Fighting a 'Public Enemy' of Black Academic Achievement—the persistence of racism and the schooling experiences of Black students in Canada

Schooling, Basketball and US Scholarship Aspirations of Canadian Student Athletes

“…As if to assure themselves that they were not caught in a school system that constructed them mainly as tall, Black young men who were more given to physical than intellectual ability and skill (see James, 1995James, , 1990Lapchick, 1995;Entine, 2000;Codjoe, 2001), these students indicated that they would challenge rather than accept such a stereotype. They argued that such stereotyping was based on 'ignorance'.…”

“…This 'Canadian/Other' configuration found within the school system is reinscribed through school programmes, educational materials, curriculum, and pedagogical approaches. All of these contribute to the marginalisation of Black students, their disengagement from the schooling process, poor educational performance, and few making it to university and college (Brathwaite & James, 1996;Dei et al, 1997;Henry, 1998;Codjoe, 2001).…”

“…This cultural explanation is premised on the idea that the society, and by extension the education system, is 'colour-blind' and students' abilities and interests will take them wherever they wish educationally and occupationally irrespective of their colour (James, 2001). Because a number of Black students demonstrate strong abilities and skills in athletics compared to academic subjects (Entine, 2000;Codjoe, 2001), and productively participate in school if given opportunities to play sports, educators will encourage them in athletics. Educators do so believing that it is in the interest of the students and out of respect for their culture.…”

“…And is it that their coaches, and possibly teachers, believed that the possibilities for these Black student athletes' successes are more likely to be realised through US college and university scholarships? Studies have shown that teachers and coaches, based on their social construction or stereotype of Black males as athletes, tend to support and encourage them to participate in athletic activities, often at the expense of their academic programme (Codjoe, 2001;Solomon, 1992). As a result, many student athletes have little opportunity to obtain the necessary grades which would enable them to win academic scholarships.…”

African Canadian Students Identify Strategies for Success

“…They indicated that they encountered racism in several ways: negative stereotypes, being called inappropriate names, being invisible, not receiving support from some teachers or being accused by some educators of being lazy, and not wanting to achieve academically. These examples are reinforced by Codjoe [4] who speaks of the persistence of racism and the schooling experience of Black students in Canada. One student spoke about being made fun of by other students because of her hair.…”