By Nayaba Arinde
Editor at-Large
Talking about public school segregation in 2024 seems dated. On May 17, 1954, the Brown v. Board of Education, the United States Supreme Court determined that public school segregation was unconstitutional.
Here in 2024, 60 years later, it is not a state in the Deep South, but New York, which holds the dubious title of having one of the “most racially and socio-economic segregated” public school systems in the nation.
Incredible, but unfortunately true.
Racial equanimity is a ways off it appears.
The City says that in 2022-23, there were 1,047,895 students in New York public schools, in 1,870 schools within the Department of Education, by autumn 2023, including 274 charter schools.
EduColor is a student and educator empowerment organization. Co-founder Jose Vilson told Our Time Press that New York has earned its reputation with the segregation not just seen in the school population, “But in strength and power. I would say that generally, Black people don’t have the same level of power as their white counterparts no matter who’s in charge.”
Asked if she agreed, college professor and psychotherapist Ruth Smith told Our Time Press, “I would say yes. I’m a product of New York City public schools, and New York City higher education I received my bachelor’s from CUNY’s Hunter College.”
Students’ education is suffering, Dr. Smith said since “Teachers are frustrated, and they are burnt out, because they are not being heard, and salaries are definitely, definitely a big part of it.”
Meanwhile, publicly lambasted for his November 2023-proposed budget slashings, particularly his $500 million cuts to the education budget, Mayor Eric Adams recently announced that he would restore $127 million to school coffers.
On Monday, June 24th, Adams and Schools Chancellor David Banks announced their new education initiatives for a “more equitable vision for [the] future of New York City public schools.”
Adams slammed “the dysfunctionality of education, and it impacts all children, but specifically Black and brown children.”
With seemingly campaign-mode fervor, Adams announced new math and English initiatives, securing the Summer Rising program for 110,000 students, more money for teachers, and adding 57 gifted and talented programs citywide.
With 66 percent for Black and 64 percent for Latino students, math and reading proficiency is below average; Banks introduced “NYC Solves – Illustrative Math, supported by intensive teacher coaching, just like we are providing for NYC Reads.”
Literacy National nonprofit Reading Partners stated, “There is an undeniable connection between literacy skills and incarceration rates.”
The New York Civil Liberties Union said, “The School to Prison Pipeline is a nationwide system of local, state, and federal education and public safety policies that push students out of school and into the criminal justice system.”
Remembering teachers misunderstanding her drive as a highly intelligent pupil and mislabeling it as disruptive behavior, Clinical Social Worker Professor Ruth Smith told Our Time Press, “I have colleagues and friends who work with the Board of Education, and the things they talk about in terms of how education goes bothers me so much.”
She said that when her now grown son was offered an opportunity to attend Gifted and Talented public school, she said no and sent him to prep school “because I was afraid of the New York City public school system, because I know what they did to me.”
Now, with the marked influx of migrant children, particularly the West African Muslim population, Dr. Smith ponders if the correct accommodations have been made.
“I don’t know if the teachers are required to take cultural diversity. Do they understand equality and diversity? And who are the new teachers who are coming in? I know the ones who are going out. They are taking early retirement and everything because of safety issues and salary.”
Children were supposed to go to any school that they wished – ranking 12 schools, Vilson said, “and go to the one they thought was the best. Unfortunately, as we have seen on multiple occasions, there are certain parents who are able to get into the more wealth-resourced schools, the so-called best schools. And there are children who are zoned into their local public school, which is okay.”
It should be about choice, Vilson told Our Time Press.
“Then we recognize these premier specialized schools, where only a handful of Black and Latinx children are allowed into those multiple resourced schools, although they make up the vast majority of New York City public high school population.”
The education activist said folk “don’t realize that most schools in the south were mandated to integrate, whereas most schools in the north opted not. So there is legacy to this.”
Solutions?
“We should do away with the Gifted and Talented program. ‘ said Vilson. “They try to attract more middle class – particularly white parents, but unfortunately…there were predominately whites on the first few floors, and the bottom floors had all the immigrants and Asian students. That’s not integrated. That’s segregation by another way. And we need to do better from the high school perspective like specialized high schools like Brooklyn Tech.”
That high school, he said, used to have “a plethora of talented Black and Latinx kids, but what happened over time was that as Brooklyn became more gentrified people saw a school that they were able to push their kids into, and now it is less diverse than ever.”
Options?
“We need to figure out ways to bolster our other high schools, and make sure that people feel that they are getting a great education regardless of what school they go to.”
Public school parent Vilson concluded, “We can’t just leave it to the advantages that people have or not. Education should be more communal in the best city in the world – but unfortunately, there are deep racial issues.”
The Department of Education did not respond to Our Time by press time.
