EDST 391-083
Color-Blind Nation: Worthy or Worthless Ideal?

• Asante ("The Afrocentric idea in education") {ER}
• Schlesinger ("The disuniting of America") {ER}

Asante argues that an Afrocentric education would help black children develop a strong black cultural identity which he predicts, in turn, would improve their academic performance. The alternative, he suggests, is for them to learn the debilitating Eurocentric or white supremacist point of view that he believes permeates schools today.

In contrast, Schesinger argues that an education that highlights racial-ethnic differences, as he believes Afrocentrism does, promotes racial tension and separatism and enhances blacks' sense of victimization but not their academic performance. He refers to this emphasis on racial identity as the "cult of identity."

1. After reading these two authors, and after reflecting on your own experiences, how important do you think it is for high schools and colleges to emphasize--or deemphasize--people's racial identity as a basis for their personal identities? Please explain. Note that you are not being asked to evaluate Afrocentrism. Afrocentrism is only one kind of program that emphasizes racial identity. Instead, you are being asked about the merits of centering one's personal identity around race (and not necessarily an African racial identity).