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One of the pivotal arguments Ying makes is the misconception that schools serve as great equalizers. Instead, she posits that they have historically acted as mechanisms for oppression. Schools, she argues, were established within the framework of two original sins: the genocide of Indigenous populations and the enslavement of African peoples. This contradiction of professing equality while systematically marginalizing certain groups has been legitimized through educational practices, normalizing the idea that Black and Native children are less than their white counterparts.
Central Pillars of Oppression
The conversation effortlessly segues into Ying's identification of three pillars that uphold the racial hierarchy in educational settings: