Taking Multicultural, Anti-Racist Education Seriously

By Enid Lee, interviewed by Barbara Miner

Amid a right-wing assault on anti-racist education, Rethinking Schools republished one of its most-read articles, this interview with Enid Lee. This article was one of Rethinking School’s earliest statements on what anti-racist education is — and is not. Following the original 1991 interview, Enid answers some questions about the context of anti-racist education today. 

What do you mean by a multicultural education? 

The term “multicultural education” has a lot of different meanings. The term I use most often is “anti-racist education.” 

Multicultural or anti-racist education is fundamentally a perspective. It’s a point of view that cuts across all subject areas, and addresses the histories and experiences of people who have been left out of the curriculum. Its purpose is to help us deal equitably with all the cultural and racial differences that you find in the human family. It’s also a perspective that allows us to get at explanations for why things are the way they are in terms of power relationships, in terms of equality issues. 

So when I say multicultural or anti-racist education, I am talking about equipping students, parents, and teachers with the tools needed to combat racism and ethnic discrimination and to find ways to build a society that includes all people on an equal footing. 

It also has to do with how the school is run in terms of who gets to be involved with decisions. It has to do with parents and how their voices are heard or not heard. It has to do with who gets hired in the school. 

If you don’t take multicultural education or anti-racist education seriously, you are actually promoting a monocultural or racist education. There is no neutral ground on this issue.