From racial stereotyping and deficit discourse toward a critical race theory in teacher education

Multicultural Education, Fall 2001 by Solorzano, Daniel G, Yosso, Tara J

In dealing with racial stereotypes in our teacher education classrooms, we need to hear about, discuss, and analyze those racial experiences that People of Color and Whites encounter in their public and private worlds. Not only do we need to discuss overt or blatant racial stereotypes, attitudes, and behaviors, but we also need to listen, understand, and analyze racial microaggressions: those "subtle, stunning, often automatic, and non-verbal exchanges which are `put downs' of blacks by offenders" (Pierce, Carew, Pierce-Gonzalez, & Wills, 1978, p. 66; Solorzano, 1998). Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic (1992) describe how:

Racism's victims become sensitized to its subtle nuances and codewords-the body language, averted gazes, exasperated looks, terms such as `you people,' `innocent whites,' 'highly qualfied black,"articulate'and so on-that, whether intended or not, convey racially charged meanings. (p. 1283)

One might add other coded language to this list such as "quotas," "preferences," "affirmative action," "reverse discrimination," and "illegal aliens" (Williams, 1991). In our teacher education classrooms, we need to closely and thoroughly examine the cumulative effect of these racial microaggressions on both minority and non-minority students and teachers (Solorzano, 1998; Solorzano & Villalpando, 1998; Solorzano & Yosso, 2000; Yosso, 2000).

Conclusion

Critical race theory in teacher education provides a framework to challenge genetic and cultural deficit theories. In fact, using the five themes of CRT, we can engage in the following four exercises to better understand and challenge race, racism, and racial stereotypes in our classrooms.

(1) Define, analyze, and give examples for the concepts of race, racism, and racial stereotypes. Engaging in a discussion, analysis, and debate around these concepts is a critical first step. Students can examine and give examples of racism in its institutional and individual forms, its macro and micro forms, conscious and unconscious elements, and its cumulative effects on both minority and non-minority students.

(2) Identify racial stereotypes in film, television, and print forms of media, which are used to justify attitudes and behavior toward students of color. For example, students can conduct a comparative analysis of three high school genre films, Stand and Deliver (1988), Lean on Me (1989), and Dangerous Minds (1995), looking for the quantity and quality of Black and Latina/o characters. A discussion of these images can lead to the development of alternative story lines and scripts for the portrayal of students of color in film. This same content analysis and alternative portrayals can be performed on television programs and news broadcasts.

Documentary films on the historical and contemporary condition of the Black and Chicano communities can provide an invaluable resource for developing an antiracist and anti-sexist curriculum. For instance, such Public Broadcasting Service film series as the Eyes on the Prize America's Civil Rights Years (1986), Eyes on the Prize II. America at the Racial Crossroads (1990), and Chicano: History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement (1996) can serve as an important filmic base to challenge some of the racial and gender stereotypes related to Communities of Color. This visual curriculum can also be supplemented by the work of other artists who use their talents to challenge racial stereotypes and deficit discourse, as evidenced in the CD Music for The Native Americans by Robbie Robertson and The Red Road Ensemble (1994) and the comedy CD Alien Nation by George Lopez (1996).