"Brown v. Board of Education" was focused on eliminating racial stigma and creating greater racial equity in education. Unfortunately, racial and ethnic stigma is still a powerful force in educational institutions of all kind. In this manuscript, I review the ways that stigma impedes academic performance, shapes the classroom climate and student--teacher relationships, and is a powerful influence on students' developing identities and identifications. Current efforts to create greater educational equity need to focus at least some of their attention on the issue of stigma and its role in educational performance and outcomes. Finally, strategies for reducing racial and ethnic stigma in the classroom are discussed.