I was surprised when Professor Early mentioned that one of the more influential movies about the African-American experience was actually done by whites. This is not the first time I had heard of this practice but each time it surprises me. The audacity of someone to tell someone else’s story and expect an audience to take it at face value is shocking. Within this practice bias is certainly possible and in many cases clearly evident. It made me begin to question how many resources are created in this manner and where do I or should I as an educator draw the line.
I am a white woman who has taught in minority schools for my entire career. I do present material that matches the demographics of my classroom. I am well aware that my background and upbringing color my perspective and in some ways bias what I present in my classroom, but I work diligently to overcome these obstacles. I have never given any thought to the producers of the material I use in my classroom however. In retrospect I am certain that some of my materials used to tell the story of my students’ history were indeed created by people not of that heritage and culture. I knowingly used Black Like Me as a reference when teaching about the need for the Civil Rights Movement. Of course this book was recommended to me by a white history teacher. Perhaps our own cultural lens has blinded us from seeing or hearing about better materials for our teaching.
This leads me to a possible topic for this institute. Perhaps I should research educational material created by whites that portray the story of non-whites.
– Carrie Brandon
