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School Desegregation And Self Concept

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When segregation in schools was abolished in the 1950’s, the African American community surely did not anticipate any outcome that wasn’t positive. This is not to say that American schools should remain segregated, however the sudden shift in the societal structure caused an imbalance in, what was intended to be, an equal opportunity classroom.
The short-term effects of desegregation in schools seemed to result in a positive sense of self for African American boys. In the 1970 journal School Desegregation and Self Concept, Gloria J. Powell found that black males flourished in desegregated schools because their athletic advantage allowed them to receive appraisal from their peers. This social acceptance naturally resulted in a higher …show more content…

If you compare this to today, the working class has improved for the better. People of all color and race have great jobs and succeeded in life because they worked hard and earned it.
Paradoxically, desegregation diminished any previous social popularity for African American girls. “For adolescents who are concerned about sexual identity and the opposite sex, a desegregated school may produce a real dilemma. A negro girl no longer tries out for cheerleader, or beauty queen, or the lead in the class play. In her predominantly white school, ‘black is not beautiful’; she is no longer of ‘the fairer sex.’” (Powell, Page 19) Though this specific observation may seem offensive, the general point is valid. When someone resides within a community made up entirely of their own race or culture, a comparison to one another is simple because it is essentially ‘apples to apples.’ A female student might know that she is beautiful when the characteristics of her race align with the popular standard of beauty. However, when a new standard is set that is unattainable for her, she then loses her previously high sense of worth.
Desegregation was, of course, a just legislation, but it poured into the school system an entirely new set of sociological dilemmas. Now, one must consider how children of different backgrounds will relate to one another. How can a

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