When Black and White College Students Meet-Experiences in Interracial Awareness

The purpose of this paper is to describe college student interaction in interracial classroom situations over a four-year period (three academic school years). As professors in social psychology, one in a predominantly black college (District of Columbia Teachers College) and one in a predominantly white university (The American University), we defined experientially-based interracial communication and contact as a significant educational goal for our students. In keeping with this goal, in the fall of 1969, we initiated shared classroom sessions for black and white students. At that time student involvement on campuses was directed toward anti-war protest, classroom relevancy, and black-white relationships. The demands were highlighted at Columbia with student protest against the University's lack of concern for the needs of the city dweller in the attempt to take over black housing to increase University physical education facilities. The urgency of the historical moment has been reflected in innumerable studies of student protest, the impact of social contact, racial prejudice, attitudes, behavior, etc. Pettigrew1 has surveyed literature on the impact of intergroup contact in race relations with particular reference to reduction of prejudice and positive behavior change. He cited studies on housing, labor union interaction, and military cooperation which support Gordon W. Alport's contact criteria regarding reduction of prejudice. Allport concluded that prejudice is reduced when two groups: 1) possess equal status in the situation, 2) seek common

Ethnic group · Higher education · Mathematics education · Pedagogy · Political science · Racial differences · Sociology · White (mutation) · Academic Freedom and Politics · Anthropology · Critical Race Theory in Education · Higher Education Research Studies · Psychology · Social Psychology