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Jewish World Review Nov. 11, 2005 / 9 Mar-Cheshvan, 5766 Reintroducing segregated schools in the name of reform By Jonathan Turley
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Roughly 50 years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down one of its most
monumental decisions, Brown vs. Board of Education. In a single blow, the
court struck down the infamous separate-but-equal doctrine that permitted
states to create separate schools and accommodations for whites and
non-whites. Yet, even after last year's national celebration of Brown,
public school officials in Chicago and other cities are quietly marking the
anniversary in a strikingly different way: reintroducing segregated schools
in the name of reform.
The latest venture in de facto segregation was announced this week by
Chicago Public Schools. As part of Renaissance 2010, the city will open the
Urban Prep Charter Academy for Young Men, described as an "all-boys high
school to primarily serve black youths." While this school is in the early
stages of development, it appears to follow other experiments in segregated
schools. CPS created a gender-segregated school for girls, the Young Women's
Leadership Charter School, in 2000.
The emphasis on African-American males is a worthy public policy priority:
Black males have the lowest rate of graduation among any demographic group
in Chicago public schools. But with a proposed student body of 600 students,
the Urban Prep Charter Academy for Young Men is not likely to affect most
black male students. More important, it will peg such achievement on the
artificial isolation of the students by their gender and race.
If Chicago goes forward with such a school, it will not be alone. Across the
country, public officials are reacquiring an appetite for segregation. Once
the scourge of the civil rights movement, segregation policies are now being
embraced by the very descendants of that movement: African-American,
feminist, gay and religious leaders.
In New York City, a high school was created in 2003 specifically for gay,
lesbian, bisexual and transgender students. Named for Harvey Milk, the
assassinated openly gay San Francisco politician, the school was created
with the best possible intentions to provide a sanctuary for these students.
Harvey Milk High School—or "Gay High," as it is often called—has become a
lesson in the unintended consequences of segregation. Its creation
reinforces the stereotype of these students as fundamentally different and
in need of special treatment. Moreover, the $3.2 million spent to establish
the school could have been better used to create a systemwide program of
counseling and education for all students on the issues of sexual
orientation and discrimination. Equally disturbing is the growing level of
"self-segregation" in higher education institutions. Some colleges and
universities now hold separate graduation ceremonies for certain minority
groups, and a growing number of schools have created separate housing aimed
specifically at minorities. Some schools, like the University of
Pennsylvania, house almost a quarter of their African-American students in
racially segregated dormitories, or so-called "affinity houses."
The new rationale for segregated schools is that separation based on gender,
race, religion and sexual orientation is beneficial for the students and
society. Tim King, the founder of Urban Prep, states that black males
benefit from schools that exclude girls. It is an argument that seems to be
taken directly from Plessy vs. Ferguson, where the U.S. Supreme Court
rejected the idea of "a commingling of the two races upon terms
unsatisfactory to either."
These recent experiments appear to be based on a new view that separate is
not just equal but superior. For Chicago, which has endured a long and
difficult busing program to achieve integration, it is a dangerous
conceptual shift.
High schools are often the final opportunity for society to shape future
citizens. Putting students in an artificially segregated system denies them
an important transitional phase into adulthood—a transition that is
monitored and shaped by educators. It is in high school where principles of
tolerance and respect are reinforced. Teaching students in a racially
"comfortable" environment yields to the tendency to define one's surrounding
and oneself in primarily racial terms. It is true that racism remains a
reality that must be confronted, but we do not reduce the problem of racism
by making race a defining criteria in a balkanized system.
We have learned from a long, painful history that the seduction of
segregation hides far greater costs for a society. Before Chicago succumbs
to segregated schools, it should consider the unintended lessons that it is
teaching future citizens. This self-proclaimed "renaissance" is hardly a
reason to celebrate.
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JWR contributor Jonathan Turley is a law professor at George Washington University. Click here to visit his website. Comment by clicking here. © 2005, Jonathan Turley |
Arnold Ahlert | |||||||||||
