The Effects of Slavery and Jim Crow on Modern Education 

Racism in the education system here in America is the result of historical factors that have been institutionalized and structured over a long period of time. From slavery to Jim Crow, education was extremely hard for an African- American to gain in this country. Education was built on systemic racism and only gave great academic opportunities to white students. The cause and effect factors are  the main focus. Focusing on the embedment of racial inequalities and disparities, and how it affects minority children today when attending schools and trying to gain a better education. Looking further into the long term effects of systemic racism in education inside and outside of the classroom. Even the watered down teachings of history in modern day education help point out the institutionalization of racism in schooling and show the lack of representation of minorities in history. 

When black people could finally attend schools and receive an education after the abolishment of slavery in 1865, the schools were then segregated. White schools were well funded and given the best materials and books with qualified teachers, while black schools were underfunded, if even funded at all, and dilapidated, lacking the proper materials for a good education, and underqualified teachers. Even now we see the same occurrence. Many schools in urban neighborhoods contain predominantly black and hispanic students. The schools are run down, under prepared, and underfunded by the government. Private schools, which are predominantly white, are well funded by the government, given the best materials available, and well prepared to give a good education. Many of the negative impacts on modern day education stems all the way back to the times of slavery. 

  During slavery slaves were not allowed to have any kind of education, not even learning how to read and write. In fact if slaves were caught learning how to read and/ or write they were brutally beaten or even killed. Gaining any kind of education was nearly impossible. Many enslaved children attended an underground schooling system inside the homes of the African Americans that were educated and lived close to them. Enslaved African Americans would also secretly spread the lessons they had learned to the slaves that were unable to attend the “schools”. Many of the enslaved people risked their lives just to be able to receive an education. 

Right after the abolishment of slavery we then began to see the Jim Crow Era and its horrifying effects on minorities, specifically black communities . This era lasted all the way up until 1964 when the Civil Rights Act was passed. The Jim Crow laws had an extremely negative effect on African Americans around the country for almost one hundred years following the end of slavery, hindering black students from receiving any academic advancements and opportunities. The Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court case in 1896 established the “separate but equal” doctrine that made these laws standard practice.  These laws gave young black students a completely different experience in education. We still see the negative impacts of this court case on black students today, shaping their experience in modern day education systems. Segregation in schools would finally come to an end in 1964 after the famous Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education. Although segregated schools were no longer legal, we still see segregation in schools today, hence the private and public school example. Private schools are predominantly made up of white students, where there are more academic advantages and opportunities offered to students. Public schools, specifically in urban communities, are predominantly made up of black and hispanic students, where there are barely any academic advantages and opportunities for a higher education. 

Due to the lack of proper resources and academic opportunities, black students are limited to going any further in having a chance of receiving a higher education and an advanced career causing them to be more likely to drop out of school early on. This then continues the cycle of living in struggle and having limited opportunities to receive a well paying job and also holds back any chance of improving poor minority communities. Also lacking representation in school curriculum only further diminishes a minority student’s confidence and faith in schooling. School curriculums often water down the horrific and racist history of this country and completely ignore the achievements people of color have made that helped advance the world we live in today. Only teaching about oppression instead of teaching the achievements and success minorities have had in the past that still matters to this day. 

We cannot just ignore the fact that systemic racism has such a negative impact on minority students’ achievements here in America. Its awful consequences are still in effect today. Many minority students are dropping out of school and turning to a hard life in the streets just to survive. We often like to point fingers at family dynamics and social factors but never want to look at the real causes of these outcomes. Many minorities are suffering the repercussions their ancestors had to endure. We must go through a curriculum reform and contribute better funding for schools in urban areas in order to help address and “ fix” these issues that are still here. Re-evaluating the education system and pointing out the flaws is a good start to ending the inequality of education in America.

References

https://blogs.loc.gov/teachers/2022/08/education-in-enslaved-communities

https://robertsmith.com/blog/systemic-racism-in-education/