The Color of Mind: Why the Origins of the Achievement Gap Matter for Justice (History and Philosophy of Education Series)

The scope of the book is to provide an introduction to the origins of the achievement gap and the way that racially based ideas about intelligence have been used to deny black people their dignity, respect. and rights. For such a short book, it provides a wealth of valuable insights.If you read the first review someone left here on Amazon, please disregard it. It is slightly worse than useless.

I get the idea of the three "races" as a social construct but the authors trace the achievement gap to the mid-nineteenth century. Shouldn't it be traced to when sub-Saharan African slaves were first brought to North America? Not that one population group was superior but having been separated for 200,000+ years they were definitely different. So, I think an honest study of the origins of the achievement gap should start on or around 1619.See excerpt from Human Origins exhibit at the Smithsonian: http://humanorigins.si.edu/human-characteristics/brains

A very good exploration of the what the authors call the Color of Mind: that Black people are inferior in intellect, character, and conduct. What I enjoyed the most was the historical look at the origins and evolution of the Color of Mind. The authors focus on the Color of Mind and dignitary justice, or being respected as an equal person. They look at three school practices (tracking, discipline, special education) and argue that, regardless of why you think racial disparities exist, each contributes to the Color of Mind and is therefore a dignitary injustice. As such, we need to actively work to address disproportionality and rid ourselves and our systems of the Color of Mind.