Segregation Throughout American School Districts

The rulings of Brown v. Board of Education came out on May 7, 1954, almost 67 years ago. Unfortunately, American schools still face many of the same problems that plagued the country more than half a century ago, one of which is the deep racial segregation and profiling throughout public schools. Ultimately, the quality of education received by American students depends on where they live, which further emphasizes socioeconomic disparities: the wealthy receive better education and gain high-earning job positions, while poor families continue to stay below the poverty line. 

Many Americans still hold onto a utopian view regarding racism: first, there was slavery in the south; then, the Civil War occurred; a few years later, civil rights came and African Americans no longer face racism. However, although segregation is illegal, centuries of racism and oppression have been deeply embedded into the fundamental structure of our nation. The Problem We All Live With is a podcast that details how a crumbling school district negatively affected several African American families in the heavily segregated city of St. Louis. This podcast depicts how the Normandy school district lost its accreditation and was forced to provide students with an alternate school to attend. Personally, I believe the Normandy school district did not fail: instead, it was the system the school district was built upon that failed. The Normandy school district was placed in a poor community that did not receive adequate funding to get better equipment, hire better teachers, or access better teaching materials. 

The Normandy school district ended up choosing the Francis Howell district, a school district made up of over 85% white students. Parents in the Francs Howell district were furious about this decision and stormed into the city hall to articulate their beliefs. While listening to this portion of the podcast, it’s hard to believe what these parents are saying directly to middle school students. The phrasing, tone, and diction the parents use to send a simple message: we don’t want you here. However, the most infuriating part of the town hall meeting was the excuses the parents used to proclaim their “non-racist” statements. For instance, one woman stated, “my husband and I both have worked and lived in underprivileged areas in our jobs. This is not a race issue. And I just want to say to-- if she's even still here-- the first woman who came up here and cried that it was a race issue, I'm sorry, that's her prejudice calling me a racist because my skin is white and I'm concerned about my children's education and safety.” It’s almost ironic how this parent stated that she wasn’t racist more than three times in such a brief statement; from the outside perspective, it looks as if she’s trying to convince herself that she isn’t racist as much as she’s trying to convince the audience. In essence, the entire town hall meeting was an echo chamber of the same ideas being thrown around over and over again. A parent makes a blanket statement about why their concerned and why their statement isn’t racially motivated. The sad reality of this situation is that while they were advocating against black students, a young African American student from the Normandy school district was listening in. 

In the end, none of the parent’s concerns became reality; the African American students integrated into the school without any issues, and the school’s academic standings did not change. Although the city meeting seemed to be a simple hurdle African American students had to overcome, it helps emphasize how the idea of racial segregation and prejudice is so deeply ingrained in America. The parents that spoke at the city meeting that day are the same parents that were directly affected by the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, which is frightening to consider how little has changed within thirty years. Soon, another wave of students from our generation will grow up embodying many of the same racial ideas that encompassed their parents, causing a never-ending cycle to be born. In order to stop this vicious cycle, change must be implemented on the local level: lower-income schools must receive more funding and more integration must be achieved. The time is now, change must happen.