Final answer:
Racial literacy means understanding and being able to navigate and challenge racial hierarchies and inequalities. It involves rejecting pseudoscientific claims about race and intelligence and recognizing the importance of racial socialization. For teachers, it means embracing diversity and actively engaging in anti-racism rather than claiming color blindness.
Step-by-step explanation:
In sociology, the phrase "racial literacy" refers to the understanding and skills needed to adequately interpret, negotiate, and challenge the racial hierarchies and inequities that pervade society. It encompasses a critical awareness of how race and racism influence people's experiences, opportunities, and interactions with various institutions. This concept also encourages individuals, particularly educators, to acknowledge and value the diversity and unique cultural backgrounds of students in their classrooms.
Racial literacy involves recognizing that claims about racial differences in intelligence are grounded in pseudoscience and have been used to justify racist practices. This literacy includes understanding how these false claims are refuted by research showing that disparities in intelligence test scores are attributable to environmental factors rather than race. Moreover, racial literacy implies an understanding of the significance of racial socialization, which includes imparting positive messages about one's racial or ethnic group to children, and its role in shaping racial identity and self-esteem.
It is crucial for educators, including white teachers, to actively engage with anti-racism and reject notions that overlook racial differences by claiming color blindness, as such attitudes can inadvertently perpetuate existing racial disparities in education.