Today, when we hear the words “segregation in schools” we most likely think about the times where the fight for integration was at an all time high. We most likely think of the era of Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, or Ruby Bridges, the first African-American to attend an all-Caucasian school. The fifties and sixties are usually the years that come to mind when we hear about school discrimination issues, not the year 2014. However, the United States is still exhibiting instances of such injustice, particularly New York state.
While New York City has the largest school system in the U.S. with 1.1 million pupils, it is also responsible for the fact that New York state has the most segregated public schools in the nation. The Civil Rights Project at the University of California has been studying the enrollment trends from the late 20th century up to the present. It has been found that many black and Latino students attend schools with practically no white classmates. Many of the charter schools created over the last decade are the least diverse, with a white student enrollment of less than one percent in 73 percent of charter schools.
A trend is emerging through the convergence of black and Latino students in schools and it is that the majority of students tend to be of poor income compared to the statewide average. Those who are attending schools which are integrated by race and income tend to perform significantly better than those who are in segregated schools. This study suggests that New York’s segregation is mainly based on housing patterns, therefore new policies need to be created that will address this particular issue.
New York state’s report noted that in 2010 about 50 percent of public school students are from low-income families, but “the typical black or Latino student attended a school where approximately 70 percent of classmates were low-income.” This is in comparison to the fact that the typical white student attended a school where approximately 30 percent of classmates were low-income.
According to the Civil Rights Project, other states that are considerably segregated include Illinois, Michigan, and California. One of the ways in which segregation is measured is the amount of exposure students have had with classmates from other racial backgrounds. Despite the fact that about half of New York state’s public students are white, the average black student went to school where the white student enrollment was only 17.7 percent. The corresponding numbers for Illinois and California are 18.8 and 18.9 percent, respectively.
The Civil Rights Project is preparing reports on several states, along with a nationwide report which will study the trends in segregation. These reports will coincide with the 60th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown vs. Board of Education unanimous decision on May 17, 1954. This is the case that ended legal segregation in public schools. However, it seems as if 60 years later, school districts are struggling with upholding this constitutional decree.
As stated by the U.S. Department of Education, there is an increasing number of cases of segregation found in upstate cities such as Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse, which is one of the more alarming statistics. In the Syracuse metropolitan area and in the year 1989, the average black student went to a school that was one-third black. In 2010, the school population was almost half black. However, the report also shows a four percent increase in the number of black students attending school (which is a good thing!). Despite this fact, there still needs to be a stronger push for integration.
Overall, these findings show that in recent years there has been a lack of focus on racial integration. New policies need to be adopted to accommodate peoples’ living circumstances and to help them attend better, more diverse schools. It is important for children and young adults to learn about others’ cultures and not be affected by factors that they cannot control.
What are your initial reactions? Did you know that we are still struggling this much with segregation in schools? What should the next step be?
Sources:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/report-ny-schools-racially-segregated-23065584?page=2
https://www.nwhm.org/education-resources/biography/biographies/ruby-bridges/
http://www.nps.gov/brvb/index.htm
Felicia Rupert says
When most people think of segregation, they automatically assume it is a result of one race thinking it is superior to the other; however, people rarely consider the other socioeconomic issues that are in place. It is no surprise that New York City is highly segregated and it is still a very sad concept to come across. Equality is a never ending issue. I am from upstate and lived in an are with just about every demographic you could possibly imagine and if you payed close enough attention, you could definitely see how the economic differences changed the way people interacted.
Morgan Nachman says
I didn’t have any idea that segregation like this still exists in schools today, and it’s really scary to think sometimes that even though we’ve come really far we still have a VERY long way to go. It’s definitely important to think about the fact that much of this segregation has occurred because of demographics and where people of a specific demographic tend to be living. Some policy should definitely be aimed at fixing this issue, but it’s hard to figure out exactly what when it’s a more intricate issue than what we might initially think. Personally, I think that the issue is about funding for underprivileged schools in low income areas that just happen to reflect certain racial demographics.
Lee Bader says
Honestly, I had no idea. Yeah I come from a suburban area in eastern PA, but my school district spans two suburban (with more rural, country outer limits) and a inner city area, albeit much smaller than something like Philadelphia. This means that when I went to high school every day I could encounter anything from the stereotypical white girl to the “frat boy” attitude to kids driving industrial tractors to school to kids associated with gangs. I’m not saying my school was “ghetto” or dangerous, but it was certainly an eclectic mix of people. I’m proud to say I come from such a diverse school where judgment and prejudice was at a very low level. I had friends that would deliver fresh vegetables to your doorstep every harvest seasons while having friends who’s older brother was the leader of the Crips gang in the area (African Americans associated with gangs were mostly Crips while the Hispanic gang population was mostly Latino Kings).
Sarah Bailin says
A lot of this segregation has to do with the fact that most low income students live in the same area, so they all end up in school together. There have been movements to try and bus students from poor neighborhoods to other schools across the city, to get a better education and to integrate with students of different backgrounds, but it becomes expensive to move students around this much. Another interesting topic is segregation in schools that are actually integrated. Often times, in schools that have many different cultures and ethnicities, students separate themselves into groups based on their race, and that’s who they become friends with. In my Educational Psychology class, my professor has talked to us about how when we are teachers, we should make sure to put students into groups that are ethnically diverse, so that students don’t segregate themselves as much and get to know students of other cultures.