Separate and Unequal / This American Life Radio Show

This week I listened to an episode of This American Life Radio Show  as well as read the article Separate and Unequal 

Both works address the need for integration within school districts, in an effort to ensure equal learning opportunity for all students, regardless of one’s economic, racial or ethnic background.

This American Life Episode #562: Nickole Hannah-Jones paints a picture of this issue by narrating the stories of students whose education system failed them, specifically in the Normandy School District of Missouri. The Normandy School, a poor segregated school in the South, was on probation for 15 years. This means that many students through ought their entire educational career, attended a school that never met state standards. Normandy is sadly just one example of so many impoverished segregated schools across our nation, where students are subjected to subpar education, with the majority of students being either black or Hispanic; and this statement does not go unsupported. 1 out of 2 black students attend a school that does not meet state standards for education. Whereas 1 in every 25 white students face the same obstacle, according to Nickole Hannah-Jones. 

The article “Separate and Unequal” provides equally disturbing statistics on the matter of segregated school systems as well.

 

Quotes

“One of the most powerful tools for improving the educational achievement of poor black and Hispanic public-school students is, regrettably, seldom even considered. It has become a political no-no.” Why would improving any student’s educational quality be a “political no-no?” That is because we fool ourselves into thinking racism is something of the past. As much as our society wants to believe this doesn’t occur still, it does. The reason so many poor black and Hispanic children remain trapped inside impoverished school systems is not due to a resistance in economic integration, but rather with racial/ ethnic integration. Nickole Hannah- Jones represents this in her podcast when previewing a town council meeting, in which parents address their concerns about Normandy students integrating into the Francis school district; primarily made up of middle-class, white students. Parents took the stand one-by-one, each statement being more racist than the last. They furiously opposed Normandy students, believing they could only bring along with them drugs, violence, and lower test scores. Parents insisted on things like metal detectors, and drug sniffing dogs. I’ve never even encountered someone with such ignorant beliefs, and I hope I never do.

“Separate but equal. The Supreme Court understood in 1954 that it would never work. But our perpetual bad faith on matters of race keeps us trying.” More than a century later we are still struggling with this issue. The mother of Mah’Ria, a student who attended the Normandy school of Missouri; compares her daughter’s circumstances to Ruby Bridges; the first black child to attend an all-white elementary school. History has rewritten itself for kids that aren’t getting quality education in every urban school across the border.

“To get around the political obstacles to school integration, districts have tried a number of strategies. Some have established specialized, high-achieving magnet in high-poverty neighborhoods, which have had some success in attracting middle class students.” The issue of separate and unequal school facilities is trying, yet such solutions provide a glimmer of hope. Magnet schools provide a way to desegregate schools, allows for more diversity in the classroom, and enables academic excellence to those students who were previously denied the opportunity. Although this is on effective strategy, it is only a Band-Aid solution. There needs to be room for an open conversation about racial integration, no matter how uncomfortable it may feel to admit racism is still alive and well.