9.5: Counternarratives in Racial Wealth Disparities

 Reflection on “9.5: Counternarratives in Racial Wealth Disparities”

In “9.5: Counternarratives in Racial Wealth Disparities,” Ulysses Acevedo explains that racial wealth inequality is not only a story of oppression. It is also a story of resistance. The chapter shows that many communities have challenged unfair systems in education, housing, and the economy. These counternarratives are important because they fight against the dominant “master narrative” that often blames poor communities for their own struggles. Acevedo shows that people have organized, protested, built schools, and demanded reparations. These actions prove that racial wealth inequality is not natural. It is created by systems, and people have always pushed back against those systems.

The chapter starts by naming several movements that fought for educational justice. Acevedo mentions the East L.A. Chicano walkouts, the Black Panther Party’s Oakland Community School, and the Third World Liberation Front. These movements share a common purpose. They wanted control over education. They wanted students to be treated with dignity. They wanted relevant curriculum. They wanted teachers who understood their communities. They wanted schools to serve students rather than harm them. This focus on education is important because education is closely connected to wealth. If schools fail students, it becomes harder to access college, stable work, and higher income. If schools support students, it can open pathways to better jobs and more wealth-building opportunities.

The East L.A. Chicano Blowouts in 1968 are one powerful example. Acevedo explains that Mexican American students walked out of high schools in Los Angeles to protest unfair treatment. They faced corporal punishment. They were punished for speaking Spanish. They did not have basic access to bathrooms during school hours. Their curriculum did not reflect their history or community. Many teachers did not share their background. Students were also placed into “educational tracking,” which often pushed them toward low-level classes and away from college preparation. The walkouts were organized by students and supported by a teacher named Sal Castro. This movement mattered because it was peaceful, collective, and brave. It showed that students could demand respect and change. It also helped grow the larger Chicano movement. When I read about this, I thought about how schools can create inequality by treating some students as less capable or less valuable. The walkouts remind me that young people are not powerless. They can speak up when systems are unfair.

The chapter then discusses the Black Panther Party and its impact on education in Oakland. Many people know the Black Panther Party only through stereotypes. Acevedo challenges that limited view. He explains that the Panthers reimagined education and built community programs. In 1973, they created the Oakland Community School (OCS) in East Oakland. It was directed by Ericka Huggins and Donna Howell. The school operated until 1982. It was created because public schools in Oakland were underfunded and neglected. The Panthers wanted a school that offered liberatory education. This school is an important counternarrative because it shows that communities can build better systems when the state fails them.

Acevedo includes Point 5 of the Black Panther Party’s 10 Point Platform. The Panthers wanted education that exposes the true nature of American society. They wanted education that teaches true history. They believed people need knowledge of self and knowledge of their social position. This is powerful because it connects education to identity and empowerment. If students never learn their own history, they may feel invisible or inferior. If they learn their history, they may gain pride and motivation. This is also connected to Ethnic Studies. Ethnic Studies challenges the master narrative by including stories that were erased.

The Oakland Community School also supported students in many ways. Acevedo explains that OCS provided meals, including breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It focused on mental health through meditation and mindfulness. It also offered martial arts and peer-led justice committees. This shows that education is not only academics. It is also care, safety, and community support. The school gave students role models from their own community. That matters because representation shapes how students see their future. This part of the chapter made me reflect on what “quality education” really means. It means resources, safety, respect, mental health support, and meaningful learning. Wealth inequality often takes those things away from underfunded schools. OCS shows what can happen when a community refuses to accept neglect.

The chapter also discusses Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Acevedo explains that the first HBCU was Cheyney University of Pennsylvania in 1837. Many HBCUs were created after the Civil War because Black Americans were excluded from white institutions. HBCUs became places of access, leadership, and community. They played a major role in Black education and social mobility. The chapter also notes that many HBCUs need major funding to repair buildings and meet safety codes. This reminds me that inequality can also appear in institutional resources. Even when Black institutions create opportunities, they still face financial barriers because of long histories of underfunding.

Acevedo then connects these historical counternarratives to the legacy of Ethnic Studies today. He asks an important question: how do we teach students in underfunded schools effectively? Underfunded schools may struggle to recruit teachers, access technology, and provide extracurricular opportunities. However, some schools use creative strategies. They use culturally relevant pedagogy. They hire teachers of color from similar backgrounds. They reduce police presence and look for supportive alternatives. This section shows that education reform is not only about money. It is also about values and teaching methods.

The chapter discusses California’s AB 101, which requires high school students to take one semester of Ethnic Studies before graduation. This is a major policy change. It reflects the idea that curriculum matters. Ethnic Studies can help students see themselves in school. It can also help all students understand history more honestly. Acevedo also mentions a Stanford University study about Ethnic Studies in the San Francisco Unified School District. The study found positive effects. Ethnic Studies courses improved attendance for at-risk students. They improved grades and credits earned. They increased graduation rates and college enrollment. The study also explained these courses as a psychological intervention. Ethnic Studies can create a sense of belonging. It can affirm personal values. It can warn students about stereotypes so they are not harmed by them. This part of the chapter stood out to me because it shows that changing curriculum can have real outcomes. It is not only political. It is practical. When students feel seen and respected, they do better.

The chapter also discusses Occupy Wall Street (OWS). Acevedo explains that this movement began in 2011 in Manhattan and spread globally. The slogan “We are the 99 percent” challenged the power of the richest 1 percent. OWS protested major banks and corporations and their influence on politics. The movement criticized the role of Wall Street in creating economic collapse and recession. It also supported goals like better jobs, fairer income distribution, bank reform, student loan forgiveness, and stopping home foreclosures. This is an important counternarrative because it shows that wealth inequality is not only racial. It is also class-based. However, class inequality and racial inequality often overlap. Many communities of color are more likely to experience poverty because of historical discrimination. Occupy Wall Street helped bring wealth inequality into public discussion. It made the “1 percent” a common idea in society.

The chapter ends with the ongoing struggle for reparations. Acevedo uses Ta-Nehisi Coates’s argument from “The Case for Reparations.” Coates lists centuries of harm: slavery, Jim Crow, separate-but-equal, and racist housing policy. His point is that America has a moral debt that has not been paid. Reparations means repairing past injustice through resources or money. Acevedo explains that reparations were discussed after emancipation through the idea of “40 acres and a mule.” Reparations were also proposed again in later years, including the 1890s and during the Black Power movement. The chapter explains that reparations remain controversial and politically difficult. Still, the argument continues because the economic harm was real and large.

This section made me reflect on what “justice” means. Many people think apologies are enough. But apologies do not restore wealth that was stolen. They do not close the gap created by centuries of unpaid labor and blocked opportunities. The chapter mentions that Congress apologized for slavery and Jim Crow, and some states also apologized. But apologies do not change material conditions. Reparations is a difficult conversation because it raises questions about responsibility, payment, and who qualifies. But the chapter shows that it is also a necessary conversation if society wants true equity.

Acevedo mentions California as a leading place in reparations discussions. This shows that the conversation is not only academic. It is happening in politics and policy. It also shows that states can take action even if the federal government does not. This gives hope that change can happen in steps. It may not be perfect, but it can begin.

Overall, this chapter helped me understand the importance of counternarratives. Counternarratives show that marginalized communities have always resisted. They have built schools, organized protests, created educational programs, and demanded structural change. These stories challenge the idea that inequality is caused by laziness or poor choices. Instead, they show that communities are fighting systems that were designed to exclude them. Counternarratives also give hope. They show that people can create alternatives when institutions fail.

This chapter also helped me see that education is deeply connected to wealth. When schools punish students for language, track them into low-level classes, or erase their history, they reduce students’ future opportunities. When communities create culturally relevant schools and Ethnic Studies courses, students gain belonging and motivation. This can improve achievement and open doors to better jobs and financial stability.

In conclusion, “Counternarratives in Racial Wealth Disparities” shows that racial wealth inequality is real, but resistance is also real. The chapter highlights movements like the East L.A. Chicano walkouts, the Black Panther Party’s Oakland Community School, and the growth of Ethnic Studies. It also shows broader movements like Occupy Wall Street and the continuing push for reparations. These counternarratives remind us that systems can be challenged. They also remind us that justice requires both recognition and repair. Reading this chapter made me feel that learning these histories is important because they show how change happens. Change happens when people organize together, tell the truth, and refuse to accept inequality as normal.

Works Cited

Acevedo, Ulysses. “9.5: Counternarratives in Racial Wealth Disparities.” ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI), CC BY-NC.

Coates, Ta-Nehisi. “The Case for Reparations.” The Atlantic, 2014.

Clement, Priscilla, and Nomi Lidsky. “The Danger of History Slipping Away: The Heritage Campus and HBCUs.” 2011.

Dreilinger, Danielle. “Ethnic Studies Boosts Student Outcomes.” 2021.

Ealey, et al. [Black Panther Party 10 Point Platform reference], 2016.

Karlamangla, Soumya. “California AB 101 Ethnic Studies Graduation Requirement.” 2021.

NAACP. “History of Reparations and 40 Acres and a Mule.” 2019.

Occupy Wall Street. “About the Movement.” occupywallst.org, 2022.

9.5: Counternarratives in Racial Wealth Disparities

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Counternarratives

Many racialized groups in the U.S. have pushed back against these practices such as: the East L.A. Chicano walkouts, Black Panther Party Oakland Community Schools, and the Third World Liberation Front. These movements share in common the fight to gain control of how schools serve historically disenfranchised communities, what is taught, how it is taught, who does the teaching, and bringing a quality education.

The 1968 East L.A. Chicano Blowouts were mass student walkouts across the Los Angeles Unified School District to protest the treatment of high school Mexican American students. The treatment of these students included: corporal punishment administered by teachers and administrators, rules against speaking Spanish, not having access to bathroom facilities during school hours, irrelevant curriculum to the community, not enough teachers that shared a similar background to students, and educational tracking. A high school teacher, Sal Castro, and students organized many high schools in the district to walk out of schools in order to peacefully demonstrate against this treatment. This movement is also known as a catapult to the Chicano movement of the late 60’s and 70’s. Please see the Chapter 6, page 6.2: "Roots and Resistance" for more details on the impacts of the East L.A. Chicano Blowouts.

The Black Panther Party (BPP) is known for having a great impact on California social movements and on the U.S. imagination of what Black Power is and how to organize effectively. Among the many impacts of the BPP to culture and society they had a great impact on how to re-imagine education in the U.S. In 1973 the BPP established its own school in East Oakland called the Oakland Community School (OCS) directed by Ericka Huggins and Donna Howell. The school was active until 1982. The creation of the school was a direct response to the disinvestment of public education in Oakland and to provide a model for liberatory education. OCS was so impactful that it influenced the creation of the U.S. free lunch program to lower income children.

Point 5 of the Black Panther Party’s 10 Point Platform:

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We want decent education for our people that exposes the true nature of this decadent American society. We want education that teaches us our true history and our role in the present-day society. We believe in an educational system that will give to our people a knowledge of the self. If you do not have knowledge of yourself and your position in the society and in the world, then you will have little chance to know anything else (Ealey et al., 2016).

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OCS offered much more than breakfast, lunch and dinner to its students; it was a true model for a well rounded education for its students. Students at OCS practiced meditation and mindfulness in order to focus on student’s mental health. They also participated in martial arts classes and peer led justice committees. Just as important OCS provided youth with the opportunity to learn from people who looked like them and who were from their own community. Please see Chapter 2 and Chapter 11 on the creation of Ethnic Studies and the influences of the Black Panther Party.

Figure : Panthers Expand Free Breakfast for Children Program. A flyer announces the opening of a second location for the Black Panther Party free breakfast for children program in October 1970. (CC BY-NC 2.0; Washington Area Spark via Flickr)

Creation of HBCUs

The first established Historically Black College or University (HBCU) was Cheyney University of Pennsylvania in 1837 a little over 200 years after Harvard University (the first university of the U.S.). Cheyney University was established before the civil war, whereas most HBCUs were established post civil war.

According to the article “The danger of history slipping away: the Heritage Campus and HBCUs: HBCU presidents must learn to use preservation planning as a tool to leverage new resources” by Clement and Lidsky, HBCUs need over $1 billion to bring the many buildings up to code. “HBCUs are as diverse as higher education. These institutions have different histories, different cultures, and different resources. They are public and private, large and small, two-year and four-year, single sex and coed, religious and non-denominational. The common thread that binds them is their mission to provide access to higher education for African Americans, who were previously enslaved and later segregated in the United States” (Clement & Lidsky, 2011).

The Legacy of Ethnic Studies in Education

An important question to address is, what methods are being used to effectively teach children who attend underfunded schools without the same resources as children in wealthier neighborhoods? Underfunded schools are disadvantaged in many ways when attempting to close the achievement gap; some examples are they are not able to access the same teacher recruitment strategies, educational technology, and extra-curricular opportunities. Underfunded schools have found creative ways to implement pedagogical practices to help their students succeed for example, implementing culturally relevant pedagogy, hiring teachers of color from similar backgrounds as students, and in some districts finding alternatives to campus police presence.

California’s AB 101 is the implementation of culturally relevant pedagogy. Through this bill all C.A. high school students are required to take one semester of Ethnic Studies before graduating. Although AB 101 requires C.A. K-12 school districts to implement ethnic studies by 2025 many districts are starting to offer Ethnic Studies courses (Karlamangla, 2021).

In a 2021, Stanford University study of Ethnic Studies courses in the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) found that these courses had long lasting positive impacts (Dreilinger, 2021). Ethnic Studies courses in SFUSD boosted attendance for at-risk students, boosted academic performance, helped them earn more credits, increased GPA, increased graduation probability, and likelihood of enrolling in college.

Furthermore, the study used social psychology theoretical perspectives to demonstrate that taking an ethnic studies course in 9th grade aligned with being a psychological intervention. Ethnic studies courses offering a “sense of belonging in school, affirm personal values and forewarning about stereotypes have all shown promise in improving student engagement and motivation.” (Dreilinger, 2021). Ethnic studies classes in this study also demonstrated that students were able to see their ancestors and other groups in the curriculum, whereas these narratives have been omitted in the master narrative. Please see Chapter 2 for more information on the movement for Ethnic Studies in higher education and K-12 districts.

Occupy Wall Street

One of the largest and most recent popular movements to fight against income and wealth inequity was the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement, according to the OWS official website “the movement was a people-powered movement that began on September 17, 2011 in Manhattan and quickly spread globally. OWS fought back against major banks and corporations involved in the democratic process, and the role of Wall Street in creating an economic collapse that has caused the greatest recession in generations” (occupywallst.org, 2022). The OWS movement slogan was “we are the 99 percent” in contrast to the idea that the 1 percent of ultra wealthy hold much of the resources in the U.S. Some of the goals included better jobs, more equal distribution of income, less profit for bankers, and stricter policies on banks negotiating with consumer services, i.e. mortgages and debit cards. Other goals included bank reform, student loan forgiveness, and fixing the home foreclosures.

The Ongoing Struggle for Reparations

In his article, The Case for Reparations, Ta-Nehisi Coates makes a powerful statement of the morality of the US not coming to terms with the historic economic inequities the legacy of slavery has left on generations of Black American families. Coates writes,

Two hundred fifty years of slavery. Ninety years of Jim Crow. Sixty years of separate but equal. Thirty-five years of racist housing policy. Until we reckon with our compounding moral debts, America will never be whole. (Coates, 2014).

In many ways, it seems simple enough. Wealth was forcibly extracted from Black laborers in the form of a lifetime of free labor, so in order to atone for it, financial compensation should now be provided. As a gesture, in 2008 Congress apologized for Jim Crow laws and Slavery, nine states have officially apologized for slavery (Congress Apologizes for Slavery, Jim Crow, 2008). How can the US repay the value of the economic extraction of labor during state sponsored slavery?

Reparations are righting the wrongs of a past injustice through resources or monetary payment. The idea of reparations for slavery and the recommendations for it is not new to the US and was first discussed after the emancipation proclamation as a policy of “40 acres and a mule” in 1865 (NAACP, 2019). Then again in 1894 the US senate would propose a bill to grant direct payments of “$500 to all ex-slaves plus monthly pensions.” The US public would hear the demands for reparations during the 1960’s Black Power movement, then again in the 1980’s (NAACP, 2019). But the case for reparations has always remained controversial and politically challenging.

Any authentic conversation on reparations acknowledges the role of local, state, and federal governments and laws during and after slavery. After slavery ended, its legacy has sustained such disparate outcomes in wealth by race that some sort of “repair” must also occur for there to be economic equity. In recognition of this, California recently emerged as a leading state in the discussion for reparations. At the end 2022 California has still remained in discussion of how much financial reparations (possibly $350,000) and to whom (Mahdawi, 2022).

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This page titled 9.5: Counternarratives in Racial Wealth Disparities is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Ulysses Acevedo (ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI)) .