Jacqueline Uribe HIS200 Project 2 Final PDF

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Jacqueline Uribe HIS 200 Project 2 Desegregation December 13, 2021

Although most scholars of the Brown v Board of Education have argued that segregation of schools has disappeared, further research shows that racial equality and injustice is still prevalent in life today and has resulted in advocating for equitable funding, less policing and surveillance of students, and end de-facto segregation through school and district boundaries, rather than the verdict given on May 17, 1954, unanimously, that all students are equal regardless of race, gender, or status. The verdict given in 1954, demonstrates that segregation can still exist after acts and laws have been placed due to the already established Jim Crow Law of “separate but equal”, when in fact the minority was separate but not equal. Contrary to the argument that segregation has all but disappeared. There is debate over the desegregation of schools that dates to the early laws formed. Equal but separate was their way of getting around the law. Looking at Maurice C York’s article. The title “A State of Shock”, fits perfectly. After so much fighting and maltreatment of the minority in schools, to see something such as this slip under the radar was shocking. “Grounds were less spacious, and classrooms more crowded. White students generally benefited from better supervision, teachers with lighter teaching loads, and a broader array of extracurricular activities” (York) School racial and economic segregation have increased since the high point of school integration in the 1980s. Public housing developments are zoned to racially and economically isolated schools, specifically minorities. These subsidized housing programs and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit financed homes are placed meticulously where schools are already over occupancy for the children but have no choice but to attend due to their placement and district boundaries.

Leading up the desegregation of schools would be the ruling of Brown v Board of education. The Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and thus for desegregation was adopted. It was initially met with inertia and in many states' active resistance. Following the decision as well the Jim Crow laws established prior, it would be logical to assume a new outlook on education was underway, but history shows this was not the case. Desegregation led to violence, racial strife, contributed to white flight, and damaged the quality of the public school system. As well as the Civil Rights movement, sit-ins, and busing in Boston. “The aphorism “It’s not the bus, it’s us” served as a shorthand way for the black community to affirm that the “busing” debate was actually about antiblack racism.” (Delmont). The controversy of busing was argued to be a northernized version of the southern resistance to desegregation in the 1950s. Even after the civil war and Jim Crow laws were enacted, there was a consistent racial dispute. “Pure and simple, it’s the old issue of white supremacy fanned to a red heat again under the egis of busing,” (Delmont). This would lead to violent outbursts throughout communities and neighborhoods never seen. Busing became a catalyst for racial equality for those who witnessed no change following the Civil War. White flight contributed to a modest increase in segregation between school districts, but desegregation within districts was sufficient to result in a large net decline at a metropolitan level. (Logan). As a result of this, segregation looked effective when white students' enrollment declined in regular districts just to see them rise in others unattainable by the minority. The quality of the public school system was damaged. Three years before busing there were 93,000 students in public schools with 61% white, 32% African American and 7% other. In 1990, a similar poll was conducted with only 60,000 students in attendance with 22% white, 48% African- American, and 30% other racial minorities. (McDonald) These numbers are great in the

sense that there was diversity finally in the community but on the other hand the overall number was students was diminishing leading to less funding for public schools and contributing to one of the highest dropout rates in the country at the time. The city nor the government were ready for what was to come from busing, they wanted to believe that everything would be copacetic. They did not give desegregation the proper importance it needed such as other laws before it. These would prove to be long-term consequences and be seen that the efforts of those that fought in the Civil War, Brown v Board of Education, and Jim Crow laws was outweighed by the violence and reluctant nation. American society knew that desegregation was an issue that needed to be dealt with the only question was how to achieve this without violence. The evidence from this historical event supports my conclusion that we are far from desegregation in public schools. Lately, it seems as though the nation has gone back in time with education not being at the forefront of many issues. What we teach our children and future generations is how the world will grow to be one day, and if we do not take the time now and help teachers and educators with the resources and funding, they need to be successful because of their district location or student attendance, it is as though desegregation did not happen. The important participants in this were children. The children were being used by the adults as props in lack of a better word. The children only wanted equal opportunity and a better education whereas the adults and school system saw a way to focus attention where they saw fit. Segregation is a horrible injustice that should never have happened especially after the case ruling of Brown v Board of Education and the Jim Crow laws, but there are always loopholes and ways around the system for those who truly seek such as “separate but equal”, but the amount of violence that happened as a result and educational downfall of so many young lives

was and is not something that should be mishandled. This greatly impacted American society because of the lack of education many children lost. In conclusion, segregation has been outlawed. But that does not stop some of their beliefs and believing that desegregation returns. There are no more segregated schools, transportation facilities, or any other public places. Everyone is allowed to vote, live and eat where they choose to do so. After years of protests and speeches, equal rights went from a dream to reality. Segregation is not as clear today as it was decades ago, but some children and people continue to struggle alongside those from the past. This discrimination may never stop and will continue to be a struggle for many years to come.

Bibliography Logan, J. R., Weiwei Zhang, & Oakley, D. (2017). Court Orders, White Flight, and School District Segregation, 1970-2010. Social Forces, 95(3), 1049–1075. https://doiorg.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1093/sf/sow104 Matthew F. Delmont. (2016). Why Busing Failed : Race, Media, and the National Resistance to School Desegregation. University of California Press. McDonald, L. E. (1997). Boston public school white enrollment decline: white flight or demographic factors? Equity & Excellence in Education, 30, 21–30. https://doiorg.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1080/1066568970300305...