Furthermore, it is my opinion that not nearly enough time has been spent on the white educator’s role in our post-Brown educational systems. Jane Elliot (a courageous soul in my opinion) described racism as a “white attitudinal problem.” She has stated that the problem lies not with people of color but with whites who believe if blacks would just get “white” then everything would be all right. “For too many years we have been blaming racism on people of color….” Is there some secret potion that makes white teachers immune to this attitudinal problem?
“It’s been fifty years already, we need to stop making excuses.” That argument would carry more weight if a truly equitable educational system would have emerged after the Brown decision. A tremendous amount of desegregation took place (especially with the dismantling of all-black schools), but very little integration. The teaching and administrative ranks were never integrated (as a matter of fact they became even more segregated) and the curriculum, with the exception of a few minor and recent changes, is just as Euro- and male-centered as it has always been. The “feelings of inferiority” that were alluded to by Chief Justice Earl Warren in the Brown v. the Board of Education’s majority opinion, have been left fundamentally unresolved. To desegregate without real integration, is an invitation for dysfunction.
“Historically, we have overcome racism and adversity to achieve, why can’t these young people do the same?” I agree that a great deal of time and energy can be wasted if we allow circumstances beyond our control to overwhelm us. However, the flip-side of this observation is that while we reflect upon our past of overcoming, with pride and satisfaction, we still need to question whether our children should have to overcome certain barriers. It is as if we no longer question the injustices that our children face educationally.
We must also realize that this present group of adolescents and young adults is truly the first to be born outside of the shadows of segregation and busing. They have certain expectations of fairness and equality, which prior generations did not have. When these expectations are not realized, should we be surprised by their disillusionment? The fact that some of us make it in spite of the unjust and inequitable obstacles that still exist in our society, does not justify the barriers nor does it excuse us from doing all we can to identify and eliminate those obstacles.
I know there are bound to be some who believe that I am painting some idyllic picture of pre-Brown segregated schools, as if these were schools that had no dysfunctions or difficulties. Let me assure you, I am not. Nor am I disregarding the gains made as a result of the Brown verdict. However, every event has it consequences, including Brown. What I am attempting to point out is that the best attributes of the segregated all-black schools have never truly been integrated into this nation’s educational systems.
Racism, in my opinion, is America's greatest unresolved moral dilemma and it would be unthinkable to believe that its influence has not permeated our school systems. Our already disproportionate academic circumstances are compounded if our children must tackle the additional “r” of racism along with reading, “writing” and “arithmetic.”
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