Preface xiii
How is it that such eff ects are learned and through what everyday mech-
anisms? How do the pedagogical dimensions of overt white supremacy dif-
fer from the more covert expressions of white dominance in the alleged
raceless or color-blind contemporary era, and what eff ect do they have on
black youth? Do children of color still learn from school and society that
they are inept and if so, to what degree? Do they learn this diff erently and
if so, how? What happens to children who rarely hear positively affi rm-
ing words? What happens to children who accept the negative identity fre-
quently ascribed to them? What happens to them?
I fear that many children die inside, and our whole society, even if un-
knowingly, dies a little bit right along with them. Without a language of
hopeful possibility, children become fatalistic about their future, grow
cynical, and become what society tells them they are. Th ey become low
achievers. All too oft en, in the midst of progress in more privileged school
districts and wealthy suburbs, many African Americans attend substandard
schools with substandard resources and substandard teachers who race to
beat the children out of the doors at the close of the school day. Of course,
this is not the case everywhere, but if it is the case anywhere, that is one case
too many.
Some Time in 1979 . . .
Still troubled, I found myself struggling to explain the how and why of rac-
ism and naively contemplated what might be done to get rid of the irk-
some problem once and for all. I wrote an essay back in 1979 on racism and
whether black history courses can eradicate racism. I did not believe then
(and do not believe now) that racism has much at all to do with ignorance.
To the contrary, I argued that racism is caused by insecurities inherent to
the human experience and exacerbated to varying degrees by unfulfi lled
yearnings for security and belonging wrought by society. I wrote:
All of us, at birth, become detached from our original oneness with nature
and truth. We are forced to attune ourselves to a foreign and contradictory
human existence. Th us, each step we take into this new existence brings with
it fear, insecurity, and the challenge to fuse the perfection of our pre-birth
existence with the imperfection of our lived experiences. If we succeed in
meeting this challenge, we fi nd truth and become productive and creative
individuals. If we fail, we fi nd deception and remain insecure and afraid. Th e
extent to which we fail or succeed in this endeavor is largely determined by
the nature of the society into which we are born.
