May 2024 marks 70 years since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision, the landmark ruling that dismantled the legal framework of segregation in the nation’s public schools. Yet, despite racially segregated public schools being ruled unconstitutional and various levels of progress/change, this country still faces deeply entrenched divides educationally, politically and economically.
Word In Black (WIB), a first-of-its-kind national newsroom powered by a collaboration of 10 of the nation’s leading Black publishers (including the Defender’s Sonceria Messiah Jiles), recently hosted a virtual roundtable discussion titled “Brown at 70: A Reality Check on School Segregation.” And according to WIB, “This anniversary isn’t just a commemoration of a pivotal moment in history — it’s a call to action.” (Click here to watch recorded event)
Houston-area educators and parents reflect
Several Houston-area educators and parents weighed in on the Brown v. Board anniversary, echoing WIB’s call to action. Here are some of their comments:
Toni Imani Fisher, educator, parent of multiple college grads
Seventy years after the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision, the educational landscape for Black students has undeniably changed. School segregation is no longer legal, and opportunities exist for Black students to pursue a wider range of academic and artistic endeavors. However, significant disparities in educational outcomes persist. Without a doubt Brown v. Board opened doors for Black students to attend previously segregated schools, offering greater access to educational resources. However, schools in predominantly Black communities may have fewer resources, impacting student success. To truly fulfill the promise of Brown v. Board of education we must target funding and resource allocation to help bridge the opportunity gap between schools. In addition, it is critical that culturally diverse curriculum and teaching methods can create a more inclusive learning environment. And finally schools and communities must work together to address social and economic factors impacting student success.
LJ Garfield, educator, parent of high school student, radio host, poet
Before the desegregation ruling the Black schools in the US did not have equal resources available to them like the white schools. The schools were separate but not equal, according to my grandmother, Barbara Satterwhite, who attended segregated schools in her youth. But she told me the schools had Black role models, Black leaders, Black teachers that took pride in instilling a sense of purpose and self-esteem in the students that helped continue to fuel the civil rights era. We learned about our leaders and our history; we strived to be someone who would make our parents and community proud.
Today Black American history is segregated from the mass history lessons taught in public schools except for a few schools that offer it as an elective. So, the persons and entities that make sure successful integration does not take place are blocking the history from being taught. So… even though the children are integrated, the history (and other important lessons) remain segregated, and this is why I believe, in part, we are worse off after the ruling.
Jennifer Neal Clark, lawyer, educator, parent of two
Despite their original and respectable intent, I would argue that our grandparents’ struggle for equality through integration into a white public school system may have ultimately deprived us of the very “quality” education we sought. Rather, our parents were sent to school to become indoctrinated into a white-washed culture that demanded assimilation and bred their own self-hatred.
We as Black parents cannot relinquish our duty. We must embrace our responsibility to facilitate culturally appropriate education for our children. In doing so, we must lean into policies that promote more diversity in academic curriculum and equity in learning. We must support community-based programming to supplement youth education, particularly where resources are most deficient. I also believe that more strategic discussions need to occur within the Black Caucus, to set an agenda for evaluating, elevating, and addressing the Black nation’s most critical concerns – with a demand for ongoing and increased federal funding for HBCUs.
Dr. Marcia Johnson, law professor, TMSL, parent
Seventy years after Brown, Black children still suffer from the effects of policies and practices denying them equal access, resources and quality education. Much of that must be charged to an education system that has not changed much in those 70 years. We continue to do pretty much the same things year after year with little change in outcomes. This somehow surprises us, defining insanity.
A basic truth is that the mere passage of time will not “fix” things. Instead, our actions must be affirmatively designed to resolve historical as well as present-day racial disparities, not only in education but in co-determinants of poor education outcomes. Food and housing insecurity, health disparities, inadequate resources, poverty, wealth gaps and access to opportunities, to name a few, must be addressed simultaneously as we strive to educate our children.
America tends to achieve what it wants; what it prioritizes. The education of Black children is not a priority in this country and has never been so. Our community cannot rely on need of even constitutional mandates to solve the problem. If educating our children is a priority to us, then collectively we must take on the challenge. I believe there is no single solution. But I think we can collect those things that have been proven to work, build on them, systematically deploy them, require results and accountability from our education professionals and insist on the commitment from our own community.
Ikechi Ojore, former HISD educator, professional musician, TSU alum
Seventy years after Brown v. Board our youth have accomplished much, and yet not enough. The children that Whitney Houston once said are our future, have changed leaps and bounds. The suicide rate of adolescents has skyrocketed, technology has become a conduit to the world. Social media is now where we get our news. While the system in which our children are educated hasn’t changed much at all. Still, the assembly line of antiquated knowledge isn’t teaching kids how to live full, productive, thriving lives. We aren’t teaching life skills, finance and labor.
We drill equations and standardized tests that equate to much more than districts looking good on paper. Inflated grades, no child left behind, no real system of checking for understanding, no true comprehension, taught by teachers that more than don’t look like our children, under-preparing them for a world that doesn’t look like them and doesn’t have an understanding of what Brown was asking for truly. Not just to receive better schooling but to have a better life as a result of that schooling. Equal to any of her peers.
