2004_0223_Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Betsy Snyder Second Place Taught by Annette Simmoi�s Roseville Area Middle School Human Rights Essay Although the Brown vs. Board of education case was a major step in the right direction to desegregate schools, integrating the black and white students left the issues far from being totally resolved. Many people would like to look the other way and say that integrating schools has made everything equal. I fmd it hard to do this. There is no way to deny that 2 schools still very much exist in one. And until the day society chooses to accept the fact that all people are created equal, schools may just be a dumping ground for the stereotypes, the insults, the racial bias, the racial slurs, and the general feelings of hate and distrust between races. There is no reason to look the other way any longer, no reason to look but not see, hear but not listen, speak but not understand. We as humans are capable of much more than we have been displaying. We should look at now, the time after the case has passed, as the beginning, not the end, of trying to end what we started, this horrible racial inequity. Integrating schools seemed to be a solution that would make all students equal. However, it was soon clear that although the black students were allowed to share the space, they weren't made to feel welcome. No, ways were found to keep the students separate inside the same buildings. Bathrooms and fountains were designated for whites only. Blacks had to use inferior facilities. Now, we're past that stage of very open segregation. But things still happen everyday, in more discreet ways, which lead me to believe we need to do a lot more in order for full integration to be complete. Sure, we've come a long way since the case passed; finding ways to share the physical space, and finally letting students share bathrooms and water fountains. However, the part that's still missing is the mental integration. White students are still