What Are the Real Problems with American Public Schools?
By Roberta
Part 4 Racial Politics
On February 12, 1698, "The first public school in the America Colonies was established at Philadelphia, and a corporation created, entitled 'The Overseers of the Publick Schoole founded in Philadelphia.' In this school it was ordered by the governor and Council: 'All children and servants, (empahsis mine) male and female, whose parents, guardians and masters be willing (emphasis mine) to subject ym to the rules and orders of the said schoole, shall from time to time, with the approbaon of the overseers thereof for the time being, be received or admitted, taught or instructed; the rich at reasonable rates, and the poor to be maintained and schooled for nothing.'"
However, few masters allowed black children to go to these schools. In a letter to John Waring, Benjamin Franklin, himself a slave owner, delineated the reasons many white masters refused to allow black children to go to school. These included, prejudice, that reading and knowledge is useless and dangerous for slaves, and that other white parents would be disgusted. (I am not saying Franklin was racist. He was stating reasons. In later years Franklin was against slavery.)
Even in colonial America it seems public education of black children was a racially charged issue.
In 1774 the Quakers opened a school for black children in Philadelphia. After the Revolutionary War the movement to educate black children in Philadelphia grew and eventually there were seven black schools. In New York State black children could attend public schools, but many black parents refused to send their children because of the abuse heaped on their children. So while black children were not denied public education in the north, "black schools struggled to stay afloat under constant financial hardship and lack of white support." (Source: The Slave Experience, PBS)
As late as 1834 Connecticut passed a law making it illegal to provide a free education for black students. Quaker Prudence Crandall refused to obey this law and was arrested and imprisoned. It is worth reading is the full story of this brave woman.
In pre-Civil War southern states education of black children was generally only
in urban areas. But the various slave rebellions (Stono, Gabriel Prosser's to cite a few) ended all schooling of most black children in the south. Mississippi went so far as to pass a law that required all free blacks to leave the state so that they could not educate slaves. Slave owners were concerned that a literate slave could forge passes or stir up future rebellions. In 1740 South Carolina enacted one of the earliest laws expressly prohibiting teaching a slave to read (except for a Bible) or write. Severe monetary fines were imposed if you were caught teaching a slave. After Nat Turner's revolt in 1831 many southern states strengthened these laws. By 1835, the public education of all African-Americans in the south was strictly prohibited. (Source: Wikipedia)
After the Civil War during reconstruction blacks themselves often took the initiative through the Freedmen's Bureau and other benevolent groups in the south to purchase land, construct buildings, and hire teachers. (Source: America's Reconstruction website) Many southern whites were not moved by this love and passion for education by ex-slaves; they burned their schools and taunted and beat white teachers who taught black students. (Source: African American Schools for Dummies)
After Reconstruction the federal government took no interest in educating black Americans. In fact, in the landmark 1896 decision in Plessey Vs Ferguson the Supreme Court institutionalized separate but equal, Jim Crowe laws for another 60 years. Separate but equal per pupil funding meant that in South Carolina in 1930 white per pupil spending was $52.89 but only $5.70 for black children. Black teachers earned one-third what their white counterparts made. This disparity still exists today and was dealt with in Part 2 of this series, Income Wealth and Inequality: The Resegregation of American Schools.
In 1954 in Brown v. Board of Education the Supreme Court declared separate but equal schools unconstitutional. The following year, in 1955 economist Milton Friedman wrote an article proposing freedom of choice in schools and endorsed vouchers to achieve choice. Also in 1955 the Supremes announced a decision, known as Brown II, outlining their plan for implementing racial desegregation schools. The plan simply remanded the cases to district courts with orders to integrate the schools, 'with all deliberate speed.' As it turned out, there was far more deliberation than speed.
What followed in the nation, but mostly in southern states, was attempt after attempt after attempt to evade the Brown decision using the courts, segregation academies , outright formal massive resistance, and attempts to use school choice and vouchers as a way to keep separate but equal schools.
The website, Exploring Constitutional Conflicts says, "State Governors stood in schoolhouse doors and angry whites terrorized blacks. In some places, such as at Little Rock's Central High, integration was only achieved after a powerful show of force by federal troops. In one of the school districts involved in the 1954 school desegregation cases, Prince Edward, Virginia, county officials decided to actually close all public schools in the district rather than integrate. Tuition benefits were provided to children to attend private schools. There was a catch. All private schools operating in Prince Edward County had white-only admission policies.
Source of picture:
"U.S. Troops escort African American students from Central High School, Little Rock, Arkansas,
October 3, 1957.
Gelatin silver print.
New York World-Telegram & Sun Collection,
Prints and Photographs Division (130B)"
Although all of these numerous attempts to circumvent Brown were eventually struck down by the courts, they delayed full implementation of Brown by at least ten years. For an excellent account of many of these delaying tactics by
states and school districts, complete with pictures and individual stories of the children, schools, and politicians involved, go to this link. I watched many of these incidents unfold as a child, sometimes live on TV, in newspapers, and on TV evening newscasts.
Many politicians shamelessly used Brown to win public office, including the highest office of the land, the Presidency. Nixon's cynical southern strategy and his law and order campaign were thinly veiled appeals segregationists. This was also the decade that saw nominating Supreme Court justices become so polarizing, due to the hated Brown decision.
Fifty-five years after Brown most minorities still attend schools where they are still in the majority. Does this mean that Brown did not work? Does this mean that integration of public schools failed? In an interview on PBS television, Roger Wilkins says, "No." As a product of a legally segregated school system Wilkins says, "Brown was enormously effective because the thing that made segregation so awful was that the government...said it was right to treat us badly. Brown flipped it and took the government from the wrong side and put it on our side. And that just made the civil rights movement explode. So Brown accomplished an awful lot."
In the same interview Sheryl Cashin said, "The chief victory is that average Americans everywhere now embrace the view that America should be a free, open, integrationist society where no one is limited in their access to education or jobs or whatever, based on their race." You can get the entire transcript of the interview of Wilkins, Cashin and others here.
Racial politics still exist in American schools. We see it in schools still segregated by race and economics causing unequal educational opportunities. Court decisions do not right all wrongs or make things perfect. Brown was one step, although a huge one, on the long road to creating what Jefferson called, "a more perfect union."
Part 4 Racial Politics
On February 12, 1698, "The first public school in the America Colonies was established at Philadelphia, and a corporation created, entitled 'The Overseers of the Publick Schoole founded in Philadelphia.' In this school it was ordered by the governor and Council: 'All children and servants, (empahsis mine) male and female, whose parents, guardians and masters be willing (emphasis mine) to subject ym to the rules and orders of the said schoole, shall from time to time, with the approbaon of the overseers thereof for the time being, be received or admitted, taught or instructed; the rich at reasonable rates, and the poor to be maintained and schooled for nothing.'"
However, few masters allowed black children to go to these schools. In a letter to John Waring, Benjamin Franklin, himself a slave owner, delineated the reasons many white masters refused to allow black children to go to school. These included, prejudice, that reading and knowledge is useless and dangerous for slaves, and that other white parents would be disgusted. (I am not saying Franklin was racist. He was stating reasons. In later years Franklin was against slavery.)
Even in colonial America it seems public education of black children was a racially charged issue.
In 1774 the Quakers opened a school for black children in Philadelphia. After the Revolutionary War the movement to educate black children in Philadelphia grew and eventually there were seven black schools. In New York State black children could attend public schools, but many black parents refused to send their children because of the abuse heaped on their children. So while black children were not denied public education in the north, "black schools struggled to stay afloat under constant financial hardship and lack of white support." (Source: The Slave Experience, PBS)
As late as 1834 Connecticut passed a law making it illegal to provide a free education for black students. Quaker Prudence Crandall refused to obey this law and was arrested and imprisoned. It is worth reading is the full story of this brave woman.
In pre-Civil War southern states education of black children was generally only
in urban areas. But the various slave rebellions (Stono, Gabriel Prosser's to cite a few) ended all schooling of most black children in the south. Mississippi went so far as to pass a law that required all free blacks to leave the state so that they could not educate slaves. Slave owners were concerned that a literate slave could forge passes or stir up future rebellions. In 1740 South Carolina enacted one of the earliest laws expressly prohibiting teaching a slave to read (except for a Bible) or write. Severe monetary fines were imposed if you were caught teaching a slave. After Nat Turner's revolt in 1831 many southern states strengthened these laws. By 1835, the public education of all African-Americans in the south was strictly prohibited. (Source: Wikipedia)
After the Civil War during reconstruction blacks themselves often took the initiative through the Freedmen's Bureau and other benevolent groups in the south to purchase land, construct buildings, and hire teachers. (Source: America's Reconstruction website) Many southern whites were not moved by this love and passion for education by ex-slaves; they burned their schools and taunted and beat white teachers who taught black students. (Source: African American Schools for Dummies)
After Reconstruction the federal government took no interest in educating black Americans. In fact, in the landmark 1896 decision in Plessey Vs Ferguson the Supreme Court institutionalized separate but equal, Jim Crowe laws for another 60 years. Separate but equal per pupil funding meant that in South Carolina in 1930 white per pupil spending was $52.89 but only $5.70 for black children. Black teachers earned one-third what their white counterparts made. This disparity still exists today and was dealt with in Part 2 of this series, Income Wealth and Inequality: The Resegregation of American Schools.
In 1954 in Brown v. Board of Education the Supreme Court declared separate but equal schools unconstitutional. The following year, in 1955 economist Milton Friedman wrote an article proposing freedom of choice in schools and endorsed vouchers to achieve choice. Also in 1955 the Supremes announced a decision, known as Brown II, outlining their plan for implementing racial desegregation schools. The plan simply remanded the cases to district courts with orders to integrate the schools, 'with all deliberate speed.' As it turned out, there was far more deliberation than speed.
What followed in the nation, but mostly in southern states, was attempt after attempt after attempt to evade the Brown decision using the courts, segregation academies , outright formal massive resistance, and attempts to use school choice and vouchers as a way to keep separate but equal schools.
The website, Exploring Constitutional Conflicts says, "State Governors stood in schoolhouse doors and angry whites terrorized blacks. In some places, such as at Little Rock's Central High, integration was only achieved after a powerful show of force by federal troops. In one of the school districts involved in the 1954 school desegregation cases, Prince Edward, Virginia, county officials decided to actually close all public schools in the district rather than integrate. Tuition benefits were provided to children to attend private schools. There was a catch. All private schools operating in Prince Edward County had white-only admission policies.
Source of picture:
"U.S. Troops escort African American students from Central High School, Little Rock, Arkansas,
October 3, 1957.
Gelatin silver print.
New York World-Telegram & Sun Collection,
Prints and Photographs Division (130B)"
Although all of these numerous attempts to circumvent Brown were eventually struck down by the courts, they delayed full implementation of Brown by at least ten years. For an excellent account of many of these delaying tactics by
states and school districts, complete with pictures and individual stories of the children, schools, and politicians involved, go to this link. I watched many of these incidents unfold as a child, sometimes live on TV, in newspapers, and on TV evening newscasts.
Many politicians shamelessly used Brown to win public office, including the highest office of the land, the Presidency. Nixon's cynical southern strategy and his law and order campaign were thinly veiled appeals segregationists. This was also the decade that saw nominating Supreme Court justices become so polarizing, due to the hated Brown decision.
Fifty-five years after Brown most minorities still attend schools where they are still in the majority. Does this mean that Brown did not work? Does this mean that integration of public schools failed? In an interview on PBS television, Roger Wilkins says, "No." As a product of a legally segregated school system Wilkins says, "Brown was enormously effective because the thing that made segregation so awful was that the government...said it was right to treat us badly. Brown flipped it and took the government from the wrong side and put it on our side. And that just made the civil rights movement explode. So Brown accomplished an awful lot."
In the same interview Sheryl Cashin said, "The chief victory is that average Americans everywhere now embrace the view that America should be a free, open, integrationist society where no one is limited in their access to education or jobs or whatever, based on their race." You can get the entire transcript of the interview of Wilkins, Cashin and others here.
Racial politics still exist in American schools. We see it in schools still segregated by race and economics causing unequal educational opportunities. Court decisions do not right all wrongs or make things perfect. Brown was one step, although a huge one, on the long road to creating what Jefferson called, "a more perfect union."
Labels: American Education, public schools, segregation
posted by John Smart at
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
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