Running Head: Racial Disparities in Education Racial Disparities within Education Tatiana Martinez Georgia State University Introduction Within the world of academia, aptitude and intelligence are usually measured by standardized testing and the level of information one can attain within a certain amount of time. When a particular group consistently scores lower than another in terms of performance, the group with the lower score is considered to be inferior, or subordinate. Throughout the years there has been a noticeable disparity between African American students and European American students as it relates to education. However, are the differences and experiences that accompany the African-American culture being factored in when …show more content…
Colorblindness, as defined by the American Psychologist Association, is a sign of being fair-minded and is a strategy designed to manage diversity by reducing racial differences (Neville, Awad, & Brooks, 2013). This ideology has been widely used in an attempt to eradicate the discomfort experienced by racial prejudice. However, by incorporating a colorblind curriculum into the education system, you send a message that we are “all alike” and that the uniqueness of a culture is irrelevant and unappreciated. Furthermore, the course of study will typically gravitate towards the dominant culture’s point of view. This will result in a lack of interest for minorities who recognize that their “color”, or race, is indeed evident and is an essential component of their identity. African-American youth can clearly identify that the color of their skin differs from that of their European American peers. Therefore, if the only lesson African-American children and adolescents hear refers to European accomplishments, and the accomplishments of people of color are more or less non-existent, they will subliminally attribute success to the individual that looks like the people they are learning