Conversation on Race

A few days a go I had a conversation with someone on the topic of race. In this person's opinion, there was far too great of an emphasis on race on the part of the superintendent and other administrators. They cited several things that have been done in the last year or so as evidence that race has entered into the conversation of education far too often. I would like to personally address this concern so that my views on the subject can be understood publicly.

First of all, let me say that I am personally tired of race. As a black man who has lived through the 50's, 60's and up to now, I was hoping that it would no longer be my constant companion. As a child I was hoping that some day I could grow up in a society where race truly did not matter, or have an impact on any aspect of my life. I am sure that this was the hope of many black people of my generation. I am sure, given the conversations that I have had with many colleagues of the lighter persuasion, that they have been able to move on and transcend something as mundane and trivial as the impact of race on this society. After all, we have a black President who was elected by a large number of white people, so aren't we now officially past race? I want to share a few experiences and some data that might make you question whether that assumption is true or not.

Earlier this year, I attended the gathering of the Wisconsin School District Administrators, Business Officials and School Board Members. There were well over a thousand people in attendance. At one point during a keynote address, I surveyed the room. It was a large ballroom at the Midwest Center in downtown Milwaukee. Out of all of the people in that room I noticed that there were not more than a handful (less than 10) people of color. The dearth of superintendents of color did not surprise me. Until the hiring of the new superintendent of Kenosha, I was one of only two black superintendents in the state of Wisconsin. I was the only one in attendance. The sparse number that were there represented all of the current board members and business officials of color in the state. I may be a little sensitive about this but tell me, how does this depict a color blind society that has moved beyond race, when the representation of those who impact education in the highest positions is so lacking in diverse presence? I am a lifelong resident of the state of Wisconsin, having grown up in Racine. Never in my wildest dreams did I believe that at 56 years old I would be one of only two black people running a school district in the state of Wisconsin. What an absolute disappointment, given all of the assistant principals and principals of color that I have known, who labored before me and aspired to have the chance of being a superintendent. The only conclusion that I can come to is that none of them must of been qualified (sarcasm).

The other issue that screams out against our colorblind society is that of student achievement. As I constantly examine the data of my school district the data is inescapable. Students of color have the lowest graduation rates. Their ACT scores, as a group, are at least 5 points lower in each category. They are the fewest in the AP classes but, among the few of those who take those classes, they represent an inordinate amount of D's and F's. These, by the way, are the best of that sub-population. Among freshmen at the high school they rank first in F's. The state of Wisconsin ranks last in the graduation rate of black males. That distinction used to be the domicile of Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. When it comes to placement in special education, rate of expulsion and disciplinary statistics, students of color rank first. Again, I can sympathize with those who are tired of an emphasis on race in discussing these facts, but what is the common factor in all of this. For some reason, race will not relinquish its death grip as a factor on the lives of people of color in the United States. Keep in mind that I am writing this from the perspective of one who is a "success story". I am black and have made it. Not a day goes by when I have the luxury of taking a vacation from race. In some places that I travel I am assessed by it. Even in our colorblind society people talk about someone being 'light skinned' and not talking with the usual 'black dialect', as a qualification to be elected to the highest office of the land (see Harry Reid).

You might think that because I am writing these things that I see racists around every corner. I don't. I don't play upon the guilt of liberal people to try to gain some kind of emotional leverage on my viewpoint either. I try to judge people by the content of their character, rather than by the color of their skin. I have friends of every race and ethnicity. All of that doesn't change either the sad personal experiences that I have due to race or the data that seems to endlessly point to the fact that it is far better to grow up white in the United States, than to be either black or hispanic. It greatly increases your likelihood of success. This is not lost on young people as they scan the landscape looking for a representation of role models in their local sphere that give enough evidence of the possibility of success. They have to believe that it is possible. If I had been a high school student attending the conference at the Midwest Center and saw that there was only one black superintendent in attendance out of the hundreds of superintendents there, what would I have believed that my chances were? I guess that when we have colorblind experiences and data, we can move on to a colorblind society.