ProPublica investigation ‘Segregation Now’ merges history with reality for one Tuscaloosa family
In the well-known 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, the Supreme Court justices affirmed that “separate but equal” was anything but what it claimed to be.
“We conclude that, in the field of public education, the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place,” Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote. “Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.”
Yet, the battles to end the statutes embedded in the Jim Crow South were far from easy-going, and in fact, still find relevance in the 21st century United States.
Two years ago Nikole Hannah-Jones wrote a piece for ProPublica titled “Segregation Now.” In it she unearths the manifold, and sometimes manipulative, legal proceedings —such as desegregation, gerrymandering, building schools in all white neighborhoods — in the education system in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
And she combines these historical complexities with the realities faced by three generations of the Dent family, from grandfather to granddaughter, as they each navigated through school in Tuscaloosa.
With every anecdote, and almost with every sentence, Hannah-Jones urges readers that, in short, segregation still occurs in schools similar to those found in Tuscaloosa, but integration provides a better outcome for students.
And Hannah-Jones uses these scenes of the Dent family’s life to progress the story and juxtapose Tuscaloosa today to the place it was 40 and 60 years ago.
The three sections of the story are divided by the three generations, which offers a circular starting and ending point for the sake of engaging the reader.
Granddaughter D’Leisha and her grandfather James Dent share similarities in their educational background; they both attended schools where minorities were the majority.
But James’s daughter Melissa, whose part comes in the middle of the piece, presents a necessary contrast because she went to Central High School — the same one her daughter attended — in the 80s when it was integrated and producing National Merit Scholars.
The piece allowed me to feel as if I were standing beside the eldest Dent as he watched the homecoming parade that his granddaughter was in or that I was sitting in the same classroom as D’Leisha and her classmates wrote an essay to prepare for their AP English exam.
To illustrate Hannah-Jones’s vivid writing not just for the sake of storytelling but with a purpose, I have included the following excerpt about the ACT — a test similar to the SAT:
"My biggest fear right now is the ACT," D'Leisha said. "I don't have a good score. It's been on my mind a lot." She described an ACT study session she'd attended last summer at a community college. "We were with kids from Northridge, and they knew things we didn't know," she said. "They had done things we hadn't done." D'Leisha wound a lock of hair around and around her index finger as she mulled what she just said. "I guess I'll just have to catch on fast, study, all that."
Everything about this piece digs into the issues of race and equality, and I admire stories that refuse to downplay these topics.
I also realize, however, that pieces of journalism pertaining to social justice issues must strike a balance between sincerity and the cold-hard facts. I think Hannah-Jones accomplishes this in “Segregation Now.”
My only critique is cosmetic. Some may find the graphic-heavy version distracting as they scroll through the story, but there is also a simple text variety available. Although in the text only version, the reader misses the timeline of historical events that runs parallel to the story. Depending on the day of the week and my attention span, I read the piece both ways.
After reading the story I could find no missing voices or untold perspectives, except perhaps in defense of the white families who chose to send their children to school elsewhere. But the story really isn’t about the white families or focused entirely on white flight, and Hannah-Jones does give the viewpoint of a white lady who is a former member and chair of the school board.
As I have lived in the South my entire life and been fortunate enough to attend diverse schools, I believe it is critical for stories telling the opposite of my own experience to be told. A discussion must be had if we want to achieve complete equality for all humans.
“How one would accomplish desegregation in an ideal world, I don’t have that answer.” He raised his age-speckled hands, palms up. “But before you have that ideal, human beings have to change attitudes,” said Judge Frank McFadden, who resided over a case in 1975 when the Department of Justice and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund took the Tuscaloosa City Schools to court.
Ultimately, I didn’t wish to dissect this piece because of the many accolades of its writer or the awards bestowed upon the writing itself. I chose to delve further into the journalistic aspects of Hannah-Jones’s work because after reading it, I have made it a life goal to produce a piece similar in scope and honesty.
I only hope that I will have the bravery to write it as thoroughly and with such an observant eye as Hannah-Jones did.
Conner Wood is a senior journalism major at the Center for Collaborative Journalism. She will be working with Teach for America in a North Carolina middle school after graduation.
