Rational
“There are levels to this” is a phrase used by my two favorite ESPN anchors, Michael Smith and Jemele Hill. The levels of oppression are found at the local, state and federal levels. They are tightly woven between the stars and stripes into the fabric of America’s narrative and have created an impenetrable curtain between prosperity and poverty. The original architects created a masterpiece of division, and many of their structures remain standing both in physical and sociological forms. This isn’t by accident. It’s as American as apple pie.
One of my favorite pieces of literature from the Civil Rights Movement wasn’t spoken or written on this continent at all, but was presented before a packed house at Cambridge University. There, in front of eager onlookers, James Baldwin debated William Buckley on the topic of “Is the American Dream at the Expense of the American Negro?” While Buckley gave a competent argument, Baldwin effectively contends that America’s prosperity is the result of a nation methodically exploiting marginalized people for centuries. Baldwin explains these “levels:”
From a very literal point of view, the harbors and the ports and the railroads of the country- the economy, especially in the South—could not conceivably be what they are if they had not had cheap labor. I am speaking very seriously, and this is not an overstatement: but I picked the cotton, I carried it to market, I built the railroads under someone else’s whip for nothing. For nothing. (2)
While Baldwin wasn’t a slave himself, he was the descendent of slaves and experienced the systems of economic separation that were still intact during his lifetime.
The evidence that Baldwin brings forth is historically accurate and overwhelming. Baldwin’s ability to trace past events and connect them to present realities is outstanding and the facts are evident to all who have stepped foot on American soil. Baldwin highlights a number of systems to show how structures on various levels can create a scenario where whites, because of privilege, look down upon African Americans. Baldwin explains, “It is a terrible thing that a people surrender to the notion that one-ninth of its population is beneath them.” (3) He contends it’s equally as sad when that one-ninth begins to question their own self-worth and place in society; he states, “it comes as a great shock, around the age of 5, 6 or 7, that the country you have pledged your allegiance to hasn’t pledged its allegiance to you.” (4)
To these cogent points, Buckley had no response. Yet his shortcomings in the debate are through no fault of his own. Buckley has a hard time understanding this point of view. He is neither black nor poor. He hasn’t walked in the shoes of the victimized and lacks understanding. Thus, his reference point is cloudy at best. He seems somewhat oblivious to the systems that have driven a wedge between people of color and their attainment of the American Dream. Baldwin says how it is, how he’s seen it and how he’s lived it, while Buckley has only read about it.
The goal of this unit is to help students unpack the narrative and the systems within it to understand how things look so different from one neighborhood to the next. I have worked in education for the past ten years. Many of the school textbooks that I have at my disposal tell a narrative of the nation’s history that I not only question, but also believe to be inconsistent with reality. While there are several lenses one can use to reflect on the collective reality of a society, my key focus is the story of black and brown people.
I currently live in Pittsburgh, the nation’s “Most Livable City” according to Forbes Magazine in 2010 and The Economist in 2014. It’s a smaller city but has one of everything. It boasts a number of sports, arts and cultural attractions. Pittsburgh has some of the greatest institutions of higher learning in America including Carnegie Mellon, The University of Pittsburgh, and Duquesne, not to mention UPMC and Highmark healthcare systems. Moreover, Pittsburgh’s cost of living is extremely low, and it is creating more jobs than it’s losing. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in February 2018, Pittsburgh had an unemployment rate of 3.9%, while the U.S. average was 4.1%. (5) While people don’t live lavishly here, magazine covers flaunt a city where everyone seems to be doing fairly well.
Yet when one takes the time to look a bit closer, particularly in the neighborhoods of Homewood and The Hill, a very different story is being told. Both areas are predominantly African American and are struggling to find their page in the story of America’s “Most Livable City.” I am not from this city, and so this reality puzzles and at times infuriates me. If the city’s prosperity is best represented by a pizza, how can some residents take four or five pieces of the pie while leaving others with only the crust? How can people be complicit with such a reality and not demand more of their local representatives, educational leaders and themselves? What present-day and historical barriers encourage this mindset?
While these obstacles confront my students daily, I want them to question what they see and ask for answers. Moreover, I want them to ask “why?” How did the affluence scale become so unbalanced, both here and throughout the nation? In “the land of the free and the home of the brave,” why does it seem that in any urban city, people of color are more likely to come from challenging circumstances? Why does the real estate market trend upward when the majority of residents have lighter complexions and home values drop downward as skin tones darken?
The overarching idea of the unit is to introduce “America’s table of prosperity,” who set it and who assigned the seats. How are some allowed to eat hardy, while others are forced to fight over the leftovers? The table of the American Dream is not a buffet but a sit-down dinner, and only a select few have reservations. To help students understand these realities, the unit focuses on four topics: The Constitutional Convention and Federal Legislation, Education in America, Economic Opportunity and the Judicial System. How have these structures impacted black and brown people in the past and today? How have they created a gap between the haves and have nots? What can be done to change these realities?
While most of my day-to-day exposure is on a micro-level, the challenges facing urban schools impact educators throughout the nation. Anyone who has worked in city schools can sympathize with the similar challenges we willingly take on. Every person can learn from communities that don’t mirror their own. By examining how privilege is created and preserved, all parties will be better equipped to recognize it and begin to dismantle the inequities that support its infrastructure. If we are ever to truly create a dynamic where people are judged by their character and not their color, then this must be done in thought and consistent participation by everyone.
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