We get to meet so many people all over the country and hear their varied perspectives on race and racism in the U.S. Every time we lead a screening or workshop, we come away with new insight or renewed hope in the work toward equity. We’re going to start sharing those with you in this new “Lessons from the Road” occasional blog series.
“That Was MY Spot”
At a recent American Dream workshop in Colorado, high school students were presented with a real-life scenario that prompted them to debate which students have an advantage in the college application process: White students or students of color?
During our post-workshop debrief, a student shared this:
“I realize I have been thinking that if I don’t get into one of my top-choice schools that a person of color who does get in is taking ‘MY’ spot. I need to stop thinking that way. And I need my parents to do this workshop, too.”
These are the kinds of take-aways keep us going!
Want to Learn More About This?
We understand there’s a perception among many students and families that it’s easier for kids of color and low-income kids to get into college. It may feel that way to one particular white applicant who doesn’t get in to a certain college, but has a friend of color with similar credentials who did get accepted to that college. But the data don’t really line up with that perception. If they did, then we’d have a lot more racial and income diversity among incoming first-year college classes. Check out this New York Times analysis that found that black and Latino students are even more underrepresented in top U.S. colleges than they were 35 years ago.
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