Title of Abstract

Contemporary Segregation within Schools in the South

Submitting Student(s)

Michaela Bessinger

Session Title

Schools and Education

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Interdisciplinary Studies

Abstract

Since the Brown v. Board of Education decision was made in 1954, there has been little progress within Southern school systems in the United States and the issue of contemporary segregation. Today, one is able to see that schools within the south are faced with contemporary segregation due to the layers of issues that have yet to be fixed. In this research, we will review these issues that further progress contemporary segregation within school systems in the south. These issues will entail details about disproportionate funding, law-making officials and interpretational laws, skewed data sets that can hide segregation levels, and racial gerrymandering. My research question for this topic is how can we best breakdown contemporary segregation in schools within the South? While conducting this research, I have found that the greatest insights have come from the disciplines of History and Sociology. Within the research we find that there are several historians and sociologists who have noted that these issues are the key factors in regard to the furtherment of contemporary segregation in schools today. After conducting research, it can be concluded that disproportionate funding, law-making officials, and their laws all play roles in the furtherment of contemporary segregation in schools as the South has never worked diligently on funding public school systems, especially those that lay within low-income and high-minority lines. Secondly, skewed data sets have made it harder to recognize that contemporary segregation is still an issue that persists today. This is due to the fact that the data is not accurate and cannot fully determine how segregated the schools truly are. Lastly, gerrymandering has helped build a wall between different groups of people, creating both income segregation and residential segregation as well, which all plays an effect on the racial make-up of schools in the area.

Start Date

15-4-2022 12:00 PM

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COinS
 
Apr 15th, 12:00 PM

Contemporary Segregation within Schools in the South

Since the Brown v. Board of Education decision was made in 1954, there has been little progress within Southern school systems in the United States and the issue of contemporary segregation. Today, one is able to see that schools within the south are faced with contemporary segregation due to the layers of issues that have yet to be fixed. In this research, we will review these issues that further progress contemporary segregation within school systems in the south. These issues will entail details about disproportionate funding, law-making officials and interpretational laws, skewed data sets that can hide segregation levels, and racial gerrymandering. My research question for this topic is how can we best breakdown contemporary segregation in schools within the South? While conducting this research, I have found that the greatest insights have come from the disciplines of History and Sociology. Within the research we find that there are several historians and sociologists who have noted that these issues are the key factors in regard to the furtherment of contemporary segregation in schools today. After conducting research, it can be concluded that disproportionate funding, law-making officials, and their laws all play roles in the furtherment of contemporary segregation in schools as the South has never worked diligently on funding public school systems, especially those that lay within low-income and high-minority lines. Secondly, skewed data sets have made it harder to recognize that contemporary segregation is still an issue that persists today. This is due to the fact that the data is not accurate and cannot fully determine how segregated the schools truly are. Lastly, gerrymandering has helped build a wall between different groups of people, creating both income segregation and residential segregation as well, which all plays an effect on the racial make-up of schools in the area.