Essay: Proposal – Cause of unequal opportunities and resources for people of color

Abstract
This paper will examine the causes for unequal opportunities and resources that people of color have in their education compared to whites by gathering data from the National Education Association, the case of Brown v. The Board of Education, the National Association of Education of Young Children, various state test scores, and state laws dealing with funding geared towards student education. In addition, this research will also test my hypotheses: (1) Children in urban areas will receive less funding because of the color of their skin and family income. (2)  Children in urban areas are less likely to move on to higher education. Resources will contain but not limited to: up to date study materials, competent teachers, after-school programs, college prep, and a safe environment to learn.
The most logical answer for these events to occur is because of the systemic racism that still plagues many people living in these urban areas. This study will also implement the control variable of student family income, skin color, and location. This research is important because it sparks conversations about what and where we as a country should spend our money. This will also zone in on our country’s morals and priorities.
Introduction
The United States of America has a long history of racial tension that affected people in almost every aspect of their lives. Although the Declaration of Independence states “All men are created equal,” the institution of slavery proved this statement was not, and would not be, established into legislation in the United States until after the Civil War.
In 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified and legally put an end to slavery. Moreover, the Fourteenth Amendment (1868) strengthened the legal rights of newly freed slaves by stating, among other things, that no state shall deprive anyone of either “due process of law” or of the “equal protection of the law.” Finally, the Fifteenth Amendment (1870) further strengthened the legal rights of newly freed slaves by prohibiting states from denying anyone the right to vote due to race. Despite these Amendments, people of color were often treated as less significant than whites in many parts of the country, especially in the South. In fact, many state legislatures enacted laws that led to the legally mandated segregation of the races.
In other words, the laws of many states decreed that blacks and whites could not use the same public facilities, ride the same buses, attend the same schools, etc. These laws came to be known as Jim Crow laws. Even though these laws were unjust, it was not until the 1890s that they were outlawed. This means that people of color could not be denied entitlement to rights and resources that were accessible to their white counterparts. To counter this, the U.S. implemented the concept of “separate but equal” in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson. This gave the false reality that the same resources would be offered to people color. In that respect, restaurants, schools, neighborhoods, and public facilities occupied by black people usually did not have the same benefits as white people. This eventually led to the Brown v. Board of Education case of 1954 which argued that separate usually does not lead to equality.  During the start of the Civil Rights Era, many people of color strive for equality, especially in education. Even though Brown stimulated a civil rights movement that desegregated many facets of American society, it was least successful in integrating education, the decision’s aim.
Whites still found ways to legally spread and circulate the resources among themselves. This would translate to raising prices for certain services that would exclude a particular type of class. This allowed separation amongst the people. Naturally, schools in areas that could not afford resources suffered.  Initial school integration gains following Brown stalled and black children are more racially and socioeconomically isolated today than at any time since data have been available (1970).  Depending on the property wealth of a community, its schools might boast gleaming buildings and equipment, or they might be dilapidated, struggling with the burden of outdated equipment and unpaid bills. According to the most recent Funding Gap report by the non-profit group The Education Trust, many states still provide the least amount of funding to school districts serving students with the greatest needs.
“In 1999, for example, Illinois’ funding gap was the second-largest in the nation. By 2005, the Illinois gap was still the second-largest, and had gotten worse. Illinois is joined by Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin at the top of the list of states in which the funding gap between high- and low-poverty districts grew between 1999 and 2005.” Open further research by David Moswenki, he found that poverty alone is not the only factor but also by the color of their skin. He gathered data from over 500 schools in the United States and found that districts that have a higher proportion of white students get substantially higher funding that districts that have more minority students. That means that no matter how rich or poor a district is, race will always be a determining factor in how much resources that school would receive. Just the increased presence of minority students actually deflated a district funding level according to Mosenkis research. Test scores are also a key factor in keeping schools in urban areas down.Test scores don’t truly measure school quality. And, if that is the case, chances are the greatest threat to urban schools isn’t a flaw in the design or execution of urban education. Instead, it is a self-fulfilling prophecy, one in which privileged families presume city schools to be failing and, in taking flight from them, bring about a real decline.
The lack of resources also hurts a student’s chances to pursue higher education. Academic challenges are often deep-seeded and begin in primary and secondary school, which when left unaddressed, often leads to remediation at the postsecondary level. So because these students do not get the things that they need, they often struggle in higher education. This can discourage many to reach the next level. I want to update this research to see if new laws and new leadership have change the way funding is disbursed among schools. This is needed for growth and change in our community.
Methodology
This research proposal will rely on quantitative and qualitative research data. The quantitative data will come from the many schools and school districts within the United States and their laws and regulations pertaining to funding.  Using this data, I will examine the correlation between funding and skin color plus income. The control variables would be the schools that I choose from and the areas that reside in. The dependent variable would be the number of resources that each school would receive. As well as how many students from each school choose to pursue a higher education. I will also take into account the amount of programs students may receive outside of the school district. Lastly, I will compare my findings to other researchers data to compare to see where we stand.
(Anticipated) Results
I anticipate that skin color will continue to play a huge factor in how government funds are spread out to these different schools.It is hard to change something that has such a long history of oppression. The systemic racism that is deeply rooted in this country will not change in only a few years even know there are steps being made to better our situation. I also believed that these students will still have a harder time pursuing higher education with the limited resources presented to them.