Dwanna Robertson: Helping students challenge racial injustice

I love teaching. I love how students are open to new information and give critical thought about contemporary social issues. Mostly, I teach about social injustices that accompany the experience of being racialized (labeled) as not-white. For example, why is it that, on average, being white means you’ll be much wealthier, earn more money for the same job, enjoy better health, live longer, attain higher education, and not go to prison as often? Why are the differences even more disturbing for Native, black, or Hispanic women?

In my experience, most students want to understand the existence of wealth and wage gaps, health disparities, educational achievement variances, and imprisonment rates for people of color, especially for women of color. Students ask how “The American Dream” has historically provided life opportunities for white folk while denying it for people of color. In other words, they want to know about racism and how it continues to impact their lives.

Students discover how societal issues, like unemployment, crime, homelessness, and poverty, are stereotypically thought of as “race” issues for Native, Black, and Hispanic people. They become aware of the fact race-neutral principles of meritocracy and individualism are indeed racially biased. In my classes, students start to question status quo racism. They learn to stand against prejudiced and bigoted ideas and social norms.