Understanding Segregation Today

With today's integration, it's hard to visualize that segregation was an issue many years ago. Throughout the 20th century, desegregation had played a major role in schools. It was put forward to the Supreme Court when the Brown vs. Board of Education case challenged segregation in public education. There were various racial issues that took place which led up to this event. This critical case put attention on how schools were violating law by separating students and it caused a fight for racial justice. Sooner or later, Brown vs. Board of Education desegregated schools in the United States, making an impact on American society because it caused people of color to be treated differently and informed others of their wrong doings.

As public education became more common during that time period, blacks and whites were segregated from each other by law. The separate but equal policy was allowed as long as facilities were equal but schools were nowhere near equal. The few school buildings that were available for African Americans were of poor condition and contained pre-owned materials from whites. Because it was believed that colored people should not have an education, white teachers received much more training than black teachers. There was even a limit put on how much blacks could be taught due to leaders not wanting blacks to know about their rights. Education wasn't the best for either race but blacks had it worse in many ways.

After years of attending segregated schools, black students and their parents finally argued that it was a violation of the 14th Amendment. They were being denied their equal protection rights, schooling was extremely different for them, and ones who were applying to graduate were often avoided. Eventually, the supreme court ruled the ""separate but equal"" law unconstitutional. This ruling granted equal protection laws to everyone, making a noticeable impact on student rights in public education. It forced desegregation and caused people to become colorblind. Now, in the field of education, no race it is more superior than the other. We all get treated fair and have equal opportunities.

With that being said, desegregation caused a turning point in American schools. The civil rights movement was passed, making people see that color and race doesn't matter. Because of the adjustments, blacks have became more successful in education. Black achievements have improved due to the high-quality school programs and skilled teachers that are now available for everyone. Also, a major increase of African Americans enrollment in colleges and universities took place now that they are giving the same opportunities as whites. With the help of the Brown vs. Board of Education case, people of different races eventually warmed up to each other and accepted the changes that were made. There were still a small portion of places where inequality existed but for the most part, the racial gap was filled and the racial animosities were healed.

Taking everything into account, desegregation has played an important role on impacting America throughout history. With the accomplishment of Brown's case, many changes came, not only in education but also in the rights of students. Even though there is still a small amount of racism, people were informed of their wrong doings and people of color are now treated differently.

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