On Awareness of Racism and Sexism

1976 NCTE Annual Business Meeting in Chicago, Illinois

Background In this Bicentennial year, it seems especially appropriate for NCTE to take conscious steps to eliminate racism and sexism in America's schools.  NCTE has already made clear its opposition to the perpetuation of either racism or sexism by establishing a Task Force on Racism and Bias and a Committee on the Image of Women, and by such other activities as preparing guidelines for the development of multiethnic materials, organizing workshops and printing special publications, and developing and publishing guidelines to nonsexist language for its own publications.  Even so, in spite of what has been done and what is being attempted, this is precisely the moment to do more.  Be it therefore Resolution Resolved, that the National Council of Teachers of English mount an accelerated three-year action program to increase the level of awareness of present and future NCTE members—and thereby of their students—to manifestations of and damages from, racism and sexism;           that the NCTE Executive Committee charge appropriate Council groups with the responsibility for developing exemplary curricula for preservice and inservice education of teachers. These curricula will emphasize the development of abilities necessary to help teachers and their students to deal effectively with racism and sexism; and           that NCTE produce these exemplary curricula in either printed or audiovisual form, and make them available for school use.