User:Emmaschroder/School segregation in the United States

School segregation in the United States

Segregation took de jure form with the passage of Jim Crow laws in the 19th century. These laws were influenced by the history of slavery and discrimination in the US, and stated that schools should be separated by race and offer equal amenities; however, facilities and services were far from equal.  After the ruling of Brown v. Board of Education, which banned segregated schools on the basis of legality, school segregation took de facto form. School segregation declined rapidly during the late 1960s and early 1970s as the government became strict on schools' plans to combat segregation more effectively as a result of Green v. County School Board of New Kent County. However, segregation appears to have increased since 1990 based on decreases in the black-white exposure index and the resegregation of blacks into public schools. Residential segregation in the United States and school choice, both historically and currently, have had a considerable effect on school segregation. Not only does the current segregation of neighborhoods and schools in the US affect social issues and practices, but it is also a leading factor in the achievement gap between Black and white students.

Historical segregation

Reconstruction era

Following the American Civil War and the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment which ended slavery throughout the entire United States, the Fourteenth Amendment, guaranteeing "equal protection under the law", was ratified in 1868, and citizenship was extended to African Americans. Congress also passed the Civil Rights Act of 1875, banning racial discrimination in public accommodations. But in 1883, the Supreme Court struck down the Civil Rights Act of 1875, finding that discrimination by individuals or private businesses is constitutional. (added two citations to this paragraph)

Jim Crow Era

Segregated drinking fountain in the American south under the Jim Crow Laws.

New Deal era

The establishment of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) in 1939 serves as the foundation of the efforts and funding to challenge school segregation. Charles Hamilton Houston initially ran the LDF, and focused heavily on proving that Black schools were severely unequal to white schools Eventually, the LDF shifted its leadership to Thurgood Marshall, who became the first director of the LDF and was a leader in significant court battles including Brown v. Board of Education.

Civil Rights era

Quote from Supreme Court Decision in Brown v. Board of Education case, hung at the Historic Site in Topeka, Kansas, USA

(remove from this section) While African Americans faced legal segregation in civil society, Mexican Americans who lived in southwestern states often dealt with de facto segregation, meaning no laws explicitly barred their access to schools or other public facilities, yet they were still separated from White people. The proponents of Mexican-American segregation were often officials who worked at the state and local school level and often defended the creation and sustaining of separate "Mexican schools". In other cases, the NAACP challenged segregation policies in institutions where exclusion was targeted only at African-American students and where there was an already established Mexican-American presence.

Parents of both African-American and Mexican-American students challenged school segregation in coordination with civil rights organizations such as the NAACP, ACLU, and LULAC. Both groups challenged discriminatory policies through litigation in courts, with varying success, and at times challenging policies. They often had small successes. For instance, the NAACP initially challenged graduate and professional school segregation because they believed that desegregation at this level would result in the least backlash and opposition by whites.

(remove) Various means to desegregate schools have been tried including busing students.

Mexican-American segregation

While African Americans faced legal segregation in civil society, Mexican Americans living in southwestern states often dealt with de facto segregation, meaning no federal laws explicitly barred their access to schools or other public facilities, yet they were still separated from white people. The proponents of Mexican-American segregation were often officials who worked at the state and local school level and often defended the creation and sustaining of separate "Mexican schools". One example of Mexican-American school segregation is from the city of Oxnard, California. According to the district records, the schools and neighborhoods in Oxnard were segregated based on ethnicity. The number of Latino migrants in Oxnard was climbing, causing overcrowding in the schools, which triggered local officials to “solve” this issue by creating a “school-within-a-school” form of segregation, and eventually by establishing a separate school for Latino students. School segregation occurred due to the residential segregation that was also present in Oxnard. By placing restrictive policies and covenants on properties, officials in Oxnard were able to keep Latino residents in a separate neighborhood from the “American” (or non-Latino residents), which provided a justification for segregating the schools.

(delete) In other cases, the NAACP challenged segregation policies in institutions where exclusion was targeted only at African-American students and where there was an already established Mexican-American presence.

Parents of both African-American and Mexican-American students challenged school segregation in coordination with civil rights organizations such as the NAACP, ACLU, and LULAC. Both groups challenged discriminatory policies through litigation in courts, with varying success, and at times challenging policies. They often had small successes. For instance, the NAACP initially challenged graduate and professional school segregation because they believed that desegregation at this level would result in the least backlash and opposition by whites.

Causes

Another aspect that supports the reversion back to segregated schools is the concept of white flight which occurs when white families utilize the privilege of school choice to move their children into schools with lower minority populations. White Flight was observable in that white student enrollment was significantly decreasing in districts that had a high level of desegregation, especially in the late 60s/early 70s.  Factors such as zoning of schools, housing policies, and school choice are the driving factors in the segregation today which shifts to incorporate not only grouping by race, but also by economic class. A wealthier family becomes more likely to relocate and invest in the educational resources of that school zone because it is more affordable. An extension of this choice becomes classroom specific in desegregated schools by way of implementations of courses at the levels of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and Honors programs which tend to have a higher white majority. Card and Rothstein provide statistical data that highlights the inverse relationship between standardized test scores and exposure to minority students. In this way, given an integrated school, white students are more likely to enroll in more advanced level courses when this choice serves as a way to become less exposed to minority students than when in an all-white environment. Due to these factors, Rosiek concludes that school choice only increases segregation or has no effect at all.

Outcomes of segregation

(add)

Public school teachers

Although integration after Brown v. Board of Education is largely viewed as a positive step toward equality, one considerable consequence was the overwhelming loss of Black teachers. Since this loss, Black teachers have not made a resurgence in schools, resulting in an evident racial incongruence between teachers and a rapidly diversifying student population in the US. D'Amico et al. (2017) stated that Brown v. Board of Education “mandated the integration of the nation’s schoolchildren but said nothing of the teacher labor force, effectively diminishing the demand for Black teachers and thus eliminating these community-supported schools and the teachers who staffed them,” (p. 29). This elimination has perpetuated itself into our current day school system, with statistics showing the number of Black teachers as disproportionate to the student population.

Article Draft

References

• []
• []
• []
• []
• []
• []
• []
• []
• []
• [
• [