The concept of resegregation made sense over fifty years ago in achieving equality for African American students, but the ever changing demographics of the United States has now turned the issue into one of curriculum and not race. A separate school with a disparity in the education that was being offered was the core issue. Today, it is an issue of the schools rather than the discriminatory actions of a school board is the dispersal of funds and attention in overseeing a particular school system in neighborhoods that were once either predominantly African American or White. The reintroduction of segregation does not necessarily make sense as did the enforcing Brown vs The Board of Education did in 1954. The decision from the Supreme Court in integrating the school system was a situation in which African Americans attempting to achieving equality in America. The issue of race is not a prevalent when discussing the issue of the disparity in the level of education with in the school system as as it was fifty years ago. The issue of white and black is still at the center of the discussion, but with the influx of immigrants into American is no longer is one of black and white.
The disparity in the education system was temporarily be solved with the desegregation of the schools. The allowed African Americans the ability to receive the same level of education as their white counterparts, especially if the school system was not going to allocate the same amount of funds to all the schools within their circuit. It became necessary to enforce segregation, to the segrin of many parents, in order to ensure that the children were receiving the same level of education. Today the advent of the school vouchers and charter schools to address the issue of quality education has opened up the issue of segregation as children once again are finding themselves attending various schools in various parts of the city; in the case of New York City segredation is obvious, but not the hot issue. The system itself has made it apparent the issues confronting all the ethnic groups within the five boroughs of New York City.
The disparity in the level of education is painfully apparent as parents each year have to fill out numerous forms in hopes that their child will be accepted to a particular school within the city. The issue is not of busing, the subway pass eliminates this issue, but the selection of a which school your child will attend and how far away the school is from their home. Often times the child will attempt to attend one of the schools in the affluent neighborhood, as the those schools have a better quality of education. This schools in turn are a direct link to the top high schools in the city. A system is in place in which the white children will success and only the few minorities lucky enough to attend these schools will have the opportunity to attend this schools. As with the situation during the early to the mid 20th century, the minority schools today are failing.
The influx of immigrants has not changed the large exodus of students that attempt to attend this prestigious schools in the city. The problem that arises from immigration is the fact that African Americans in New York City now have to compete with these individuals in order to attend this schools. The schools in the affluent neighborhoods have be a little more liberal in accepting Asian and Indian students. These two groups tend to test higher and as with the perception of what is a minority, the interview process is one that, if the perception of African Americans is consistent, will favor the Asian and Indian. So the question of whether re-segregation is necessary is yes, if it were a question of obtaining equality for African Americans. The answer would be no if it is a question of whether minorities in general are getting the chance at equality within the school system; as Asians, Latinos, and Indians are assimilating into the school system with little problem.
As the 21st century is already upon the United States, it has become apparent that the United States will be extremely diversified by the year 2050. The question would be how why would the system of segregation be necessary if the country will become diversified. No matter how many light skinned ethnic groups the census bureau combines into their statistics as white, the fact remains that the country will be predominately African American, Asian, and Latino. Although these groups do not have any cultural similarities, the one underlying fact they all share is the fact that they when considered separately are minorities, but in the shared experience of being minorities they then become the majority. White, Asian, Indian, Black, and Latino by this time will share the need or want for better education for their children. By this time assimilation is inevitable in various levels of society, including politics. The neighborhoods may not become better overnight, but the system in which the children are education will become one in which a larger number of districts should offer better education and be more inclusive to all the races. The system should be one of higher standards and not one in which the children have to be shipped to different neighborhoods in order to gain a better education. As the neighborhoods reflect the diversification, so will the schools themselves. Segregation will not be necessary as it was in the early 20th century when the disparity was very apparent.
