To create a more inclusive environment for all students, a local university hosts "Welcome Black Week" during the opening week of school every year. The week is designed to encourage, empower, retain, and challenge minority students through civic and social activities and presentations. Sadly, at the conclusion of this year's events, there were unauthorized advertisements for "Welcome White Week," an unofficial and anonymously designed event that promoted a xenophobic agenda, including racist meetings and homophobic presentations with names like, "LBGTQ-RSTUVWXYZ."
This situation made me think of the term zero-sumscenario, which I had recently read about in the book Excellence Through Equity (Blankstein & Noguera, 2015). A zero-sum scenario is the perception that if we do more for those who are vulnerable or disadvantaged, there will be fewer resources for the advantaged. In the case of my local university, I wondered, were white students offended or upset because they weren't getting a week specifically catered to them? Was this a joke, or was the "Welcome White Week" supposed to have substantial relevance to the white community? As an education leader of color, this experience hit close to home, but I also felt challenged to seek out the bigger picture within these disturbing events.
As educators charged with disrupting inequity, we will face those who respond with zero-sum thinking. For my local university, efforts to close the college success gap between students of color and their white peers with a targeted week-long campaign revealed the perception that equity should mean treating everyone the same, despite an uneven playing field that advantages white students. This brings to light a set of questions all education leaders doing this work must ponder:
- What must we do to debunk the zero-sum scenario belief and demonstrate that equity is the route to excellence for all?
- How can we demonstrate that inequity is a community problem with a community solution?
- What can we do to avoid the challenges the university faced when it implemented an equity plan?
As I reflected on these challenges, a framework for equitable action emerged. These are my suggestions for disrupting inequity while proactively confronting zero-sum thinking.
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- Analyze opportunities to improve equity in your district, such as offering programs similar to "Welcome Black Week," after school tutoring programs, culture clubs, parent education opportunities, and adult learning programs.
- Share the purpose and outcomes of these analyses with the community. Communication is key! Sharing information publicly will define the issues and demonstrate the rationale and urgent need to improve equity in the district. This will also help prevent the zero-sum mentality that may come from a lack of understanding or feelings of disconnect toward the challenges in the community.
- Form a volunteer committee of stakeholders and community members to develop a plan for improving equity in the district. Share the finalized action plan with community. Again, communication is key!
- Implement the action plan.
- Analyze the plan at set checkpoints by using the same data used to recognize that the issue exists.
Zero-sum thinking must be considered in our drive to increase equity. Data and communication can confront this type of thinking and repair fractures that sap a whole community commitment to equity. When all community members can see how they benefit from events like "Welcome Black Week," we will realize our true potential to achieve excellence through equity.
