The Resegregation of America's schools

ABC News' Ike Ejiochi reports on modern-day segregation in schools and the complicated history of racial integration efforts 70 years after Brown v. Board of Education.

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[ImaniBelle-tunu]

Schools to me have always been for the most part segregated.

[velshock]

It’s really bizarre that the US preaches freedom while the economic and surveillance apartheid is just ignored as a fact of life.

[MM-yzfz]

School segregation at this point is financial. You pay more for houses and pay more taxes for the schools, the schools then have more money and education for the kids per student goes up. Historically non-white people cannot afford the homes or taxes for homes with good schools. While overt redlining is gone, there are still basic financial pieces that lead to segregation.

[anthonyhayes]

Schools have been segregated for decades now. Yes there are schools that are diverse, but most schools are are segregated by race and wealth. That's never going to change. Most people wether they want to admit it or not they don't want to change a thing

[justtrust]

How sick, and wicked one must be to intentionally sabotage kids?

[arunbenny]

Systemic wealth and income inequality exacerbated by corporate greed and the super wealthy billionaires not properly taxed is what drives this segregation and makes inflation worse. I used to work as a TSS (therapeutic staff support) worker in schools with children. Most of the schools felt segregated, severely underfunded with overcrowded classrooms and overwhelmed teachers and staff members. Most of these kids were coming from impoverished and poverty stricken neighborhoods as well. They didn’t respect anything or anyone else, including themselves or their education because none of them felt they would ever escape their poverty. Poverty in America is never truly shown or talked about. It’s a travesty that we can’t properly tax the rich, stop burning money on wars, pass stricter gun laws, and reinvest this money on things people need (public education, infrastructure, affordable housing and universal healthcare).

[_Mr.Tuvok_]

“Segregation is back at the same level as the 1960s”

As a black Mississippian—that seems like a hell of a misleading statement

[jlvx]

This isn't really school segregation because black and brown kids from poorer areas can still travel to these better schools. Back when schools were segregated that was not an option because black and brown kids would not have even been allowed at those better schools. This is more about schools having better funding because they're in areas that pay higher property taxes.

[BW-zvxp]

The U.S. loves to feign ignorance about obvious issues shrugging its shoulders with a collective “oh well” sigh. The root cause of persistent segregation in schools is finances. Blacks have been historically pigeonholed into certain areas, the schools in those areas have been intentionally underfunded by the state. Those schools often produce students that are not college ready and have to take low skill low wage positions in the work force. Causing them to have to find housing in “affordable communities” to raise their families, which often have lower grade schools thus the cycle repeats itself. Yet on the conversation of reparations there is no political will to address the persistent root cause FINANCES.

[dquan]

Why is this a hard issue to fix? If school funding is unequal, then just pass a law that requires all States to ensure that funding per pupil in all schools is the same. Ban all PTA self funding. There are plenty of affluent schools where the PTA funds extra teachers, classes, clubs, sports, tutors, etc...tons of stuff that schools in poorer areas would never get. Make funding adequate and make it equal.

[Sleepytakis]

Brings tears to my eyes seeing new generations continue to shape the future and take things into their own hands. History does not have to repeat itself. You can change it but it takes a group effort and hard work. Education and patience. I hope the fire inside their hearts never burns out.

[GeorgieGirl]

School segregation has more to do with money not race.

[Wes-yb]

Well, fair opportunity has always been segregated. Opportunity is nothing without nurture, training, preparation.

[PerryViolin]

Segregation as in rich kids go to rich schools, and poor kids go to poor schools.

[LegendsofVana]

It has more to do with economic status than race. Most Blacks and Latinos are low-income, while most Whites and Asians make the highest income in America. Therefore their schools receive more funding than the schools located in lower-income areas. I feel this is why people need to build up their communities instead of flocking to the ones already established.

[aleathacoleman]

They have been segregated since the 80s.

[javiernarvaez]

Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

[TastemyAtrocity]

The title of this is confusing. They don’t really explain what is meant by modern segregation until 7 minutes and something. It seems dangerous to refer to the unequal distribution of race/wealth/cultures in schools as segregation, when 60 years ago it literally meant you were not allowed to attend a certain school if your skin was of color. A young student having the opportunity to attend a magnet school outside of her neighborhood (wow! 14 miles!) is a lot different than forcing someone to go to a shitty faraway school with huge class size and few materials just because they’re black.

[Prettylightskim]

I watched the documentary in 2005 on HBO about prom segregation, it was very interesting.

[dboogeman]

I been to a few schools that were almost no white kids. Tough life for a lonely white kid.