Still Unequal

What? Hannah-Jones challenges the myth that a busing system failed to desegregate schools. She explains that, “busing was actually the most effective tool. And it was the most effective because it was the most immediate” (Hannah-Jones). People fought busing so hard because, “we really didn’t want to desegregate our schools. We just wanted to pretend that we wanted to” (Hannah-Jones). Busing was an immediate fix where building more accessible schools for all races was more long-term. Busing kids into other schools to make them desegregated was a quick fix that parents weren’t expecting. They didn’t really want their kids going to school with black children so they used busing as an excuse to protest. Telling a fuller story about the North and South is effective because in history the South is viewed as the problemed area when that isn’t necessarily true. Like Hannah-Jones said in the article, the North didn’t really think they were involved in the Brown vs Board of Education ruling. They also saw the South as the problem and they didn’t think they had to follow the rules as well. Having the reader know racist ideology in education was happening in the North as well gives a more equal viewing on the North and South in that time period. The North had segregation problems too. Hannah-Jones also said the South did a better job of abiding by the new ruling because they had turned around in 10 years and had most black students desegregation and going to school with white students. It was harder for the North because it was more densely populated and there were more logistics to be figured out. Also, the North was established differently from the South. There was housing segregation which made educational desegregation much more difficult.

So what? Michael Brown’s educational career and what happened to him reflects how black people are still treated in our society. Michael went to a mostly black high school in a very poor neighborhood. His school did not have the resources to afford good teachers, up to date textbooks, and other supplies that are taken for granted by most of America. As his mother said, it was really difficult to keep these kids in school. Because of the lack of resources, grades and test scores did not match the richer mostly white schools around the area. This happens a lot in our society. Schools end up being mostly one race or the other because of socioeconomics and therefore whichever school has more of the dominant group gets more money. Also, police brutality is a huge issue in our society. Michael Brown was the death that made Black Lives Matter decide to take action. Since then, there have been several more deaths where black people have been unarmed and non-threatening. This relates back to the video we watched in class with the story of Kenny. The police just assumed he was guilty because of his skin color and were convinced he was lying when he said he didn't have any drugs. He had to tell the police he was a college student so they would release him. The TSA airport story is another example of people just assuming blacks are a threat when society has created that preconceived notion. People keep asking for change and argue that education will change the way our society is structured. However, simply discussing it in class is not going to do any good. Actions are what make change occur. Words can definitely inspire change but actions create change.

Now what? My community service partner is Canal Alliance ESL. Most people in the canal area are low-income LantiX families. There is a large concentration of Guatemalan students in my classroom. Most of the men are construction workers, painters, gardeners, or handymen and most of the women are caretakers, maids, or just stay at home moms. There is one girl in my class who goes to a local high school. I would like to know how other students and teachers at the high school reacted to her when she started there and how they view her. Do they only see her as a non-English speaker or do they see her as herself and what she has to offer? Are there other kids who are not in my ESL class in her high school classes? If so, are all non-English speakers seen the same at the high school? All these questions have to do with if they are treated equally in school or not. Are they seen differently because they are LatinX or because their first language isn’t English? Do they get bullied by other students? Do their teachers have microaggressions? The fact that these questions arise is ridiculous. It shouldn’t matter what economic class you are or if your first language is Spanish or what skin color you have. Everyone should be treated the same with equal respect. Unfortunately, we have to ask these questions to try and solve the problem all of us have contributed to but deny.