Racism Of African Americans In American Public High Schools

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Racism of African Americans in American Public High Schools
Over the years racism has been a subject deemed to be slowly becoming extinct due to globalization. However, technological advancement and migration has not quenched people’s selfish desire to belong to a specific color. Ethnicity still has deep roots in America and across the world. Individuals define themselves on the basis of race rather than their professional prowess. Employment, schooling and interaction have also taken part based on racial affiliations. Evidently, race is here to stay but with dire consequences on those affected. America has had a history of racial discrimination especially between the whites and the blacks. Obama’s presidency has barely changed the mindset of many Americans in school systems and societal relationships. Racism and white supremacy still exist in the 21st century. Therefore, this paper analyzes racism with a focus on the African Americans in American public schools. It also evaluates the history and effects of racism on Black children.
Historically, Black children have had a different schooling experience compared to their White counterparts. Ani narrates that Black children receive poor quality materials, incongruent pedagogical and curricular methods and limited resources (408). Moreover, Black children face extreme inequality in schools that result in them dropping out of such schools. Nonetheless, racism did not start today. Ancient systems greatly contributed to the modern forms of racism. For instance, in 1849, the Supreme Court in Massachusetts made segregation of schools permissible, “separate but equal” (PBS). In 1850s, African Americans were termed as inferior to the Whites and had no rights in accordance to the Supreme Court ruling. The courts and government that were meant to protect and ensure equality of all citizens in access to resources were the same entities that harnessed racial discrimination.
The high number of desegregation cases in American courts is proof of the eminent nature of racism. For instance, between 1955 and 1969, there were more than 200 hearings on school desegregation by federal judges. The Master Timeline states, “A study by Harvard’s Civil Rights Project finds that schools were more segregated in 2000 than in 1970 when busing for desegregation began.” The court has been caught between making laws that promote segregation amidst efforts to desegregate the public-school systems. For instance, the Supreme Court in 1970s ordered the desegregation of Boston Public Schools due to high levels of violent resistance by whites to the desegregation injunction. The order led to withdrawal of white children from integrated schools. Racism led to the supreme court in North Carolina to inhibit public school systems as a way of avoiding desegregation. In essence, the constitution has laid down laws on racial prejudice but the societal beliefs and misconception on race is prevalent.
A report by the Los Angeles Sentinel indicates that 98% of 4,000 students in South Gate Middle School are Hispanic. Without the presence of racial discrimination, the school should have equal ratio balance across all ethnic groupings. Further, the report shows a student by the name Michael being assaulted through spray-painting and battery for being a different color (Los Angeles Sentinel). This case illustrates the fact that racism is double-sided. Most incidences revolve around Blacks being assaulted and discriminated against by the whites. However, the increased intensity of racial discrimination has led to both parties looking for ways to protect themselves against their racial rivals. On the stated case, an African American teacher says, “It has been 30 years since the Civil Rights Movement and African Americans are still being disrespected and denied opportunities because we choose to speak out against racism, rather than allowing it to defeat us” (2). Schools have been the avenue for exploitation of both the teachers and children.
Behavioral misconception based on race is another factor that Black students face. At the exposure of students to similar circumstances, black students tend to be criminalized unlike white students. Cokley stipulates that it is three times more likely for Black boys to get a suspension than White boys. Also, black girls face a four times likelihood of being suspended than white girls. Further, the author states that criminalization of black students’ misbehavior is high. Racial profiling of black students is undoubtable with the high percentage of them being suspended and arrested. Statistics indicate that over 48 percent of black students receive a suspension. They account for 27 percent of referrals to law enforcement and 31 percent of black students get arrested yet they only account for 18 percent of total students’ enrollment CITATION Cok16 \l 1033 (Cokley).
Schooling systems have become the hatching grounds for racial discrimination in workplaces and society. The harsh, unequal treatment of students based on color reflects on their behaviors in future which creates a class and race segregated community. In 2014, the U. S Education Department did a survey whose findings saw students of color in public schools getting more punishment and limited access to veteran teachers compared to their white peers CITATION Joy14 \l 1033 (Resmovits). According to the report, 16 percent of black students were suspended annually compared to 5 percent of white students CITATION Joy14 \l 1033 (Resmovits).
Effects of racism on African Americans
Discrimination affects the psychological, emotional and physical development of children. Mistreatment of blacks due to their color severely injures their emotional wellbeing. For instance, Michael was racially targeted by South Gate Middle School students who according to the report, put ink on his clothes, poured chocolate milk on him and glue on his hair (Los Angeles Sentinel). The treatment would hinder Michael from attending school, make him experience inferiority complexity and lead to poor academic performance. Apart from students, teachers also face discrimination that affect their work delivery. The teachers in the Los Angeles report states that they faced insults geared at their professional capability, contravention of their civil and constitutional rights and renunciation of teaching opportunities (Los Angeles Sentinel, 2).
Inadequate access to education also results from racial discrimination. The historical timeline outlines lack of American public schools offering English lessons for non-English speakers in the 1970s. This led to Chinese students who were non-English speakers filling a suit against San Francisco. The school district failed to provide instructions in English for non-English speakers. Such violations would hinder non-English speakers who are mostly non-white fail to attend school due to the fear of not communicating caused by a language barrier. The inadequacy also arises due to limited number of teachers who are less qualified and paid less to perform similar tasks as their white peers. Despite several attempts by the government to equalize education and ban school segregation like the 1964 Civil Rights Act that guaranteed equality in education access, less has been achieved. Resmovits clearly indicates that the U.S Secretary for education personally acknowledged the existence of racism in schools. The Secretary stated, “It is clear that the U.S has a great distance to go to meet our goal of pro...