On law which shall abridge the privileges or

On law which shall abridge the privileges or

On May 17, 1954 the United States Supreme Court struck down the separate but equal doctrine in American public schools (Willoughby 40).

The Constitution of the United States of America, Amendment XVI states that: All persons born or naturalized in the United States of America, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make ore enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.Segregation is a violation of this amendment; therefore, making it unconstitutional. If segregation is unconstitutional then why is segregation still present in our school system?Racial segregation is strongly linked to segregation by class: nearly 90 percent ofintensely segregated schools for Blacks and Latinos are also schools in which at least half of the student body is economically disadvantaged.

These schools are traditionally associated with fewer resources, fewer advanced course offerings, more inexperienced teachers and lower average test scores. At the same time, despite the unequal resources that are traditionally associated with high poverty and minority schools, students in these schools are being subjected to increasingly rigorous testing that can have serious stakes attached for student promotion and graduation (Orfield 58). The individual States do not want admit that segregation is present in our schools; therefore, no responsibility is being taken. Schools that have a high percentage of drugs, violence and gangs are mostly occupied by Blacks and Hispanics. “Separate and unequal continues. More that 80 percent of Black and Latino segregated schools are in high poverty areas, compared with 5 percent of segregated white schools” (Willoughby 46).

An example of segregation or classification in my city of El Paso, TX is the Westside, Northeast and Eastside. The Westside is classified as having a high percentage of whites living in that area. The schools on the Westside are much more economically advanced then those in the Northeast and Lower Valley. The Northeast is classified with a high percentage of blacks. The schools in the Northeast are associated with gangs, drugs and violence. They are not nearly as economically advanced as the Westside. The Lower Valley is classified as having a high percentage of Hispanics and like the Northeast, there are a high number of gangs, violence and drugs and the schools are not as economically advanced.

Since the Brown vs. Board of Education decision it was assumed that segregation would finish. “The decision rested on an assumption that simply wasn’t true: that once segregation ended, equal educational opportunities would be the result. A half century later, school segregation is far from dead and the goal of educational equality is as elusive as ever” (Cose 55).

Because of government will not take responsibility for segregation there are ways in which it can be prevented. The ramifications caused by segregation create many problems: “Derrick Bell points out that, even without compulsory segregation, millions of African-American children continue to attend all-black schools, and often receive a second-rate education, or worse. In the nation’s urban centers millions of African-American are jobless, badly educated, and without marketable skills, and are thus propelled into crime, domestic violence, and, ultimately, despair” (Sunstein 105).The States need to recognize the condition of our segregated schools and the affects it has on the students, then they need to develop a plan to improve these schools. “Black students are the most likely racial group to attend what researchers call apartheid schools,’ schools that are virtually all non-white and where poverty, limited resources, social strife and health problems abound. One-sixth of America’s black students attend these schools” (Orfield 58).

There needs to be more promotion and financial support should be provided to programs that are currently studying segregated schools. All grants should be distributed equally as well as all schools should be built financially equal. The government can repair its faults of segregation in schools by increasing the amount of funds to highly affected schools of segregation.

There are people who oppose the reparation of segregation. “Justice Stanley F. Reed was skeptical of overturning segregation. Negroes have not thoroughly assimilated segregation was for the benefit of both blacks and whites and states should be left to work out the problem for themselves” (Sunstein 102)Segregation in this century is not straight forward as it was during the early and mid 1900’s, but it is occurring. Individuals choose where to live and that decision determines the type of education their children will receive. The cost of living in areas where economically advantaged schools are located is high and not everybody can afford that life style. If schools were built financially equal with the same style of education offered at every school regardless of area then, segregation would not be a problem today.