Segregation and Desegregation
This piece was written in 2011 in connection with research studies in Education and Entrepreneurship as it specifically relates to the area of Urban Education.
In Jonathan Kozol’s (2005) work, Shame of A Nation, I saw “assumptions” in the form of the author’s initial experience within the Black community as a context for the way, in which most of the research used to impact policy and practice in schools, has largely been (and often still is) conducted, interpreted, and valued by predominantly white observers, examining an ‘underprivileged other’. For me, a Black student, artist, educator, and parent, this fact points out the need for dissenting voice, and self-representation in the field of education and beyond.
Within this contextual frame, the introduction to Kozol’s writing offers compelling insight into the motivations of/for individual, community, and international transformations. The historical state of desegregation during the mid 1960’s, and the movements, which grew out of a generation of action-oriented youth, is reminiscent of a dream/promise of being able to continue to spark change, even in the many years, which have followed. The author begins this story of personal and social participation in transformation, by framing the gravity of unjust deaths of students turned teachers, at the hands of members of law enforcement and white supremacist organizations. This also calls for a need to examine the deep roots of institutional oppression as a foundation and function of urban education.
Death has also been a literal and figurative force, silencing Black and Latino leadership within urban and other environments. Death is always ‘noteworthy’, newsworthy; the story of death is valued/worth telling (often repetitiously), because it is memorable. In the case of school reform and community mobility with regard to segregation and desegregation, the fear and reality of violence and death fueled the burning fires of injustice with blood, as in the illustration of the call for “freedom riders” and the cause for “freedom schools”.
Does the movement for equity require bloodshed in order to manifest efficient action? No, if this were the case, wouldn’t the violent bloodshed within the Black community be drastic enough to spark drastic change today? Does the history of violent, unjust deaths of Blacks, and other people of color hold the same value in the minds of readers (learners, teachers, researchers, etc.), as the deaths of white counterparts?
In-class conversations relating to segregation and desegregation raised questions, which overlapped with the Kozol reading: How people view the value of predominantly Black schools, and whether the value increases when they are repopulated to increase white enrollment? Is this also true of affluent and less affluent learning environments? How does perception of ability, perception of self, “otherness” and notions of inferior and superior play into the successes and failures of segregated and desegregated schools (for white, Black, Latino, Asian, male, female, affluent and poor students)? What about in places like Japan, where such distinctions are not at the forefront of quality education, are there concerns of equity, why or why not, and does race play such a leading role in determining quality and equality here, or anywhere? Individualized, specialized, self-directed, dynamic, reflective learning concepts, pedagogies, etc. are needed in order to break the cyclical patterns, which track students for the purpose of career training with predetermined sets of value.
Analysis of e-resource used in depiction of housing segregation makes an argument that there are deep connections between segregated residential areas and learning environments (even as a matter of de jure, and de facto segregation). Race, income, and power are deeply connected by a shared history of institutional oppressions (i.e. racism, sexism, capitalism), which have created perpetually sustainable cycles of oppression (even in integrated schools where student populations are still under the authority of ethnocentric rule and perception).
Relevant to my own teaching goals, is the idea behind Boston Freedom Schools with an individualized and alternative approach to learning. I have found change to mean new growth, which requires resistance to cycles of oppression and the need to motivate drastic change. Complacency in urban education is dangerous. I don’t believe in a need to expose children of color to white students as a way to increase their ability, or quality of education, as much as I believe there is a need to address the institutional and internalized effects of racism and other forms of oppression as one means to create change in perspectives of human development and learning, educational expectation, performance outcomes, and in an effort to enrich life-learning experiences. Of course, multicultural and global learning perspectives are important to the process of learning, and offer great opportunities to enhance the growth of students, teachers, parents, etc., who already have foundations for academic and life success. One connection I drew between the reading and professional experience is the way, in which the researcher writes with placing emphasis on the idea that “It [life] might be different if these kids [of color] had known white children early in their lives [on with more frequency] (Kozol, 2005 p. 9).
Perception of authority is one key to teacher student communication. Are those most “at risk” vested with (and believing that they have) enough power to create practical, active solutions given the lasting effects, and continued practice of cycles of various forms of oppression? Is there a resistance to change in the cultural and racial aspects of education that are connected to the economic and social benefits of the existence of economically and politically dependent, and easily identifiable, under class populations?
Having personal experiences as a Black student, artist, educator, mother, current and former resident/member of various urban communities continues to have direct relevance to the shaping of my views about human development, learning, and education. Experience has been an essential factor influencing the direction and actions, which have impacted my ability to offer first person account, and evaluation of growth as a learner and instructor. It also has allowed me to communicate with and self-represent an underserved population of students, parents, and educators. This self-directed stance is justified in a situation where the majority of emphasis is placed on the perspectives (knowledge, experience, and values), of the traditionally privileged norms and standards.
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