Eve L. Ewing

And we know, of course, that much of that history goes back even to the terrible legacy of boarding schools where Native children were kidnapped and held as a means of controlling them, but also as a means of controlling their parents and their families themselves. and disincentivizing resistance to the U.S. military expansion into native territories.

And we know, of course, that much of that history goes back even to the terrible legacy of boarding schools where Native children were kidnapped and held as a means of controlling them, but also as a means of controlling their parents and their families themselves. and disincentivizing resistance to the U.S. military expansion into native territories.

And the third is the idea of economic subjugation, that idea that in a capitalist society, as somebody once said in one of my teacher education classes, somebody's got to mow the lawn and that there's sort of a permanent underclass that is racially stratified and that's very hard for people to escape.

And the third is the idea of economic subjugation, that idea that in a capitalist society, as somebody once said in one of my teacher education classes, somebody's got to mow the lawn and that there's sort of a permanent underclass that is racially stratified and that's very hard for people to escape.

And we see that with things like the wealth gap and again, things that happen in school to differentiate people's learning experiences.

And we see that with things like the wealth gap and again, things that happen in school to differentiate people's learning experiences.

Well, the history of standardized testing was really birthed by people, men in particular, who were, again, very explicit that they did not believe that Black people and Native people could possibly be intelligent, could possibly be capable.

Well, the history of standardized testing was really birthed by people, men in particular, who were, again, very explicit that they did not believe that Black people and Native people could possibly be intelligent, could possibly be capable.

And so we see an incredible amount of cultural bias in the way that these tests were shaped in the past, but also into the present, as many scholars and observers have documented. But I think it's really important for us to face the facts that the people who are the architects of these systems, they were not shy about their beliefs, yet for some reason we've been shy about confronting them.

And so we see an incredible amount of cultural bias in the way that these tests were shaped in the past, but also into the present, as many scholars and observers have documented. But I think it's really important for us to face the facts that the people who are the architects of these systems, they were not shy about their beliefs, yet for some reason we've been shy about confronting them.

And one of the originators of standardized testing, Carl Brigham, later on in his life, he actually said that it was a fallacy, that his own research had been wrong, and that it was foolish for him to think that there was such a thing as a static IQ that could be assessed in an impartial way through this testing. And he said, I really hope that nobody believes that now.

And one of the originators of standardized testing, Carl Brigham, later on in his life, he actually said that it was a fallacy, that his own research had been wrong, and that it was foolish for him to think that there was such a thing as a static IQ that could be assessed in an impartial way through this testing. And he said, I really hope that nobody believes that now.

Well, of course, not only do people believe it, but we've built entire regimes of incentives and supports and withholding of supports from schools based around that idea.

Well, of course, not only do people believe it, but we've built entire regimes of incentives and supports and withholding of supports from schools based around that idea.

These ways of approaching young people, they don't just have impact on Black and Native children themselves. They have impact on all of us and children of all racial backgrounds and all cultural backgrounds that are sharing space with them in school. So it means that Black and Native children grow up with this idea that it is normal for them to be surveilled. It's normal for them to be compliant.

These ways of approaching young people, they don't just have impact on Black and Native children themselves. They have impact on all of us and children of all racial backgrounds and all cultural backgrounds that are sharing space with them in school. So it means that Black and Native children grow up with this idea that it is normal for them to be surveilled. It's normal for them to be compliant.

And that if they can't do that, if they can't comply with the law, that they should fairly face violent retribution. And at the same time, we see from those observers of children that come from many other backgrounds, the way that they are watching that violence take place. They're watching that strict punishment. Sometimes corporal punishment.

And that if they can't do that, if they can't comply with the law, that they should fairly face violent retribution. And at the same time, we see from those observers of children that come from many other backgrounds, the way that they are watching that violence take place. They're watching that strict punishment. Sometimes corporal punishment.

They're watching those extreme suspensions and expulsions and they grow up and that shapes the way they believe that we should respond when people are interacting with the police. And we've talked a lot in the last several years about the ways that black people are, of course, disproportionately impacted by contact with the criminal legal system and often impacted in tragic and lethal ways.

They're watching those extreme suspensions and expulsions and they grow up and that shapes the way they believe that we should respond when people are interacting with the police. And we've talked a lot in the last several years about the ways that black people are, of course, disproportionately impacted by contact with the criminal legal system and often impacted in tragic and lethal ways.