Marissa J. White
In order for my students to understand the social and racial issues that plague them today, they have to understand what has happened in the past. Within this seminar I have been reading many court cases from the Plessy Era, to the Civil Rights Movement throughout present day. I have confirmed my own thinking and notions of ever-present prejudice and discrimination throughout this country and the discrepancies within the educational system and how it continuously affects our students and their communities.
In this unit, students will be studying court cases that have happened throughout history, specifically segregation in education.
Brown v. Board of Education
(1954) will be the primary court case they will analyze and discuss to deepen their understanding of history and how we have gotten where we are today. Understanding what segregation was, or still is, and the constant struggle for integration is a concept that I will encourage my students to constantly think about, research and take a stance on. Linda Brown has made statements as an adult, that even though her court case and other court cases like hers has made history, there is still much more work to be done, not much has changed. Students will be discussing what Linda Brown means by this and if they agree with her opinion.
Students will also be taking a look at events such as Ruby Bridges, a little girl in New Orleans during the 1960's integrating an all-White school because it was closer to her house than the Black school she was already attending, as well as Little Rock Nine, nine African American high school students integrating Little Rock High School in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957. These famous historical events depict such accurate and heart wrenching images and accounts of the height of hostility surrounding segregation and the attempts to integrate throughout the country. I don't want my students to think that these students wanted to integrate schools because Black schools were not good enough or didn't have high quality education. Black schools were doing very well. They had overly qualified Black teachers who had high expectations of their students and whose students were very proud of their education and went on to do many great things for their communities. There were many African Americans who did not want to integrate. They wanted to keep their community how it was and continue to expand and advance their communities. This is another question students can discuss: Why did African Americans want to integrate? If their schools were doing well, what was the purpose of wanting to integrate into White schools? What would our communities look like today if we never integrated? Students will be able to think about these questions and have in-depth discussions with their classmates regarding these issues as well as analyze how these decisions, movements and events impact their lives and their education to this very day.
In the opinion of the court of
Brown v. Board of Education
, given by Chief Justice Warren, a very interesting question was posed: "Does segregation of children in the public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facilities and other "tangible" factors may be equal, deprive the children of the minority group of equal educational opportunities?" I would like for my students to explore this question. It will be tweaked pertaining to their definition of what segregation is today, whether it is financial, though resources or even through different curriculums that different school districts offer. This question posed in the opinion of the court is still very valid today. Chief Justice Warren believes that yes, it does deprive minority children of equal educational opportunities. This statement can be compare to a case that has happened here in Connecticut recently that deals with a similar matter.
Sheff v. O'Neill
(1989) has occurred within the past twenty-five years in Hartford, Connecticut. Elizabeth Sheff filed a law suit against the then governor of the State of Connecticut, William O'Neill. Her complaint was that Connecticut's education system, separating urban and suburban districts, led to racially segregated schools and that violated their constitutional rights to an equal education. By 2003, the state came up with a plan to desegregate schools by incorporating magnet schools, open choice programs and interdistrict cooperative grants. Students will be taking a look at the racial makeup of the State of Connecticut, the racial make up their school districts and schools as well as how this court case has changed the makeup of the racial disparity throughout several school districts. As students read about both cases they will be referring back to Chief Justice Warren's question to either agree or disagree and back up their responses with valid evidence from both cases.
The students will have to compare and contrast
Brown v. Board of Education
and
Sheff v. O'Neill
and argue their stance in a formal debate on whether they believe what the plaintiffs in the
Brown v. Board of Education
case faced was the same as what the plaintiffs in the
Sheff v. O'Neill
case faced. In 1954 Linda Brown's parents, along with other parents and advocates, sued the Board of Education claiming that segregating schools based on their race was against their constitutional right. Almost forty years later, Elizabeth Sheff, as well as other parents and advocates, sued the then Connecticut Governor William O'Neill claiming that separate schooling of urban and suburban districts created racially segregated schools, which violated their constitutional rights. I want students to think about whether segregation is still alive and well within our education system and how it affects them and society. I also want my students to think about their definition of segregation and think about whether a fair and equal education fits into their definition that they have created and agreed upon and how. The cases during the Plessy Era and Civil Rights Movement were based on equal rights, including education, and desegregation.
Sheff v. O'Neill
was based on equal education. Is the lack of having a fair and equal education the same as segregation?
