Are people less courageous when it comes to discussing issues that involve race?
Facilitator Bill Gregory put that question to the District 200 Board of Education last Thursday during their workshop on race and the achievement gap at Oak Park and River Forest High School.
Several examples and scenarios were discussed, one involving a faculty executive council meeting this past fall, attended by board President Jacques Conway. At the board’s November workshop, Conway had mentioned the meeting during a discussion on perceptions of leadership at the high school. Conway noticed that those sitting at the council table were all white while a few blacks were seating in the area away from the table.
Conway maintained that a black person walking into the school for the first time and into that meeting might conclude that the decision-makers were sitting at the table and those on the outside were spectators. The setting, he noted, would not look inclusive to casual spectators.
Michael Byers, an OPRF teacher who attended Thursday’s workshop, explained that the black faculty members sitting on the outside had the position of sergeant-at-arms, monitoring the door to make sure no one walks in who is not a participant. Byers and one other black faculty member are sergeants-at-arms for the council and choose to serve in the post. An invited board member would also sit at the table, he added.
But if the public were unaware of the protocol, Gregory asked how board members, if they happened upon the scene, would react to the apparent exclusivity. John Rigas said he’d quietly ask a member of the council about protocol. Dietra Millard said she would invite everyone to sit at the table, recognizing that some might decline.
No one suggested that racism was involved in the example, and Gregory stressed that speaking up was not about making a scene or taking some grand stance. He said it’s about speaking to an apparent racial issue openly rather than keeping silent.
“How does race matter in that example?” Gregory asked. “What’s going on there that there’s a racial disparity and does that matter, and how do we feel about that-that white people were at the table and they might have been seen as more important? How does it make us feel in that situation if we’re at the table or outside the table?
“The only question I ask you to consider,” Gregory added, “is do we lose our courage when race gets identified? We don’t know the answer to that until we get into specific situations.”
The board addressed other examples of dealing with race issues openly. Conway said he’s heard some faculty make comments about black male and white female students showing too much affection in the halls-saying why are those girls all over those black boys? Conway said he’s questioned the adults about such statements.
Gregory said that’s an opportunity to address not only the inappropriateness of certain student behavior in the hallway but also the racist assumptions of the adult. But if one does lose the courage to address a racial environment and conflicts, the next question is why, Gregory asked.
Board member Ralph Lee offered an answer: “I think most people are aware that things of a racial nature are things that people have strong feelings about. I think most adults understand that race is a more emotional issue.”
