Renaming a building not enough
It was hard not to notice the irony in Monday's naming of the state Department of Education building in Trenton after former U.S. District Court Judge Robert L. Carter. Carter, an 89-year-old New Jersey native, argued for the appellants in the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education case, which outlawed segregation in public schools.
Unfortunately, school segregation is alive and well in New Jersey. A study by The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University earlier this year again confirmed the state's standing as one of the most segregated in the nation.
On most segregation measures, New Jersey ranks fifth or sixth. Only 25 percent of black public school students in New Jersey attend schools in which whites are in the majority. That's worse than Mississippi (26 percent), Louisiana and Texas (27 percent), and Georgia and Alabama (30 percent). Only 28 percent of Latino students are enrolled in schools in which whites constitute the majority. Only four states have lower percentages - California, Texas, New Mexico and New York. (For the full Civil Rights Project report, click here: http://www.civilrightsproject.harvard.edu/research/deseg/Racial_Transformation.pdf)
If state officials are serious about honoring Carter and his work, they should first reread the state constitution. New Jersey's constitution is just one of two in the nation that specifically prohibits segregation in the schools. Instead of pouring more money into the state's poorest (i.e., most segregated) districts, it should start talking about ways to desegregate them. It would save money, improve academic achievement and offer more than lip service to the notion that all kids deserve equal educational opportunities.
Unfortunately, school segregation is alive and well in New Jersey. A study by The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University earlier this year again confirmed the state's standing as one of the most segregated in the nation.
On most segregation measures, New Jersey ranks fifth or sixth. Only 25 percent of black public school students in New Jersey attend schools in which whites are in the majority. That's worse than Mississippi (26 percent), Louisiana and Texas (27 percent), and Georgia and Alabama (30 percent). Only 28 percent of Latino students are enrolled in schools in which whites constitute the majority. Only four states have lower percentages - California, Texas, New Mexico and New York. (For the full Civil Rights Project report, click here: http://www.civilrightsproject.harvard.edu/research/deseg/Racial_Transformation.pdf)
If state officials are serious about honoring Carter and his work, they should first reread the state constitution. New Jersey's constitution is just one of two in the nation that specifically prohibits segregation in the schools. Instead of pouring more money into the state's poorest (i.e., most segregated) districts, it should start talking about ways to desegregate them. It would save money, improve academic achievement and offer more than lip service to the notion that all kids deserve equal educational opportunities.
posted by Randy Bergmann at 1:55 PM
1 Comments:
Segregation means that there are all whites in the white school and that there are all blacks in the black schools. Segregation is not defined by your dishonest sleight of hand with percentages. by your definition, a school with 301 blacks and 299 whites would be a segregated school. The absurdity of such blatant dishonesty is simply astounding.
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