Title: john a. powell
1Equity and Access Thinking Transformatively
about Race and Opportunity
- john a. powell
- Director, Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race
and Ethnicity - Williams Chair in Civil Rights Civil Liberties,
Moritz College of Law - Presentation at the National Underground Railroad
Freedom Center - February 7, 2008
2Presentation Overview
- Race
- Thinking about race transformatively
- Talking about race
- 4 common frames
- Affirmative Action
- Current bans and their impact
- Framing affirmative action
- Implementation gap
- Implicit bias / unconscious networks
- Race, Class, and Affirmative Action in Higher Ed
- Aligning missions and admissions
- A new way to measure merit
3Thinking Talking About Race Transformatively
4Defining Race
- As affirmative action becomes increasingly under
attack, it is important to realize that how we
conceptualize race is being contested. - Race is a scientific fiction it is a social
construction. - Race-based interventions are seen as unfair
because race is thought of as phenotype alone.
5The Role of Class
- Class is thought to be a good proxy.
- Correlation between race and class
- Less controversial
- Class is complex and multidimensional.
- Difficult to define yet must be understood to be
utilized most effectively - The polarity is false. A class analysis cannot do
the work of a race alone. We need to understand
the relationship between race and class to
understand either one.
6Hesitancy to Talk about Race
- Most people do not know how to talk about race in
constructive and transformative ways - Reasons for the hesitancy include
- Fear of stigmatizing groups and creating
self-fulfilling prophecies - Concern about reinforcing negative stereotypes
- Avoidance of eliciting frames that create
resistance to social-justice policy and encourage
inter-group conflict - Ignoring similar stresses of whites
7Why We Need to Talk about Race
- To not talk about race is to talk about race.
- Race played a critical role in the creation and
perpetuation of many social, political, and
organizational structures that control the
distribution of opportunities. - Race affects all aspects of our lives
- Where we live, who our childrens friends are,
what social programs we support, how we vote,
etc. - We must address race to understand the history of
our nations democracy and the future well-being
of its people.
8Consequences of Not Talking about Race
- Masks racial disparities
- Reinforces (mis)perceptions of equality
- Decreases support for equitable interventions
- Diversity becomes less valued
- Continuation of color-blindness
- Forces us to rely on inadequate proxies, such as
class - Ignores symptoms that arrangements are
functioning poorly for all- linked fate
9Framing
- How messages are framed affects how they are
perceived. - Conversations about race and diversity must be
honed to ensure that messages are effective. - We need to start from the assumption that an
awareness of racial disparities is fundamental to
fostering race-conscious approaches to social
justice policy. - This is the first step in proactively achieving
and maintaining diversity in our public
institutions.
104 Frames Commonly Used When Discussing Race
- 1) Minimize the existence of disparities
- Examples
- Things may not be entirely equal, but its not
nearly as bad as it used to be. - The racial playing field is level.
Source Bonilla-Silva (2003) Racism Without
Racists Mazzocco (May 2006) The Dangers of Not
Talking About Race.
114 Frames Commonly Used When Discussing Race
- 2) Blame culture rather than societal structures
or white privilege - Examples
- Blacks are lazy and lack motivation.
- We get what we deserve in life. If some racial
groups arent doing as well as others, people
just need to work harder.
124 Frames Commonly Used When Discussing Race
- 3) Racial phenomena is natural
- Examples
- Racial segregation in housing is natural. After
all, they prefer to live by themselves instead of
interact with us. - Theyd rather be with their own kind anyways.
134 Frames Commonly Used When Discussing Race
- 4) Focusing on individuals and their traits
assumes that all are starting from the same
position in society - Examples
- We should all be judged as individuals based on
our personal merits. No one should receive
special privileges. Its not fair. - People like Tiger Woods, George Lopez, and Oprah
Winfrey are proof that anyone can be successful
in America.
14Challenging These Frames
- These frames are not easy to challenge,
especially those that draw upon our national
values of meritocracy and individuality. - It is important to confront all four of these
frames at the same time. Otherwise, people tend
to just switch to a different frame rather than
change their understanding of race.
15Other Semantic Moves
- I kind of support and oppose. (views on
affirmative action, interracial marriage, and
other topics)
16Thinking Transformatively about Race
- Transactional vs. Transformative
- Affirmative action is predicated on a
transactional approach. It assists individuals
but does not alter the larger system of
structures. - A transformative perspective changes the
arrangement of societal structures and
consequently alters relations to opportunity.
17The Web of Opportunity
- Opportunities in our society are geographically
distributed and often clustered throughout
metropolitan areas. - This creates winner and loser communities, or
high and low opportunity communities - Fair access to these opportunity structures is
limited by various spatial arrangements and
policies, such as sprawl, exclusionary zoning,
and fragmentation
18Connection Between Housing and Schools
High Opportunity
Low Opportunity
19The Web of Opportunity
- Where you are situated within this web of
opportunity plays a tremendous role in your life
chances and outcomes. - Where you live affects where you go to school
- Where you attend school affects the quality of
the education you receive - The quality of your education influences your
ability to attain higher education - The amount of education you receive affects what
job you will work - Your job determines that amount of income you
earn - Your income affects where you live
20Color-blind/ Color-conscious Racism
Understanding of Disparities
Absent Minimal Declining
Present Extreme Persisting
Explanations for Disparities
OPPOSE AA
SUPPORT AA
Structural Historical Abnormal
Individual Cultural Normal
Solutions to Disparities
Color-Conscious
Color-Blind
21Affirmative Action
22Background
- Current affirmative action bans
- California Proposition 209 (1996)
- Washington Proposition I-200 (1998)
- Michigan Proposition 2 (2006)
- States with proposed affirmative action bans
anticipated for the November 2008 ballot - Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska, and
Oklahoma
23The Role of Affirmative Action
- Affirmative action
- Addresses racial disparities
- Interrupts the cycle of poverty
- Responds to inequalities that stem from
historical injustices and present-day structural
impediments - Ensures national security
- Provides a diverse and culturally competent
workforce - Creates more democratic institutions
- Works toward a legitimate democracy
24The Benefits of Racial Diversity in Education
- Helps students avoid or overcome stereotypes by
providing a range of experiences and viewpoints
within a particular racial or ethnic group - 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. ltwww.equaljusticesociety.org/compliancemanu
algt
25The Impact of the Bans
- Need to move fast to preclude the devastating
consequences of similar initiatives in
California, Washington, and Michigan - Following the passage 209 in California, African
Americans at UCLA and Berkeley Law programs
plummeted 80. Latinos dropped by 50 at
Berkeley, and 25 at UCLA. - UCLA saw the lowest levels of incoming African
American freshman since 1973.
Source Killing Affirmative Action Would it
Really Result in a a better, more perfect union.
Available online at http//www.justicejournalism.
org/images/cose/Affirm_Final_PDF.pdf
26The Impact of the Bans
27Framing Affirmative Action
- Affirmative action is complex how it is framed
impacts support - Affirmative action has gained support over past
10 years. In 1995, 58 supported it. In 2003, 63
did. - However, 42 felt it was unfair, and when the
words preferential treatment were used, 72
felt we should not make every effort to improve
the position of blacks.
Source Pew Research Center. Conflicted Views of
Affirmative Action. Online http//people-press.or
g/reports/display.php3?ReportID184
28Dissonance between ideas and practices
- The idea of affirmative action is gaining
support, but it is losing in the electoral
contests. Why? - Implementation gap supporting an idea, but not
the actual implementation thereof
Support of affirmative action programs
Support for the idea of affirmative action
GAP
29The Implementation Gap
- A 1999 survey explored the racial attitudes of
young Americans (ages of 18 - 29) - A majority (54.5 percent) said that it was
unlikely that the United States would elect a
black president in the near future. In contrast,
in the 1996 General Social Survey, 93.5 percent
of those under the age of 30 said that they would
vote for a black presidential candidate nominated
by their party. This might suggest that while
young Americans express rhetorical support for a
black president, they know that their own
attitudes and those of other Americans make such
an eventuality unlikely.
http//www.hamilton.edu/news/polls/racesurvey/defa
ult.html
30Bogardus Social Distance Scale
- Measures how willing people are to be in social
contact with people of various groups/affiliations
(such as different racial/ethnic groups, sexual
orientations, religions, etc.) - As close relatives by marriage
- As my close personal friends
- As neighbors on the same street
- As co-workers in the same occupation
- As citizens in my country
- As only visitors in my country
- Would exclude from my country
Supporting an idea - as long as its at a
comfortable distance
http//srmdc.net/chapter7/7.htm
31Implicit Bias
- Data is complex, but so are people.
- We unconsciously think about race even when we do
not explicitly discuss it. - Implicit thoughts can overpower our explicit
positions - People have multiple networks that may be
activated without our awareness. - Depending on the situation, one network becomes
dominant over the others
32Implicit Bias
- Even though we may fight them, implicit biases
reside within us. - Often these biases are socially unacceptable or
embarrassing, so we try to hide them.
Nevertheless, our unconscious networks are still
operating
33Our Unconscious Networks
- What colors are the following lines of text?
- Vqeb peow ytro
- Cvur zxyq brrm
- Vhrn wwte zytn
- Xoc jbni oew mne
- Zre ytu vee mkp
34Our Unconscious Networks
- What colors are the following lines of text?
- Red
- Blue
- Yellow
- Green
- Brown
35Our Unconscious Networks
- What colors are the following lines of text?
- Sky
- Grass
- Dirt
- Sunshine
- Stop sign
36Our Unconscious Networks
- What colors are the following lines of text?
- Dirt
- Sunshine
- Sky
- Grass
- Stop sign
37Our Unconscious Networks
- What colors are the following lines of text?
- Green
- Blue
- Brown
- Red
- Yellow
38Priming
- Our environment affects our unconscious networks.
- Priming activates mental associations.
- Telling someone a scary story activates a frame
of fear - Claude Steeles stereotype threat
- For example, tell students about to take a test
that Asian students tend to do better than
whites, the whites will perform significantly
worse than if they had not been primed to think
of themselves as less capable than Asians.
http//www.eaop.ucla.edu/0405/Ed18520-Spring05/We
ek_6_May9_2005.pdf
39Race and Class in Higher Ed
40Admissions
- Higher education currently relies on meritocracy,
using indicators such as GPA and SAT scores to
quantify individual ability and predict potential - This is predominantly accepted as being
- Objective
- Valid
- Legitimate
- Natural
41Racialization of Standardized Measurements
- This is problematic because these measurements
are racialized. - GPA depends on school
- AP/5.0 classes are predominantly in middle-class,
white schools - SAT results racially disparate - stronger
predictor of family income - There is also a hidden assumption that these
measurements are aligned with a schools greater
goals and objectives.
42Aligning Missions and Admissions
- Instead schools should start with their goals and
work backwards to achieve them. - What constitutes a good student?
- Grades?
- Career success?
- Degree to which their career is financially or
emotionally rewarding? - Whether they give back to their alma mater and/or
the greater community? - If merit is based on what we value, what does the
way we measure merit say about our values? - Do we value standardized test performance, or
democracy? - What is given the most weight in admissions?
Curriculum? - Is individual success more important than group?
Can both be achieved?
43Transitioning from Individualistic Merit
- The way merit is currently used is
individualistic. - This is problematic because cumulative
disadvantage is based upon group identity- race. - Limitations of individualistic merit
- Reinforces myth of the American dream (hard
work ? success) stigmatizes those who do not
succeed - Marginalized groups do not benefit from a few
members being given preference- need
interventions that lift up group collectively
44 Democratic Merit
- Rather than awarding past achievements,
democratic merit invests in the democratic
potential of individuals. - Admissions practices must confer rewards to those
who will create a more just, more democratic
society - Multi-dimensional It involves the alignment of
the doing of democracy with the creation of
democratic citizens. - Inclusive and diverse schools create bonds
between individuals and the larger community that
encourage democratic participation.
45Aligning Missions and Admissions
- The matter of who should get into any institution
cannot be separated from the question of what
that institution hopes to accomplish. - If diversity and citizenship is a goal, consider
alternatives to achieve - Democratic/citizenship merit
- Indiana 21st Century Scholars
- Reward those who will give back to the community
46Recognizing the Idea of Democratic Merit
- The core purpose of the University of Texas
Austin is to transform lives for the benefit of
society. - UC-Berkeley Among the admissions criteria,
evaluators look for students who will make a
special contribution to our society and culture.
47Aligning Missions and Admissions
- Caution must be taken with admissions policies
because many are thought to do the work of race,
but fall short. - When using class as a proxy, the number of
students of color drops. Explanations - Low-income threshold set too high
- Previous beneficiaries of affirmative action may
not have been low income - Poverty is experienced differently depending on
race low-income white students significantly
outperform Black and Latino/a students - Household income may not be the best measure of
economic disadvantage - Already reduced applicant pool
48Aligning Missions and Admissions
- Class fails to account for the cumulative effect
of factors that act as gatekeepers for people of
color - Segregated in high-poverty, low performing
schools - Higher drop/push out rates
- Less willing to going into debt with school loans
- Inadequate/little assistance in application
process - Racialized admissions policies
49Summary
50Next Steps
- The passing of amendments and initiatives that
ban affirmative action sets potentially dangerous
precedents for other states. - We need to embrace the opportunities
- Act on race in transformative ways
- Individual merit ? Democratic merit
- This is broad discussion is more challenging, but
more fruitful.
51Linked FatesTransformative Change
- Our fates are linked, yet our fates have been
socially constructed as disconnected (especially
through the categories of class, race, gender,
etc.) - We need socially constructed bridges to
transform our society - Conceive of an individual as connected toinstead
of isolated fromthy neighbor
52Questions or Comments? For More Information
Visit Us On-Linewww.KirwanInstitute.org
53Appendix
54 The Miners Canary
Understanding Disparities
55Causes and Perpetuation of Disparities
- Historical factors. Discrimination through
- Slavery
- Jim Crowe
- de jure segregation
- Redlining
- The New Deal
- Present day factors. Disparities in
- Public education
- Housing
- Healthcare
- Wealth disparities
- Crime criminal justice
56Model for Disparate Outcomes
Historically
Today
Biased Structures
De Jure Neutral Structures
What is occurring here to replicate the outcomes
today?
Disparate Outcomes
Disparate Outcomes
Individuals/ Culture
Structures/ Opportunity
57Attribution of disparities
- Dominant public paradigms explaining disparities
bad apples - Defective culture
- Individual faults
- Personal Racism
- Overlooks policies and
- arrangements diseased tree
- Structures
- Institutions
- Cumulative causation
58Illustration of Cumulative Causation Higher
Education
- The present paradigm of bad apples leads many
to believe that higher education is equally
accessible to all - External factors that affect access to higher
education - Availability and quality of healthcare throughout
childhood, extending back to prenatal care - Access to preschool
- Neighborhood effects lead, asthma, high-stress
environments - Family environment
- Neighborhood resources libraries, community
centers - Nutrition
- Resources available to the public school
- Schools concentration of high-poverty students
- These combined institutions create a web of
oppression that is more than the sum of the
individual parts
59The Role of Housing
- At the core of these issues is housing
- Housing is critical in determining access to
opportunity
60Racialization of Poverty
- African Americans are disproportionately
concentrated in low-opportunity neighborhoods - The racial composition of neighborhoods
determines the racial balance in schools, hence
segregation - School segregation has been steadily increasing
in the 90s2 - Half of all African American students attend a
central city district - Only 1 in 6 white students does
Source 1. Determinants of Residential Location
Choice How Important Are Local Public Goods in
Attracting Homeowners to Central City Locations?
Isaac Bayoh, Elena G. Irwin, Timothy Haab 2.
David Rusk. Trends in School Segregation in
Divided we Fail Coming Together through Public
School Choice. The Report of the Century
Foundation Task Force on the Common School. 2002.
61The Link between Racial Economic Segregation
- Strong correlation nearly all schools with a
majority of students of color are high poverty - The average White student attends a school with
student poverty ranging from 23-30 - For the average African American student, school
poverty ranges from 61-78 - The level of concentrated poverty is associated
with the quality of the school
62But isnt it getting better?
- Many feel that this racialization of concentrated
poverty has improved in recent years. - In 1960, African-American families in poverty
were 3.8 times more likely to be concentrated in
high-poverty neighborhoods than poor whites. - In 2000, they were 7.3 times more likely.
Fact Sheet from the Opportunity Agenda, Housing
Neighborhoods and Opportunity. http//www.opportun
ityagenda.org/site/c.mwL5KkN0LvH/b.1433711/k.B7BA/
Housing_Fact_Sheet.htm
63Effect of Disparities Contradict American Ideals
- REPRESENTATION Public institutions do not
reflect their constituents - EQUALITY A race-based social hierarchy
predominates - NON-DISCRIMINATION Unresolved tensions between
the public ideal (colorblindness) and reality
(disparities) - CITIZENSHIP Membership in society conferred
unequally - OPPORTUNITY Dominant ideologies in America such
as open opportunity and individualism are hollow - FREEDOM People in poverty cannot fully exercise
their freedoms - DEMOCRACY Cumulatively these represent an
ILLEGITIMATE DEMOCRACY - These contradictions must be communicated to
the public
64Moving Forward The Impact on Higher Education
65Moving Forward in the Social/Political Environment
- Although not an ideal social/political climate,
this is a unique opportunity for higher
education - Colleges and universities have been defending
diversity for decades, but not enough has been
done for race or socioeconomic bases - Attacks on affirmative action/diversity provide
an opportunity to shift from a reactive to a
proactive agenda - Need short, medium and long term strategies
66Short, Medium, Long Term Strategies
- Short Term
- Act quickly to develop policies that ensure a
racially diverse campus. - Continue building public support for diversity
- Meet collaborate with universities/states/stakeh
olders - Medium Long Term
- Develop ongoing research and data collection
plans to understand the full effects of these
bans - Broaden and challenge the meaning of merit
- Revisit the universitys vision and mission, and
ensure policies and practices are in alignment - Bakke and societal discrimination/racial justice
67Looking Ahead in Higher Education
- There are four primary areas for higher education
to consider - Outreach
- Recruitment
- Admissions
- Retention
68Outreach
- To ensure a highly qualified and diverse
applicant pool, higher education must increase
outreach efforts to high-poverty schools and
communities - Creating or expanding mentoring/tutoring support
and summer programs - Providing support to and partnering with
community organizations - Advocating for education reform and working to
build a more equitable P-12 system
69Recruitment
- After Initiative 200, the percentage of African
Americans at the University of Washington
decreased as a result in a decline in application
rates. - Schools must prepare for being perceived as an
unwelcoming, exclusive environment. - The discouragement effect (Weirzbicki and
Hirschman) - Schools should be proactive about emphasizing
their commitment to inclusion and diversity,
particularly when doing outreach to potential
students. - Revised admissions policies could also counteract
this chilling effect.
70Retention
- The work of creating a diverse institution does
not stop with the demographic composition of the
student body. - Diversity is a transformative goal, not solely a
numerical one. - Harnessing the genuine benefits of diversity
within and across an institution is a challenge. - Teachers, administrators and staff must share the
goal and be culturally competent. - Teachers must have the skills and knowledge to
create a safe, supportive, and inclusive space.
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75Alternative Approaches
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evale_rose.pdf
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