When you examine any of the quality of life indicators — whether it is the amount of wealth and the rate of employment, the quality of health or access to healthcare services, ghetto dwelling or equal access to quality housing, and access to quality education or the educational achievement gap — it seems that the darker your skin the worst you are by any of those measures.
Evidence abounds — too much to be summarized in this space. But findings from some well-respected research paint a compelling picture.
The first study released in 2010, conducted by the Institute on Assets and Social Policy at Brandeis University, poignantly and pointedly, confirmed the growing wealth gap between white and African-American families. The study shows that during a period of 23 years, between 1984 and 2007, when America enjoyed an unprecedented economic boom, the poverty and wealth divide quadrupled among blacks and whites. Middle-income white households gained far more wealth than high-income African-American households.
The study also reported that African-American families had more debt than assets, which resulted in a great percentage of African Americans with absolutely no assets to rely on during economic hard times. Thomas Shapiro, co-author of the research, said “Our study shows a broken chain of achievement. Even when African Americans do everything right — get an education and work hard at well-paying jobs — they cannot achieve the wealth of their white peers in the workforce, and that translates into very different life chances.”
The study lays the cause of the fourfold increase in the wealth gap directly at the feet of public policies that have been passed to benefit the wealthiest Americans, and the continuing discriminatory practices in the housing, labor, and credit markets. Shapiro, who has authored “The Hidden Costs of Being African American,” and co-authored “Black Wealth/White Wealth,” states, “A U-turn is needed. Public policies have and continue to play a major role in creating and sustaining the racial wealth gap, and they must play a role in closing it.”
Even today, the unemployment rate shows great disparities. While the overall rate is 9.1 percent, it is over 16 percent among African Americans. The unemployment rate among teens is 19 percent overall, but over 40 percent among African-American teens.
When it comes to education and academic achievement, the trend is just as disturbing. Many studies have been done, and continue to be conducted, but in the book, “Race, Class, and the Achievement Gap: The Promise of Student Potential,” the authors provide glaring disparities between White, Latino, and African-American students:
- One out of 12 White students can competently read from a science section of the newspaper compared to one out of 50 Latino students, and only one out of 100 African-American students.
- One out of 10 White students can complete multi-step, elementary algebra problems compared to one in 30 Latino students, and one in 100 African-American students.
- Seven out of 10 White students have mastered usage and computation of fractions, percents, and averages compared to four out of 10 Latino students, and only three out of 10 African-American students.
Unfortunately, this trend continues in the overall educational achievement gap. Upon graduation from high school, African-American and Latino students are performing at the 8th grade level of Whites in both reading and math.
A protracted history of segregation, poor quality schools, broken families, and poor economic conditions all are contributing factors to the poor educational outcomes.
When it comes to the overall state of health, the data is consistently clear. The morbidity and mortality rates are higher for blacks in most chronic (heart disease, cancers, diabetes, etc.) than that of whites. So are the death rates. This is not a surprise when one considers the inability to access quality healthcare or buy foods that promote health, and other activities that promote healthy outcomes.
While equating the color of skin to the level of discrimination and racism may first appear as a too simple or superficial comparison, one only needs to track the annals of history and how difference groups have fared and assimilated, and partaken of the American way of life. One must also look to the ravages and impact of the long institution of slavery on individuals and the family unit when it comes to African-Americans.
In addition, there continues to be socialization and perpetuation of racial stereotypes based on skin color. Nothing paints a more poignant picture than the results of a CNN study on children’s racial beliefs, attitudes, and preferences. To say the finding are alarming is an understatement. They are startling.
When kindergarten and middle school children, in schools geographically dispersed with comparative composition of white and black students, were asked about positive traits of children their age or in their class, or with whom they preferred to associate, the answers were frighteningly consistent:
- "White students selected lighter skin tones more than Black students when indicating positive attitudes and beliefs, social preferences and color preferences.”
- “White children tended to select darker skin tones than their Black classmates for the dumb, mean, bad, and ugly child.”
It was gut-wrenching to watch four and five year-olds select pictures of lighter skin tone children as being smarter, nicer, better looking; and then select children with darker skin tones to be dumber, meaner, bad, and uglier. The darkest skin tone picture was selected most of the time.
Where and how did such young children form these beliefs and preferences? As they grow older, become more educated, will these beliefs and preferences follow them into the workplace? Will they affect their choice on where they choose to live, work, and with whom they choose to socialize?
Are people of darker skin hues more discriminated against?
How can this cycle be broken?
What do you think?
Comments
Sad But True.
To read the statistical differences between the races in our society is somewhat stressful to me even as a student. To see the facts and realize that still today the white population dominates in all areas of life, makes one wonder what actually is the cause of these differences and why is there still no equality? If there is a black student and a white student attending the same school, living in the same neighborhood, and hanging around the same people, why is it that those two individuals will not have the same outcome in the future? It is true that whites do not always have the broken home lives, economic problems and health issues as often as other races but we should not use this as an excuse to defend the unequal data that overwhelms society today.
Education
In order to break the cycle of discrimination against darker skin hues needs to start at a young age. I think children need to learn that skin type doesn't account for how smart/dumb, good/bad someone is. Media plays and parents both play huge roles in instilling ideas about groups, races, and skin types. If media were to have programs that has different ethnicity's interacting and being able to socialize with one another, I think this could help alleviate the cycle of discrimination. People might start to realize that nothing is wrong with a person of darker skin and that they have just as much ability than people of white skin.
Adults breaking the cycle
We should not only look at the children to break the cycle of discrimination but adults as well. I think that media, tv shows, ads, movies etc should help to relieve the vicious cycle. I think if people start seeing, watching, and hearing more positive things about darker skinned people, it might help adults change their view on the darker skinned people; thus allowing them to teach it to the younger generation. Media should encourage people to step out of their comfort zone and talk to people they normally wouldn't. This would allow people to realize that darker skinned people aren't dumb. If a person were to step out of their comfort zone, it would expand their comfort zone and help fight against color discrimination.
I definitely think that
I definitely think that people of a darker skin color will always be discriminated against more than a person of a lighter skin color...it all ties into the phrase "the whiter, the lighter, the brighter the better" not only does kids recieve these racial ideas from home, but also in schools, stores, and mostly the media...Whenever we see pictures of people on commercials, movies in the stores the majority of the time its of white people, and when they do display pictures of blacks they are imaged to be less superior than the whites. In movies darker skinned people are portrayed as comics, criminals, and illiterate, along side of the all white heros, saints and so on. So its no wonder kids have these ideas and the reason is, is because racism is displayed so broadly in our society still today.
Something Needs to Change
After reading this article, I was reminded how fortunate I am to be in the situations that I am in. However, the article made me extremely sad to see how African American and Latino children are often not given the same opportunities that whites are. One of the most important opportunities in life (in my opinion) is education. It is sad to think that due to racial factors and money issues, children all over the world are starting to judge others as well as themselves. As these children grow up, they will share their understandings of race with others, whether they do so intentionally or unintentionally. Sadly, white children grow up thinking they are the best, and at the same time, Latino and African American children are growing up thinking that whites are the best/smartest as well. This is not true, but is perceived to be true due to the poor education that many non-whites are receiving. Something needs to change!
Darker skin
I too have read such statistics that show African Americans and Latinos are at more of a disadvantage because of their race. I think it is most unfortunate that th cycle continues even though in some individuals eyes racism and discrimination has ended. By the history of the United States and racial suppression I can see that this issue will not be resolved any time soon. However, it is the impact of one active advocate for change in policy and practice that can make a difference in the way racial minorities are treated in the United States.
Interestingly enough I have found that although our system discriminates against those individuals that are of darker skin color, within the racial groups it appears that by being "more white" than the average group member, one can be socially outcast from their own racial group. Recently I had a conversation with an American Indian female that stated because she was "more white" than some of her fellow American Indian classmates she was made fun of and shunned from the group. Therefore, it can appear that the darker one is the more disadvantage they will have in society, but they will in turn have more social advantage within their group. Please share your thoughts and feelings on this topic too.
...
It was disturbing to see those statistics about how white children are doing so much better in every field than children who are black or hispanic. It was disturbing but not something that I didn't already know.
As for children viewing lighter people as better and darker people as inferior or bad, it's very common and that is really sad. Especially in the black communities where people with lighter skin think they are better than people with a darker tone. At the end of the day, it's a big problem to be discriminated over skin tone but if we don't teach children young or expose them to different races nothing will change.
The Sooner, The Better
I agree that children must face and accept the issue of race at a very young age. For most children race should be addressed at a younger age than most parents feel comfortable bringing it up. The idea that children are colorblind must be discarded and the new reality of racial discrimination must be accepted. Addressing this issue will fall heavily upon parents and educators of children under the age of five years old.
Ironic
I find it ironic how the discussion of race is such a hot topic between parents and children. It appears that we would rather ignore the subject and just say everyone is equal when children, as we have seen, will come to see that other children and adults are different from them. Just as it is uncomfortable to address other issues with our children we must make this topic less taboo.
Education is the Key
The first place to begin addressing this issue is at the youngest levels of education such as pre-school. However, emphasis on educating children of color at the same level as white children and providing the same opportunities in life must continue to be an emphasis throughout the entire education of the child. While many other factors do play a role in the staggering rates of lower educational achievements for students of color, I believe education must be addressed first. One main focus should be incentives for educators to work in disparaged areas that are typically home with poor children of color. Simply because I child lives in a lower income area does not mean that child also has lower educational needs. This thought only perpetuates the cycle of white privilege that we see in our society today. I do not have children, so my understanding of the public education system is not the greatest, but I do know that if the majority of public schools are facing difficult times financial, schools that were already struggling are now providing an even lower level of education to the students there. This must stop in order to begin the process of places people of color on a level playing field (at least education-wise) with whites.
Education as part of the solution
Since this problem has many causes it will also need many solutions. I agree with the author in stating that public policies must play a major role in closing this gap but I see education as the common link which may have the greatest power to break this cycle. Education of children and adults is a powerful tool because it can positively impact so many areas of life in a lasting way. Healthcare, attitudes of prejudice, job opportunities, and family support could be addressed through education on a personal grass roots level, with government funding.
Although, many people are still unaware of the discrimination that still exists today. I often wonder if we really don’t want to know the truth because of the discomfort it may cause us. My hope is we can begin to openly dialog about these disparities, and decide where and not if we want to be part of the solution.
Teaching
The main thing that is sticking out in my mind is the children placing characteristics on others by race. I am wondering if the reason this is common so common because of the teachers. Could it be the teachers are treating the students in the classroom differently because of race? If so are they teaching the children to treat people this way ? This could also help to explain the issue with reading the science section of the newspaper. If a teacher is paying more attention to white students it could cause others to fall behind. For example I remember watching a movie in my cultural diversity they were talking about a African American student who was both a star athlete and a straight A student however it was her athletic abilities that were focused on by others I think we need to find a way to make teachers accountable and this may help bridge the gap. I do recognize this could be from many other places and I am just throwing out my personal thoughts of where I see correlation. I know teachers are hard working people that often go with out respect and many may not mean to be racial and need to be shown how things they do affect the children even if they are unintentional.
Can The Cycle Be Broken?
Being a white-anglo American, it is always hard for me to read articles such as this one. I try to look at the good in people, and have a hard time believing that this is still something that occurs and is prevalent as it is. I do start to wonder if that some of this conversation, which has been going on for a long time, might start to lead to self-fulfilling prophecies. Partially summarizing Shapiro's quote he said, they cannot achieve the wealth of their white peers in the workforce. If I was told this in grade school and throughout my life I would stop trying. Although there is a large gap, which is a significant problem in our society, saying that someone cannot achieve something I think is a problem in itself. Because of my background, I also try to look at this as more of a class problem than a racial one. There has been a large disparity between the richest white Americans and the white middle class for a long time. However, it cannot be overlooked that there is a racial issue that exists. I am not sure of how to break this cycle, or if time will do the work. It seems as if this is not just a problem with Anglo-Americans and African-Americans, but one that has existed throughout the time that America has been a country. There were problems with the Irish and Jews, and several other ethnic groups. Maybe time is the only thing that can break this cycle.
I was also devastated to read about the white children that chose the whites as good and favorable, and those with darker skin tones bad. I would blame this as perhaps a bad media portrayal of these groups of people, that children are in turn picking up on. I could also attribute their feelings for this on the fact that most of the people they see look like them, so in turn they will look favorably on them just because of the mere exposure effect. But on a whole, I am not sure what to do, what I can do, or what should be done to break this cycle.
Education is Not Enough
The issues examined in the article above show a systemic racial and ethnic inequality that strikes at the core of American society. While it seems intuitive to suggest that since the most recent studies showed young children are affected by racial preferences that education is paramount to changing that, I would contend education is not enough. This problem is plaguing us at every measurable level and thus the only real solution is to end social stratification based on race and ethnicity altogether. While education is a vital component to this social restructuring, it alone will not suffice. For we must pledge as a society to end racism through all available legal, political, social, economic and religious means in order to facilitate genuine social change. Unfortunately, we have allowed systemic racial preferences to flow in the undercurrent failing to claim responsibility for its existence and instead declaring the U.S. a “post-race” society. It is my assertion that we can no longer ignore these issues, especially now in the light of such overwhelming evidence. So rather than simply advocating for more education and awareness it is time we unite to throw off the shackles of racial oppression once and for all and decide our generation will be the one to truly create a post-race world.
Bridging the Discrimination Gap with Each New Generation
The darker the skin, the greater the discrimination is definitely a real social problem within today’s society. Anyone who interacts within any community would be able to agree with this statement even without the overwhelming evidence exemplified. While this is a problem, I agree with ACU-16F11-12 when he or she wrote about self-fulfilling prophecy, and their reaction to Shapiro’s quote. If I did not have the support from my family and expectations of me to succeed in life, I would only try until I failed. With the support I move beyond my failures and learn from them. Another barrier that came to mind as I was reading was the generation of whites from the days of the Civil Rights Movement. They were conditioned to treat African Americans with disrespect, to be superior in the classroom, on the bus, at restaurants. With each generation that passes, the hostile feelings from the Civil Rights Movement will become less and less. Bridging the discrimination gap will be a gradual process; the damage done for decades cannot be remedied within days. It also will take decades, and hard work to change perspectives.
Breaking the Cycle
Reading this article and seeing that young children are already exemplifying the behaviors of discrimination is heart breaking. The first thing my mind went to after reading the article was that this was not how things were intended to be and how poor of an example we as the older generation are setting and have set. On the other hand I do believe that the breaking the cycle of these thoughts and attitudes is possible. The children are getting these beliefs from how they see their parents and older role models act, and the longer they continue these thoughts the farther it will follow them in their future decisions, careers, and lifestyles. Changing this first starts with changing the attitude and stereotype, We have got to go back to the mind set that we were created equally and by the same Creator. The cycle can be broken by stepping out and accepting races that we are not, this is a two way street for one race to change their attitude the other race has to open up and realize the effort being made. We have been stuck in this mind set for so long that it has become a habit and something we do not put enough thought into. We need to reevaluate our minds and attitudes and get out of the rut we are in, and when the younger children see our attitudes changing they will follow our good example.
Out of Our Zone
I was not surprised by the how discriminatory the children presented in this article are shown to be. Being weary of people who seem different is not something that is just taught, but it is deeply ingrained into our own feelings of discomfort. In Elementary School, I was taught how horrible it was to judge and discriminate people who were different than you. However, when I entered Middle School and High School, I found myself exposed to much more physical and cultural diversity, and was extremely uncomfortable with these differences. I tried to ignore it, mentally slapped myself for thinking in such ways, yet I still found myself actively avoiding people who were too different from me. I’m not proud of this. Still, I feel that this illustrates how easy it is to learn how to think in terms of discrimination. I was taught not to be discriminatory in my thoughts or actions, yet still found myself doing so because I was out of my comfort zone. People are uncomfortable when surrounded by individuals they perceive as different (either by appearance or culture) and we don’t like to leave that comfort zone. This gets to the point where we rationalize and make excuses as to why we should stay away, or actively push away, someone who looks different. In the end, social discrimination is rooted in simple discomfort.
Re: Out of Our Zone
I think that the bigger issue here is why even though you were taught not to discriminate against others by your close family members, that you still had these feelings of discomfort? I can see that because others are viewed as different from your norm that you would rather avoid than interact with them. But the problem is how we have established this norm in our world. How did we come to the conclusion that our race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. was the normal way of life?
Closing the Gap
The attitudes that these children present towards the people, dark or light skinned, are not surprising. If we look at our society, the statistics shown in this article, they are learning these views from our world. People with darker skin are discriminated against; facts do not lie. The question is, can this be fixed? Is there a future where the color of a person’s skin really doesn’t matter? I do believe that this can occur, but it will take many changes and many years to implement. With the wealth gap between white and African-American families continuing its growth, we see a change that can be made. The article states, “public policies have been passed to benefit the wealthiest Americans…” The rich continue to get richer, and the poor continue to get poorer. I think that closing this gap can be a key contributor in changing the way people view each other. African-Americans and other minorities are in a hard place where, “even when they do everything right – get an education and work hard at well-paying jobs – they cannot achieve the wealth of their white peers in the workforce, and that translates into very different life chances.” This wealth gap keeps people in the lower income level in their place. If we keep giving to the rich an allowing them the best opportunities while robbing those who are working hard to step out of their circumstances, we will surely stay in the same state we are in.
Closing the Gap
The attitudes that these children present towards the people, dark or light skinned, are not surprising. If we look at our society, the statistics shown in this article, they are learning these views from our world. People with darker skin are discriminated against; facts do not lie. The question is, can this be fixed? Is there a future where the color of a person’s skin really doesn’t matter? I do believe that this can occur, but it will take many changes and many years to implement. With the wealth gap between white and African-American families continuing its growth, we see a change that can be made. The article states, “public policies have been passed to benefit the wealthiest Americans…” The rich continue to get richer, and the poor continue to get poorer. I think that closing this gap can be a key contributor in changing the way people view each other. African-Americans and other minorities are in a hard place where, “even when they do everything right – get an education and work hard at well-paying jobs – they cannot achieve the wealth of their white peers in the workforce, and that translates into very different life chances.” This wealth gap keeps people in the lower income level in their place. If we keep giving to the rich an allowing them the best opportunities while robbing those who are working hard to step out of their circumstances, we will surely stay in the same state we are in.
How I see it
I think absolutely darker skinned people are discriminated in some instances, but I would argue that this is the same everywhere and I definitely do not agree with the less attractive ugly statement. Where I am from typically VERY dark skinned people (regarding African Americans) are not individuals that have been in the states for generations, but they are the first generation of their family. With this being said, it would make sense for darker skinned African American people to have a lower income as a whole. Now obviously there are individuals with very dark skin that have been here just as long as any other, but generally speaking this is what seems to be the case. As for being discriminated against, in the ghetto of the city I am from, lighter skinned African Americans tend to dislike first generation African/ South African individuals because most of them seek higher education and get placed in better jobs than their lighter skinned counter-parts that have been here for centuries. I strongly disagree with darker skinned people being identified as ugly, whenever you look at models in current campaigns there seems to be a HUGE calling for very, very dark skinned men and women, however I have noticed this trend within the past five years. I do however; have an Indian friend who says that in the Indian community, the darker a person is the less income they are thought to have which makes them less desirable and thus less attractive. A white person that is not from India would have no idea of these prejudices unless informed, so I think a lot of discrimination that involves skin color happens within darker skinned individuals own communities, especially regarding attractiveness.
I am both surprised and not
I am both surprised and not surprised by these children's actions and ideas toward racism. Young children are very apt to say anything that they hear, so it is not very surprising with all of the influences on children that they may say things that they have heard and don't understand. For example, they may hear something on a show or a commercial that is a racist comment that they don't understand but they say it anyway. On the other hand, our culture has come so far and moved past racism in many ways so it is a bit surprising that children are making racist comments when they have not been brought up in the same racist world that past generations lived in.
The need for change in education
Why is it that with statistics like this, there isn't more public policy change? With institutional issues like these, it's not surprising that children pick up racial attitudes at such a young age. In that same CNN study, the report ended that parents talked to their children about race, but it's more than a parent talking to a child, it's a matter of action. If a white mother tells her white child that nonwhites are equal, but the family proceeds to have no nonwhite interaction, how is that child supposed to learn acceptance? Stereotypes of races are ingrained in our system of education. Claude Steele and Joshua Aronson wrote in "Stereotype Threat and the Test Performance of Academically Successful African Americans, in The Black-White Test Score Gap" that students who were made aware of a negative stereotype about their race did worse than students who were not made aware that race had any impact on a standardized test. This study reinforces the idea that race holds back educational achievement and with that disparity in education, increases gaps in wealth, standards of living, etc.
Really?
It's really sad to think that people get discriminated against because of the color of their skin. it goes down a line from Whites being not discriminated against all the way down to the "darkest colored race" to be discriminated left and right. Who is to say one race is superior to another? Maybe some people have "proof" that some races and skin colors are better than others, but in my opinion, we all bear the potential to be united as one. If you really want to get more in depth, have you noticed that in most religions the person we pray to isnt technically white, but of a different race. Discrimination in the school system is one that effects long term. Children who learn what discrimination is at an early age are affected in return when they notice it. Children should not be exposed to hatred until they are maybe of age to comprehend and understand. In turn, society is at fault. Society i feel is the main cause of discrimination. If we want change, we have to start with ourselves and pass on this new mind set to our children. It may take some time, but time usually changes us. I myself am a Hispanic woman and I appear white. I am very proud of my Hispanic culture and make sure to let people know that I am hispanic and not white. Where people usually make me upset is in the work place. To most of the jobs i have applied to and received, they were suprised when I could speak spanish to a customer and snag a sale or build a relationship. When they ask me how I could speak spanish, my return answer is, "did you not look at my skills and ethnic section detailing my abilities?" Each time it is a No.
True
I believe that darker skin individuals do receive more discrimination than lighter skin individuals. I believe all this is due to past history of racism and slavery which is still in the minds of many Americans. What has also influenced this is the motion pictures being distributed around the world. You see more and more the humor of the idea of racism, where the white individual is much smarter and rich than the black counterpart. If this is what the younger generation is viewing on a daily basis then of course this is what you are going to report after studies. The main way for this to end is up to the parents of these young children. Parents need to educate their children on the facts that exist in America. This goes for white and black families. We can do study after study but the fact is that no actions are being done to end this nonsense.
Darker Discrimination
It is true that people with a darker skin tone seem to be discriminated against more. I am white, and fortunately have never really had this problem, but many of my darker skin-toned friends have. Police officers pull them over more often for no good reason, people tend to look at them differently, and some people are just plain rude to them and kind to me. It is disgraceful how two-faced people can be at times. Even black Americans with a lighter skin tone are not discriminated against as much as those with a very dark skin tone. I believe this is so because they are so different from the white people we see all the time, everywhere. But it is incredibly wrong and hurt full to see anyone being discriminated against so much. This needs to end, and I pray that it ends soon.
Education
When it comes to race, the education and workforce topics have controversial for as long as I can remember. We have made big strides to try an close the gap between races but we still have a long way to go as a nation. Too me, I think problems begin with our school systems. Parents have the option to pay for their children to attend private schools for a better education which to me doesn't seem fair. You usually see lower graduation rates and more dropouts in the schools that are in bad neighborhoods. These schools are mostly attended by children of color which starts the education gap at an early age. One way think this gap can be closed is the elimination of private schools. Money should be shared equally throughout all school districts giving teachers the adequate materials to do the best that they can.
Discrimination
After reading this article, it opened my eyes to the reality of this world. I have never experienced discrimination of my skin color before, but I have experienced it with my race. I am Mexican American and light skinned. Its an unfortunate reality that, The Darker the skin the Greater the Discrimination. Being lighter than most Mexican American's, most people assume that I am white. Some will treat me better than they would someone of darker skin. This really bothers me and I do believe we need to stop it. Why should people of lighter skin feel like they are superior to others of different skin colors. This is a problem that needs to be addressed. The research done with the middle school kids and Kindergarteners is appalling. I don't believe that there is a need for children to even learn about being discriminating or judgmental of other races/skin colors. I believe if we begin to stop looking at others differently and teach our children that the color of our skin is NOT an issue, we can hopefully end this problem in future generations.
There were various of
There were various of profound statement that capture my attention. For instance the statics that 1 out of 10 white student can solve a multi-step algebra formula compare to 1 out of 30 Latino student. The issue here is not race but education. This significance the concept not everyone is receiving the same education. This a issue that needs to stop!
Discriminatinatory Views
For me, these articles are a bit difficult to read. Especially with the articles clearly stating the concern and involvement of race and equality in areas of healthcare, work, and school. Even with all of the articles that discuss these issues, and even though they are addressed, the topics do not seem to ever cease. I don't believe that healthcare is provided on a scale based on race or ethnicity, etc- I work for a home healthcare agency and our services are provided based on medical concerns and authorizations from physicians. If education is the issue here, it isn't based on race, it should be based on the curriculum that is being taught in the schools. If something isn't working or improving in the schools- then the schools need to be reviewed and changes need to be made for improvement.
Performance of education and the workplace isn't focused on a person's skin color or a person's heritage/background, it's based on their capacity to perform and succeed at the given tasks. If someone isn't performing well and is maybe fired from the job or may not get the job because of not being qualified enough for the position- it may be considered discrimination to some people based on the levels of education but I don't see how racism would play a part of it.
I think that the issues of equality should be taught to children growing up, I feel that it would help develop more of a sense of respect toward others and would incorporate the saying "treat others as you wish to be treated".
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