The Role Of Racism In Education

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Racism has a long history in American society, from the birth of the nation to present day. While some aspects have been subdued, such as actively keeping slaves or widely refusing service to those of ethnic backgrounds. One of such areas is the educational system, racism has ran rampant through the system almost unchecked until the mid 1950’s. Brown v
Board of Education was the supreme court case which ruled that “separate but equal” was inherently unconstitutional, thus starting the ending of the long standing segregation in school (Teaching Tolerance). While America has made tremendous leaps in the past hundred years towards desegregating and improving the educational system racism still has a presence.

While segregation is openly illegal some schools find a way to target minorities. One such way is targeted suspension from school. Black students are expelled and suspended at three times the rate of white students. Sixteen percent of the national student population are African
American students, but they represent 32%-42% of the total number of suspended or expelled population. White students comprise 51% of the total student population and only 31%-40% of the suspension and expulsions (Civil Rights Data Collection). Expulsion
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All forms are harsh and inhumane but within the educational system it can present itself as an almost impassable wall which can stunt their personal growth. The American society groups education and success as if they were the same, so introducing students into a bias system sets them up to fail in life. Minorities being restricted equal opportunity in education not only leads to a lower average of education but can affect their future career. In a national survey it was found that 75% of doctors identified as white while a mere 3.8% were black, while racism in hiring has an effect here the main cause is their inability to access higher education