Today our community college campuses host a large and varied student population.  Writers Arthur Cohen and Florence Brewer estimate that as of 1991, “two-thirds of all ethnic minority students” are enrolled in the community college system (20).  How well are these students being served?   Professor Mary Howard-Hamilton points out that after the initial efforts to make campuses less hostile to minority student populations, colleges failed to address the most problematic areas of multi-cultural education: that is, they did not integrate minority concerns into the fabric of college life, for example, the curriculum (68).  One aspect of that accommodation should be the equitable inclusion of minority images in textbooks.  This study asks what kinds of images minority students (and, in this work, specifically, African American women students) find in the textbooks they read; whether the texts affect their sense of self, learning, and career choices; and how some professors respond to the images in the textbooks they choose for student consumption.

Theoretical Framework

            Two reasons exist for my focus on textbook images.   First, images have a lasting impact on student learning.  Lorraine Evans and Kimberly Davies argue that all institutions of learning are the “social experience in which values and attitudes are transmitted, and textbooks are agents of this transmission” (emphasis mine) (256).   The significance of images as learning tools is reinforced by writers G. E. Britton and M. C. Lumpkin who report the findings of two publishing companies, Macmillan and Ginn.  McMillan confirms that students do not just learn math and science from texts; they learn “sometimes subliminally, how society rewards certain groups of people” (256).  Ginn suggests that through elusive ways the tone, content, and illustrations convey the attitudes the larger society has of “self, race, religion, sex, ethnic and social class groups, occupations, life expectations, and life chances” (emphasis mine) (256).  Textbook images then can reinforce the preferences and prejudices of the mainstream population.

The second reason for this focus is the general importance of images in the texts.  Jason Low and Peter Sherrard argue that photographs are the primary illustrations used in college-level textbooks, and the images are significant because “readers assume that they are objective slices of reality, thus giving the photographs authority and allure” (310).  They consequently convey “connotations,” despite the intended meaning for the images, and therefore are not merely “a way of livening up a textbook or to clarify points in the text . . . . [Instead,] they do represent knowledge that involves a marriage between ideology and economics” (emphasis mine) (310).  In other words, they do affect student learning and career choices.

Education and textbook publishing in America has been traditionally Eurocentric.  Professor Irving Buchen argues that although higher education is overwhelmingly Euro-American and Eurocentric, it can no longer remain so since cultural diversity is now a “demographic reality” (2).   Rebecca Kook demonstrates that until the 1960s, America’s collective identity reduced African Americans and other minorities to invisible status; that is, they were seen as “invisible” to traits that were American and, therefore, excluded from “membership” and the privileges that attend membership.  She writes, “the values of equality, individualism, and achievement” were non-ethnic; hence, in the “memories of the collective past, strategies were implemented to justify past prejudice and discrimination” (154). One such strategy used against minorities was to represent them as having opposite qualities to those of the predominant society:  “submissive, carefree, contented, lazy, and irresponsible” (155).  However, she adds that since the 1960s and the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, minorities have begun to be slowly included in the collective identity with figures on stamps, in museums, and with holidays.  This inclusion, she argues, is vital for it involves access to political power and economic advantage (154-155).   Textbook images, then, play an important part in how they position group identity, which in turn influences individual identity.

How are individual students affected by the images?   Kook points out that the primary arena in which the act of memory construction takes place is symbolic, “for images triggered by symbols cumulatively make for the memory of the collective past” (156).  Photographs in college textbooks cannot be ignored, for the age-old stereotypes that formed the collective past have a staying power in the images chosen for texts, and they undermine African American students’ self worth and therefore their academic performance.  Some texts’ representation of African Americans is demeaning, and so seem to alienate some of these students from certain career paths.

            Compared to 1964, when professor and critic Herbert Kohl’s struggle for accurate and positive textbook images began—the social studies textbooks for students in Harlem said slavery was a kindly institution, slaves were happy and did not want freedom, and the North did not understand this (595-598)—some important progress has been made.  However, the changes have been made primarily in terms of quantity rather than quality.  Critic Jesus Garcia writes, “the breadth of coverage had increased, but the depth of coverage had not” for omissions, distortions, and stereotyping are still prevalent in textbooks (35).  To illustrate how race, gender and class oppression intersect, Evans and Davies “indicate a greater numerical equality of males and females in textbooks compared with previous studies, [but] the manner in which males and females are depicted through personality traits is still sexist” (268).  Louis Heshusius-Gilsdorf provides a classic example: “Where a man and a woman are shown holding the same job, the man is typically pictured as directing the task” (209). Thanks to the lobbying power of white feminists, today they receive not just more images than minorities, but more positive inclusion of images in textbooks.

The same changes are necessary for minorities.  Critics agree that providing more prominence of minorities’ images provides “a more accurate depiction of society . . . a more comprehensive view of American history . . . enhance inter-group relations . . . help minority students raise self-esteem, improve their school performance, and reduce the drop out rate” (Garcia 32).  This overview is corroborated by a study conducted at John Tyler Community College during the 2000-2001 school year.

Project

This pilot project’s aim was to determine how minority female students are affected by literary and other texts that teachers present to them at the community college level.  Specifically, the study addresses two areas.  First, it seeks answers to two questions.  Does the representation of black women protagonists as non-professional or lowest on the career ladder affect the students’ sense of self and their ability to concentrate on the text?  Also, to what extent does the continued portrayal of black women employed in traditional fields—rather than in the more highly rewarding areas of finance, mathematics, technology, science, and law—impact the career choices of students and their sense of autonomy?  Second, it inquires to what degree teachers’ choices of texts—how much and what kinds of images of minorities are in the assigned student texts—aid or hinder academic success.

Part One of Study

I first distributed surveys to 125 students on both campuses of John Tyler Community College for the fall, spring, and summer sessions of the 2000-2001 school year.   A return of roughly 66% provided adequate information as to how respondents perceived the texts they used in the classroom.  The students were asked to read two selections: a short story, “Sweat,” by Zora Neale Hurston, and the first chapter of Brothers and Sisters by Bebe Moore Campbell. They were then asked to answer sixteen questions with subdivisions, as well as requested to make any comments they wished.  Many of the subjects are already in the work force; hence, their comments bring a heightened awareness of corporate practices.  

I used two kinds of evaluative tools.  The first was literary criticism.  Reader response criticism argues that in the past literary assessment of texts focused on the books themselves and the writers.  However, focus should be on the readers and how they and the texts that they read create meaning.  The readers develop their own voices, and therefore gain a sense of power over their lives as they negotiate the text (Booker 147).   The second is an ethnographic component used to identify how the survey respondents use the texts they read to gain self-empowerment.  Here I hand tabulated the number of responses provided by the subjects from the surveys, and the number of images of African Americans compared to European Americans in thirty-five textbooks sold on both campuses of John Tyler Community College.  Details about the images from the texts provide meaningful data that will help determine the degree of inclusion and the type of representation minorities receive.  The quotes used reflect a consensus of opinion given by informants.

First, I looked at the students’ awareness of the intersection of gender, race, and class oppression in the responses to the two fiction readings.  The first, “Sweat,” is set in the South in the 1920s and has a protagonist, Delia, who is a washerwoman.  She has an abusive unemployed husband, Sykes, who intimidates her with his affairs, violence, and trickery, such as hiding a snake in the laundry basket in order to force Delia to leave.  (However, the snake attacks him and he dies.)   The second protagonist, Hester Jackson, is a black professional woman, who as regional director of a bank in Los Angeles, demonstrates much autonomy on the job. Yet, because of racism and classism and sexism, she is thwarted in her goal of securing a supervisory position in the lending department. The questions I raised about the texts were designed to heighten the students’ awareness of professionalism. 

The first five questions identified knowledge of the material: plot and characterization. The students readily recognized that setting (time and place), the educational attainments (Hester has an MBA and Delia is without high school training), and the interlocking forces of racism/sexism/and classism restrict the success of the protagonists.  They were keen to note how the “buddy system” worked for the white female, Mallory, but rebounded for Hester even when she followed Mallory’s recommendations.  They saw the difference between the Valley Girl’s access to information and promotion and the African American woman’s lack thereof.  They also identified the sexism of Delia’s husband as equally responsible (and more immediately so) as racism for Delia’s dilemma. 

The respondents highly respected the work ethic of both protagonists.  They remarked that Delia’s dependability and skill in doing her work was respected in the black community (except by her husband).  They were especially pleased with the black professional female who was articulate, ambitious, and proficient.  Yet, they recognized character flaws.  Delia “waited too long to challenge her ‘no-count’ husband,” and they were “pained” to see any person thus treated.  They were pleased that she finally had the will to “speak up and act on her own behalf.”  They had difficulty identifying areas of weakness for Hester, but remarked, “Perhaps a little temper,” and “Maybe too pessimistic about most white folks.  She needs to trust more white people, even though the antagonist did steal money through her computer and tried to send her to jail.”

The next two questions moved from theoretical to personal identification: which character they are most familiar with and how they responded to the characters as they read.  Over 95% of the students identified with Hester rather than Delia.  A few pointed out that it is good to acknowledge that some blacks (like whites) are still poor, and that Delia was her own businesswoman.  They then extended their critique to the textbooks they used in class. First, they questioned why they do not get books like Brothers and Sisters that portray successful professional women in either high school or college.  Instead, they get books with the protagonists as reified sex objects, servants, or in jobs from the service sectors.  They complain, “I can’t identify with these.”  Several of the students were so pleased with the first chapter of the novel that they bought the text and read it before they completed the questionnaire.

The respondents expressed how “saddened and angered” they were at Sykes’s disrespect and abuse of Delia, “always ripping away her confidence.”  They had mixed reactions to Hester. Though they are proud and happy that she is largely successful, again they were “saddened that such an energetic, efficient, and hard working woman did not get the promotion she so deserves.”

The next two questions relate to whether the texts should be presented in the classroom.  For “Sweat,” a third said “No,” because she represents the stereotypes they have read all through high school and college.  Furthermore, “Some stupid kid might copy-cat Sykes and hurt someone with a snake.”   They insist that colleges should focus on positive and successful black female protagonists.  The other two-thirds argued that although “Sweat” is brutal and shows the black family in a “bad light,” it is a “gothic” tale that is well written.  They add that the story shows them what “not” to tolerate in a relationship.  Some said the class could learn how “historical oppression” has given black women the worst jobs.  Interestingly, about one half of those in favor of the story being taught amended their agreement—“provided the professors show some sensitivity to the issue, and bring in books that show white families as having serious problems also” and “provided the teacher gives a rounded picture of 1920 and today.”

For Brothers and Sisters, 100% said the text should be taught.  First, the subjects expressed their delight with the positive images, “Yes, it is a more accurate depiction of black people today.”  Another wrote, “We can all see how hard she had to work to get her MBA.”  One student wrote, “My major is banking; now I know to head straight for ‘the lending’ department, not ‘service.’” Again the complaint surfaced as to why teachers do not provide them with books/protagonists that act as “role models.”

Questions nine through eleven looked at pedagogy from the students’ perspective.  To a question about how they would feel if “Sweat” were presented in the classroom, the following terms surfaced from 85% of the research subjects: “embarrassed,” “hurt,” “discouraged,” “angry.”  Several students explained that although the text is just fiction, “black women have been portrayed as stereotypes for so long, that I would feel uneasy.  Some of the white students may feel all black families behave this way.  Even if those in my particular class may not.”  But the respondents were careful to say, “If the teacher was nice/sensitive, then she [emphasis mine] would not make it seem as if the whole race is like this, but an individual thing of an intelligent but uneducated black woman in 1920.”

When asked how they would prefer the presentation be made, the students were quite articulate.  They insisted that professors should not present a monolithic black woman.  Furthermore, they wanted the teacher to emphasize the setting of the story and “speak as if Delia, though a victim of abuse, did not participate in or deserve her treatment.”   Finally, they want the teacher to “really show how lazy and ungrateful Sykes was,” but they insist that the racist society that denied him gainful employment and made him feel “ashamed to live off his wife’s washing and to see her carry the dirty clothes through the town, was partly to blame for his criminal behavior.” 

The next question aimed at finding out if the respondents were aware of sexism in the packaging of books.  Although the protagonist of Brothers and Sisters is a black professional woman, 80% of the students did not see a disparity in the title.  They suggested that because “men usually have more leadership roles than women, it is probably why the title is chosen.”  Another said that because Hester is in “Operations and not Lending,” she is not among the elite in the bank.   Some students did question the validity of the title and argued that women writers “should not have to cater to males to get their books sold.”

Questions fourteen through sixteen asked students to respond to the professional characteristics of the protagonist in Brothers and Sisters.  The subjects focused on Esther’s expertise, her diligence to work until the job is done well, her willingness to help others.  They responded very positively to this protagonist.  One student wrote, “I like positivity [sic] in a person.”  They emphasized that if students see black women successfully competing in all kinds of career fields, then “they feel that they too can succeed.” 

The subjects were then asked to make any comments they wished.  Some wanted to know why teachers did not offer books like Brothers and Sisters “with sensible black women” for them to read that “help us believe in ourselves.”  Others challenged the researcher to tell the other teachers that they want positive images and works that they can identify with, as some teachers who are Euro-Americans “have no clue that this is important to us.”  The subjects comment that this does not suggest that the professors are mean, “but because they have images about themselves, they don’t find a problem with others being excluded.”  Finally, they discuss the relationship with books and their career choice.  Ninety-two percent of the students believe that the choice of books students read directly affects their career choice: “If there are no black surgeons or federal judges, then it seems as if we cannot achieve those careers.”   Another student puts it this way: "When I see pictures and images of people like me, I want to read the book more.”

Part Two of the Study

For the second phase of this work, I did two short studies.  First, I examined thirty-five textbooks that represent JTCC’s various departments.  Second, I informally interviewed fourteen faculty members about the criteria they used when choosing textbooks, specifically to what extent the texts provide images of minorities.  I also examined some of the textbooks with the faculty in order to get their immediate responses to the images. 

My brief study of the thirty-five textbooks revealed a range from no representation to a few texts that were adequate.   Texts in mathematics, science, technology, law and some history books have the least minority representation and the least positive ones.   These texts traditionally do not have many images, but the ones representing Euro-Americans are far more prominent and positive than those of African Americans, and often directly related to the subject area.  The opposite is usually true of minority representation.  For example, an architectural drafting text of 910 pages did not have one minority image.  A physics text had two images of African Americans that were not related to the subject of the text.  A biology text of 928 pages had four images of African Americans, one fortunately of Dr. Charles Drew, blood plasma scientist and surgeon; another had only two images (the other blacks were included under the subject heading, “race,” from populations outside this country).  A calculus text had only two images, and they were not related to mathematics.  The developmental math texts were not much better with the occasional image of someone, primarily male, in sports.  Books on technology also had very few minority images. This is a significant finding especially since these careers have the least amount of minority representation, with the exception of the Asian population.

Texts in the social sciences, particularly psychology and sociology, are more inclusive of minorities, but even here, as one professor pointed out, because psychology deals with “what is lacking, rather than what is working,” more negative images of minorities may be evidenced.  Most history texts have minority inclusion.  In one 1148-page history text on Western civilization, only two images appeared: a packed deck of a slave ship and a French nun teaching four little Ugandan girls how to sew.    Another of over 1000 pages had fifteen images.  More than half of the images in some way dealt with slavery, some of which were positive.  Others were quite painful, such as a slave covered with a net and bound with chains on neck, hands, and feet.  The only contemporary images were a partial portrait of Toni Morrison and the debate between Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas.  Art texts have hardly any representation, yet in one text a sculpture from Africa appears, along with an art piece protesting the offensive Aunt Jemima icon. 

The humanities, English and literature texts generally have few images, but they have even fewer representations that students find empowering.  In a humanities text of 800 pages, only four images of African Americans appear.  An American literature text, Part One, has images that relate to slavery even though it does have a positive portrait of Harriett Tubman.  In one English reader with few pictures, the one African-American image portrays Harriett Tubman as a slave cutting wood with a prominent diseased finger and her body masculinized.  The artist may have wanted the viewer to see the abused person of Tubman, but there were no positive images of minorities to balance the negative in the text, especially in contrast to the image of European upper-class portrayed as having fun.  However, in this same text, the readings are very inclusive of all minority voices.  Another, an English 01 text, had adequate representation with images of all groups throughout the text.

The basic nursing texts had an adequate number of African Americans.   However, even in this field that traditionally is understood to be a woman’s career, far fewer minority images appear in books that deal with specialty care such as surgery and maternity nursing, though the images given are positive ones.

Overall, the inclusion of minorities in the textbooks is peripheral; most of the images used do not even reflect the subject of the books.  Professor Peggy McIntosh’s famous text, White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, argues that Euro-Americans “enjoy unearned skin privilege” (1).  She records two such privileges: “When I am told about our national heritage or about ‘civilization,’ I am shown that people of my color made it what it is” (2). Also, “I can be sure my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race” (2).  However, she emphasizes that Euro-Americans are deliberately taught not to be able to acknowledge this “white privilege,” but to regard their successes as the result of meritocracy (1-3).  This exclusion of their images in textbooks suggests to some of the minority students, whether consciously or subliminally, that they do not deserve inclusion in the books, and also that they deserve exclusion from the most lucrative fields.

Students’ comments demonstrate their responses to their learning environment.  One research subject writes, “I’m a biology major, and no matter what they [writers and publishers?] do to discourage me with these pictures and comments about blacks in these books, I’m going to become a physician.”  One company in particular, Wadsworth, seems to deny minority representation.  The students complain that some of the books affront their dignity, and in lectures they must use much energy to “ block out the teacher” rather than concentrate on the lectures.  Students say most faculty members are not offensive in their presentation, or even offensive in the same class all the time.  However, this informant’s comment reflects others: “Some teachers seem completely unaware that they cause us a lot of problems with the books they choose and their lectures from them, for they being white, are adequately represented.”  Another student writes, “Maybe this is why white students as a whole don’t have the same problems we have in high school and college.  They don’t have to worry if the books will have embarrassing stuff in them, or the teacher will say something bad about their race.  For us, African Americans, if one man commits a crime, the media presents him as a black criminal, but if a white man commits the same crime, he is just a criminal.”

Informal discussions with some faculty members about the lack of adequate or more positive representation again seem to support the students’ responses.  To the question about how faculty members choose texts, faculty offer a range of responses from complete unawareness to understanding the need for adequate inclusion.  Some faculty said the issue “just never came up.”  Critic Valerie Wesley argues, “Teachers are also victims of our educational system . . . so [we should] give her [him] the benefit of the doubt” (103). As we leafed through the texts together, some faculty members were genuinely surprised at the paucity of representation or the appropriateness of those in the texts.  One veteran professor, on the other hand, was amazed that teachers in 2001 were not cognizant of the importance of minority images in texts.

Teachers were then asked how they meet the need for empowerment of minority students in the classroom.  Some say they present their material in a historical context.  A math professor, for example, adds that he recognizes that female students do not usually enjoy mathematics, so he encourages participation.  Others attempt to purchase models representing minorities in biology, but because the state requires purchase from the cheapest bidder, and since minority models tend to cost a little more than Euro-American ones, fewer are used in the classroom.  Still others bring up-to-date materials to supplement the texts.

Results

From the questionnaires sent to African-American women students, a near 66% return provided adequate information as to how respondents perceived the texts professors ask them to read.   For the two samples given in this survey (a short story of a non-professional woman and the first chapter of a contemporary novel with a highly qualified protagonist), the subjects appreciated far more the protagonist that represented the black professional woman than the working class, abused female character even though both texts were equally well written.  Subjects explained their response as having someone to “relate to,” as having “a role model” on how “to make career choices.” The respondents question the rationale/motive behind the continued choice of books that do not offer a balanced portrayal of pre-1960s’ images with contemporary ones that reflect the changing demographics and professional gains of African Americans.  They also express frustrations with the perpetual stereotypes in some texts, and how they affect their sense of self and career choices. The survey data clearly show some student dissatisfaction with the paucity and quality of minority images found in textbooks chosen for classroom use.  

This pilot study is very limited in its scope.   Only minority women students were participants in the research, only thirty-five texts were examined, and only a limited number of professors were informally interviewed.  Given the students’ responses about representation and the findings of textbooks of this study, there is a need for further research and policies to address the issues of images in texts used in the classroom.  Some intervention is necessary to aid professors in understanding how imperative it is for all students, especially minority students who are so often marginalized, to experience a high degree of empowerment in the classroom.   Furthermore, the information gleaned in this research project suggests that the research should be extended to include the entire minority population on campus.  Because the African American student body far outnumbers all others, focus was on this group; however, since the Latino population is expected to increase, all the groups need to contribute to the enhancement of minority student learning.  Furthermore, Jesus Garcia strongly argues that the inequitable treatment of images include Chicanos and Native Americans (33).

CONCLUSION

            The representation of African Americans in textbooks is an integral part of the information presented for learning.  The exclusion, omission, or misrepresentation through images directly impacts student learning as well as student career choices.  Low and Sherrard argue that since many readers perceive the images to be factual reality, and since the images play an important role in creating meaning, “the choice of photographs for a textbook carries great weight” (310). Individual faculty may not understand the ideology behind the absence or the misrepresentation of minority images in textbooks.  Nevertheless, Professor George Lipstiz argues, “Collective exercises of power that relentlessly channel reward, resource, and opportunities from one group to another will not appear ‘racist’ from their perspective, because they rarely announce their intention to discriminate against individuals.  Yet they nonetheless give racial identities their sinister social meaning by giving people from different races vastly different life chances” (20). The prolonged absence or misrepresentation of minorities, and here specifically African Americans, needs to be forcefully addressed.  In this study, the reader response literary methodology allowed students to claim their voices and to critique textbook selection policies that affect their learning and career choices. Professors who care about the academic and economic successes of their minority students should demand from publishers books that are scholastically superb and which provide accurate and equitable images of all their students, including minorities.

Works Cited

Britton, G. E., and Lumpkin, M. C.  “For Sale: Subliminal Bias in Textbooks.” Reading Teacher  31 (1997): 40-45.

Buchen, Irving H.  Cultural Diversity Manual.  Abingdon, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State UP, 1991. 

Evans, Lorraine, and Kimberly Davies. “No Sissy Boys Here: A Content Analysis of the Representation of Masculinity in Elementary Schools Reading Textbooks.”  Sex Roles  42 (2000): 255-270.

Garcia, Jesus. “The Changing Image of Ethnic Groups in Textbooks.”  Phi Delta Kappan  75  (1993): 29-36.

Heshusius-Gilsdorf, Louis T., and Dale L. Gilsdorf.  “Girls Are Females, Boys Are Males: A Content Analysis of Career Materials-We Are Still Brainwashing Our Kids with Sexist Career Textbooks.”  The Personnel and Guidance Journal  54 (1975):  207-211.

Howard-Hamilton, Mary.  “Programming for Multicultural Competencies.”  Powerful Programming for Student Learning: Approaches That Make a Difference.  Eds.  Debora L. Liddell and Jon P. Lund.  San Francisco:  Jossey-Bass, 2000.

Kohl, Herbert.  “Staying Alive.” The Nation  252 (1991): 495-497.

Kook, Rebecca.  “The Shifting Status of African Americans in the American Collective Identity.”  Journal of Black Studies  29 (1998): 154-179.

Lipstiz, George.  The Possessive Investment in Whiteness: How White People Profit From Identity Politics.  Philadelphia: Temple UP, 1998.

Low, Jason, and Peter Sherrard.  “Portrayal of Women in Sexuality and Marriage and Family Textbooks: a Content Analysis of Photographs from 1970s to the 1990s.”  Sex Roles: A Journal of Research  40  (1999): 309-310. 

McIntosh, Peggy.  White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.  http://www.spokanehumanrights.org//ccrr/packet/article.htm

Wesley, Valerie Wilson.  “Taking Back Our Schools.”  Essence  20  (1990):  102-103.