Annotated Bibliography: Segregated Schools

It has become common today to dismiss the lack of education coming from our impoverished public schools. Jonathan Kozol an award winning social injustice writer, trying to bring to light how our school system talks to their students. In his essay “Still Separate, Still Unequal," Kozol visits many public high schools as well as public elementary schools across the country, realizing the outrageous truth about segregating in our public education system. Kozol, cross-examining children describing their feelings as being put away where no one desires your presence. Children feeling diminished for being a minority; attending a school that does not take into consideration at the least the child’s well being. Showing clear signs of segregation in the education system.

Lots of areas in the U.S. had segregated schools in 1954, held by “separate but equal.” In 1954, the NAACP was trying to end segregation. They filed class actions schools in Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia, and Delaware, on behalf of the students and their families, trying to integrate schools. One of the most prominent cases was Brown v. Board of Education. Oliver Brown, the plaintiff, claimed that Topeka’s segregation violated the Equal Protection Laws Clause. He claimed segregated schools were not equal. This case went to the Supreme Court after the lower-level courts ruled that school the school segregations were equal to be constitutional.

America’s school system and student population remains segregated, by race and class. The inequalities that exist in schools today result from more than just poorly managed schools; they reflect the racial and socioeconomic inequities of society as a whole. Most of the problems of schools boil down to either racism in and outside the school or financial disparity between wealthy and poor school districts. Because schools receive funding through local property taxes, low-income communities start at an economic disadvantage. Less funding means fewer resources, lower quality instruction and curricula, and little to no community involvement. Even when low-income schools manage to find adequate funding, the money doesn’t solve all the school’s

In her article on school segregation, Hannah-Jones describes how the school district which Ferguson resident Michael Brown graduated from, ranked last in overall performance for Missouri schools. The death of Michael Brown in August 2014 spurred riots not only in St. Louis, but also in other cities nationwide. Hannah-Jones states how many St. Louis area school districts have “returned to the world of separate and unequal”, which was widespread before the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision. Black and white children in the St. Louis region are educationally divided,

This essay will be on the Segregation in Modern American Schools, how it affects the students, why it occurs, and the strides need to integrate. I picked this topic because I came from a town that was predominantly white. Therefore my school was predominantly white as well. I have always wondered if coming from this type of school has hindered my ability to interact with people of a different race, culture, or background. I also thought of how my education would have been different if I had been taught at a more diverse school. I would have learned more about other types of people not only from my teachers, but from my peers. I have always been interested in this topic and I think it affects more people than we think. Of course, it affects the students, but it also affects the teacher and the mass public. Culturally segregated schools are hindering learning environments. Black teachers teach at black schools, White teachers teach at white schools, so on and so forth with every race. The public is affected; because the schools in their area are not divers meaning their community is not diverse. Diversity is a catalyst for growth in all people. School and education is a great place to start the

Segregation is the act of discriminating against others because of their race. The act of Segregating is morally wrong. Racism executes appalling feats. This is because it slows down the development of countries, and brings out the worst in people.

The Brown V. Board of Education was one of the biggest rulings that was made in the United States still to this day. After the slaves were given rights which happened because of emancipation proclamation many of the African American child were still going to all black schools. Over some time the Supreme Court ruled that black and white students are separate but equal. This means that black students had the same rights but they had to be in a different school than white students. The biggest problems of school separation occurred in the south. There was then a case, Brown V. Board of Education, that called school segregation unconditional. Many of the Governors from southern states rejected the ruling. When looking at the article that had changed

already in the form of “The Jim Crow Laws” but now that it had been

In 1982, racial segregation in public schools began over the United States Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Plessy vs. Ferguson’s, “separate but equal” doctrine, that lasted until the early 1950’s. This precedent legally enabled “separate” facilities for black students and white students as long as they were “equal”. During the turn of the 19th century, the term “Jim Crow” was used to refer to African Americans. This term would later be used as the name of the laws that kept African Americans from public functions and places. It would not be until 1954, that the “separate but equal” doctrine would be changed for good.

This is detrimental because the young generation gets lower exposure to a racially diverse and tolerant community. In addition, schools composed of mostly white population get better resources and more money. 90 percent or more pre dominantly white public’s schools receive an average of $733 dollars more per pupil [2]. Course offerings seem are unequal to with 25 percent of majority black not offering Algebra II and 33 percent not offering Chemistry. Even schools with majority black that have gifted programs only enroll a disproportionately low black students into their programs [3].

What the Brown decision provided was a means to challenge the meaning of, “separate but equal”, as it applied to public schooling opportunities for students with disabilities (Blanchett, Mumford, & Beachum, 2005). Before and after Brown, students with disabilities were not necessarily educated in public schools as there were no laws that mandated this. For the most part disabled students were educated in facilities that were separate from the “regular” school setting.

When Reconstruction ended in 1877 southern states started passing laws requiring segregation of schools, services and facilities. Racial segregation began when white American’s believed that African-Americans and other ethnic groups should be in a subordinate state and denied equal access to everything they believed made them superior. When the Supreme Court ruled, segregated schools were “inherently unequal”, states, mainly southern states, constantly opposed any changes to segregation. From 1954 to early 1990’s, the Supreme Court and lower courts ruled in favor of desegregation. In 1971, forced busing, supplementary programs for children at risk and magnet schools were introduced to push states, trying to evade the ruling, to conform. Brown

The legal battle against segregation began in the 1930s, but the journey to battle segregation in court was to not desegregate schools. Rather, Thurgood Marshall and other NAACP Legal Fund members fought the legal battle as a way for the white man to uphold the Plessy v. Ferguson verdict, not to overturn it. When the Supreme Court overturned Plessy v. Ferguson with Brown v. Board of Education in 1955, they requested the schools to desegregate schools with all deliberate speed. What this means is that schools should desegregate as quickly as possible so as to not have to deal with fights against white supremacists. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, as while President Eisenhower feels that the federal government is going a little too fast with

As I learn more about the realities of education, there was one issue that sparked my interest and passion – segregation. Though it is difficult to see first-hand, I can definitely see remnants of segregation through comparison of resources available at schools I’ve worked at. My belief that education serves as an accessible tool for social mobility led me to explore the issue of segregation with the perspective of a future educator. Over 50 years ago in the Brown v. Board of Education case, the Supreme Court deemed that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. With this in mind, I was under the impression that schools were not segregated (at least to a far lesser extent). However, I was shocked to learn that segregation in schools

School de-segregation and the Civil Rights Movement were probably one of the most harsh and intense times in the United States history. The Civil Rights Movement took place in 1954 up until 1968. This was a time that if you were not white you struggled in many aspects. From going to the bathroom, getting something to eat, taking public transportation, and especially getting an education you were considered less than and did not get what you deserved and not what a white person would have the benefits of. This caused many problems for people especially African Americans. During this time, African Americans were viewed less than White Americans which made it very hard when people were trying to make a changed to how things were. Inequality dates back quite some time and somethings were put in effect to try and make a change. The Plessy vs. Ferguson case that took place on May 18, 1896, which had a ruling of “separate but equal.” This meant that white and colored races would have equal opportunities and rights but were separated depending on their race. For some time, this was accepted and people were okay with it but when there started to be a distinct difference between the education in white school verses the education in colored schools, that’s when the movement for de-segregation in schools started.