Institutional Racism Is Alive And Well

It's been more than 55 years since the Supreme Court unanimously outlawed the idea of separate schools for Whites and African-Americans. Some thought that allowing African-Americans to attend the same schools as White kids did would solve the problem of racism in education. That kind of thinking was unrealistic. While progress has been made in reducing the amount of obvious in-your-face racism that once existed in our society (although it seems to be making a comeback since President Obama was elected), there is an even more insidious type of racism that has been proven harder to fight -- institutional racism (the racism built into our social and political institutions).

Some of the most important institutions in our country are our schools. If a child does not get a good education in the school he/she attends, then there is almost no chance they will be successful and productive adults. That is just a fact, and it is also the main reason schools were one of the first targets of the civil rights movement. Giving minority children an equal opportunity for a good education was the logical first step in eliminating racism.

That was a good idea, and if given a real chance, should have succeeded. The problem is that the schools were no different than our other social institutions -- they had some racist tendencies built into them. And unfortunately, they still do. This does not mean that all teachers or administrators are racists. Most aren't (or at least try not to be). But the policies and structure of our school systems do make it easier for those who do have racist tendencies to practice their evil (whether it is intentional or not).

In some ways this is obvious -- such as the inadequate funding of schools in minority neighborhoods while white suburban schools are richly funded. But other ways in which this institutional racism happens is a bit more hidden, although just as pernicious. One of these is in the way students are treated when they misbehave. Most (or all) schools will say they treat all students the same, but that is not true. A recent report by the Department of Education shows that minority students (especially African-American and Hispanic students) are treated more harshly that White students.

Here is how the Associated Press reported this important and very troubling report:

More than 70 percent of students involved in school-related arrests or cases referred to law enforcement were Hispanic or African-American, according to an Education Department report that raises questions about whether students of all races are disciplined evenhandedly in America's schools.

Black students are more than three times as likely as their white peers to be suspended or expelled, according to an early snapshot of the report released to reporters. The findings come from a national collection of civil rights data from 2009-10 of more than 72,000 schools serving 85 percent of the nation.

The Education Department said it would release more details today.

“The sad fact is that minority students across America face much harsher discipline than non-minorities, even within the same school,” Education Secretary Arne Duncan told reporters.

Duncan said some school officials might not have been aware of inconsistencies in how they handle discipline, and he hoped the report would be an eye-opener.

According to the report, 42 percent of the referrals to law enforcement involve black students and 29 percent involved Hispanics, while 35 percent of students involved in school-related arrests were black and 37 percent were Hispanic.

Black students made up 18 percent of the students in the sample, but they were 35 percent of students suspended once and 39 percent of students expelled, the report said.