Meeks, Loretta F., Wendell A. Meeks, and Claudia A. Warren. [2000] 2005. "Racial Desegregation: Magnet Schools, Vouchers, Privatization, and Home Schooling". Pp. 297-303 in Understanding Society, 2nd ed., edited by Margaret L. Andersen, Kim Logio, and Howard Taylor. Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc.
The Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education was that "separate but equal is inherently unequal", and rendered illegal racial segregation. What it did not do was prescribe means to implement desegregation and phase out segregation: "Some see this as synonymous with legalizing freedom but not abolishing slavery".
Current demographics illustrate the rising population of minority groups in relation to the majority, tendency of inner-city public schools to be mostly minority students, rising per-capita cost of public education, and declining scores in standardized measures of achievement.
Showing posts with label race relations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label race relations. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Excerpt: Race in American Public Schools: Rapidly Resegregating School Districts
Frankenberg, Erica., and Chungmei Lee. [2002] 2005. "Race in American Public Schools: Rapidly Resegregating School Districts". Pp. 292-296 in Understanding Society, 2nd ed., edited by Margaret L. Andersen, Kim Logio, and Howard Taylor. Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc.
Almost fifty years after the "landmark" Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, Frankenberg and Lee examine how desegregated American public schools really are. What they find is startlingly retrogressive: that public schools are becoming increasingly diversified but also increasingly segregated.
Almost fifty years after the "landmark" Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, Frankenberg and Lee examine how desegregated American public schools really are. What they find is startlingly retrogressive: that public schools are becoming increasingly diversified but also increasingly segregated.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Excerpt: Color-Blind Privilege: The Social and Political Functions of Erasing the Color Line in Post Race America
Gallagher, Charles A. [2003] 2005. "Color-Blind Privilege: The Social and Political Functions of Erasing the Color Line in Post Race America". Pp. 189-195 in Understanding Society, 2nd ed., edited by Margaret L. Andersen, Kim Logio, and Howard Taylor. Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc.
Countless advertisements, television shows, movies, and other images of race relations in the media seem to suggest that racism is done and over, or that "America is on the verge, or has already become, a truly color-blind nation". Gallagher cites surveys and statistical data, as well as images in popular culture, that suggest most whites consider the playing field level and racism a thing of the past while most blacks see it as quite uneven.
Countless advertisements, television shows, movies, and other images of race relations in the media seem to suggest that racism is done and over, or that "America is on the verge, or has already become, a truly color-blind nation". Gallagher cites surveys and statistical data, as well as images in popular culture, that suggest most whites consider the playing field level and racism a thing of the past while most blacks see it as quite uneven.
Excerpt: Immigrant America: Who They Are and Why They Come
Portes, Alejandro, and Ruben Rumbaut. [1996] 2005. "Immigrant America: Who They Are and Why They Come". Pp. 184-188 in Understanding Society, 2nd ed., edited by Margaret L. Andersen, Kim Logio, and Howard Taylor. Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc.
This article presents four biographies of immigrants in America who were all educated (or became educated) and came to the United States for financial opportunities, ultimately becoming successful middle-class members of society.
This article presents four biographies of immigrants in America who were all educated (or became educated) and came to the United States for financial opportunities, ultimately becoming successful middle-class members of society.
Excerpt: Seeing More than Black and White
Martinez, Elizabeth. [1998] 2005. "Seeing More than Black and White". Pp. 178-183 in Understanding Society, 2nd ed., edited by Margaret L. Andersen, Kim Logio, and Howard Taylor. Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc.
Written in 1998, this article addresses the need to see race relations in broader terms than a simple "Black-white framework". Presenting this false dichotomy leads to several false impressions: that there are no common interests among peoples of color, that only African Americans suffer institutionalized racism, and that people of color should understand their lives in relation to "whiteness".
Martinez points out the numerous comparisons of suffering by different minority groups that often lead to claims of being "Most Oppressed". Indeed, she points out that "pursuing some hierarchy of oppression leads us down dead-end streets where we will never find the linkage between different oppressions and how to overcome them." All racially oppressed people should unite against the "White Supremacist agenda" to divide minorities against each other.
Written in 1998, this article addresses the need to see race relations in broader terms than a simple "Black-white framework". Presenting this false dichotomy leads to several false impressions: that there are no common interests among peoples of color, that only African Americans suffer institutionalized racism, and that people of color should understand their lives in relation to "whiteness".
Martinez points out the numerous comparisons of suffering by different minority groups that often lead to claims of being "Most Oppressed". Indeed, she points out that "pursuing some hierarchy of oppression leads us down dead-end streets where we will never find the linkage between different oppressions and how to overcome them." All racially oppressed people should unite against the "White Supremacist agenda" to divide minorities against each other.
Excerpt: The Souls of Black Folk
Du Bois, W.E.B. [1903] 2005. "The Souls of Black Folk". Pp. 176-177 in Understanding Society, 2nd ed., edited by Margaret L. Andersen, Kim Logio, and Howard Taylor. Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc.
African Americans, as W.E.B. Du Bois claims, possess a "double-consciousness" or duality between their being "Americans" and being "Negroes".
On the one hand, the black community has a deep history in America, and has long suffered under an unequal social hierarchy. It has its own interests, its own values, its own judgements, and its own culture. Black Americans are descended from this integral chunk of America, and are driven to act as representatives of their race, to lift themselves and their brethren up from poverty and racism. On the other hand, blacks suffer from the scrutiny of white America, and those who wish to advance themselves or their race must do so according to white ideals.
African Americans, as W.E.B. Du Bois claims, possess a "double-consciousness" or duality between their being "Americans" and being "Negroes".
On the one hand, the black community has a deep history in America, and has long suffered under an unequal social hierarchy. It has its own interests, its own values, its own judgements, and its own culture. Black Americans are descended from this integral chunk of America, and are driven to act as representatives of their race, to lift themselves and their brethren up from poverty and racism. On the other hand, blacks suffer from the scrutiny of white America, and those who wish to advance themselves or their race must do so according to white ideals.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Excerpt: Wealth Matters
Conley, Dalton M. [1999] 2005. "Wealth Matters". Pp. 143-148 in Understanding Society, 2nd ed., edited by Margaret L. Andersen, Kim Logio, and Howard Taylor. Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc.
This is a powerful article with a powerful point: social and economic class is not described by income, but by wealth. Dalton Conley contrasts two real families that are strikingly similar; both were young couples with two small children, both were low-income (at or just above the poverty line), both fathers were laid off from a sheet-metal factory and ended up taking minimum-wage jobs, and both had the same living expenses.
The only real difference between them was their assets. The first family owned their home, due to a loan from his parents and a mortgage co-signed by hers. The second family rented a "cheap" apartment in a bad neighborhood, which turned out to be more expensive in the long run; they lived under poor conditions, drained their savings, fought, and eventually divorced.
This is a powerful article with a powerful point: social and economic class is not described by income, but by wealth. Dalton Conley contrasts two real families that are strikingly similar; both were young couples with two small children, both were low-income (at or just above the poverty line), both fathers were laid off from a sheet-metal factory and ended up taking minimum-wage jobs, and both had the same living expenses.
The only real difference between them was their assets. The first family owned their home, due to a loan from his parents and a mortgage co-signed by hers. The second family rented a "cheap" apartment in a bad neighborhood, which turned out to be more expensive in the long run; they lived under poor conditions, drained their savings, fought, and eventually divorced.
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