Racial Inequality In Education

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Pages: 7

Racial inequality in education has existed in this country for as long as we have been a country. Throughout the centuries the inequalities have changed but they still exist and are dividing this multiracial country. The U.S. values the fundamental human right that all citizens are entitled to an education. Education upholds an individual’s freedom and empowerment to live as a person so desires. Unfortunately, millions of children and adults continue to receive subpar educational opportunities, due to race, poverty and social class.
Racial inequality in the U.S. dates back to the creation of our first school. At that point in our country white children were allowed to and encouraged to attend school. African American children were forbidden
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schools helped to improve the educational equality but it didn’t eliminate it. The Supreme Court case Brown vs Board of Education was a case where the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional for there to be separate public schools for black and white students. Schools were forced to transport African American students many miles away from their homes to so they could attend white schools. Parents and students at those white schools protested and threatened these children, regardless of their ages for simply wanting a better education. These students were alienated and mistreated by their peers and school officials. (Kinshasa …show more content…
Schools that are in wealthy neighborhoods receive more money from the government as housing taxes are higher while poor neighborhoods have large amounts of track homes and apartments. Lower class neighborhoods receive less money from taxes and therefore have fewer resources for highly qualified teachers, programs, and supplies. (Parsons and Turner 2014) This inequality of education becomes racial because more people in the wealthy areas are white while the lower class tends to be people of color. “Equality denotes a state of sameness or similarity. In this sense, racial equality in education will be realized when the same quantity and quality of resources (e.g., human, material, symbolic) comprise the educational experiences of all U.S. racial groups” (Parsons and Turner 2014: 100). Communities with high concentrations of low-income and minority students receive fewer instructional resources than others. (Parsons and Turner