Combating Systemic Racism in Education as an Independent Educational Consultant
Jun 05, 2020
First off, I want to say that I acknowledge that several conversations are taking place within professional organizations such as the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA), the Higher Education Consultants Association (HECA), and the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) about systemic racism and the ways in which individual members can take action to combat their own racism and racism in their communities. I am glad these conversations are taking place. According to the 2018 Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA) State of the Profession, there are over 2,700 consultants across various professional organizations. Despite this growth, educational consultants represented in these organizations continue to be overwhelmingly White.
It is important to the aim of dismantling White supremacy and racial injustice that White allies critically examine their own complicity (however unintentional that may be).
My aim is not to quell conversations that are taking place, but offer my own perspectives as a Black woman coming from a working-class background.
In an effort to do good and reverse the discomfort of providing high-cost services to mostly white-majority students, I have heard many independent educational consultants (IECs) look to providing pro-bono resources to underserved Black communities. The desire to help underserved communities is, of course, good in a way (as long as it does not turn into White-saviorism and ego-stroking), but I want to challenge this profession to think critically about the implications of that desire. Put more plainly, I want to challenge this conflation of Black students with pro-bono and poor students. Black students aren't just found in CBOs, non-profits, Boys and Girls Clubs, and low-income neighborhoods. The repeated fusing of "low-income" and "minority" perpetuates the stereotypes that most Black students are poor and disadvantaged. It sets up a dichotomy that most students are either rich and White or poor and Black. This is a dangerous mental schema for those of us in this profession. Too often the only time Black students are mentioned by consultants is in reference to their income or state of being underprivileged.
Systemic racism does not just affect students who are poor and Black. Wealthy Black students are victims of systemic racism. Boarding school and prep-school Black students are victims of systemic racism. Black students who get into Princeton and Harvard are victims of systemic racism. Legacy Black students are victims of systemic racism. Systemic racism does not stop affecting you just because you become the CEO of a company, even if that company makes the Forbes 500 list.
If you are genuine about anti-racist work and committed to dismantling White supremacy, the question I want to ask you is whether you feel just as passionate about helping dismantle systemic racism for the wealthy Black student with straight As as you do the archetypical "low-income" Black student from a poor neighborhood. I'm not saying that these students have equal advantages or are the same, far from it, but what I am saying is that fighting systemic racism cannot just be confined to pro-bono work. Studies show that Black and minority students undermatch in the college application process across all socioeconomic statuses.
I think educational consultants are equipped to enact real systemic change, change that isn't limit to helping 5-10 pro-bono students get into college. We can make a change on a larger level. We can make change on a systemic rather than an individual level. I'm not saying don't do pro-bono work, but don't let that be the checkbox for you on addressing this issue.
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As previously mentioned, the professional organizations are largely white. I challenge the members of these organizations to think critically about this. What are the ways in which more Black IECs can join? What are the barriers to entry? I know for many, being an IEC is not the primary household income. Perhaps having more workshops or professional development series that support IECs trying to make it their primary household income would lead to greater diversity in either IECA, HECA, NACAC, or a local ACAC. Studies show that minority students have better outcomes when working with a counselor of their own race.
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Consultants should examine the ways in which organizational space is welcoming or not welcoming to minorities. Could there be more targeted recruitment? If diversity is an issue the organization cares about, there could be more ways to meaningfully try to increase it.
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We have incredible access to college admissions officers. We can make it apparent that diversity is a priority to us. We can mention this during webinars or tours; as one colleague wrote - we can write to our alma maters. In that same vein, we should be inquiring how many admissions recruiters/enrollment managers are Black. We don't have to accept the tagline when colleges continue to say diversity is important to them while doing very little to actually increase their numbers.
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Another thing to consider is perhaps using some of the money that you get from your majority-white students and donating a portion of it to an organization that is fighting systemic racism on a structural level. Consider making this a recurring effort.
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Advocate and push for legislation and policies that dismantle structural racism. Get in contact with your local and state government.
Additionally, I want to challenge non-Black educational consultants to think about the conversations you are having with yourselves and others about racism. Especially when you are in spaces with Black colleagues and friends, I want you to think about whether you are centering yourself in the conversation.
There’s a really good talk between Jodi Picoult and Nic Stone that speaks on this issue and is beneficial to listen to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQcUPRqbUuA&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR3VcQLE9sh7ZABldl4ALq5qbzuqeFr0XfJnwq14SuYD-bUiUg38qlfVu9w
Some consultants have wondered in these conversations about the "self-segregation" of Black students in the dining halls and on college campuses, I encourage you to read the Twentieth Anniversary Edition of Dr. Beverly Tatum's Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations about Race which gives an overview at the beginning in which she explains that “because of residential segregation, economic disadvantage and racial disadvantage are inextricably linked. The social context in which students of color and white students enter academic environments together, in those few places where they do, is still a context in which their lived experiences are likely to have been quite different from each other and in which racial stereotyping is still likely to be an inhibiting factor in their cross-group interactions.” My own two cents is that it is possible that some Black students do not want to sit with the white students partially because of previous negative social interactions and the fact that Black students are tired. They are tired of being the token minority; they are tired because they have had to overcome several obstacles to get into the school they did and maybe they just want to sit with their Black friends in the dining hall and recharge before their next assignment/class/test instead of having to be the educator of race for their white peers or endure micro/macro-aggressions.
Lastly, I shared over my own email newsletter and social media some resources that parents may find helpful as they talk to their own children about race. I encourage you to read them and then also share them with the parents and families that you work with. Credit to PCACAC for sharing some of these in their own newsletter and as part of their public statement condemning racism.
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The following Facebook and zoom conversations with Dr. Kira Banks, creator of Raising Equity, and Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, author of Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations About Race.
Below are some organizations that you can donate to that are working to dismantle white supremacy and increase educational opportunities for Black students:
Equal Justice Initiative (https://eji.org/)
NAACP Legal Defense Fund (https://naacpldf.org)
Know Your Rights Camp Legal Defense Initiative (https://www.knowyourrightscamp.com/legal)
United Negro College Fund (https://uncf.org/)
National Society of Black Engineers (https://nsbe.org/home.aspx)
National Black Law Students Association
(https://www.nblsa.org/)
I am always happy to discuss any of this further, and can be reached at [email protected].
