A Georgetown University Law Center professor was recently fired after disparaging comments she made about the performance of her black students were leaked online. Though absent much context, the now-viral clip shows Sandra Sellers saying, “I hate to say this — I end up having this angst every semester that a lot of my lower ones are blacks. Happens almost every semester. And it’s like, oh, come on! It’s some really good ones, but there are also usually some that are just plain at the bottom.”
The comments were jarring and arguably offensive, and the casual manner in which they were made suggests this was a topic that had been discussed before. But what also struck me is how they mirrored those I’ve had with professors and teachers about the very subject: black student performance.
Across the country, school districts are grappling with how to address the systemic inequalities in our educational system. Before leaving office, the Obama administration published a report highlighting the three most critical areas for college readiness that remain challenges today: experience level of the teachers, access to guidance counselors, and level of coursework available. While access to these core elements varies greatly between black and largely white school districts, local decisions dictate how funds are allocated.
For black students, the disadvantages persist even as they matriculate through college, where six-year graduation rates average about 18 percentage points lower than for white students. In response, schools have introduced campus initiatives designed to address lagging performance and development. These vital enrichment opportunities, however, are less available and sought out at predominately white institutions.
Georgetown Law was ranked No. 14 on the list of U.S. best law schools. According to university data, only 9% of its law students are black. Sellers spent 20 years there as an adjunct, and firing her was a decision administrators felt was in their best interest. Yet, following assumptions now made about her and how racism manifests to a logical conclusion, the school spent years resting on its laurels without even noticing the institutional barriers handicapping black students.
That would make the university culpable.
As much as our political climate dictates we cancel Sellers outright, I’m more interested in finding out what was on the other side of that 45-second clip. Were her comments extensions of racist patterns and practices that discriminate against black Georgetown Law students? Or did she articulate a stereotypical view of black people?
Both are negative. Only one is racist.
Melik Abdul is a writer based in Washington, D.C.
