White Educators? Guide to Equity : Teaching for Justice in Community Colleges

In the United States, community colleges are some of the most racially diverse institutions of higher education. And, as such, as argued in Minding the Obligation Gap in Community Colleges and Beyond (Sims et al., 2020), they are uniquely positioned to function as disruptive technologies, that is, spaces that disrupt institutionalized educational inequity. Pedagogy and curriculum must be liberatory if we hope to engender educational equity precisely because nationwide the majority of community college students are students of color and the majority of African American and Latinx college students start their journeys at a community college. The community college professorate is the inverse, as three-quarters of all college professors are white. These demographics create a cultural schism that is preventing students of color and other minoritized groups from reaching their full intellectual and creative potential. This book fills a gap in the academic literature on how community college educators can more effectively serve their diverse students, from interrogating their own white racial identity, to overhauling their curricula and pedagogy, and later by committing to radical love as praxis. While this book’s title explicitly calls on white educators, ultimately, it is for any educator who seeks to dismantle classroom power structures and who strives to create nurturing, justice-advancing curricula.

"The White Educators’ Guide to Equity is a vital contribution to the literature on how to create racial equity in college settings―and, importantly, in the setting of community colleges, where such work is more important than ever, but often ignored. A must-read for all educators, but particularly those in community colleges looking to transform their institutions."

―Tim Wise, Author, White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son

"Given the disproportionate number of white faculty in the community system in comparison to the student population, this book is essential in providing the necessary guidance and tools that will allow white teachers to effectively teach students of color. Moreover, this text recognizes that if the community system is going to improve outcomes for students of color that white faculty have obligation to be equipped to have greater understanding of race and racism that would impact what and how they teach."―Edward Bush, President, Cosumnes River College

"Improving outcomes for community college students begins with improving one's understanding of race and racism. The first-person perspective of engaging in anti-racist work in this book calls to our core values as community college educators. This book provides guidance, evokes critical self-reflection, and highlights practical tools to effectively educate historically minoritized students, especially for an educational system whose teaching faculty is predominantly white."―Angelica Garcia, President, Berkeley City College

Jeramy Wallace (M.A. in English, Notre Dame de Namur University) is Associate Professor of English at the College of San Mateo, California. He is co-author of Minding the Obligation Gap in Community Colleges and Beyond: Theory and Practice in Achieving Educational Equity (Peter Lang, 2020).

Jeremiah J. Sims (B.A., M.A., and Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley) is the Principal Consultant of Rooted in Love, LLC. and Founding Director/lead teacher of Initiative in Diversity, Equity, Antiracism, and Leadership (IDEAL). He is co-series editor of Educational Equity in Community Colleges (Peter Lang); author of Revolutionary STEM Education (Peter Lang, 2018); and co-author of Minding the Obligation Gap in Community Colleges and Beyond (Peter Lang, 2020).