Racism is such a touchy topic that many US educators avoid it

University of Missouri students at a 2015 rally to demand the college president’s resignation amid allegations of racism on campus.& AP Photo/Jeff Roberson – we are college professors who tackled that challenge head on by Adam Seagrave, Arizona State University and Stephanie Shonekan, University of Maryland It is not easy to teach about race in today’s political and social climate. One hundred and sixty years after the United States abolished slavery, racial differences continue to spark pervasive misunderstanding, engender social separation and drive political and economic disparities. American educators are naturally intimidated and, at times, discouraged by the huge task before them. Yet race and racism are key components of American history. Understanding this history illuminates central aspects of American identity for students. We are university faculty members – one Black, one White – who decided to tackle this topic head on. Following the rash of police killings of unarmed Black Americans in 2014 and 2015 that inspired the Black Lives Matter protests, we began collaborating on a unique effort at the University of Missouri, where we both taught at the time, to heal our campus and society using the tools of education. The shooting death of Michael Brown in...