Desegregation for the Nation
In the podcast, “The Myth that Busing Failed”, Hannah-Jones talks about how the integration in the cities using busing made a positive impact. People thought that busing was a failure because no one enjoyed busing and it was a waste of time because kids would have to go to schools away from where they lived. Hannah-Jones compares and contrasts the Northern and Southern cities states. In history class, I was never taught about integration systems and whether it was effective or not. I just learned that over time, schools started to have both black and white students in the same school. Telling the fuller history about resistance to school integration is important because it shows the impact it makes on the communities and how black schools get different opportunities than white schools.
When the Brown v. Board of Education ruling came out, the Northern states were applauding because they knew change was happening. Once laws were passed in the Northern states, they were angry and were not rejoicing anymore. They thought that the ruling of the Brown v. Board of Education would only affect the Southern states. The black and Puerto Rican students realized that the education that they were receiving compared to the white students were not as good. “They do a one-day boycott, where about 460,000 black and Puerto Rican students do not show up to school that day” (Hannah-Jones). All the students wanted was equal education because they knew that it would help them get a better education which would benefit them in many ways. Through proper education, they would have a lower chance of being homeless, poor, and having a criminal record. “They were less likely to live in poverty. They were more likely to graduate from college. They earned more money as adults. They were less likely to be involved in the criminal justice system. And they even were healthier and lived longer. That’s really what desegregation was designed to do and that’s how desegregation worked in the places where we tried” (Hannah-Jones). Black kids get the same education and resources that white kids get if they go to the same school.
In the North, whites were very against the busing system because they did not want to be desegregated. Although they could not say that they wanted whites and blacks to be separate, they used how the school in their neighborhood is convenient and they should not have to have their kids bus across the city. “The problem is when busing is being ordered in the North when black kids are being bused into white neighborhoods, which means white kids are still in their neighborhood schools, those black kids are being met with violence” (Hannah-Jones). This makes it difficult for black children in the North to go to school because of the atmosphere they need to face daily. They experience bullying and racism while trying to get a better education. Showing the history of desegregation in the North is important because it shows how people struggle to accept people of other races. We tend to say things so that people will believe it to be true, but when we need to put it into action, it is ten times harder to do it. An example of this is when the North celebrated over the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, but when the laws were set, they were against the ruling. Meanwhile in the Southern states. “Most white people in the South, once they were forced to, simply dealt with it” (Hannah-Jones).
The main message we must bring with us to the future is to understand the meaning of integration and being able to implement solutions to better society. “Integration means one can look across a school system and not see blacks schools or white schools, but simply schools” (Hannah-Jones). To get to this stage, we must learn about the factors that made an impact on our history, no matter how big or small. This means knowing about the resistance and school integration in both Southern and Northern states. We must learn from our past mistakes to prevent future problems. This is why the history of the Northern states is important to know.
In “The Problem We All Live With”, Nicole Hannah-Jones focuses on the high school where Michael Brown went to. This podcast made me realize the problem with racism is still very relevant today. The bad schools never caught up to the good schools because the poor community did not have the correct resources available. “What integration does is it gets black kids in the same facilities as white kids, and therefore it gets them access to the same things that those kids get — quality teachers and quality instruction” (Hannah-Jones). Many black communities do not have as much money to give their children better books, teachers, or classes to help better their education. In 2014, the US Department of Education showed that black and Latino kids in segregated schools have the least qualified teachers, the least experienced teachers, worst course offerings, and least access to AP and upper-level courses (Hannah-Jones). This makes it difficult for the students to get into a good college and get a good job down the road. When the schools in Normandy closed down, the kids finally got a chance to get a better education where the white communities were. From the shutting down of schools, desegregation began to occur, although no one would have said that today.
For Michael Brown’s mom, education was the forefront problem in her mind. Even when her son got shot, she knew that education was unfair to the black community and they had to work hard to get even near the status that whites have. The white community would have never thought of education is a struggle to achieve and that would not be the first thing a white parent would say when something happens to their child. By the statement that Michael Brown’s mother said, Hannah-Jones was intrigued about the unequal education that black students attain.
Mah’Ria Pruitt-Martin was a student who went to the school that Michael Brown went to. She experienced the school becoming unaccredited and had to bus to a school in a white community each day. Before this even happened, many parents in the white community were afraid that the black students would bring the test scores down and that violence would rise. This struck Mah’Ria because this was not supposed to be a problem that we face today, but sadly it is. Through the conference, we can see first-hand experience racism and how it still exists today. Mah’Ria was afraid to go to the white school, but she knew she had to to get the education she needs. “…when I got there, they had their little cheerleading squad cheering for us when we walked through the door — “Welcome to Francis Howell.” cheers like that” (Mah-Ria). What was surprising was that the teachers knew what happened at the conference and they wanted the black students to feel welcome. Although there is still racism, there are people that are more open to change and are taking action. The generation with the students also was noticeably different even if some black students had a hard time adjusting. There was less bullying and racial slurs because the white students started to get educated and learned what was right and what was wrong. “Every day a student attends an unaccredited school, the child could suffer harm that cannot be repaired” (Hannah-Jones). This makes it difficult for students because they are losing out on the days of education and are falling behind in school.
The students at Next Generation Scholars seem to be getting a good education based on the kids we have tutored, but if it wasn’t for Next Generation Scholars, many of them would not be at the place of education they are today. Through tutoring, they can get many resources and better access to upper-level courses. I wonder how the kids would be if it weren’t for NGS. The community that some of them are in is not in the best areas where they can get the best education. Without needing to worry about the cost of NGS, the parents can focus on providing for the kids and have a peace of mind that their kids are getting the education that they deserve. Hannah- Jones mentions how black kids do not get the right education because of the improper, but with proper education, they can live healthier and longer and have a higher chance of succeeding in life. NGS is the foundation to support the kids’ education and will be a great impact on the kids lives even if they may not be aware of it.
