More Than Men in White Sheets: Seven Concepts Critical to the Teaching of Racism as Systemic Inequality

Abstract

Most college students tend to view racism as individual bias and prejudice and lack an understanding of the broader systemic nature of the problem. The purpose of this article is to examine how to help undergraduate students move from viewing racism as individual bigotry to recognizing its complex nature as a systemic phenomenon that pervades every aspect of United States society. Seven concepts are presented as necessary ingredients for any college course that seeks to address systemic racism. The seven critical concepts are: race as a social construction; dominant and subordinated groups; levels of racism; white privilege; internalized racism; multiple social group memberships; and historical inequality. The discussion of each concept includes a description, brief historical context, and an example of how the concept can be taught in the college classroom.

Notes

The author would like to thank Dr. Ximena Zúñiga for her help with an earlier version of this paper.