Racial segregation in schools has been one of the current issues both in ancient times and in the modern world. The discriminatory practices hinder the outcomes of the minority students disproportionately. In most instances, the blacks attend schools with unqualified teachers and that have fewer resource allocation from the government. Currently, teachers and policymakers have intensified segregation in education across the United States. The number of African Americans suffering from poverty has increased tremendously over the years. It is plausible to argue that access to education is one of the ways to acquire economic independence in the future. However, most blacks lack access to education and continue to suffer in poor neighborhoods. Therefore, the government and policymakers ought to work collaboratively to address the issue of racial segregation in the school settings.
Currently, most parts in the United States have a high number of students, who are entirely inadequate and teachers with little experience to address the consequences of tensions in the neighborhoods. In the modern world, the government has not implemented any effective policies to avoid racial inequalities in the neighborhoods and the learning institutions. Hence, the government has to address the issue of racial segregation, especially in schools. It will not only enhance economic development but the wellbeing of the blacks.
Americans have a large proportion of the blacks and people from other minority races. The government should address the issue as seriously as during the Civil Rights period. If the state fails to embark on strategies to solve the current problems, it is possible to replicate the failures of the past and deny the blacks an opportunity to contribute to the growth of the economy. It would be counterproductive for the government to enact education reforms without addressing the issues of racial segregation against the minority groups. Introducing the Civil Rights agenda in schools is essential.
One of the effective strategies for educators would be to recognize the need to address the racial issues in accessing education. Besides, it would be equally important to demand the Civil Rights agenda in schools to improve the lives of blacks and other minority races. One of the secrets to achieving economic development in America would be to enhance racial diversity in education attainment. Furthermore, the government would need to implement support and training plans to ensure that the teachers possess the required skills to address the issues of students from all backgrounds. Furthermore, the government ought to ensure that the educators understand the need to recognize the contribution of people from all racial backgrounds.
In my opinion, I agree that racial segregation in schools is a common issue that should be addressed. I agree that all the students ought to have equal opportunities to access education without any form of segregation. The student and teachers bodies ought to examine the legal strategies to enhance racial integration in schools and to manage the racial transition in America. However, all the involved stakeholders should be committed to addressing education reforms and community stability. Furthermore, it is crucial to involve the courts in addressing the issues of segregation in learning institutions.
Annotated Bibliography
Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo. Racism without racists: Color-blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America. Rowman & Littlefield, 2017.
Bonilla-Silva reveals the color blind perceptions among different individuals in America. The author further explores the emergence of racial stratification that affects the fate of the Americans. However, some of the whites justify racial inequalities despite the progress over the last few years. Bonilla-Silva examines Obama’s presidency as one of the developments of racial equality in America.
Reardon, Sean F., and Ann Owens. "60 years after Brown: Trends and Consequences of School
Reardon and Owens argue that the case of Brown v. Board of Education facilitated the efforts to fight for racial segregation against the minority races in the United States. The Supreme Court declared that any laws that perpetuated separate public schools for the whites and the African Americans were unconstitutional. The ruling paved the way for racial integration in schools and one of the victories for the Civil Rights Movements.
Rothstein, Richard. "The Racial Achievement Gap, Segregated Schools, and Segregated Neighborhoods: A Constitutional Insult." Race and Social Problems, vol. 7, no. 1, 2015, pp. 21-30.
Rothstein argues that racial segregation in schools is one of the factors that depress student’s performance in the school setting. The blacks attend schools in high poverty neighborhoods that are located far from the middle-class neighborhoods. On the contrary, the whites attend schools in the urban centers with qualified teachers and adequate funding from the government. Hence, it is apparent that the neighborhoods for the blacks and whites perpetuate further the discriminatory practices. Policymakers ought to use historical records to address the issue of isolated racial neighborhoods.
Leonardo, Zeus, and W. Norton Grubb. Education and Racism: A Primer on Issues and Dilemmas. Routledge, 2018.
According to Leonardo and Grubb, racism in education is one of the significant factors that has resulted in disproportional adverse effects against minority races. It is apparent that discriminatory practices in schools have resulted in the wage gaps between the blacks and the whites. Segregation in education has caused high rates of poverty among blacks. The authors contend that education attainment is one of the strategies to overcome low living standards among the minority races.
Part 2: Argumentative Essay
America is one of the nations that is characterized by profound racial segregation in education against blacks and other minority ethnic groups. Currently, economic inequality has resulted in widened gaps in knowledge. The blacks are likely to score poor grades or drop out of school resulting from extensive discriminatory practices (Rothstein 28). In America, blacks are likely to perform poorly and drop out of school. Besides, they are less likely to join college after completing high school than the whites. Although the government has made notable progress to address the issue of racial inequalities, not all students have advanced in education attainment.
During the 1960’s, the Native Americans attended segregated schools that had inadequate government funding. On the contrary, the whites attended prominent schools with adequate funds from the government. Currently, the students from the minority race attend the learning institutions that are located in rural areas and encounter economic inequalities (Leonardo and Grubb 67). Black students attend schools in an isolated neighborhood while the whites attend the schools in the urban areas. The black students face extensive segregation today than during the 1960s.
The American school system and student population are still segregated by class and race. The inequalities reflect on the existence of socioeconomic inequities that exist in the society at large. Based on the fact that schools receive funding from the government, blacks are disadvantaged as the minority group in the United States (Rothstein 28). In most instances, the discriminatory practices influence the low economic power among the African American families. Because they lack an opportunity to attend school, they experience difficulties to find well-paying jobs later in life. The majority of the African American student groups require a chance to transcend the existing class restrictions.
In 1954, The Supreme Court made a groundbreaking decision that the learning institutions that were deemed “separate but equal” were inherently unequal. Although most people thought that would be the end of racial discrimination, the objectively is still unachieved in the modern world. During the 1890’s, the American Supreme Court argued that it was in accordance to the law to maintain segregation in schools as long as there was equality in the accommodation for the white and blacks (Reardon and Owens 78). The Supreme Court enacted the rule during the case of Plessy V. Fergusson. It was the central doctrine of separate but equal. The case dealt with the capability of the state in making the laws that were against the rights accorded in the constitution.
The Supreme Court outlawed racial segregation in school resulting from the numerous disadvantages against the blacks in accessing education. The case of Brown V. Board of Education was a combination of different instances, hence a class action lawsuit. The cases involved acts of racial segregation at the public school level against the blacks. One of the parents involved in the case, Oliver Brown, headed a lawsuit (Reardon and Owens 47). His daughter, Linda, had been forced to walk six blocks to the bus stop on her way to the Monroe Elementary designated black school. However, the trial court argued that the schools for the whites and blacks were equal. When the matter was taken to the Supreme Court in the United States, the court claimed that the black students had to have an opportunity to school in the white public schools. It was clear that the blacks received lower quality of education based on their skin color.
One of the significant factors that have caused racial segregation in school is the discriminative neighborhoods. The African American families encounter socio-economic barriers that prevent them from moving into the urban regions to integrate with the whites. Currently, racial segregation against the blacks and other minority groups have perpetuated in America. The Supreme Court case of Brown V Board of education passed a regulation to deem any laws that perpetuated segregation in schools unconstitutional. As a result, the blacks had an opportunity to advance their life and progress on justice and racial equality. However, most schools have instances of racial segregation that affects the blacks and other students of color disproportionately.
The Civil Rights Movement had an objective to address the issue of racial segregation in schools across the United States. Lawyers have brought numerous lawsuits in court to advocate for racial equality in education. Although the Brown v. Board of Education among other cases were meant to address the racial barriers in accessing education, the ideal of equality has never been attained. Currently, teachers, policymakers, and the government have continued to debate on the practical strategies to address the issues of racially discriminatory practices. The government should formulate effective mechanisms to end unfair practices against the blacks.
The blacks encountered various instances of racial discrimination in the school setting. Just as aforementioned, the government allocated fewer schools to the minority schools than to the whites. Hence, the classrooms were rationally unequal. The students that attended segregated schools encountered both race and class segregation. Besides, the groups suffered from the adverse effects of growing up in low-income neighborhoods. On the contrary, the students who attended integrated schools have numerous advantages. The schools with high numbers of minority students offer low-quality education.
In the modern world, black students encounter similar racial segregation in the learning institutions just like during the 1960’s. It is clear that African Americans have minimal contacts with the majority white counterparts. The segregated schools have disproportionately adverse effects to the blacks (Rothstein 28). The scholars attend the schools with less experienced teachers, fewer resources, and lower rates of educational attainment. That affects the capability of the learners in securing a well-paying job in the job to enhance their wellbeing. The racial segregation is dramatic in the metropolitan population centers and the residing place of the students of color.
The overall cost of racial isolation and segregation in America is immense. As long as the students from the segregated neighborhoods are trapped in the under-sourced schools, they will miss opportunities to secure well-paying jobs in the future. Hence, racial segregation is not only a loss to the students but the entire country (Rothstein 27). The blacks suffer from fear of the unknown. On the contrary, the whites have opportunities to enhance their skills and take part in the multiracial society. The blacks ought to have opportunities to pursue higher education like the white counterparts. The educators must facilitate racial integration in school and address any issue of racial segregation.
The current racial wage gap in America is attributed to the racial segregation in educational attainment between the blacks and the whites. While the whites have access to high-quality education, the blacks have access to lower level quality of education. The inferior education to the blacks has caused lower levels of human productivity among the blacks. If the government would enact policies to facilitate equality in educational attainment, the blacks, and the whites would have equal opportunities to enhance their wellbeing. The ultimate goal for such an initiative would be to facilitate economic development in America.