Race

Race has been an important issue in the United States since our foundation of state. When the United States was established, equality amongst its citizens was a revolutionary new concept. Regrettably, equality between the races wasn't guaranteed. From our inception, the success of our country was based on the slave-trade. By having racial inequalities, the government could deny the rights and freedoms of certain races (such as African-Americans, Latinos, and Asians) that others took for granted. Today, many whites still take these rights and freedoms for granted. The question was posed for this project, should we get rid of racial categories? Why and why not? There are many arguments for either sides of the argument, but this paper will only focus some of those issues that I feel are important and don't speak for the other students. It will also give examples of how race is used against students in our educational system.

Why should we get rid of racial categories? One reason why we should get rid of race is that there is no genetic basis that separates us. "No one characteristic, trait, or gene distinguishes all members of one so-called race from all members of another so-called race" (Race: The power of illusion). Many of our ancestors can be traced back to the earliest civilizations. Today, a growing number of families come from diverse racial backgrounds. For example, one parent is Latino while the other parent is African-American. This can even be seen going back farther where one parent my have parents from different racial groups. Therefore, genetic differences do exist between people and causing different races to marry and have children. For this reason, it is more accurate to speak of ancestry and how we are related rather than building racial differences.

Race can also give explanations for social inequalities as a standard for denying citizens certain rights and freedoms. The visual differences we are familiar with don't tell us anything about what or who the person really is. When the concept of race evolved, it validated the way we treated Native Americans, exclusion of Asian immigrants, and taking of Mexican lands during earlier times. "Race is no longer accepted as a scientific concept for classifying people; it has become a social construction for identifying differences" (Johnson 2008, 55). In identifying these differences, whites have been able to use race to decide who gets what, when and how in order to benefit their race.

Why shouldn't we get rid of racial categories? Race still exists in this country and is used as a balance between the racial and socioeconomic groups. Nationality plays an important role in how we perceive ourselves and others we come in contact with. As we have seen in the classroom, not everyone has the same exact genetic makeup. We tend to identify ourselves by our racial group and perceive others by their racial groups.

Students in diverse classrooms can become more culturally diverse by learning about their own racial background as well as the other racial backgrounds of students in the classroom. By using cooperative learning amongst students, relations can be improved across racial and ethnic lines when students are able to appreciate their own culture as well as others they had very little or no previous learning experience of.

What are ways we treat students of different races unequally? Students in special education classes are likely to be students of color, English language learners, or whites from low-income families. "African-American as well as Native American students are overrepresented in disability categories such as learning disability, mental retardation, and emotionally disturbed" (Johnson 2008, 67). Many race separated students are placed