Contents

Acknowledgments xi
Suggestions for Using This Book xiii
Introduction: Defining Everyday Antiracism xvii

SECTION A
RACE CATEGORIES: WE ARE ALL THE SAME,
BUT OUR LIVES ARE DIFFERENT 1

Part I: Remember That Racial Categories Are
Not Biological Realities 3

1. Exposing Race as an Obsolete Biological Concept
Alan H. Goodman 4
2. No Brain Is Racial
Mica Pollock 9
3. Getting Rid of the Word “Caucasian”
Carol C. Mukhopadhyay 12

Part II: Get Ready to Talk about a Racialized Society 17

4. Beginning Courageous Conversations about Race
Glenn E. Singleton and Cyndie Hays 18
5. Talking Precisely about Equal Opportunity
Mica Pollock 24
6. Nice Is Not Enough: Defining Caring for Students of Color
Sonia Nieto 28

Part III: Remember That People Do Not Fit Neatly and
Easily into Racial Groups 33

7. Following Children's Leads in Conversations about Race
Kimberly Chang and Rachel Conrad 34
8. Observing Students Sharing Language
Ben Rampton 39

Part IV: Remember That People Are Treated as Racial Group
Members and Need to Examine That Experience 43

9. Strengthening Student Identity in School Programs
Patricia Gándara 44
10. Uncovering Internalized Oppression
Angela Valenzuela 50
11. Helping Students See Each Other's Humanity
L. Janelle Dance 56

Part V: Emphasize Individuality 61

12. Constructing Colorblind Classrooms
Samuel R. Lucas 62
13. Knowing Students as Individuals
Joshua Aronson 67
14. Showing Students Who You Are
Heather M. Pleasants 70

SECTION B
HOW OPPORTUNITIES ARE PROVIDED
AND DENIED INSIDE SCHOOLS 75

Part VI: Remember That Students Experience Racially
Unequal Expectations about Their Brainpower 77

15. Helping Students of Color Meet High Standards
Ronald F. Ferguson 78
16. Providing Supportive Feedback
Geoffrey L. Cohen 82

Part VII: Counter Racially Patterned Skill Gaps 85

17. Teaching and Transcending Basic Skills
Amanda Taylor 86
18. Grouping in Detracked Classrooms
Beth C. Rubin 90

Part VIII: Help Students Gain Fluency in “Standard”
Behaviors While Honoring the “Nonstandard”
Behaviors They Already Have 97

19. Standards vs.“Standard” Knowledge
Edmund T. Hamann 98
20. Valuing Nonstandard English
John Baugh 102
21. Teaching Students Fluency in Multiple Cultural Codes
Prudence Carter 107

Part IX: Defy Racially Based Notions of Potential
Careers and Contributions 113

22. Challenging Cultural Stereotypes of “Scientific Ability”
Maria Ong 114
23. Finding Role Models in the Community
Meira Levinson 120

Part X: Analyze Racial Disparities in Opportunities to Learn 125

24. Providing Equal Access to “Gifted” Education
Karolyn Tyson 126
25. What Discipline Is For: Connecting Students to the
Benefits of Learning
Pedro A. Noguera 132

SECTION C
CURRICULUM THAT ASKS CRUCIAL
QUESTIONS ABOUT RACE 139

Part XI: Create Curriculum That Invites Students to
Explore Complex Identities and Consider
Racial Group Experiences 141

26. Using Photography to Explore Racial Identity
Alexandra Lightfoot 142
27. Exploring Racial Identity Through Writing
Jennifer A. Mott-Smith 146
28. Involving Students in Selecting Reading Materials
Christine E. Sleeter 150

Part XII: Create Curriculum That Analyzes
Opportunity Denial 155

29. Teaching Critical Analysis of Racial Oppression
Jeff Duncan-Andrade 156
30. Using Critical Hip-Hop in the Curriculum
Ernest Morrell 161
31. Engaging Youth in Participatory Inquiry for Social Justice
María Elena Torre and Michelle Fine 165

Part XIII: Create Curriculum That Represents a
Diverse Range of People Thoroughly and Complexly 173

32. Arab Visibility and Invisibility
Thea Abu El-Haj 174
33. Evaluating Images of Groups in Your Curriculum
Teresa L. McCarty 180
34. Teaching Representations of Cultural Difference Through Film
Sanjay Sharma 186
35. What Is on Your Classroom Wall? Problematic Posters
Donna Deyhle 191
36. Teaching Racially Sensitive Literature
Jocelyn Chadwick 195

Part XIV: Create Curriculum That Discusses History
Accurately and Thoroughly 199

37. Making Race Relevant in All-White Classrooms:
Using Local History
Mara Tieken 200
38. Teaching Facts, Not Myths, about Native Americans
Paul Ongtooguk and Claudia S. Dybdahl 204

SECTION D
RACE AND THE SCHOOL EXPERIENCE:
THE NEED FOR INQUIRY 209

Part XV: Investigate Learning Experiences in Your Classroom 211

39. Inviting Students to Analyze Their Learning Experience
Makeba Jones and Susan Yonezawa 212
40. Interrogating Students' Silences
Katherine Schultz 217
41. Questioning “Cultural” Explanations of Classroom Behaviors
Doug Foley 222
42. Creating Safe Spaces in Predominantly White Classrooms
Pamela Perry 226
43. On Spotlighting and Ignoring Racial Group Members
in the Classroom
Dorinda J. Carter 230

Part XVI: Spearhead Conversations with Students about
Racism in Their Lives and Yours 235

44. Racial Incidents as Teachable Moments
Lawrence Blum 236
45. Debating Racially Charged Topics
Ian F. Haney López 242
46. Developing Antiracist School Policy
David Gillborn 246

Part XVII: Talk Thoroughly with Colleagues
about Race and Achievement 253

47. Focusing on Student Learning
John B. Diamond 254
48. Moving Beyond Quick “Cultural” Explanations
Vivian Louie 257
49. Naming the Racial Hierarchies That Arise During School Reforms
Rosemary Henze 262
50. Spearheading School-wide Reform
Willis D. Hawley 267

Part XVIII: Analyze, with Colleagues and Students, How
Your Race Affects Your Teaching 273

51. Responding to the “N-Word”
Wendy Luttrell 274
52. Engaging Diverse Groups of Colleagues in Conversation
Alice McIntyre 279
53. Locating Yourself for Your Students
Priya Parmar and Shirley Steinberg 283
54. Expanding Definitions of “Good Teaching”
Lee Anne Bell 287

SECTION E
ENGAGING COMMUNITIES FOR REAL 291

Part XIX: Inquire Fully about Home Communities 293

55. Valuing Students' Home Worlds
Eugene E. García 294
56. Getting to Know Students' Communities
Leisy Wyman and Grant Kashatok 299
57. Helping Students Research Their Communities
Kathleen Cushman 305

Part XX: Discuss Parents' Experiences of Racially Unequal
Opportunity 309

58. Cultivating the Trust of Black Parents
Beverly Daniel Tatum 310
59. Helping Parents Fight Stereotypes about Their Children
Janie Victoria Ward 314
60. Informing Parents about Available Opportunities
Roslyn Arlin Mickelson and Linwood H. Cousins 318

SECTION F
KEEPING IT GOING 325
Part XXI: Struggle to Change a System That Is Unequal,
While Working Within It 327

61. Resisting the “Lone Hero” Stance
Audrey Thompson 328
62. Recognizing the Likelihood of Reproducing Racism
Eduardo Bonilla-Silva and David G. Embrick 334
63. Staying Hopeful
Ronald David Glass 337
64. What Is Next?
Mica Pollock 341

Complete List of Everyday Antiracist Strategies 343
Notes 349
Reference List 361
Index 381

About the Author

Mica Pollock is an associate professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. An anthropologist of education, she previously taught tenth grade and worked in the civil rights field. She is the author of Colormute and Because of Race. She lives in Somerville, Massachusetts.

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"Teachers and parents often want to act on the issue of racism, but don't know how. This one-of-a-kind volume is the blueprint; no one should teach another day without reading it."
—Tim Wise, author of White Like Me

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About the Author

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