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September 11, 2003
The goal — academic proficiency
The 1954 US Supreme Court decision in “Brown
vs. Board of Education” overruled the established concept
of “separate but equal.” The court held that public
schools segregated by law are unconstitutional. As might be expected,
many school districts failed to comply with this ruling. A number
of law suits were filed because of this recalcitrance. A law suit
in Boston forced the establishment of busing in 1974 to desegregate
the public schools.
Now, almost 30 years after busing began in Boston, a shift in
demographics has accomplished what the best laid plans of high
priced lawyers failed to do. The growth in the black, Latino and
Asian population has eliminated the possibility of racial balance
in the public schools. Only 25.4 percent of the under 18 population
in Boston is white. However, because about half of white children
attend private school, the white population in public schools
has shrunk.
According to a recent study published by the Civil Rights Project
of Harvard University only 13.6 percent of the public elementary
school enrollment in Boston is white. Almost half (49.4 percent)
of the students are black, 28.7 percent are Latino, 7.9 percent
are Asian, and 0.5 percent are designated other, which usually
means black. Clearly, Boston schools can never be racially integrated.
There will never be an adequate number of white students to achieve
a reasonable racial balance.
One legacy of the Brown vs. Board of Education case is that many
misunderstand the scope of the ruling. The Court held only that
it is unconstitutional for school districts to establish student
assignment plans to achieve racial segregation. There is no duty
to achieve racial balance when the demographics make such goals
unachievable. “De facto” segregation which results
from massive minority populations living in ethnic neighborhoods
is not unconstitutional.
Racially integrated schools are no longer a possibility for Boston.
But that does not mean that Boston public schools can not be first
rate. It is not necessary for black and Latino students to be
sitting next to whites in order to achieve academic proficiency.
For decades historically black colleges have been graduating academic
stars. The same is possible in Boston.
Now it is more important than ever that black and Latino leaders
become involved in the education process to assure that our children
receive the best education to achieve proficiency.
A chronic condition?
An ominous shift has occurred in the country’s
economic data. There has been economic growth since November 2001,
but the number of jobs continues to decline. While there was some
optimism about business recovery when the growth rate reached
3.1 percent, there was also concern as an additional 93,000 jobs
were lost in August.
Since the recovery began in November 2001, more than one million
jobs have been lost in the 22 month period. Another 1.78 million
jobs were lost in the prior eight months of the recession. Even
with the loss of so many jobs the Labor Department’s unemployment
rate has shown a dip to 6.1 percent for August.
Only half of the lost jobs are in manufacturing. The foreign out-sourcing
of the high tech and service jobs threatens the opportunities
for blacks and Latinos to join the middle class.
Minorities have not had a sophisticated interest in complex economic
issues in the past. However, that must change. The economic future
of minorities is endangered by current economic policies that
favor the rich.
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