This document discusses creating classrooms that address race and ethnicity. It begins with definitions of key terms like ethnicity, race, racism, and prejudice. It then discusses how people can experience advantages, disadvantages, and privilege based on their cultural identities and backgrounds. Examples are given of the presenter's own life experiences with advantages and privilege as a white woman. The document suggests ways racism and prejudice can be evident in schools, and actions educators can take to create more inclusive classrooms, such as speaking up about unfair treatment, filing complaints, and using privilege to enact positive change.

1. CREATING CLASSROOMS
THAT ADDRESS RACE AND
ETHNICITY
LTC 660-899
DR. SARAH NIXON
FALL 2023

2. CREATING CLASSROOMS THAT ADDRESS
RACE AND ETHNICITY
Focus Question:
•How are factors of racism and prejudice evident in
schools?

3. DEFINITIONS:
LET’S START BY REVIEWING 7 DEFINITIONS THAT ARE KEY
TO THIS LESSON SO WE ARE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE
Ethnicity
• culturally defined according to the
knowledge, beliefs, and behavior
patterns shared by a group of people
with the same history and perhaps
the same language
• the culture of people in a given
geographic region, including their
language, heritage, religion, and
customs
• a group of people who share a
common history
(Cushner, McClelland, Safford & Cushner,
Race
• biologically defined as the clustering
of inherited physical characteristics
that favor adaptation to a particular
ecological area
• culturally defined according to the
particular set of physical
characteristics emphasized by
different cultural groups
• a group of people of common
ancestry, distinguished from others
by physical characteristics, such as
hair type, colour of eyes and skin,
stature, etc.

4. DEFINITIONS:
Racism
• Noun: a belief that race is a
fundamental determinant of human
traits and capacities and that racial
differences produce an inherent
superiority of a particular race
• the belief that certain races of
people are by birth and nature
superior to others
• the systemic oppression of a racial
group to the social, economic, and
political advantage of another
(Merriam Webster’s Dictionary)
Prejudice
• Noun: injury or damage resulting
from some judgement or action of
another in disregard of one's rights;
• preconceived judgment or opinion;
• an irrational attitude of hostility
directed against an individual, a
group, a race, or their supposed
characteristics
• Synonym: bias
(Merriam Webster’s Dictionary)

5. DEFINITIONS:
ADVANTAGE
Noun: superiority of
position or condition
Verb: to benefit
(Merriam Webster’s Dictionary)
DISADVANTAGE
Noun: an unfavorable,
inferior, or prejudicial
condition
a quality or circumstance
that makes achievement
unusually difficult
Verb: to harm
(Merriam Webster’s Dictionary)
PRIVILEGE
Noun: a special right,
advantage, immunity
granted or available only
to a particular person or
group
an unearned advantage
Verb: to accord a higher
value or superior position
to
Synonym: entitled
(Merriam Webster’s Dictionary)

6. SOURCES & INTERSECTIONALITY OF CULTURAL IDENTITY
AREAS IN WHICH WE EXPERIENCE ADVANTAGE, DISADVANTAGE, PRIVILEGE, &
PREJUDICE
• Age
• Class
• Education
• Employment
• Ethnicity
• Family’s Language or Origin
• Gender
• Gender Identity
• Geographic Region
• Handedness [i.e., right, left,
ambidextrous]
• Immigration status
• Marital or Partnership Status
• Nation of Origin
• Physical Ability [i.e., vision, hearing,
etc.]
• Physical Attributes [i.e., height, weight]
• Race
• Religion
• Sexual Orientation
• Socio-economic Status [SES}

7. ADVANTAGES, DISADVANTAGES, & PRIVILEGE
There are many different types of advantages, disadvantages, &
privilege based on sources of cultural attributes and the
intersectionality of cultural identity.
We can experience advantages and unearned advantages (i.e.,
born into a middle-class family) based on these sources.
We can also experience disadvantages and unearned
disadvantages (i.e., hard of hearing; short) based on these
sources.

8. ADVANTAGES, DISADVANTAGES, & PRIVILEGE
Before we look at how these types of advantages, disadvantages,
and privilege are evident in our classrooms, let’s first look at
how they are evident within our own lives.
On the next 2 slides, I share aspects of my life that align with the
chart of sources of cultural attributes & identity. From these
examples of my life, you can witness advantages, disadvantages,
and privilege.
While reading through my examples, please look for samples of
the following:
earned advantages & unearned advantages; disadvantages &
unearned disadvantages; and privilege.

9. MY LIFE AS AN EXAMPLE OF ADVANTAGES, DISADVANTAGES, &
PRIVILEGE:
• I am a middle-class, middle-aged white woman. I was born and raised in southwest
Missouri. I am #5 of 7 children. I was raised in the religion of my father’s family.
• I am short; my feet do not touch the floor when I sit in most chairs. I have battled
weight issues as an adult. I work out 3 times a week (even though I am not very
coordinated!).
• I meditate for 30 minutes daily, & I have for many years. I have seasonal allergies
and suffer from migraines & vertigo due to a head injury.
• I am right-handed. I wear glasses. I have been a vegetarian for over half of my life.
• I am a heterosexual woman with no children. I am a homeowner, & I am financially
independent.
• I am divorced & remarried to a man who has a son from a prior marriage. His son is
married, and they have a child, so I am a grandmother by marriage. 
• After I graduated from high school, I moved away to attend college. I attended
universities in Texas, Missouri, & Ohio. I worked my way through college as a
waitress, bartender, tutor, & later as a teacher.
• I have earned 3 degrees: BA, MSEd., & Ph.D. I have been a tenured professor at MSU

10. MY LIFE AS AN EXAMPLE OF ADVANTAGES, DISADVANTAGES, &
PRIVILEGE
• When I was at university in Ohio, my dad died suddenly from an aortic aneurysm.
Three years later, my brother Mark died from the same thing. Since his death, 3 of
my siblings have had aortic replacement surgery. The remaining 3 of us get checked
annually for symptoms. My mother died from complications of Alzheimer’s 20 years
after my dad passed.
• I have lived in 5 states, all in the Midwest, South, or Southwest. I was an English
teacher in high schools & community colleges in Texas, New Orleans, and New
Mexico.
• I have studied & worked abroad as an English teacher, tutor, & international teacher
trainer.
• I studied Spanish for many years & used to have a professional working proficiency
level or a B2 level.
• Both of my parents attended college; they met while attending Southwest Missouri
State College (now MSU!). My mother’s parents grew up poor in rural areas of Kansas
& Missouri. They did not have the opportunity to attend school beyond 8th grade, but
all of their children went to college. My dad’s parents grew up in St. Louis and
attended college; all of their children went to college.
• My dad’s grandparents came over from Ireland; his parents were 1st generation

11. ADVANTAGES, DISADVANTAGES, & PRIVILEGE
• I have been very fortunate -- privileged-- to have had these
experiences. Some of these experiences are due to the advantages I
gained from education.
• But the biggest privilege I have is being born white into a middle-
class American family with parents who had strong values regarding
the importance of education.
• I didn’t do anything to earn this privilege; I was born into it. This is
an unearned advantage.
• The bottom line is this: I have benefitted from the color of my skin.
• And these benefits are called white privilege.
• So what does this mean?

12. ADVANTAGES, DISADVANTAGES, & PRIVILEGE
White privilege means:
• White people can possess other marginalized parts of their identity.
• For example, I am a short, middle-aged vegetarian woman living in the
Midwest with a family medical history of aortic aneurysm.
• While I have marginalized parts of my identity, my race—my white skin—is
not one of these.
• Being white does not mean I haven’t experienced hardships or oppression.
• BUT being white does mean that I have not faced hardships or oppression
based on the color of my skin.
• How does being white grant certain privileges? Let’s take a look at Dr. Peggy
McIntosh’s work.

13. Dr. Peggy McIntosh compared her own circumstances and
experiences as a white woman with African American women she
worked with in regard to what white privilege looks like in day-
to-day living. Here are 12 examples from her life experiences:
1. I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race
most of the time.
2. If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or
purchasing housing in an area which I can afford and in which I would
want to live.
3. I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be
neutral or pleasant to me.
4. I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I
will not be followed or harassed.
5. When I am told about our national heritage or about “civilization,” I
am shown that people of my color made it what it is.

14. 6. I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that
testify to the existence of their race.
7. I can arrange to protect my children most of the time from people
who might not like them.
8. Whether I use checks, debit cards, credit cards or cash, I can count
on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial
reliability.
9. If a traffic cop pulls me over or if the IRS audits my tax return, I can
be sure I haven’t been singled out because of my race.
10. I can choose blemish cover or bandages in “flesh” color and have
them more or less match my skin.
11. If my day, week or year is going badly, I need not ask of each
negative episode or situation whether it had racial overtones.
12. I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not
work against me.

15. ADVANTAGES, DISADVANTAGES, & PRIVILEGE
Contemplate the following questions:
• How many of the 12 statements from the list have applied to
your life?
• Which statements are most striking to you? Why?
• What are one or more ways in which you've had unearned
disadvantage in your life?
• What are one or more ways in which you've had unearned
advantage in your life?

16. • McIntosh (2010) stated, “My work is not about blame, shame,
guilt, or whether one is a "nice person." It's about observing,
realizing, thinking systemically and personally. It is about
seeing privilege, the "up-side" of oppression and
discrimination. It is about unearned advantage, which can also
be described as exemption from discrimination.”
• I offer a few examples of Experiential Testimonies I have
gathered from experiences. While you are reading through
these observations, think about what you would write as your
own Experiential Testimony in regards to advantages,
disadvantages, and privilege.

17. EXPERIENTIAL TESTIMONY
1. I taught high school in New Orleans, Louisiana. One Saturday evening, I was
stopped by the police in New Orleans for expired tags on my car. My driver’s
license was also expired. I got a ticket and a warning. When I talked to my
African American colleague about it, she told me she would have been
arrested for just one of these offenses.
2. I was looking at a house to buy in Springfield, MO. I went to open houses
on Sundays and was always greeted in a cheerful manner. I was very
interested in one house in particular. My African American colleague was
interested in the same house. We both attended the same open house, hours
apart from each other. When she expressed further interest in purchasing the
house, the realtor told her the house was already off the market. An hour later
when I attended the open house and expressed interest in purchasing it, the
realtor was eager to help me move ahead with an offer.
3. My husband participated in the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program. His little
brother was an African American boy. They started meeting when he was in 4th
grade. John would take his little brother shopping with him. They went to the
mall, Walmart, Bass Pro, Sam’s Club, Barnes & Noble, etc. Every store they
went to, a store employee followed them.

18. EXPERIENTIAL TESTIMONY
4. I was shopping at a women’s clothing store in Dallas, Texas. I had selected
several items to purchase and was in line to check out. The woman in front of
me was a person of color. When she presented her credit card to the cashier,
the cashier thoroughly inspected the card, then asked for two pieces of
identification. The woman asked why she needed to give two pieces of
identification, and the cashier rudely commented it was store policy. Her
behavior to the customer was rude and unprofessional. When it was my turn
to check out, the cashier was friendly and chatty. I gave her my credit card.
She did not look at the back of the card where I had written, Request ID in the
signature strip. When I asked the cashier if she needed my ID, she responded
that she did not need it from me because I was “okay.”
5. I have a Ph.D. and my title is Dr. Nixon. My husband has a M.S. degree, and
his title is Instructor. Yet his students consistently call him Dr. Fishback; many
students call me Mrs. Nixon. My female colleagues in universities across the
USA experience this same issue as well. Male faculty will consistently be called

19. SO WHAT’S NEXT? WHAT ACTION CAN I TAKE?
Learning about advantages, unearned advantages, disadvantages, and
white privilege makes us ask ourselves:
• What will we do with this knowledge?
• What can we do to lessen or end it?
• We can start by distinguishing between positive advantages--which
we can work to spread--and negative types of advantages--which
unless rejected will always reinforce our present hierarchies.
• Many of us were taught to think that racism could end if white
individuals changed their attitudes. But having white skin in the
United States opens many doors for white people--whether or not we
approve of the way dominance has been conferred on us.

20. WHAT ACTION CAN I TAKE?
We can speak up when we witness situations such as those
outlined in the Experiential Testimonies.
Know the 5 basic steps of Bystander Intervention:
• Notice the event.
• Interpret the situation as a problem.
• Assume personal responsibility.
• Know how to help.
• Step up!

21. WHAT ACTION CAN I TAKE?
We can speak up when we witness situations. For example:
• Testimony #2: File a grievance against the agent for violating the Code of
Ethics & Standards of Practice of the National Association of Realtors. The
Federal Housing Act bars discrimination based on race, color, national
origin, religion, sex (gender), familial status, and disability at the national
level.
• Testimony #4: Speak to the manager. Then file a complaint. The Equality Act
of 2020 states anti-discrimination laws apply on the local, state and federal
levels. The Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 states that no business (public or
private) serving the public can discriminate based on a customer's national
origin, sex, religion, color or race.
• Testimony #4: Never shop there again! Let the managers at multiple levels
know exactly why. Then tell your family and friends what happened so they
won’t shop there again as well.
• Testimony #5: Talk to your students and explain the importance of

22. LET’S REVISIT THE FOCUS QUESTION AND
TWO KEY DEFINITIONS:
Racism
• Noun: a belief that race is a
fundamental determinant of human
traits and capacities and that racial
differences produce an inherent
superiority of a particular race
• the belief that certain races of
people are by birth and nature
superior to others
• the systemic oppression of a racial
group to the social, economic, and
political advantage of another
(Merriam Webster’s Dictionary)
Prejudice
• Noun: injury or damage resulting
from some judgement or action of
another in disregard of one's rights;
• preconceived judgment or opinion;
• an irrational attitude of hostility
directed against an individual, a
group, a race, or their supposed
characteristics
• Synonym: bias

23. FOCUS QUESTION:
HOW ARE FACTORS OF RACISM AND PREJUDICE
EVIDENT IN SCHOOLS?
• Schools are a microcosm of their communities and the society
at large.
• Administrators, faculty, staff, and students can all experience
different types of advantages, disadvantages, and privilege
based on sources of cultural attributes and the intersectionality
of cultural identity.

24. HOW CAN WE CREATE CLASSROOMS THAT
ADDRESS ADVANTAGES, DISADVANTAGES, &
PRIVILEGE?
We can use our positive advantages to make changes in behaviors, such as:
• paying attention
• making associations
• intervening
• speaking up
• asserting and deferring
• being alert
• taking initiative
• doing ally and advocacy work

25. WHAT ACTION CAN I TAKE TO CREATE
CLASSROOMS THAT ADDRESS RACE AND
ETHNICITY?
As teachers and school personnel, we can speak up when we
witness racism and prejudice in our classrooms and schools.
Know the 5 basic steps of Bystander Intervention:
• Notice the event.
• Interpret the situation as a problem.
• Assume personal responsibility.
• Know how to help.
• Step up!

26. ACKNOWLEDGE STUDENTS' CULTURAL ATTRIBUTES,
BOTH SURFACE CULTURE & DEEP CULTURE, &
THOSE THAT MAY APPLY TO THEIR PARENTS
• Age
• Class
• Education
• Employment
• Ethnicity
• Family’s Language or Origin
• Gender
• Gender Identity
• Geographic Region
• Handedness [i.e., right, left,
ambidextrous]
• Immigration status
• Marital or Partnership Status
• Nation of Origin
• Physical Ability [i.e., vision, hearing,
etc.]
• Physical Attributes [i.e., height,
weight]
• Race
• Religion
• Sexual Orientation

27. HELP STUDENTS BECOME MORE
INTERCULTURALLY COMPETENT
• Help them move from an ethnocentric to an enthnorelative
perspective
• Teach them the essential attitudes needed to interact
successfully with those from different cultures & backgrounds:
• Respect: demonstrating others are valued
• Openness: withholding judgement
• Curiosity: willingness to move beyond one’s comfort zone
• Discovery: open to new ideas & situations

28. FINAL THOUGHT:
Dr. Maura Cullen (2008) states:
“Some people are born on third base and go through life thinking
they hit a home run.”
• How does Cullen’s statement apply to advantages,
disadvantages, and privilege?

29. REFERENCES
• Cullen, M. (2008). 35 Dumb Things Well-Intended People Say:
Surprising things we say that widen the diversity gap. Morgan
James Publishing.
• Cushner, K., McClelland, A., Safford, P., & Cushner, H. (2022).
Human diversity in education: An integrative approach. 10th
ed.
• McIntosh, P. (2010). Unpacking the invisible knapsack: White
privilege. Wellesley, MA: Wellesley Centers for Women.