...Segregation in Public Schools Mishonda Atkinson Winston Salem State University EDU 2334 April 28, 2015 Abstract After several laws have been passed and civil rights time being over, you would think that segregation in public schools wouldn’t still be going on. Unfortunately, there is still segregation going on in schools. Not only based on race but based on the student’s socioeconomic status. In this paper I will tell you what segregation is, how it has evolved in the past 5 years, and why segregation is important in North Carolina public schools. Segregation in Public Schools According to Webster’s dictionary, the definition of segregation is the practice or policy of keeping people of different races, religions, etc., separate from each other. Gary Orfield(2009) wrote an article stating that schools in the United States are more segregated today than they were in more than four decades. Schools in the US are 44 percent non-white and minorities (mainly African Americans) are rapidly emerging as the majority of public school students. In 1954, Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court ruled that the South’s standard of “separate but equal” was “inherently unequal,” and did “irreversible” harm to black students. Now the most reason for segregation in public schools isn’t race, its poverty. Most of the nation’s dropouts occur in non-white public schools, which leads to African Americans unemployed. Schools that are in low income communities don’t get the same funding...
Words: 1114 - Pages: 5
...How have African-Americans worked to end segregation, discrimination, and isolation to attain equality and civil rights? For centuries, African Americans have played and continue to play a significant role in American history. While today, African American no longer face the laws of segregation and discrimination, they continue to fight for equality and civil rights. This continued fight is one of a long past with several triumphs and tragedies all which are an integral part of history. This essay will discuss how African Americans worked to end slavery, segregation, discrimination, freedom, and isolation. It will also discuss what led to the civil right implementation and how it was executed. Equal rights for African Americans have been contentious, and fought for decades. They have fought to impede ethic discrimination, gain equal opportunity and their civil rights since slavery in the 1600s. When slavery started in 1620s, African Americans only made up about 3 to 4 percent of the population in America. Although the number grew slowly at first, by the end of the 17th century, the population of African American slave grew to well over 650,000. (Becker, 2000) In America, slave labor became the key component in agriculture and booming capitalist economy of the 17th & 18th centuries. (County, 1999) In the beginning, Africans were exchanged for food and place as “indentured servants” by the Dutch. This practice was also true for many poor Englishmen who were...
Words: 1656 - Pages: 7
...Segregation is a form of separation in the actual terms of what race is. Which includes the matter of inclusion and exclusion. Forty seven years ago the civil rights act was passed to end racial discrimination in America. A little time after that was settled, the 12th amendment looked passed the discrimination, against “Black Power”, or even just the black american race in general. And then allowed the voting rights for every man. Though there is still lots of areas with racial tension, the only thing we can do is hope, that our generation will try to be a whole bringing awareness, and be a catalyst to change. In the year 1914, laws effectively created two separate societies, one black and one whites. The separation was so crucial that individuals of other opposite race couldn’t be transported, walked with, talked to, sat near, gain knowledge, or even receive the same hospital services. A man by the name Jim Crow made some laws that required schools, facilities, water fountains and trains to be separated for whites and blacks. Then which meant that black people were legally required to attend separate schools and churches, and to use public restrooms only if they were marked “Colored only”. They were to eat on separate sections of restaurants, and when it came to transportation, they were to sit in the rear area. In 1954 the United States supreme court struck down on segregation in the nation’s public school. They...
Words: 575 - Pages: 3
...was taking place. Other events, such as the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 can be traced to the Cold War that took place in the 1950’s. In the early 1950’s the United States was very segregated and African Americans did not enjoy many of the same rights that whites did. As the decade went along, segregation became a hotly debated topic, particularly segregation in schools. Since the Supreme Court case Plessy v Ferguson in 1896, the nation had operated under the doctrine of “separate but equal” (Potter 3/31). Then in 1954, a new Supreme Court case called Brown v Board of Education, was ruled on regarding segregation in schools. The opinion of the court was delivered by Chief Justice Earl Warren who said, “We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place. Separate education facilities are inherently unequal. Therefore, we hold that the plaintiffs and other similarly situated . . . are . . . deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment” (Brown Decision, 1954). When the Brown v Board of Education decision was announced, it looked like it would be a major victory in the fight to end segregation. Unfortunately for Civil Rights leaders, southern states were not happy about the decision. They were so unhappy about it in fact that, “In 1956, 19 Senators and 77 members of the House of Representatives signed the ‘Southern Manifesto,’ a resolution condemning the 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown...
Words: 826 - Pages: 4
...The Road To Ending Segregation Barbara Pritchard HIS 204: Historical Awareness Professor Kimberly Hornback September 26, 2011 The road to ending Segregation The road to ending segregation was a long and hard move for the South. In the 1800s-1900’s segregation was enforced to keep African Americans separated from whites. During this time African Americans had to deal with the symbols of what was called Jim Crow’s, (Whites Only and Colored Only) signs; which are found today in museums, old photographs, and documentaries. Now since an African American has been elected President of the United States, a person could say segregation seems as old-fashioned and distant as watching an old black and white television. Although, the major challenge is to explain the reasons for the legacy of segregation, discrimination, and isolation to attain equality and civil rights, that African Americans worked to end. The best way to describe the shape of the United States in the second half of the 19th century, “according to eminent historian Robert Wiebe, the answer was isolated island communities,” (Bowles, 2011, Section 1.1, Para 1). Wiebe used the symbol of the island because cities were very much separated and isolated from each other and had a weak system of communication between them. The time came, after the divisiveness and devastation of the Civil War, when the nation searched for order economically, politically, geographically, and racially. Although, emancipation came during...
Words: 1203 - Pages: 5
...Segregation: An Issue of the Past? (FINAL) As early as the 1600’s, Europeans settlers in North America have enslaved and oppressed African Americans. Slavery continued until the Emancipation Proclamation was established towards the end of the Civil War. The Emancipation Proclamation stated that those who were once slaves were to be set free; however much more than a document would be needed to diminish the ideas and attitudes white people continued to hold onto. Into the 1960’s, one hundred years after the Emancipation Proclaimed was written, African Americans were still suffering from inequality and discrimination. The need to end racial segregation and discrimination sparked the build up to The Civil Rights Movement. Like society, literary trends started to focus on racism and prejudice. In particular, the principled southern-bred writer Langston Hughes shows social injustices and racial prejudice in his writings because he experienced the culture first hand. His poems became the voice for African American’s because he clearly depicts the emotions they felt during this time. Literature as a whole grasped the public’s attention towards The Civil Rights Movement to show the importance of social equality. Langston Hughes’ poems “Merry-Go-Round” and “Dreams” express how necessary it is to put segregation in the past, and encourage African Americans to stay hopeful in order to reach their dream of living in a racially equal America. The Civil Rights Movement was victorious because...
Words: 1326 - Pages: 6
...Introduction Segregation happens all over the world. Segregation means that people of different ethnicities should be separate. However, the African word apartheid, simply means separateness. The concept of each word is the same: different kinds of people should be treated differently. In the U.S, segregation started with slavery. In South Africa, apartheid started when the Europeans came. Although both systems were designed to keep people separate, there were similarities and differences in how the governments tried to keep people separated. In both countries, unfair systems caused a lot of suffering. These systems caused one person in the U.S, and one in South Africa to lead civil rights movements. Both systems were very unfair and cruel....
Words: 907 - Pages: 4
...Segregation was a very substantial issue in the 1930’s to the 1950’s. Segregation is the when people are set apart from others because of anything such as their race, religion, or even gender. In the 1930’s to 1950’s there were separate schools, water fountains, and even bathrooms. These were set apart from each other because of someone’s race. During this time period, many groups were targeted. Even though all groups were affected, African Americans were hit the hardest. In the northern cities, the whites were out of jobs so they wanted all the blacks to be fired so they would have a better chance of getting a job. In the southern cities, they took a much more inhumane approach. The whites started racial violence which included lynching. Jim...
Words: 312 - Pages: 2
...In Topeka, Kansas in the 1950s schools were segregated under the “separate but equal law.” Everyday Linda Brown and her sister would travel a long distance to get to an all black school when there was an all white school much closer to her house. Linda and her family believed segregated schools was a violation of the fourteenth amendment so they took their case to the supreme court and it became one of the most important supreme court decisions ever made. The main argument for the desegregating of schools was that "Segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race deprives children of the minority group of equal educational opportunities.” Although the schools had equal facilities, which wasn’t even true most of the time,...
Words: 352 - Pages: 2
...The Encounter in Little Rock In the mid -900s, Africans were not treated fairly. One of the main parts of their mistreatment was segregation. A lot of buildings were segregated such as restaurants, bathrooms, workshops, and schools. People of color were not allowed to be with the white population. In Little Rock Arkansas, Central High School was strictly segregated. However, the school board in Arkansas won a court order that allowed nine African-American students to attend Central High School. This order upset the white families who had their children attending Central High School. There were white mobs and Governor Orval Faubus ordered the National Guards to prevent these nine students from entering the campus. Many people, including President...
Words: 998 - Pages: 4
...The Marxist Criticism literary lens describes a scenario in literature where one group of people in society is more powerful than another. The wealthy community is usually in control of the lower class citizens and this results in the lower class people living under oppression. Native Son by Richard Wright is a fictional novel set in the 1930s in Chicago that depicts the harsh realities for African American due to oppression from the wealthy upper class white community. Bigger Thomas, a typical African American male, is the protagonist, yet the oppression that confronts him leads to his death by the end of the novel. Marxist Criticism conveys a warning against racial segregation in Native Son because the impoverished African American community...
Words: 701 - Pages: 3
...I think that segregation was not equal and was wrong what was most important about integration was in the packet on page 26. It says that the civil rights movement was a struggle by African Americans in the mid-1950s to late 1960s to achieve civil rights equal to those of whites, including equal opportunity in employment, housing, and education, as well as the right to vote, the right of equal access to public facilities, and the right to be free of racial discrimination They were mistreated mostly at this time but they didn't give up a girl named Ruby Bridges even attended a white school. In the packet Brown v Board of Education page 29 the bus boycott was also another reason a law was passed and integrated the buses the protest segregated seating which took place from December 5, 1955, to December 20, 1956. A woman refused to give up her seat to a white man and that lead to the cops being involved and lead to the arrest of Rosa Parks which sparked protests but a lot of people had done this before the time of Rosa. But her arrest was final and people wouldn't settle no more to ride the buses if this continued....
Words: 310 - Pages: 2
...Before JFK was elected in 1960, segregation was a huge problem. In most southern states you would have to pass a literacy test to vote (JFKlibray.org staff). Southern states did this intentionally because they knew seven out of ten blacks were illiterate (nces.ed.gov). Even though preventing blacks from voting was declared unconstitutional Mississippi still made laws to hinder the blacks from voting. For example, the state of Mississippi passed a poll tax, you had to pay taxes for two years to be able to vote (“Race and Voting in The Segregated South”). Since most blacks didn't pay taxes they couldn't vote. Segregation wasn't the only thing blacks had to worry about. Many black would get attacked just walking down the street. One instance is that teenager Emmett Till was brutally murdered for seemingly no reason (“The Kennedys and Civil Rights”). Even when blacks would peacefully protested, they would still get brutally beaten; such as when protesters tried to march from Selma to Montgomery they were stopped by policemen and brutally attacked, 50 of the protesters were critically injured (“Civil Rights and Nonviolence”)....
Words: 482 - Pages: 2
...Century Segregation: Are We Still Divided by Race? Racial segregation was a concept that began in early history and is still prevalent in some societies today. It is often seen as a destructive forceful tactic of separating individuals based on their racial background. However, many new immigrants voluntarily choose to live in a segregated society. Segregation can be easily seen in certain communities where there is a concentration containing a particular racial group. The area where one lives significantly influences their overall quality of life as well as their job, education opportunities, formation of social relationships and networks or access to a mortgage. These aspects have an impact on socio-economic status and the accumulation of assets, and this makes housing crucial for the integration of minorities into society. Neighbourhoods that have a higher poverty rate are not able to support as many retail establishments, leading to inadequate access to quality of goods and services. When the neighbourhoods are geographically isolated it “may limit access to employment or social contact with other urban residents” (Walks, 2010). Segregation is defined as the policy or practice of separating people based on their race, class, ethnic group, religion or gender, especially as a form of discrimination. Racial segregation is not an isolated phenomenon. There are examples of segregation that can be dated back through history, most notably the racial segregation of African...
Words: 1658 - Pages: 7
...In Twenty-First Century, modern America one can trace the effects of various actions and decisions of past government leaders and ordinary citizens in the shaping of the America we see today. Throughout human society, the conflicts, issues, and divisions among peoples, which one observes at any point in time, are not matters of chance, but are products of history, and forces of human undertaking. Today, American society is faced with a residential, geographic phenomenon among urban and suburban communities that disadvantages African American citizens through the discriminatory denial of residential and economic freedom, a Constitutional promise that is guaranteed to all Americans. Modern America is confronted with a socially and geographically segregated society structured on the hierarchies of race, having the greatest consequences for African American communities, the most segregated racial group in American society. The Great Migration of the early twentieth century was a symbolic beacon of hope for African Americans leaving their homes in the rural South to a new land of promise in the urban North. While this migration created vast amounts of opportunity for African Americans that could have not existed in the Jim Crow-era South, the movements of these people would carry the racial divisions and hostilities of society to the level of a national plight. Northern whites implemented various practices in order to manipulate urban housing markets in the effect of restricting...
Words: 6457 - Pages: 26
