Equity in the Online Space?: A Multi-Systems Perspective

Introduction

Since the first televised committee hearings in 1948, and especially the 1954 Army-McCarthy hearings, House members have sometimes engaged in political theatrics, airing political grievances, or advancing specific platforms or agendas (Troy, 2015). The historic 2022 hearings in the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary for Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first African American woman nominated for an associate justice appointment to the Supreme Court were no different and showcased profound cognitive biases that inform interpersonal interactions as they pertain to education. Senator Ted Cruz, a Cuban American man, asked Brown Jackson about their affiliation with a private school in Washington, D.C. Reinforcing recent negative and politicized characterizations of critical race theory within legal scholarship (Bell, 1976; 1980; Delgado & Stefancic, 1998), Cruz stated “no one should be discriminated against because of race” (United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, 2022, 06:08:43) and held up a book the school may have in its collection, Antiracist Baby by author Ibram Kendi (2020). As aides swapped out different poster-size facsimiles of pages from the book, Cruz continued:

While the question strays from the scope of legal and judicial training and practices, or as Brown Jackson stated, “these ideas do not come up in my work as a judge” (United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, 2022, 06:13:08), Cruz’s remarks are noteworthy. Not only do the remarks crystallize a political and rhetorical undercurrent aimed at all levels of education, they also highlight an inherent reaction to disavow or eschew any form of unflattering or problematic biases that shape our perceptions, interpretations, preferences, and proclivities in all sorts of interpersonal interactions. While many may agree that individuals should not be discriminated against because of race (or other attributes), some may agree with Cruz that discussing uncomfortable topics like one’s own racism, sexism, homophobia, or religious bigotry is something entirely disagreeable and unwanted. Individuals often accuse others of operating with biases while claiming themselves to be bias-free (Wang & Jeon, 2020), especially since “there is a contrasting tendency for people in privileged groups to deny the existence of bias” for others (West & Eaton, 2019, p. 111). Not acknowledging or grappling with one’s own biases, rather than understanding how deeply ingrained biases inform our behavior, is a much easier and more comfortable route to navigating social life and establishing a (hopefully favorable) public persona. While the above exchange could suggest some sort of correct or incorrect educational experience, and while unsuccessfully identifying what that experience should entail, Cruz’s comments emphasize the profound need for explicitly and specifically sharing our intended understandings of certain key words and ideas, while concomitantly explaining how a shared concept is intended to shape an educational experience. Most importantly, the exchange highlights how cognitive biases can place issues within and around education at the center of an ideological maelstrom.