Exploring Unintentional Racism:
The Case of Tim Hanks

Part I—Tim Hanks

I was an instructor at a suburban community college in a unique program for students who had very poor academic records in high school. As the social science instructor for 120 students, I worked to coordinate my teaching with three other instructors; one each in natural science, the humanities, and composition. Being a “sixties liberal,” I wanted to make a contribution to integration and take a strong stand against racism. Tim Hanks, the only African-American student in my course, wasn’t helping any. He attended class sporadically, turned assignments in late, missed others altogether, and performed poorly on tests. When he did come to class, he was usually late and always left before I had a chance to talk to him.

Like the other faculty in the program, I felt it was my responsibility to pull each student, regardless of race, through. I wouldn’t lower standards but was prepared to do everything in my power to help all students meet the requirements. Nothing that worked with other students seemed to work with Tim. He made appointments to meet with me and his other instructors, only not to show up. Offers of extra time and assistance on assignments didn’t help either. Attempts to call Tim at the phone number listed for him with the college were unsuccessful; the number had been disconnected. Letters to his listed address were returned as undeliverable.

Questions

Discuss the following with the people sitting next to you and look for as many different perspectives as you can find.

1. What would be some of your thoughts about the possible reasons for Tim Hanks’ behavior?
2. If you were his teacher, what might you have done with him or any student who behaved this way?

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