Addressing Segregation in Public Schools

The pursuit of truth and knowledge has always been a pillar in the human
experience. Throughout every generation men and women of every nation, race,
culture, time and place have always been trying to get a stronger grasp on the world
around them. Education is the embodiment of the journey that one takes to learn and
grow. Speaking of education Martin Luther King Jr. once said: the function of
education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus
character - that is the goal of true education.[1] John F. Kennedy speaking in the
same vain declared: The goal of education is the advancement of knowledge and the
dissemination of truth.[2]
Today is the focal point of human knowledge and learning. So many
opportunities are available in our day to gain a meaningful education. The resources
are manifold and the availability of information is greater than any other time in
history. But this hasn't always been the case and, as the reader will see later, is not the
case in some parts of the U.S. The subject of this essay is 1) to briefly examine the
thread of segregation that is laced throughout Americas educational history, and 2)
determine solutions to remedy the problems we as a nation face in our schools today.
The United States of America has had an inspiring and dynamic history. But
just like any other nation it has had its struggles and historical black eyes. The pursuit
of education was a slow one that had many obstacles in its path. From the poor lower
classes to former slaves, education has been a far away dream that gradually became a
reality.

Our story begins with the Supreme Court passing in 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson
where it was found constitutional to have racially divided schools. The underlying
doctrine was that schools divided between blacks and whites would be separate but
equal. Unequivocally separate while anything but equal. This gave rise to many
other separate public facilities such as water fountains, bathrooms, buses and most of
all schools.
The rampant inequity between white and black schools was unsightly. Though
gradually this segregation started to take a turn for the better. There are some
foundational characters that built the scene such as Rosa Parks who was also known
as "the first lady of civil rights" and "the mother of the freedom movement.[3] Major
breakthroughs came to pass much later though in the 50s and 60s.
Many milestones were reached during these two decades. One of these
groundbreaking milestones was the Supreme Court ruling of Brown v. Board of
Education where it was found unconstitutional to have racially divided public schools
and that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." [4] This was the
ruling that repealed the decision made in Plessy v. Ferguson. Another great step made
for more integrated schools was the Civil Rights Act, which started the desegregation
process in schools across the country.
That is wear the story typically ends. MLK and JFK and those involved with
the Civil Rights Movement made leaps and bounds in bridging the educational gap
between black and white schools and integrating everyone together. Like a Disney
movie, it was thought that everyone would live happily ever after that. Well, not
exactly.

From the 1970s to the early 90s the Supreme Court was pushing school
integration very seriously. Schools across the country were becoming much more
racially diverse and desegregation was gradually working more and more effectively.
The Supreme Court was very involved with desegregation rulings from Green v.
County School Board of New Kent County and Alexander v. Holmes County Board of
Education, to Wright v. Council of the City of Emporia and United States v. Scotland
Neck City Board of Education. This brought America to the acme of its integration in
1988 where almost 45% of black students in the U.S. were attending majority-white
schools.(Tolerance, 2004)[5]
In 1991 starting with the Supreme Court ruling of Board of Education of
Oklahoma City v. Dowell, which emphasized that court rulings were not intended to
operate in perpetuity, there began to be a decrease in integration measures.
(Tolerance, 2004)[6] This started a trend for schools to become more lax in
maintaining desegregation policies, while at the same time the courts were enforcing
those policies less fervently. The Civil Rights Project making the same argument says:
Since 1970, the public school enrollment has increased in size and transformed in
racial composition. Intensely segregated nonwhite schools with zero to 10% white
enrollment have more than tripled in this most recent 25-year period for which we
have data, a period deeply influenced by major Supreme Court decisions (spanning
from 1991 to 2007) that limited desegregation policy.(Civil Rights Project, 2016, p17)[7]

In the last 20 years we have been running backwards from the monumental
steps that were taken in the Civil Rights Era. In our day though there have been
additional challenges thrown into the mix. The problem that public schools faced
before the 60s could be fairly attributed to racial tensions. Now a couple new
dimensions are added to the whole mix making any viable solution trickier to pin
down. They are poverty and changing demographics.
On the dimension of poverty, The Civil Rights Project, who is very involved
with this conversation talks about a new trend of "double segregation: Both racial
and poverty segregation create educational challenges for students and are related to
unequal opportunity. Many schools are affected by both at the same time in a pattern
our reports have called double segregation."(Civil Rights Project, 2016, p6, emphasis
added)[8] They continue: "This double segregation means serious isolation from
racial and class diversity and exposure to the many problems that systematically
afflict poor families and communities." (Civil Rights Project, 2016, p7)[9] It's
interesting to note that research has come back saying that more integrated schools
have higher percentages of students graduating (Breslow, Wexler, Collins, 2014)[10].
Another new factor to the returning segregation in America is that of changing
demographics across the country. The racial composition throughout the country is
vastly different now in comparison to the 60s. Over the span from 1990 to 2013 the
Civil Rights Project reports: the racial composition of the schools changed
dramatically, falling from 69% white to 50% white. The share of Latino students
during this time soared from 11% to 25%, while the black share of the enrollment

remained around 15%. Asian students climbed from 3% to 5% of the enrollment.

Obviously the countrys schools are experiencing a massive, multiracial transition and
data suggest those changes will continue, faster in some regions than the others.
(Civil Rights Project, 2016, p1-2)[ [11]
By these last couple of paragraphs one sees that segregation is a continuing
force even in 2016. Now we come to the crux of the issue and ask some vital
questions:? 1) Is integration in public schools still desirable? and 2) how do we go
about integrating schools in the best way possible?
My proposal is that the question of whether to segregate or to integrate public
schools should be addressed to the states. Its a complex issue, but my argument is
that if we have 50 states working on this issue we get more data and resources to
come to a better judgment on how to solve the problem of failing schools and how to
make them better. One thing that should be strived for across all the states is that
money, resources, and opportunities should be available to every public school.
I come to this conclusion for a couple reasons. Before that though, I want to
look more at the question is integration in public schools still desirable? The Civil
Rights Project responds in the affirmative with two points saying: (1) segregation
creates unequal opportunities and helps perpetuate stratification in the society and (2)
diverse schools have significant advantages, not only for learning and attainment but
for the creation of better preparation for all groups to live and work successfully in a

complex society which will have no racial majority. (Civil Rights Project, 2016, p1)[
[12]
Richard D. Kahlenberg, who has studied segregation in schools for years
discusses why desegregation is still an important issue saying: To my mind, its
hugely significant. If you think about the two fundamental purposes of public
education, its to promote social mobility so that a child, no matter her circumstances,
can, through a good education, go where her God-given talents would take her. The
second purpose is to strengthen our democracy by creating intelligent and openminded citizens, and related to that, to build social cohesion.(Childress,2014)[13]
While he speaks of integrated schools creating open-minded students, some have had
the experience where integration only brought alienation.
In his article Is segregation such a bad thing? Geoffrey Andersen gives a
contrary opinion. After quoting a handful of people he asks this thought provoking
question: Is compulsory integration good for black Americans?(Andersen, 2007)
[13] He goes on in his article talking about someone who was in an integrated school
and how this person still felt like an outsider. Racial lines were rarely crossed and
people were generally stuck in their own cliques.
Another point I have is the practicality of integration. Some previous ways
might not make as much sense any more. Pamela Cytrynbaum, a writer for The New
York Times and various other outlets, writes: Like many cities across the nation,
Evanston today is struggling with dramatic re-segregation. Voluntary integration is no

longer widely accepted. Residents in our hometown are debating whether or not to
launch another school integration effort. But this time, instead of facing cheers, they
face weary, frustrated African-American parents and community activists, tired of
bearing the burden of busing children away from their neighborhood. There is
currently a movement to create an all-black neighborhood school.(Tolerance,
2011[14] In a push towards continuing integration policies she continues: There is
ample research fully exploring the losses associated with this massive re-segregation
from tumbling standardized test scores to falling grades and dropping class
rankings. We must also consider the far less measurable loss of lessons not learned,
lives unchanged and friendships not made. Evanston was right the first time.
Integration wasand remainsthe best tool and the right goal.(Tolerance, 2011)
[15]
My point here is that some people may not want integrated schools, while
others are very adamant about reworking desegregation methods. This makes me
think that having a countrywide program may not be as beneficial as some other
solutions, for example each of the states finding out what works best in with the
demographics they are accustomed to.
A point that I would like to focus more on is that whatever demographics a
school may have it should be well funded and have adequate resources and
opportunities. Richard D. Kahlenberg expresses this by saying: So on the academic
achievement, social mobility side, there is research going back a half century to
suggest that separate schools, particularly for rich and poor, are very rarely equal. Its

a disadvantage to be born into a poor family on average. Its a second disadvantage to

attend a school where there are high concentrations of poverty. And this intersects
very closely with race, because African-American and Latino kids are much more
likely to be in high-poverty schools than white students.(Childress, 2014)[17] In my
mind it would make sense if the government put more time, energy, and money into
these low-hanging-fruit schools that deal with students from impoverished families.
State incentives could increase more dedicated teachers and better resources for the
students.
In my mind integration should still be the goal, but I think it ultimately falls
under the states prerogative to decide and find workable solutions. The first step
should be to get every public school the needs and resources it needs; some schools
may need greater support and focus than others. I believe that this issue follows the
10th amendment in that its a state responsibility. I imagine that if states were in charge
we would be able to see the programs and actions that create the greatest atmospheres
for learning regardless of whatever the demographics may be.

Notes and Resources:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_education.html
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_education.html
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-106publ26/html/PLAW-106publ26.htm
https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=87&page=transcript
http://www.tolerance.org/magazine/number-25-spring-2004/feature/brown-vboard-timeline-school-integration-us
6. http://www.tolerance.org/magazine/number-25-spring-2004/feature/brown-vboard-timeline-school-integration-us

7. https://www.civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/research/k-12-education/integrationand-diversity/brown-at-62-school-segregation-by-race-poverty-andstate/Brown-at-62-final-corrected-2.pdf emphasis added.

8. Crp
9. crp
10. https://levidiki.wordpress.com
11. https://www.civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/research/k-12-education/integrationand-diversity/brown-at-62-school-segregation-by-race-poverty-andstate/Brown-at-62-final-corrected-2.pdf
12. crp pg 1
13. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/does-integration-still-matter-inpublic-schools/
14. http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/fraywatch/2007/07/black_eye
s.html
15. http://www.tolerance.org/blog/public-school-integration-still-best-goal
16. http://www.tolerance.org/blog/public-school-integration-still-best-goal
17.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/does-integration-still-matter-inpublic-schools/