Education affects every part of human beings’ lives. For the majority of people education level is the factor which decides about the level of income, place in the class system, and even health care. Without the education on an average level from the very beginning, the person immediately is exposed to a severe disadvantage in comparison with those who receive it.
During the process of gathering the materials for this thesis, the author of this thesis has found the most important obstacles in the history of American equal education. Sadly, the problems of education inequality are deeply rooted throughout American history. In the South segregation was justified in the Supreme Court in the Plessy vs Ferguson Case from 1896 which mandated that schools should to be segregated into black and white.
Basically, in the North there were no segregation laws, but school administrators consciously arranged the districts with the purpose of segregation. Segregation caused inferior education for Blacks because the districts in which they were taught obtained definitely less money. This meant that the schools could not afford quality teachers or sufficient facilities.
The American nation had to wait until 1954 when the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, and finally reversed the position it held since 1896. By 1980 the federal courts largely succeeded in eliminating the system of legalized segregation in southern schools.
The federal government also investigated many northern cities and ordered that the school districts need to be re-arranged so that they can include minorities. Interestingly, the government also, in some cases, ruled the busing of minorities to other districts in an attempt to make education equal between districts. In order to present what factors led to such a situation in American schools, the author decided to divide the paper in three parts – each discussing different period of inequalities found in educational history.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter One
Education of Black until the Revolution
1.1. The Education of Negroes in Colonial Beginnings
1.2. Temporary Change in the Education Privileges for Negroes
1.3. The Return to ‘Normalcy’
1.4. The Situation of African Americans’ Education after the Civil War
Chapter Two
Racial inequality in American Public education until 1954
The Importance of Thomas Jefferson and Horace Mann for Education
2.1.1. The Common School Movement
2.2. ‘Education as the Hope for Betterment’ and an Actual Situation
2.3. W.E.B. DuBois vs. Booker T. Washington - the Educational Debate
2.4. Further Changes in Education of African Americans between XIX-th and XX-th Century
2.5. Brown vs. Board of Education
Chapter Three
The Aftermath of Brown v. Board - Educational Equality amidst the Social Upheavals between 1954 and 1970’s
3.1. The Little Rock Nine
3.2. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its Impact on Education
3.2.1. The Equality of Educational Opportunity Research
3.3. The Elementary and Secondary School Act
3.4. The Most Crucial U.S. Supreme Court Decisions on Education Desegregation
3.4.1. Goss v. Board of Education
3.4.2. Griffin v. County School Board of Prince Edward County
3.4.3. Green v. County School Board of New Kent County
3.5. Busing and Resulting White Flight
Objectives and Themes
This work examines the historical trajectory of educational inequality in the United States, analyzing the systemic barriers faced by African Americans from the colonial era through the desegregation efforts of the 1970s. The central research objective is to understand how legal, political, and social factors shaped the struggle for equal access to education.
- The impact of slavery and early colonial policies on the education of Black Americans.
- The evolution of the "Common School Movement" and its racial exclusionary practices.
- Conflicting educational philosophies among Black leaders, notably DuBois and Washington.
- The significance of the Brown v. Board of Education landmark decision.
- The effectiveness and social consequences of federal desegregation policies and busing mandates.
Excerpt from the Book
1.1. The Education of Negroes in Colonial Beginnings
Those of the ancestors of modern Black Americans, who were brought from the African wilds to provide the labour force for the white class of pioneers society in the new world, were slaves who needed to be trained to meet the needs of their environment. What is interesting, it was necessary first of all to convince intelligent masters that slaves who were trained, even in the most narrow way and who understood the language of their owners would be more valuable than wild men with whom no one could not communicate.
The questions, however, as to exactly what kind of training these Negroes should have, and how far it should go, were to the white race then as much a matter of perplexity as they are now. Yet, believing that slaves could not be enlightened without developing in them a longing for liberty, not a few masters maintained that the more brutish the bondmen the more pliant they become for purposes of exploitation. It was this class of slaveholders that finally won the majority of southerners to their way of thinking and determined that Negroes should not be educated.
Summary of Chapters
Chapter One: Education of Black until the Revolution: Discusses the early limitations on Black education in colonial America and how slavery shaped restricted learning environments.
Chapter Two: Racial inequality in American Public education until 1954: Examines the development of the common school movement, ideological debates among Black leaders, and the road to the Brown v. Board decision.
Chapter Three: The Aftermath of Brown v. Board - Educational Equality amidst the Social Upheavals between 1954 and 1970’s: Analyzes the implementation of desegregation, the role of federal legislation, and the controversial legacy of court-ordered busing.
Keywords
African American education, racial inequality, segregation, desegregation, Brown v. Board of Education, Civil Rights Act of 1964, Elementary and Secondary School Act, Little Rock Nine, W.E.B. DuBois, Booker T. Washington, busing, white flight, educational equity, social reform, school desegregation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this research?
The research explores the history of racial inequality in the American educational system, detailing the obstacles Black students faced and the legal battles fought to achieve educational equality.
Which thematic areas are prioritized?
Central themes include the impact of slavery on learning, the rise of public school movements, ideological clashes in education, landmark Supreme Court rulings, and the social outcomes of desegregation policies.
What is the primary research goal?
The goal is to analyze the factors that led to educational segregation and the subsequent efforts by the federal government and activists to integrate schools.
Which methodologies were applied?
The author employs a historical analysis approach, synthesizing existing literature, historical documents, and legal case studies to trace the development of American educational policies.
What topics are discussed in the main body?
The main body covers the colonial roots of educational exclusion, the post-Civil War Reconstruction era, the influence of leaders like W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington, and the legislative changes enacted between 1954 and the 1970s.
What characterizes the key terminology of this thesis?
The thesis is characterized by terms related to civil rights, educational policy, racial integration, and systemic socio-economic factors influencing school access.
How did the Brown v. Board decision influence the legal landscape of schools?
It declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional, providing a critical legal basis for future efforts to dismantle segregated educational structures across the United States.
What was the impact of the "Little Rock Nine" event?
It served as a highly visible, violent, and significant battleground for desegregation, showing the intense local resistance to federal integration mandates in the Deep South.
What led to the implementation of busing?
Busing was mandated by federal courts as a tool to speed up desegregation in districts where previous measures had failed to produce significant racial integration.
Why did "white flight" emerge as a consequence of desegregation?
It was a reactionary move by white parents who, opposing integration or busing mandates, moved their children to private schools or different districts, resulting in continued segregation and quality decline in urban public schools.
- Quote paper
- Marta Zapała-Kraj (Author), 2018, Short Introduction to Racial Inequalities in American Education, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/471002
