We cannot ignore racism, bigotry

To the editor:

Class (socioeconomic status) is clearly an important factor in understanding student behavior. Professor Schmidt, Gazette guest columnist, argued the media ignores this when making claims of institutional racism. There is some truth to this argument. But the media has also engaged in fear mongering regarding misbehavior of blacks in our society. Schmidt's analysis has elements of condescension and trivializing.No black child chooses to be born into low socioeconomic status. No black person chose to be born into a race that is stigmatized and villainized. The role of hopelessness, legitimately felt by many black students, cannot be discounted.

Hopelessness is aggravated by: 1) an economy that sanctions starvation wages for people of limited education/opportunity, 2) history - ancestors deprived of their human dignity, yielding fewer successful role models, 3) drug enforcement policy that indicts blacks for drug crime at significantly higher rates than whites with similar drug usage (see The New Jim Crow), 4) white educators with little understanding of black culture, and prejudice about black students' behavior.

Schools should teach to promote independent thinking - not just compliance. Being sensitive and responsive to challenges faced by students from low-SES families is a responsibility. Excusing our schools and society for mistreatment of our minority brothers and sisters will slow our nation's progress. (I agree that blaming is similarly unhelpful.) Some minority students do bad things, often related to feeling alienated and frustrated. That does not justify ignoring racism and bigotry that remain alive-and-detrimental in the United States.

Roger Johanson

Education Professor Emeritus

Coe College