Confronting Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Conflicts in the Schools

• NCJ Number: 160445
• Author(s): Malaika Pettigrew
• Date Published: 1993
• Length: 4 pages
• Sale Source: Conflict Resolution Consortium
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Conference Material
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: This paper is an edited transcript of a talk given by Malaika Pettigrew for the Intractable Conflict/Constructive Confrontation Project on March 15, 1993.

Annotation

An intervention specialist for the City of Boulder, Colorado, Youth Services addresses the nature of conflicts in schools that are based on racial, ethnic, or gender bias.

Abstract

The author serves as liaison between Boulder community organizations and schools. She works in two middle schools, teaches a multi-cultural peer leadership class at a high school, and also is a volunteer mediator for the City of Boulder's race relations team. The author believes there is a major problem with race relations in Boulder schools, based on experiences she has heard from students and teachers. She recounts her experiences in mediation sessions with students, and the examples she gives emphasize the importance of providing an environment in which students themselves can resolve conflicts and learn to respect each other.