Title: How Should I Talk about Race in My Mostly White Classroom?
Headings: How Should I Talk about Race in My Mostly White Classroom?
How Should I Talk about Race in My Mostly White Classroom?
1. Set up group guidelines.
2. Help students accept discomfort and uncertainty.
3. Clarify that the goal is not to be “colorblind.”
4. Acknowledge that learning about race and racism is a process.
5. Provide opportunities to learn about others and foster empathy.
6. Address white privilege in non-defensive ways.
7. Connect to ally behavior and engage in social justice.

Content: One way to start the conversation is to talk with students about the ways bias manifests in institutions (i.e. discrimination). Explain that bias can impact people in two ways: by discriminating against some or advantaging others, depending on race or other aspects of identity. Define white privilege as: “ unearned and often unseen or unrecognized advantages, benefits or rights conferred upon people based on their membership in a dominant group (e.g. white people, heterosexual people, men, able-bodied, etc.) beyond what is commonly experienced by members of the non-dominant group.” Another angle to discuss privilege is to talk with your students about the ways they feel disempowered or discriminated against as young people, often through ageism directed towards them. These can include things like not being allowed to do certain things they think they should be allowed to do; assumptions adults make about them; or discriminatory acts that target them.