By TomMcKenna

photo by Jean-Claude LeJeune

I'm a racist. My students tell me so. They claim racism doesn't exist in our society anymore. Therefore, anyone who brings up race when analyzing injustice is a racist. According to them, I fit the bill.

I teach high school social studies in Portland, OR. Most of my students are white; so am I. Some still use the word "colored" when referring to African Americans. When I correct them, they think I am trying to be "politically correct." They are working-class kids whose experience of the world rarely extends beyond their immediate community. But they have strong opinions about the world.

When issues of race come up, a typical student comment goes like this: "It's an advantage to be colored or Black or whatever you want us to call them."

"Tell me about that, how is it an advantage?" I ask. "How do you know that?"