For the past couple of classes, we have been discussing a lot about the issues of segregation, diversity and learning about how segregation has impacted the schooling of our the children of NYC. The structure of NYC public schools has isolated certain racial students from gaining the type of education they should be given. But it seems that, segregation has long be existent since the early 1900’s.
In the article, “Why Our Schools Are Segregated”, Richard Rothstein states that, “ The federal government led the development of policies contributing to segregation. From its New Deal Policy, federal public housing respected, existing “neighborhood composition” by placing projects for low income blacks in black ghetto and those for middle income whites in white neighborhoods.” This refers to the redlining article we read earlier. The reason why some areas within NYC are so segregated is because of the placement of projects. From the beginning of time, blacks were isolated in areas of poverty and people that had there skin color. There was no interaction with other races. NYC housing laid the foundation in which schools were made. Invisible borders were drawn and blacks had no power to escape from this type of lifestyle. In fact, banks and saving institutions refused loans to families in predominantly black neighborhoods or to black families that attempted to purchase homes in white neighborhoods. This proves that the root of segregation lies within the policies of law makers and government agencies.
New York is regarded as of the most segregated places in the country. The solution to fix this problem is not as simple as it may seem. Different critics offer different perspectives on how to combat this issue. In “ Does the Negro Need Seperate Schools”, Du Bois argues that the negro does not need neither segregated or mixed schools, what they need is Education. He suggests that the benefits of education outweigh the resources that any school could provide. In a way, Du Bois is making clear that negros can rise to the top no matter their family circumstances. If education is heavily stressed, there is no difference on the type of things a negro and a white can accomplish. Maybe this is why some students from underprivileged backgrounds are still above to do well or even better than their classmates. It’s about the idea of perseverance and working hard to escape their lifestyle. On the other hand, Rothstein mentions that well developed and aligned curriculums, good teacher- principal collaboration make jobs make no difference in neighborhoods where nearly all students were black and in poverty. Helping students decrease the education gap has to do with the idea of integrated schools. We provide the same resources to students of all races. However this problem is not as easy due to the fact of zoned schools and redlining all cause restrict blacks from attaining the same opportunities. But, because of the DOE’s efforts to increase equity and diversity within NYC schools, policy makers are aware of the type of problems that are affecting students. DOE’s policies are an first step effort in trying to change the broken system of segregated schools that old leaders have implemented.
Thanks for this, Ruby. Does DuBois say that students can persevere and do well despite family circumstance? Or that a sound education can provide the basis for personal and social success? The difference is important – the frame you use suggests that families can rise up from poverty on their own with enough hard work. Is this was DuBois suggests?
It is interesting that both articles aim to achieve the greatest educational outcome for African Americans but arrive at two completely disparate conclusions. In his article “Why Our Schools Are Segregated,” Richard Rothstein points out that “social and economic disadvantage-not only poverty, but also a host of associated conditions-depresses student performance. Concentrating students with these disadvantages in racially and economically homogenous schools depress it even further”. As we discussed in the previous classes, New York has the most segregated schools in the country. Rothstein believes that even though integration of school cannot compensate the disadvantages that black students have due to lack of preventive health care and educational resources, it would, to some extent, mitigate the harsh reality that black students are facing now.
However, W.E.B DuBois argues that black students would be better off in a segregated environment (the majority of students are Black) in his publication “Does the Negro need Separate Schools”. DuBois believes that unbalance in our educational system cannot be eliminated simply through integrating schools. The environment in an integrated school will surely not be a friendly environment for African American students. However, despite the lack of diversity in a segregated school, a school that is mostly made up of African American students will be a better playground for them since they can be more comfortable under such “friendly environment”.
Nevertheless, I agree with what Ruby said that both articles point out the fact that African American can rise to the top no matter their family circumstance, and if the education is appropriately stressed, there is no difference on the type of things an African American and a white can accomplish. As Rothstein contends, the integration of school is the first step, not the final solution for the current situation that black students are facing now. And we hope that the DOE report we discussed in class, despite its controversy and faultiness, will be the stepping stone for something bigger.
I do not believe that DuBois is saying that families can rise up from poverty on their own with enough hard work. Despite all the perseverance African American students have, they are fighting to succeed in a system designed for them to fail. Their “separate but equal” schools are certainly separate but far from equal; they lack the economic resources of their white counterparts.
DuBois argues that “if [the American Negro] believed that Negro teachers can educate children according to the best standards of modern training … [h]e would insist that his teachers be decently paid; that his schools were properly housed and equipped; that his colleges be supplied with scholarship and research funds; and he would be far more interested in the efficiency of these institutions of learning, than in forcing himself into other institutions where he is not wanted” (331).”
Teachers at black schools are not given the best training possible to educate their students because they have been denied such an education themselves. While some colleges accepted African American students, they certainly were not given the same level of an education as their white peers (I am even hesitant to use such a word as “accepted”, as they were only accepted into the school itself and not into the larger academic community). Moreover, other colleges blatantly denied black students admittance.
DuBois’s message is that “theoretically, the Negro needs neither segregated schools nor mixed schools. What he needs is Education” (335). But this is a theoretical conjecture; as a result, the segregated black schools need to be built up. They need to include studies in the social sciences from the point of view of the minority. These perspectives, he argues, would greatly expand these academic fields, and this has absolutely proved to be true in the some eighty years since his argument was published. Improving the segregated schools would improve the education of their students, which in turn could lead to them rising out of poverty. Hard work alone would not be sufficient, because no matter how hard black students worked, they were entering a system stacked against them. An integrated school with hostility towards black students is equally as bad as a segregated school with inadequate resources (335).
Fast-forwarding to today, the segregated schools should have already been improved and integration should have already occurred. Yet the discussion about school segregation is still relevant. Not a year ago did the NYC Department of Education release its “Equity and Excellence for All: Diversity in New York Public Schools.” But this very brief document (for the amount of time allotted to its creation) never mentions the word “segregation” once. How can one have a discussion about school segregation today if the word segregation is not used?
Thanks for this discussion. I think Steven is correct that DuBois’ argument is not about individual hard work and the ability to “rise up.” This is certainly the American Dream, but one that African Americans had been systematically excluded from in 1935, and DuBois had become despondent that Black Americans would ever be granted the same opportunities in White America, which is why he promoted the notion of a “nation within a nation.” Few of us today would seriously promote the maintenance of separate race-based institutions, although as Danae pointed out in her post, Historically Black Colleges and Universities remain a point of pride to many African Americans (although those schools are no longer exclusively Black). But I wonder about DuBois’ larger point that African Americans could not access an equal education in White schools. Rothstein seems to suggest that attending predominantly-white schools is the ONLY way for most low-income African Americans to access an equal education. What do you think?