Theory Into Practice has Published a New Special Issue on “Colorism in Education”  In Winter 2016, Volume 55, Number 1

Guest Edited by Carla Monroe, Associate Editor, Intercultural Education

Individuals who laud social progress in the United States and, specifically within the nation’s educational system, have some reason to be encouraged.

Selected outcomes among people of color, such as high school graduation rates (Swanson & Lloyd, 2013) and trends in college enrollment among women (Lopez & Gonzalez-Barrera, 2014), have generally improved in recent years. Close scrutiny of the racialized sphere, however, tempers enthusiasm as educational stakeholders tend to have dramatically different experiences when race is interrogated from critical angles. In fact, ample evidence suggests that aspirations for a post-racial society are merely wishful thinking.

It is undeniable that communities of color grapple with dual systems of stratification. On one level, Blacks, Asians, Native Americans, Latinos, Multiracials, and other communities are sidelined by the pressures of racial oppression and preference. On a second level, historically-subordinated races are characterized by intraracial divides wherein dark-complexioned people, in some ways, tend to fare worse than light-complexioned members of their same race. The evidence from numerous areas such as income (Keith & Herring, 1991), wealth (Bodenhorn & Ruebeck, 2007), and dating channels (Hill, 2002) is unmistakable. Yet, amid the energies that professionals have invested in moving race to the front lines of educational theory and practice, attention to colorism is spare. Certainly race-conscious work is necessary to avert impoverished views of education and schooling.

However, muffling the color complex, or overlooking the problem entirely, allows racism’s perpetual accomplice to continue fueling vexing discrepancies within racial groups. In the tradition of Allen et al. (2000), the authors who contributed to this special issue on colorism in education have shed needed insight into the processes by which color privilege and bias may reproduce stratification.

The articles, as well as the additional resources that are provided, collectively furnish a general panorama for future race-conscious scholarship and practice. Scholastic goals will be well served by continued study of how colorism compounds racial affairs in educational and related venues.

Access a featured article from the special issue titled Histories of Colorism and Implications for Education free until March 31, 2016.

To view the complete special issue and to access other free content visit Theory Into Practice.

Theory Into Practice is the peer reviewed, scholarly journal owned by The Ohio State University’s College of Education and Human Ecology, and published by Taylor & Francis. 

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* Read the full article online:http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00405841.2016.1116847