Yes

by Robin Landry

Created on: March 19, 2009

Throughout the history of the United States many attempts have been made to end segregation. The Fourteenth Amendment with its Equal Protection Clause first sought to ensure the rights of former slaves. Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 attacked the problem of separate and unequal schools. When I was a child growing up on the 1970s I can clearly recall the controversy surrounding forced busing in the Boston school system in an effort to achieve racial integration.

However, despite all of these legislative efforts schools and neighborhoods in many areas of the country still remain highly segregated today. In some cases, it would seem that the laws intended to remedy the situation have in fact exacerbated the problem. I think the question is not, "Does segregation still exist?" because, in far too many communities it clearly does. The real question should be, "Why does segregation exist and is it a problem?"

The situations which led to the implementation of legal remedies such as the Fourteenth Amendment, the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 were clearly wrong. My 76 year old mother still recalls having to catch a city bus alone at the age of five and ride seven blocks to a black school even though there was a white school within sight of her home. Both my parents clearly recall "Colored Only" hotels, water fountains, restrooms and movie theater seating. They also knew which restaurants to avoid because they would not be served.

However, despite this blatant discrimination in public spaces my parents and grandparents also recalled living in racially mixed neighborhoods and having had relatively cordial relationships with their Caucasian neighbors. Likewise, Linda Brown-Thompson, the daughter of Oliver Brown, one of the plaintiffs in the Brown v. Board of Education case recalled in a 2004 interview that her family lived in a very diverse neighborhood and that she had neighborhood playmates of various ethnic and racial backgrounds. It was only in school that they were separated.

Today, however, many schools and even some public spaces remain segregated, not as a matter of law or discrimination, but because people of different races simply don't live in close proximity to one another any longer. If we decide that this type of segregation is something that needs to be remedied then the integration of residential neighborhoods would probably provide the most natural solution.

Not all neighborhoods are highly segregated of course, at least not racially segregated, that is. The small Illinois city where I currently reside is a prime example. With a population of just over 100,000, two major universities (one public and one private) a significant number of both blue collar and white collar industries, and low unemployment even in the midst of the most recent economic crisis, many of the lower middle class to upper middle class neighborhoods are quite diverse. I work at the corporate headquarters of a large insurance company which employs roughly 15,000 people from the local area. The racial and ethnic mix within the company is representative of the area as a whole. As a result, African-American, Hispanic and Asian employees possess the income levels necessary to live comfortably in a variety of middle class neighborhoods around town. And because the white residents of those neighborhoods are already well acquainted with people of color in the workplace, there is generally not much in the way of strife or anxiety when a non-white family moves in.

As a result, schools and other public spaces, such as grocery stores, shopping malls and other entertainment venues display a racial balance that naturally results from people living and working together. Plus, the city embarked on an aggressive anti-discrimination campaign called "Not in Our Town" nearly fifteen years ago. While I have heard some residents question the effectiveness of the "Not in Our Town" campaign, as an African-American who lived in Bloomington-Normal prior to 1995 and then returned a decade later I can attest to the fact that there is a palpable difference in the racial climate within the community. Acceptance of racial and ethnic diversity is greatly improved over the situation that existed when I initially moved to the area in 1991.

It is at the extreme ends of the socioeconomic spectrum, however, that segregation is most evident. The most affluent areas continue to be highly segregated mostly for the obvious reason that only rich people can afford to purchase homes there. As African-Americans and other ethnic minorities continue to work their way up in terms of education and job opportunities, I believe that this will eventually change, although probably not as quickly as many of us would like. Is this a problem? While others might disagree, I really don't think that it is. Instead of trying to artificially integrate affluent areas by building low income housing in close proximity to wealthy subdivisions or busing inner city children to so-called "white schools" why not concentrate more effort into making sure that the pathways to job advancement and higher incomes are constantly being expanded to include everyone?

The main problem with continued segregation exists more on the lower end of the income bell curve. Poor children of all races are often shortchanged by inferior schools that are the result of the low tax base in their areas. Without a quality education they find it much more difficult to go on to college or technical training which, in turn inhibits their ability to move up in terms of income level and into more affluent neighborhoods once they reach adulthood. Then the cycle of disadvantaged educational and employment opportunities simply continues.

That is why I am very excited about the educational strategy for America that is currently being championed by President Obama. Unlike the "No Child Left Behind" legislation of previous administrations which seemed more interested in punishing low performing schools than in helping struggling students succeed, the new goals appear to be more focused on providing children the resources that they will need in order to succeed academically no matter where they happen to live. Higher standards for teachers, greater access to early childhood educational programs for low income students and more affordable college tuition for everyone are just a few of the high level suggestions.

And although I like the President's ideas I do not believe that we should rely on governmental intervention alone. I think citizens of all races, but especially citizens of color who have successfully broken free of the cycle of poverty, can do a lot to advance these efforts as well. Students from lower income families may not initially see the benefit in pursuing education. Pairing them with successful adult mentors could be a first step in providing them with important sources of educational encouragement and support that they may not be receiving at home. Tutoring programs and extracurricular enrichment programs run by churches, community groups or other volunteers would also help. Fundraising activities and educating lower income residents on how best to lobby their local political representatives for needed improvements to impoverished schools could also be an important factor in ending the cycle.

These solutions are not all that complex and depend upon a grassroots effort. However, they also do not represent a "quick fix" and should be viewed long term approaches. But having already tried and failed with "broad brush" solutions like forced busing, school vouchers and "No Child Left Behind" could a more personalized, one-on-one, community run approach be all bad? Citizen involvement includes the important benefit of developing relationships. And that is how the specter of segregation will ultimately be defeated, one relationship at a time.

References:

Jones, Athena. "Obama Spells Out Education Goals," MSNBC, Posted March 10, 2009. http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/03/10/1830591.aspx

"Not in Our Town", PBS Special, 1995. http://www.pbs.org/niot/citizens_respond/illinois.html#bloom

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_v._Board_of_Education

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

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