schooling-as-a-white-good

Presidential Address: Schooling as a White Good

Benjamin Justice, Rutgers University

Abstract

• Key Thesis: Schooling in the U.S. has never been a public good; historically, it has promoted white advantage.

• Three mechanisms identified:

  • Relationship of schooling to place.

  • Knowledge imparted by schools.

  • Hobbling of non-white children.

• Counter-Majoritarian Activism: Progress towards a public good in schooling has resulted from racial activism by non-white individuals.

• Racial Justice Struggle: Moving education from a white good to a public good is central to the fight for racial justice.

Keywords

• Education and public good

• White advantage

• Hobbling in education

• Racial justice and education

Introduction

• Little Rock Central High School incident (1957):

  • White mob protests the enrollment of nine Black students.

  • Arkansas governor’s support of the mob over students.

• Historical narrative challenge: Are such events exceptions or evidence of underlying systemic issues?

Historical Viewpoints on Schooling

• Progressive View: Focuses on the public good of schooling and gradual improvement.

  • Suggests past events are exceptions or isolated incidents.

• Economic View: Schools allocate resources and generate human capital.

  • Misses the role of racism in the educational framework.

Critical Race Theories and Non-White Narratives

• Critical Race Perspective: Educates through the lens of resistance from non-white groups against white dominance in schooling.

• Little Rock exemplifies systemic issues rather than exceptions.

Part 1: Historical Problems with Public Good Framing

• Understanding "Public Good":

  • Derived from Latin 'publicus'; means relevance to people or government but has historically excluded many.

  • Existence of social hierarchies informing who benefits from the public good.

Historical Exclusions in Education

• Historical accounts reveal common misconceptions that public schooling benefitted everyone equally.

• Example: In 1840, many free Black individuals were denied voting rights, showing structural inequity.

• Concept of "Public Good" at the Time: Related to stability rather than equitable access to education.

Part 2: Alternative Framework: Schooling as a White Good

• Definition of White Good:

  • Reflects organized advantages for Whites through legal and social privileges.

  • Structural advantages emerge from legal frameworks that historically oppressed non-whites.

• Misinterpretation of Educational Value: Assumes schooling is universally good, masking the racialized disadvantages.

Historical Context of Schooling

• Public education as an institution developed primarily for white citizens during a diverse society.

• Schooling linked to land ownership and access to economic benefits for Whites—often derived from exploitation of non-whites.

Part 3: Mechanisms Securing White Advantage

Land Use and School Placement

• Historical land acquisition practices centralized on Indigenous land dispossession.

• Schooling served to reinforce social hierarchies and control over the get-go.

Curriculum Design

• Control of Content: Majority of curricula have historically reinforced white narratives over marginalized voices.

• Impact of Historical Narratives: Textbooks often reflect Eurocentric viewpoints, obscuring the experience of non-white groups.

Control of Opportunity: "Hobbling"

• Concept of 'hobbling' denotes limiting the educational achievements of non-white children through economic and social barriers.

• Racialized children face systemic disadvantages affecting their overall educational and social mobility.

Part 4: Violence in Schooling as a White Good

Historical Contexts of Violence

• Violent Intrusions: Lynching and mob violence against non-white groups exemplified the lengths white Americans would go to maintain schooling for whites only.

• Controlling Spaces: Laws and violence were tools for ensuring white supremacy in education.

Conclusion: Moving Towards a Public Good

• Reframing education from a white-dominated notion to a public good requires serious historical analysis.

• The role of scholars is vital in documenting and changing narratives around schooling's impact on race.

• The ongoing mission: transform historical and structural narratives to create equitable educational experiences for all.