Kai Davis and Education

I have heard the words of Kai Davis way too many times. Kai’s poem neither startled me nor surprised me. I’ve have felt these heavy emotions before and have even felt this type of pain. Although I am not black, I feel as though the experiences that Kai Davis talks about do not only occur within the black race-- it occurs in all races. 

What really stuck out to me was when Kai Davis asks, does a 4.0 gpa mean that she’s four shades lighter? She goes on to say that intelligence is a white trait and that “acting smart” means “acting white.” This is something I have been told before. Especially because I went to a private school. My friends from my public school often thought that I left them to go to a private school because I was “too good for them” and that I would probably fit in better with the white people anyways. But how can the color of my skin affect my education? People of my OWN race told this to me-- how can someone of my own race say that I “act too white”? It has always been difficult to understand why people self-hate against their own race. I think that is the main reason why the perpetuating stereotype to be like everyone else in your race still exists. 

This brings me to the point that education does not level the playing field. There is always a push to try and level the playing field but it is so hard to do so. Education is not equal for all races, socio-economic backgrounds, religions, or genders. Your socio-economic background is ultimately what determines what kind of education you get. With that said, education is taught so differently anywhere you go so that means that education will never be equal no matter where you go.