Separate Is Not Equal

Extended Comments of Jaclyn's Post

For this post I am going to work off of Jaclyn’s thoughts from her blog.  When reading her blog I agreed with all of her ideas and these ideas also made me think even deeper into the works we are focusing on. 

Jaclyn started her post remembering how she learned about Brown V. Board of Education throughout her schooling and how it never clicked that segregation is still something that we deal with on an everyday basis.  Like her, I would have to say the same thing.  Obviously now that we are older we see incidents of racism more often, but as a younger child when learning about this important topic it was almost like we just learned about it as a past event, something that is over with. 

Jaclyn proposes the question, “you have to wonder has racism truly ended?”  Honestly, I do not think it has.  This can be seen throughout the many readings we have done this semester and also through the video interview with Tim Wise.  During this interview, Tim Wise focuses on how black individuals are just as bright as everyone else.  But, as Jaclyn points out, how in order to stand out they must attend an exceptional school and receive a perfect GPA to be accepted while a white individual can attend any school, receive any grade and still be equally accepted.  I related Jaclyn’s thoughts on this idea to the “standard” Wise brings up.  He states that the standard for blacks is that they have to be truly exceptional to be successful.  Like Jaclyn wonders, I too wonder if this racial difference will ever be done with?

Another point that is brought up in Jaclyn’s blog is Wise’s idea that, “work still needs to be done”.  Wise brings up Brown V. Board of Education in part two of the interview.  He relates this step with the first black president to Brown V. Board of Education.  I love the idea that not one event changed the issue of segregation but each of these important events plays a role.  This is the next step but so much work still needs to be completed.

Besides the interview with Wise, the article by Bob Herbert also relates directly to the idea of segregation and how it still does exist.  When I read this article I thought back to when we read “Amazing Grace” by Jonathon Kozol.  In this article, Kozol speaks of a town that is in extreme poverty and is not considered a safe place for its citizens.  Whether these children were black or white, they went to school together but that is not necessarily the point.  Herbert states, “studies have shown that it is not the race of the students that is significant, but rather the improved, all-around environment of schools with better teachers, fewer classroom disruptions, pupils who are more engaged academically, parents who are more involved, and so on”.  This along with the rest of the article relate to Mott Haven.  Just because the individuals who live there are poor they are separate from middle class students in schools.  Their schooling is separate and unequal.  They should receive the same opportunities as everyone else.  Although I mostly related this article back to Kozols thoughts, when I read Jaclyn’s blog I also then began to relate it to our service learning like she did.  Even though it may be impossible, if the students in poorer sections had the opportunity to attend school with students in a higher class their academic achievements may increase.  I know that in my service-learning classroom there is a lot of disruption from some individuals which then affects others chances of learning. All in all, nowadays segregation doesn’t necessarily have to be by color but by the community an individual lives in.  We shouldn’t let this determine a young students future.  Everyone should have an equal opportunity.  

The link attached to "not one event" gives a variety of different things that have occurred while working to stop segregation.