Transfers St. Louis operates a city-suburban transfer program, originallyimplemented in the early 1980s under court order and continuedunder voluntary terms since 1999. Recently, the participatingdistricts extended the program through at least 2013-14. At its peak, nearly half of St. Louis children were participating in oneof the interdistrict programs (Heaney and Uchitelle, 2004). St. Louissuburban districts were required to participate and to acceptenough St. Louis students to meet targets for minority percentage. o The state initially bore the costs of the program (i.e., transportation) but since 1999, the programs have been funded through a voter-approved tax increase. 50. Education is perhaps the most important crucible for remedyingdisparities, enhancing life opportunities, and promoting a genuinemultiracial and multi-ethnic democracy.~ powell & Spencer (2003)50 51. Opting for Diversity A Gallup poll in 1999 indicated that 59% of respondents thought weshould do more to integrate schools. This number was only 37% in1988. In one poll of public school parents, results indicated that 67%would select a good diverse school over a outstandinghomogenous school (26%).Source: Divided We Fail: Coming Together through Public School Choice (2002) 51 52. Democratic Implications Segregation makes it very difficult to develop effective citizens andsocial cohesion. Bringing together students from different backgrounds shouldremain a central objective of American education. In a globalizing world, if we fail at this, our country fails.52 53. What will her school look like?53 54. Questions for Discussion How does your school/district stand with respect to true integration? What barriers in achieving true integration does your school/districtface? What practical changes can be made at the classroom level toencourage true integration? What support can the district provide to reach this goal? Do you have any success stories/advice to share that may help others?54 55. For more information: www.KirwanInstitute.org55