Racial, Ethnic And Economic Isolation In Elementary Schools

The five reports of school segregation separately went to local courts with no avail. The cases then appealed to the Supreme Court, where they were pooled under the title “Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas”. (Good, 31, 32) (Davidson et al. 850)

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

Sixty-two years ago, the Supreme Court ruled the “separate but equal” doctrine unconstitutional. The decision from the Plessy v. Ferguson case was lawfully denounced by the Brown v. Board of Education. The Brown case, which was initiated by the members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), served as a stimulus for challenging segregation in all areas of society, especially in public educational institutions. Among the support for the desegregation in school systems, there was a young yet compelling voice who was heard by numerous ears in the rural city in Farmville, Alabama. The virtuous and determined Barbara Johns, who was only a high school student then led her tiny, hovel-like school’s student body and the Farmville community to file a lawsuit in the hope of terminating the inequality in regards to the educational system.

With landmark Supreme Court decisions in regards to education such as Brown v Board of Education, which made segregation within schools illegal, one would be inclined to believe that modern schools are void of any inequality. However, at a deeper glance, it is apparent that there is a glaring inequality within public school systems at the national, statewide, and even district-wide level. Such an inequality has drastic results as the education one receives has a high correlation to the college they will attend, and the job they will work. It is in society's best interest that public school systems be improved to equally supplement students with the tools necessary to succeed. While the public school system aims to reduce the inequality within it, they have proven ineffective in guaranteeing children of all races and economic classes an equal education.

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

Kozol describes conditions the clearly violate the landmark court decision in “Brown vs. Board of Education” (No. 1, SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES, 347 U.S. 483; 74 S. Ct. 686; 98 L. Ed. 873; 1954 U.S. LEXIS 2094; 53 Ohio Op. 326; 38 A.L.R.2d 1180, December 9, 1952, Argued, May 17, 1954, Decided, Reargued December 8, 1953), which supposedly mandated the desegregation of schools in America. Towns close enough to easily integrate face almost total segregation with abysmal conditions in the Black and/or Latino schools and tremendously good resources in the white schools.

The 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution helped ratify state imposed segregation of black and white. However, at the time of the 14th Amendments inception public schools were governed mostly by private committees that made rules to regulate schools as they saw fit. Due to this, little to no change was seen in the public school system regarding segregation. Since that time the notion of “free common schools” has prevailed and the belief that public schools should exist for all children regardless of sex, age, race, religion, etc.

The Supreme Court ruled that segregation in public school systems violated the Constitution on May 17, 1954. The Courts decision faced great resistance from whites in the South. They threatened with violence, intimidation and other means as a reaction of the decision. After the decision, things were not easy and struggles remained. But through it all, it was victorious. The implementation (Brown II v. Board of Education) proved to be difficult. “Lawyers can do right, they can do good, but they have their limits. The rest of the job is up to society” (Patterson, 2001, pp

With the advancement of thinking in the United States since the Jim Crow era, shouldn’t school segregation be a thing of the past? Well, this is an ongoing epidemic in the United States, and it has a dangerous effect on the youth. School segregation rates are at an all time high, and the main reason for this increase is residential segregation, or segregation of neighborhoods. Although school segregation can be a result of economic policy, housing policies have a greater influence on segregation. Many neighborhoods that are classified as low income, have a negative connotation attached with them. This causes a difference in funding of schools located in those districts, and those students end up paying the price.

Back in 1898, the Supreme Court case of Plessy v. Ferguson allowed states to set segregation laws, and it created the term “separate but equal”. What transpired were public services such as restrooms, drinking fountains, restaurants, and methods of transportation that were exclusive to white, or colored citizens. Over half a century later, the case of Brown v. Board of Education turned that term upside down, and declaring that it violated the fourteenth amendment for people of all colors, including black and whites, to be forced away from one another in schools. No longer were there schools primarily for African Americans, the public school system was in the process of becoming a melting pot of people of all genders, colors, and backgrounds.

Writing for the court, Chief Justice Earl Warren argued that the question of whether racially segregated public schools were inherently unequal, and thus beyond the scope of the separate but equal doctrine, could be answered only by considering “the effect of segregation itself on public education.” Citing the Supreme Court’s rulings in Sweat v. Painter (1950), and McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education (1950), which recognized “intangible” inequalities between African American and all-white schools at the graduate

We have come to understand public education in the United States as a core principle of one’s rights as a citizen in spite of it not explicitly guaranteed within the Constitution. Despite the passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, we continue to witness the fight for complete and total integration within our public schools and thus, racial equality. The 14th Amendment forbid states from denying any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws, but was unclear in terms of it’s exact intention with respect to public education. As a result, were unable to see the effective use and enforcement of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments until approximately the 1940s for a number reasons, but I believe that structural racism is the foremost cause. Today, we find ourselves struggling to achieve full integration within our public school system due to the covert intentions behind structural racism and therefore, it’s ability to overpower the law. Structural racism has the ability to impact legal authority in such a way where we end up with a lack of appropriate enforcement legislation at the Supreme Court level and a lack of acknowledgement and remedies for de jure segregation and thus, it is the primary cause of the current segregation within the American public school system.

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

Okay everyone i have a public service announcement or maybe i should start with something a little more common like dear faculty and staff. You know what i think i’ll just start a small patison or just write a letter.

A review of school enrollment patterns allowed us answer our first research question - has State-level legislation and policy designed to address racial, ethnic and economic isolation of Connecticut public schools created a more diverse learning environment? In some instances, the creation of schools of choice and reliance on self-integration has improved the racial, ethnic and economic isolation experienced by the 49,254 public school students attending a school of choice during the 2012-13 school year. Of the 504,611 students attending traditional neighborhood schools in Connecticut during the 2012-13 school year, 95,127 attended a school that was hyper-segregated. We next turned our attention to the second research question: What local efforts to reduce racial, ethnic and socioeconomic isolation have