Race and Colorism in Education

by Carla Monroe (Author)

As one of the first scholarly books to focus on colorism in education, this volume considers how connections between race and color may influence school-based experiences. Chapter authors question how variations in skin tone, as well as related features such as hair texture and eye color, complicate perspectives on race and they demonstrate how colorism is a form of discrimination that affects educational stakeholders, especially students, families, and professionals, across P-16 institutions. This volume provides an outline of colorism’s contemporary relevance within the United States and shares considerations for international dimensions that are linked to immigration, refugee populations, and Canada. By situating colorism in an educational context, this book offers suggestions for how educators may engage and confront this form of discrimination.

About the Author
Carla R. Monroe is a former research scientist at the University of Georgia, USA.

Review
"Race and Colorism in Education offers bold multidisciplinary interrogations into discriminatory issues of skin color and the dehumanizing impact of these issues on the educational experiences of Black, Latina/o, and other students perceived as ‘non-white.’ These collective insights are especially salient and timely, given the destructive climate of racialization that tenaciously persists across the United States and its corrupting influences on the psyche of the nation."

–Antonia Darder, Leavey Endowed Chair of Ethics and Moral Leadership, Loyola Marymount University, USA

Race and Colorism in Education addresses a fundamental void in the literature and adds to the complex understandings of race and inequality in society. As a teacher and teacher educator, I have witnessed colleagues, classroom teachers, and administrators grapple with the seldom studied constructs that underlie the issue of colorism; without the language and grounding to intelligently and thoughtfully consider the implications, the nuance is lost. This book is relevant and well-timed to contribute to the national conversation regarding the heightened tensions and incidents surrounding race, phenotype, and skin tone. Carla R. Monroe and colleagues have provided a powerful tool to support the work of civic leaders, educators, and scholars alike in setting the foundation for authentic, meaningful, and challenging discourse necessary for movement and transformation.

–Kimberly A. White-Smith, Dean of LaFetra College of Education, University of La Verne, USA