Inkspire

Introduction

Imagine the members of the Little Rock Nine (students who entered a white only school with a military escort issued by the president as a symbolic movement towards desegregation of schools) saw how schools were run today. Would they be satisfied by the lack of obvious segregation, or would they point out the new heavily veiled forms of discrimination? In fact, would any member of the Civil Rights Movement (one of the most passionate movements towards equality) be satisfied with what we have now? The truth is, they probably wouldn’t. Over the years, the intensity with which people have fought for equality has declined, and we’ve learned to settle for less because speaking up is difficult. As a result, discrimination and prejudices have seeped into the education system. Here’s a decision made on education in the 1900s and where education went from there:

Brown v. Board of Education

In 1896, the Supreme Court passed what is one of the worst decisions in American history. The case was Plessy v. Ferguson, and the verdict was that segregation was legal. As a result, the doctrine of “Separate but equal” became common. What does this mean though? Every public location – from restaurants to transportation and even schools – was divided by race. Interestingly enough, the decision intended for both race’s facilities to be equal in quality; however, history shows that nothing separated by prejudices can ever be truly equal. The places meant for African Americans were severely lacking in hygiene and quality. Eventually, they began to speak out against their unfair conditions – which led to the famous court case Brown v. Board of Education. African Americans jumped at the opportunity to gain a proper education once they were freed from slavery (they knew that education and literacy are the only things that can ensure freedom). The schools they were offered by the government had inadequate funding, crowded classrooms, horrible buildings, unqualified teachers, and limited curriculums. Oliver Brown – an African American man in Kansas – tried to gain admission for his daughter Linda Brown into a white school, so she could have a chance at a real education. Unfortunately, Linda was rejected from every single white elementary school in Topeka, Kansas. In 1951, Brown filed a case against Topeka’s board of education saying his daughter getting rejected from white-only public schools violated the 14th Amendment – which says no state can “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws”. The U.S. District Court in Kansas ruled that while segregation in public schools creates an inferiority amongst African American children, it still upholds the “separate but equal” doctrine, so it is still legal. This case combined with 4 other cases related to public school segregation went to the Supreme Court and fell under the overall Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case. Thurgood Marshall served as the main attorney (he would later become the very first African American Supreme Court Justice). Earl Warren – the new Chief Justice – skillfully took the initially divided Supreme Court and formulated a verdict that was unanimously agreed upon. In 1954, Warren ruled that the doctrine of “separate but equal” should not have a place in public education because separate is “inherently unequal”. There was still confusion surrounding what exactly the various state boards of education were meant to do. Later in 1955, the second opinion on the case (Brown v. Board of Education II) ruled that school boards must rapidly desegregate. Although it took time for all schools to fully desegregate, the court decision was a humongous step forward for the Civil Rights Movement.

Modern Discrimination

Although the Brown v. The Board of Education case was just 70 years ago, much of the commitment and determination for equality in the education system has been lost, and new forms of discrimination have wormed their way into the system. Segregation today goes by the names of SAT scores, Affirmative Action, Male Flight, and schools being organized by proximity to homes.

The SAT was created to find some sort of biological potential for intelligence. It was believed that people who do well on this exam were set up to succeed due to their increased general aptitude. However, “ having biological potential” is another way of saying “being white and rich”. The underlying message was people in the education system wanted a method to further create a sense of inferiority amongst African Americans that appeared objective. Even today, the rich are able to afford prep classes to ensure higher scores on the SAT. Overall, there is no way that a single test can identify the entire true potential of a human being to learn, and instead it reinforces discrimination based on race and economic status.

Affirmative Action is a policy meant to increase diversity in the workplace and in education systems (specifically in the college admissions process). The policy raises many concerns, though. For example, there is a high chance of a student not being accepted into a certain university because they are not of the race quota that the admission officers are trying to fill. It also brings forward the possibility that standards could decline. Lastly, it creates the stereotype that certain racial groups are only accepted or hired to maintain diversity.

Male Flight is a psychological phenomenon where men leave positions that they believe are dominated by women. Over several years, the percentage of men in institutions of higher education has decreased significantly, and psychologists have theorized that it is partly due to the idea that higher education is a “feminine” pursuit (this does not include engineering schools which are still male dominated). This could eventually lead to only a little more than half of the population being educated.

Lastly, schools are organized by proximity to home. This method leads to schools being dominated by students of certain races and socioeconomic statuses. For example, almost all suburban schools are dominated by a 75% or more white student body. It causes certain schools to be at an advantage because they are in poorer communities (as a result, they will have less funding and less educational opportunities).

Conclusion

Discrimination based on race and socioeconomic status still exists and is growing, and it won’t ever leave unless people begin to stand up to it. Decades ago, Oliver Brown stood up to the Topeka Board of Education, which is the only reason schools today have students of every race. Now, there are new constructs leaving minority groups at a disadvantage – even in schools. The root cause of this, however, is the fact that America’s society is divided. If you don’t want to see schools in America slowly return to segregation, you need to decide if you’re going to be satisfied with what currently exists or strive for better.