Racial Discrimination in Education Essay Sample

“My race needs no special defense, for the past history of them in this country proves them to be equal of any people anywhere. All they need is an equal chance in the battle of life”.  Robert smalls, U.S congressman, 1985. Racial discrimination is a direct treatment or prejudice against a race based on their skin color, sex, or gender. Racial discrimination toward African Americans started in 1619 when African’s were enslaved and sold to North America as a labor source. In 1619 a ship landed in African and would take 20 slaves. Soon this news of slavery would spread throughout America. It’s suspected that around seven million enslaved African Americans were imported to many countries, this would later play a huge role in our education system as many African Americans are racially discriminated against.  

Racial discrimination in education is having a certain condition that is held toward a group of people with the intention of preventing them from having an equal opportunity. Racial discrimination in school happens often. In his blog, “What Racism in Schools Look Like,” George Farmers gives examples of what discrimination toward African Americans looks like, “One day the teacher was so upset that the teacher tried to find any reason to have the student removed from the class. On this day the complaint was that the child’s uniform was dirty. The teacher wanted the Division of Child Protection and Permanency called because of a perceived dirty uniform.” Farmer implies that African Americans face much hardship in schools as some teachers do not like to educate other races besides their own. According to Foster, although there are many laws that passed to prohibit discrimination, many teachers feel uncomfortable by their students. Adrian Steven describes this particular concern in his article, “ Student Stories about Encountering Racism and What Does it Teach Teens and Parents.” According to the stories in his article of JahAsia Jacob’s case, “ She went on record documenting her fellow white schoolmates’ passive-aggressive nature only weeks into her new school. For fear of racial abuse, Miss Jacobs was afraid of engaging in school projects and other co-curricular activities. She only did such when she got to college, where she was actively involved in activism and pushed for social justice reforms. However, she felt alone during most of her high school life.” From these stories, we can see how many students that suffer from racial discrimination often feel lonely and  show some type of psychological disorder. 

The act of racism toward our education was always there but it magnificent increased after the case of Plessy V. Ferguson as it resulted in separate but equal movement. In the article, “The Troubled History of American Education after the Brown Decision,”  Sony Ramsey addresses the impact of Plessy V. Ferguson on our racial discrimination of education. She makes a good point when she suggests “ As Jim Crow segregation became the law of the land after Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, white southern leaders questioned the need for the continuance of African American education and segregated schools remained unequally funded”.  In other words, the right to education of African Americans was given but, the Jim Crow segregation movement as a whole repressed their funds to educate themselves.  Often African American schools were one-rooms, parents had to work with the teacher to preserve the physical condition of the schools. In the article, it implies the families had to often pay double tax because of the local tax and the underfunded black school. The black teachers were significantly underpaid so more than often had to work outside school to not support themselves and sometimes their students. Although black teachers were paid less than white teachers, they played a big role in the black community. Kevin Foster describes this statement in his book, “The Legacy Of African-American Teacher in Jim Crow Mississippi.” According to his book, Foster believes “African Americans’ unwavering faith in the power of education to uplift the race, dedication to the communities in which they served, and relationships they built with students and parents facilitated positive learning environments.” (20). Foster seems to imply here that African American teachers during the era of Jim Crow were able to bring the best of their students as they provide unique life stories to their classrooms. In addition, their belief in the power of education was able to help them uplift their race to do better and be better. They were one of the main solutions to the abolishment of segregation which ended the jim crow laws.