Friday, July 20, 2018

Everyday Antiracism: Getting Real About Race in School Paperback – June 1, 2008 by Mica Pollock (THe New Press)



I do "unlearning prejudice" work with students at several high schools in my area and just purchased this book as a possible resource for a school that is dealing with racial problems. I have also written a book on unlearning prejudice, a part of which focuses on students (Almost Hereditary: A White Southerner's Journey Out of Racism). Had I known of this book when I wrote my own, I would have definitely referred to it.

Everyday Antiracism is an important resource for teachers and, to some extent, administrators. For the most part, the book's 64 short essays, each of which focuses on a different or slightly different theme, do not offer detailed "how to" instructions. Instead they serve as pointers to help give a general direction or offer ideas to pursue. At the end of each article are discussion questions related to (1) the main idea of the essay, (2) a strategy to adopt, and (3) how the idea can be implemented right away. In some cases, a list of related resources (books, etc.) is given.

A number of the essays in the book's first two sections pertain to schools that have students of various races. (Section A: "Race Categories: We Are All the Same, but our Lives are Different" and Section B: "How Opportunities are Provided and Denied Inside Schools") The next couple of sections relate to curriculum and a number of these essays can be applied to schools that are mostly white (as is the case in my area) as well as schools where that is not the case. The last two sections relate to (1) the students' parents and communities and (2) endeavoring to change a school system that does not foster equality.

Some teachers may only find a few essays that give them ideas for their classes but even so the book will have proved valuable.

I would recommend this book to any school or school system that wants to work toward less prejudice.

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