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Reflections on Brown: More segregation today?
May 18, 2004As with the elimination of slavery, the prohibition of Jim Crow era separate-but-equal laws helped bring America one step closer to living up to her founding principle of equality for all.
Unfortunately, in marking the anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, many folks are observing that "today's schools are almost as segregated as fifty years ago." In a recent article in the Baltimore Sun the reporter claimed "many schools are resegregating" with only demographics--but no hard evidence--to back her assertion.
These well-meaning folks make the classic mistake of confusing correlation with causation. They're also abusing the word "segregation" which in 1954 meant an artificial separation, but today is taken to mean any observable separation.
While we at ReformK12 often criticize numerous aspects of public schooling in America, to charge it with segregation (in the artificial sense) is simply unfair.
Overwhelmingly the so-called segregation in today's public schools is due to the demographics of a given neighborhood. The reasons why certain neighborhoods become racially homogenous is a complex issue dealing with a host of issues (some of which may relate to forced busing enacted in the years after Brown). But the bottom line is that there's an extremely close correlation between the racial makeup of a given neighborhood with the makeup of a public school in that neighborhood.
To say that "schools are resegregating" is a smokescreen to draw attention away from an exploration of the real reasons why minority achievement lags behind whites. We might suggest looking at the low expectations and mediocre standards which arise so naturally in a system with few avenues of parental choice and precious little competition.
More "segregation" today? Don't be fooled.
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DuBois predicted, quite aptly, that the problem of the 20th century would be the "color line." From what I'ver seen in my high school, the greatest problem of the 21st century will be the class line. My school is 65% black and is one of the top in the state. Granted, it is a magnet school, but what I have noticed is that the students with college-educated parents that place a premium on learning are the ones that achieve. High test scores, high grades. These are just generalizations, of course, and there are exceptions, but it seems as if the kids that slack off the most are the ones who come from low income neighborhoods where a good education has not benefited anyone. Trying to get kids from low income neighborhoods to excel academically is a hard sell for a teacher. I imagine that one would encounter the same problem in one of the poorest regions in the United States -- in Appalachia, where the people are poor, white, plagued with the problems that come with poverty, and worried about next month's bills - not whether little Jimmy is struggling in math.
p.s. schools remain segregated because people have a tendency to live in neighborhoods where they feel comfortable; just like in the lunch room - kids in high school will tend to sit with kids of their own race; a predominantly black school is not always synonymous with a failing school - it is usually a POOR neighborhood that will have a failing school.
Kay July 6, 2004 02:40 AM