The disparities between predominantly white and affluent schools and schools in inner-city communities of color are inordinate and alarming. In a country founded on racism and white supremacy, this does not come as a surprise, but at this point in time, it is imperative to deconstruct the iniquitous American education systems and dismantle them. School systems in low-income communities of color were built to mirror the U.S. criminal justice system and uphold inequitable policies, disciplinary actions and ideas, feeding vulnerable and underprivileged children into the legal system. 

The typical disciplinary actions taken in most school districts are useless and unrewarding. While this is rarely harmful to well-off white communities, students attending school in marginalized neighborhoods will suffer severe consequences.

 In Christine Bowditch’s Getting Rid of Troublemakers: High School Disciplinary Procedures and the Production of Dropouts, she observed tactics used at DuBois High School, (a pseudonym used in the study), an inner city and predominantly Black school. “DuBois frequently suspended a half dozen or more students each day; by the end of the year, more than a quarter of its students were suspended at least once, and many had multiple or serial suspensions,” she said. “Despite these facts, I did not encounter scenes of violence or chaos. Teachers did not complain of belligerence or open hostility; instead they talked about apathy, silliness, inattention, and poor attendance.”

It is riveting how similar these observations are to prisons and the justice system. It is already known that Black and brown people are more likely to end up in prison because of carefully formed institutional racism, but it is appalling how alike the treatment of prisoners and these Black and brown students are. Prisoners are not given the proper resources to remove themselves from the environmental/living conditions and decisions they make, and therefore become serial offenders and are placed back in the system over and over again. Similarly, these students do not have sufficiently funded school systems, the same supplies or mental health resources that upper-class, white school systems have, yet when they “act out” they are punished with no resources to utilize.

Victor M. Rios, author of Punished: Policing the Lives of Black and Latino Boys, identified even more disturbing findings in his research. He recounted a time when a Black student he was shadowing, Tyrell, was nearly arrested at school for talking back to the principal. Tyrell, along with all of his peers were unjustly punished every day. Over the course of three years, Rios “counted forty-two citations imposed” on Tyrell and his friend, José, for minor violations, he said. 

José was arrested for the first time at school when he was only eight-years-old for setting a trashcan on fire. After being handcuffed and humiliated in front of his peers, there was no course of action taken to help José make better decisions in the future. Instead, he was treated so horribly by the administration, he felt othered and gave up hope for himself. This led to more mistakes and more unreasonable punishment. “School began to serve as a site of punishment and control, a space where teachers, police, probation officers, and administrators alike “just waited” for [me] “to fuck up,” he said.

Rios concluded that cruel maneuvers taken against the student body and the lack of resources contributed to the pipeline of failed education to the criminal justice system. “All the young men in this study believed that they were inherently criminal: their interactions with the world around them had led them to internalize a foreign concept, that criminality was part of their persona,” he said. 

Looking at these students’ experiences in school from my perspective is chilling. I am a Black woman who grew up in Southlake, TX, one of the whitest and demographically affluent communities in the nation. Although I experienced racism and discrimination on a regular basis in K-12, I always had access to the resources I needed to be successful.

It is devastating that these children are so clearly being set up for failure, yet it is so deeply ingrained into society that it is difficult to make tangible change. Still, we must fight it. I believe that despite the fact that racism and white supremacy will always play a part in the persecution children of color will face, the appropriate schooling resources will help halt the school-to-prison pipeline. 

Change will have to start with kindness and a sense of obligation to help others when you hold privilege over them. It is important to remember that most inner-city districts are gravely underfunded. Basic resources such as access to ample and up-to-date textbooks and other reading materials, three meals a day, mental health professionals on campus, the defunding of school resource officers, hiring a diverse and open-minded staff, etc., should be required and the bare minimum for all school systems.

The intolerant roots of this country run so deep that the flawed structures will not change anytime soon, unless we act now. The dismantling of this inequitable complex starts with the American education system. 

Debates about race and white privilege have generated an un-comfortability that some  want to embrace, but others have fought. Those conversations have seized normality in school board meetings across the country, but how is this affecting higher education learning spaces? 

A mural in the Memorial Coliseum at the University of Kentucky has been a hot topic of  contest for years. The mural depicts enslaved Black Americans and illustrates Indigenous peoples as savages. 

A week after George Floyd was killed, UK President Eli Capilouto decided the mural  would be taken down. This verdict came after years of protesting, community conversations, a  lot of push-back, and recalling back to a time when a Black student said he felt “forced to reckon  with the fact that his forbears were enslaved,” according to the LEX 18.  

Others in the community feel that President Capilouto has made a terrible decision and is  erasing U.S. history. 

Dr. Derrick White, a Black UK professor of history and African American and Africana  Studies, does not think the mural is the worst representation of Black Americans, but  passionately believes that racism is present in higher education learning spaces.

“What we think of as knowledge was also steeped in anti-Black racism,” he said. “The normal working of what we think of as the Western curriculum, in many ways, is so rooted in  anti-Blackness that it would be a misnomer to believe that higher education is not rife with  particular kinds of forms of racism.” 

Looking at the cities and learning environments where college students are coming from may explain the discourse, and sometimes dangerous conflicts that arise from talking about the institutionalized racism Dr. White mentioned. 

K-12 across the country, and more specifically in southern states, is amid an educational  transformation. Critical race theory, any learning material regarding race, gender, sexuality, etc.,  and topics such as slavery and Native American history are being banned in some schools.  

Southlake, TX, a suburb of the Dallas Fort-Worth area is a focal point of this phenomenon. The Carroll Independent School District, Southlake’s school system, was recently  under fire for telling their staff members to teach both perspectives when discussing the  Holocaust. Caution tape covers bookshelves in CISD schools, keeping students from reading  books deemed controversial by the administration. 

Groups like the Southlake Anti Racism Coalition, an organization of current and former  Carroll ISD students, have been at the forefront of this battle and demanding anti-racist change  from the district for a year and a half.  

Despite the efforts of groups like SARC to stop bans on critical race theory, the bans are  taking a hold of their city. The effects have been apparent on college campuses.  

Dr. Cheryl Matias, a Filipina UK Full Professor and Director of Secondary Education and Master’s with Initial Certification Program, has participated in several national panels on the critical race theory ban and is currently writing for the National Journal about it. At times, she  says it is noticeable when a student comes from a place like Southlake.  

Another UK professor and elementary school guidance counselor who is white, Lori  Lazzari, was horrified to learn about what is happening in many K-12 curriculums. “There are  not two sides to the Holocaust!” she said. Lazzari believes that the book bans, the critical race  theory controversy, and other learning censorship, would not be widely accepted in the  Lexington-Louisville area, but fears it may be overtaking more rural areas. Besides concerns  over learning materials, faculty and students are experiencing racism themselves. 

Dr. Matias spent 10 years at the University of Colorado and reflects on her experiences  with racism there. Though she had many great students and colleagues, others were blatantly  racist. 

“I was the first faculty member of color to be in this urban education program. Students  would do everything from behind-my-back petitions to get me fired because they did not want to  learn about race, which is ridiculous. Second, they would write very inappropriate things on my  student evaluations—and I am going to be very honest about what they said– ‘I don’t give a f— if this b—- has a PhD’,” she said.  

While working at Dartmouth College, Dr. White received a unanimous vote of tenure, but when  the decision got to the higher up’s table, he was denied. Although he could not physically prove  the denial was a result of racial bias, White could not help but feel it was. “It speaks to the kind  of institutional problems that we see in higher education all over,” he said. 

He also said that sometimes students will leave poor evaluations of his class, unhappy with how  much he talks about Black history. This left him confused because Black people are still a part of 

American history, he said, but he has learned how to deal with this by reminding them and himself that he is a professional and expert in his field. 

A Black UK student, Skyy Walker-Davis, was recently racially harassed in the courtyard  of her apartment, just outside of the school campus. While sitting by the courtyard fire, she heard  a white student with three of his other white friends say, “f— the ‘n-words’.” After realizing she  was in the courtyard and could hear what they said, they quickly left for their room. 

As soon as they locked the door behind them, which is located just a few feet from where  Walker-Davis was sitting, they began to chant the racial slur. “They knew I could hear them. I  had never been called that before in my life,” she said.  

Walker-Davis explored every avenue to resolve the issue. She made reports with the UK  and Lexington Police Departments, the complex property manager, the University, and took to social media to demand something be done. “I even tried to speak to the boys directly, but of  course they were too scared to say anything to my face,” she said. 

The next morning, Walker-Davis awoke to messages from the University on Instagram  asking to meet to discuss the incident. It has now been a month and a half since the harassment  took place and nothing has been done. Faculty from the UK Office of Institutional Equity and  Equal Opportunity has told her that it is “an ongoing investigation.” 

Many UK faculty members want to stop things like this from happening by properly  educating their students in the classroom. Jennifer Smith, a white UK journalism professor, feels  uneasy about it at times but is still committed to having uncomfortable conversations.

One of the courses she teaches, Issues in 21st Century Sports Media, covers race and  sports, delving into the life of Jesse Owens, John Carlos, Tommie Smith, Muhammad Ali, etc. Often different words and symbols discussed bring about unpleasant situations. 

“There was a student in the class who was clearly not in this environment for very long  who raised their hand and said, ‘colored people’”, she said. “I had to jump in and say, ‘you mean  people of color,’ but I could see people in the classroom cringing.” 

It is important to note that it was difficult to find people of color that were willing to  speak to me about this story. Some of those who did, like Dr. Matias shared their perspectives on  why. 

“The reason people don’t want to say anything is because white emotions can be  weaponized against us,” she said. Dr. Matias has been the target of a stalker, extremely troubling  hate mail, and threats to her and her children’s safety for speaking out against racism. “People  who engage in these stories suffer severe consequences.”  

Dr. Matias believes addressing institutionalized racism in higher education amounts to  financial commitments designed to protect marginalized faculty members and students. 

“They need to step up! My mama says, ‘it’s all talk until they open up their  pocketbooks.’ All those statements on racial justice mean nothing if there is no line-item budget  that will support that statement,” she said. 

For some people, like Professor Lazzari, it comes down to being compassionate and  listening to other’s needs. “We need to have more forums where people get to express their  feelings. We need to listen,” Lazzari said. “Not only listen, but hear.”

In September 2021, a woman named Tara Eddins voiced her concerns about mental health initiatives her children’s school is taking at a Carroll Independent School District school board meeting. Carroll ISD is a school system located in an affluent Dallas-Fort Worth suburb: Southlake, TX. 

“Counselors need to get back to the business of prepping our kids – our 98% of kids that go on to higher learning – not promoting suicide,” Eddins said. “Some of these kids are just trying to get through the day, get through compacted math, get through algebra, go to cotillion on Sunday. They’re not thinking about these issues.” 

She talked about a particular concern with Carroll ISD’s HOPE Squad. According to the Carroll ISD website, “Members of the HOPE Squad will meet once a week to complete a Suicide Prevention curriculum, where they will learn how to discuss suicide and what to do when they suspect that a fellow peer may be suicidal.” 

After Eddins’ complaint, a Political Action Committee from Southlake, called Southlake Families, sent an email blast to the community supporting Eddins’ concerns and demanding Carroll ISD to stop “liberal curriculum, world views and indoctrination.” They said that any mental health discussions, social emotional learning or diversity and inclusion was an effort from the school district to implement critical race theory.

“LEAVE MENTAL HEALTH AND PARENTING TO PARENTS – JUST TEACH OUR KIDS ACADEMICS,” they said. 

A reporter from NBC and host of the podcast “Southlake,” Mike Hixenbaugh, tweeted Eddins’ speech and it has over 16 thousand views on Twitter. Her comments were not well received by the public. 

The Southlake Anti Racism Coalition, or SARC, a group of current and former Carroll ISD students demanding systemic anti-racist change in their community, quickly denounced Eddins’ remarks. 

Anya Kushwaha, a founder of SARC and Carroll ISD alumni, was extremely disturbed by the speech. “As this parent demonstrates, mental health should absolutely not be left solely to the responsibility of parents. Unless they are clinically trained psychologists or licensed counselors, they do not have the educational tools to support their children in all ways needed. It is empirically proven that discussing suicide does not in fact increase the chances of individuals attempting suicide, much less “advertising” it,” they said. 

Another Carroll alumni, class of 2017 and who will remain anonymous, was also appalled by Eddins’ speech, and thinks that Carroll ISD could be doing more than they already are to help students struggling with their mental health. 

“CISD needs to demonstrate concrete devotion to their community’s mental health. To me, this would look like hiring mental health professionals to work in the district and giving students the opportunity to meet with them 1 on 1 when they begin their roles,” they said. “These professionals should be trained in crisis aversion, suicide prevention, general preventative care, trauma, LGBTQ+ counseling, amongst other pertinent topics based on the experiences of current students.” 

They also believe that during the search for trained professionals, the counselors that are currently there should be better trained in discussing mental health with students so that they are not left in the dark in the meantime. 

Both Kushwaha and the 2017 graduate believe that part of this issue stems from generational differences surrounding mental health and that Eddins’ speech represents those differences. 

Lori Lazzari is a University of Kentucky professor and an elementary school guidance counselor, who often helps her young students with their mental health. Her K-12 environment takes mental health seriously and she passionately believes that is the best for the students. 

“In Kentucky, it is a mandate that we provide suicide prevention training to our middle and high school students within the first 30 days of school. This training has not caused an influx of students to say that they are going to harm themselves. It makes our students aware of the need to recognize the signs that their friends or themselves may need intervention,” she said. 

Lazzari also said the reason it is so important to have mental health resources in schools is because often, resources are only made available after a tragedy strikes. Instead, it is more beneficial to have appropriately educated the students about how they can protect themselves and others. 

Students at UK have mixed emotions about how their environment handles mental health.  Shandin Muldrow, a sophomore at the University, has learned a lot about the mental health resources on campus through his experience as a resident advisor at one of the dorm halls. “I’m familiar with many resources a regular student may not know about. This is why I make sure to make my residents aware of the many mental health resources that are available to them because I know classes and college life can be stressful,” he said. 

As Muldrow said, students who do not work in residence life likely do not know about the options available to them and although the University has them, there are several ways they could advance their resources. 

“UK could improve by being able to serve everyone who needs mental health resources. The counseling centers are overwhelmed because there are so many students who need help and only so many staff,” Muldrow said. 

Another Kentucky student, Kyra Evans-Hughes, has been negatively affected by the lack of counseling staff available on campus. 

“I visited the counseling center during my freshman year at UK and was told I would have to be referred to a local psychologist after 5-6 visits. The help I received was also very minimal,” she said. Evans-Hughes also said she feels conflicted – understanding the difficulty UK is facing of supporting thousands of students while still needing to uphold their responsibility to provide mental health resources. 

“I really think there needs to be more long-term, serious options for students on campus who are struggling with mental health issues,” Evans-Hughes said. 

Mental health issues will always be prevalent. What changes is how people choose to handle them.