Given the changing racial demographics of our country's schools (with the white population increasingly becoming a minority) and the leading role of our teachers, most part of whom are white, is shaping the education of our students, the question is: how can white teachers effectively teach students of color? While little is known about the effectiveness of white teachers and the outcomes achieved by students of color, there is certainly an underlying philosophy of multicultural education that students benefit from being taught by someone of a similar race and cultural background. Having said and understood this, the question remains: since the majority of teachers (those already teaching and those about to become college teachers) are white, how can we effectively meet the educational needs of our students of color? Can white teachers honestly and openly examine their own cultural identity, address race and racism in themselves, and LEARN how to teach students of color effectively? How can an ethnic group that has historically been dominant in our society take on a more modest or balanced role to teach effectively? These questions, and many others, have long been part of the multicultural education agenda, but recently they are coming into sharper focus. Most work and scholarship on race relations and teaching in a multicultural environment in the United States has placed emphasis on the unique cultural experiences and perspectives of Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American groups. These are the groups that have been historically marginalized in various ways by the repeated and established dominance by American people of European descent. As the population of the United States changes to accommodate even more of these groups... middle of paper... excessive, she must find a place of humility and active engagement in its continued growth and reform. It must recognize its own unavoidable privilege and racism as it works tirelessly to dismantle white culture's legacy of domination. He must realize that it is his job and his responsibility to address the issue of race and multicultural education in his life and in his classroom. And finally, she must celebrate herself as an educator and celebrate every moment spent in self-reflection about her practice, no matter how difficult it may be, because this reflection will, without a doubt, make her a better educator. Works Cited Tatum, Beverly Daniel. Because all the black kids are sitting together in the cafeteria. McIntosh, Peggy. White privilege and male privilege: A personal account of seeing correspondences across work in women's studies