African American Education Lag_Outline Thesis statement: African American faces education lag, where it is important to facilitate education among African American due to historical background, by understanding the problem from root cause for educational lag. . Historical background A. Prohibition from education. B. Thomas Jefferson educational era. C. Consequence of Nat Turner Rebellion. II. Reforms that was taken by Court A. separate but equal narrative 1. Educational resources lag. 2. Racial profiling for limiting educational opportunities B. Nullification of Separate but equal 1. Integrated school with resistance. 2. Gap between educational achievements III. Educational subsidizing or scholarship or stimulus package. A. Putting more resources for free education among poor African American. B. Helping to improve racial status filling gap. C. Providing interest free loans. Running head: EDUCATIONAL LAG African American Education Lag EDUCATIONAL LAG 2 African American Education Lag African Americans have suffered greatly in white-dominated countries. They were enslaved and tutored for a period of 400 years. Even after being enslaved and gaining their freedom, they have continued to face racism. African Americans experience racial profiling, segregation, and inequality in almost every sector. These sectors included access to quality education, healthcare, jobs, and government services. The rights of African Americans are always looked down upon. African Americans have been fighting for equality ever since they gained freedom from the enslavers. This paper will focus mainly on the factors that have contributed to the lag in the education of African Americans. In comparison to white Americans, the black community seems to be less educated and that has made them engage in criminal activities. This has contributed to the hate of the African community. African American faces education lag, where it is important to facilitate education among African American due to historical background, by understanding the problem from root cause for educational lag. Historical background Most African Americans were prohibited from attending school during the era of enslavement. The only form of education that was permissible to them was religious education. Most of the restrictions were in the southern states but were also imposed on freed slaves. Those who owned slaves argued that by educating the slaves they would threaten their slavery institution and waste their investments (Childs, 2017). They also felt that the educated slaves would become rebellious and this would affect their ability to work on farms. Since educated slaves would be able to read, they would able to gain information on freed slaves in Haiti hence the whites never wanted this to occur. The enslavers believed that by educating the slaves, they would make them unhappy since they would want to have some privileges that they could never get. For the slaves EDUCATIONAL LAG 3 to remain contented with their situation, the white enslaver made sure that they remained ignorant. This had a great impact on the education of African Americans since while they were busy working, their masters were continuously educating themselves. Therefore, this race was already won even before the African Americans began. Jefferson proposed a system of education where any free person could receive education for three years. After three years of free education, the students could only continue with their education if their families could afford it. Those who did well would be given scholarships to continue with their education while the remainder could be offered the chance to become teachers. This bill was rejected but Jefferson continued to fight for it. If the bill has passed it would have contributed to the education of African Americans since most of them were poor because of slavery. It would have established a foundation for African American education. Even if they didn’t have the money to proceed to the next level, they at least had some form of basic education and literacy to help them think for themselves. Had the bill passed most African Americans would have been educated since they were poor and could not afford paid education. Nat Turner was an educated slave that led a rebellion in the southern states. His rebellion led to the death of many white slave owners. He wanted to motivate other slaves in other regions to revolt against their masters, however, this never worked. However, he achieved his objective of instilling fear in the southern states. Many slaves were however prosecuted because of his courageous actions. The southern states also imposed various restrictions on the education of blacks. They wanted to have a tighter grip on the black population to prevent another rebellion from taking place. They believed that education corrupted the minds of the black Americans and contributed to rebellions. This was based on Turner who was educated. black and able to lead a EDUCATIONAL LAG 4 rebellion. As a result of these restrictions, any free slaves after the civil war were illiterate hence this contributed majorly to the educational lag (Graff, 2016). Reforms taken by the courts The courts made supports some laws. The court upheld the notion that so long as facilities given to each race were similar and equal, racial segregation was permissible. This was seen in various sectors such as transport, health education, and housing. This further fueled statesponsored segregation. The African American education systems did not receive equal treatment as their white counterparts. Their schools were rarely equipped with the necessary books and other educational materials. The school’s buildings were in pathetic conditions hence the environments were never conducive for proper education. This made lots of black children lose interest in education hence they dropped out. Most of the black schools had poor security and were understaffed hence the quality of education the black community received from these institutions was substandard. Black teachers received less pay in comparison to their white counterparts hence they lacked the motivation to teach. The classrooms were congested while white schools had a ratio of 1 to 25 students per class. Educational resources lag ensured that blacks received a poor quality education that made them less market-ready. Most black students were prohibited from attending schools together with white children. They were racially profiled based on the assumption that they were criminals and would disrupt the education systems in white schools. It was believed since they have their black schools they should use those schools rather than attending white schools. Berea college v Kentucky law was upheld by the court in 1908. The law prohibited white schools from admitting black students even if they willing to do so. This law contributed toward the racial profiling of black students hence they would be accepted in white schools. This prevented them from receiving a quality education. EDUCATIONAL LAG 5 The choice they had was to use the schools with poor facilities. Even currently some schools are predominantly white and those that mostly have black students. This is because they initially identified as white or black schools. Nullification of separate but equal. The supreme court found that a separate but equal Narrative was not right and nullified it through the case of brown v board of education. The decision made sure that racial segregation in schools was unconstitutional. This was a landmark decision since segregation prevented the daughter of Oliver brown from joining a local white school that was closer to their home (Bartz, & Kritsonis, 2019). The case was rejected by the local courts but an appeal led to the nullification of the law that hindered the enrollment of the little girl. This paved way for the integration of schools and brought about equality in schools (Billingham, 2019). Schools were forced to admit black students even if they didn’t want to since it was found to be unconstitutional if they refused to do so. The ruling was reaffirmed in the case of cooper v Aaron and prohibited state officials and legislators from interfering with the law. With the nullification of separate but equal notion, the achievement gap has seen some improvement, however, that of the whites is still higher than that of the black Americans. This is because, before the nullification of separate but equal thought narrative, the whites had already laid a strong foundation for their achievements. Their schools had the best of facilities and amenities in comparison to blacks schools which were neglected. This makes it difficult for the achievement gap to be standardized. Schools and the government needs to do more and study other factors that might be making it difficult for the achievement gap of black Americans to be equal to that of whites. EDUCATIONAL LAG 6 Educational subsidizing Most African American students are from poor families hence more effort should in providing free education for them. Public school educations should be free for all students from poor backgrounds especially African Americans. Most of the African American parents are already illiterate hence their children can be used to break the generational illiteracy. The schools can also offer free texts books to these students, free-feeding programs, and transportation. This will ensure that these students stay in school for a long time. When more blacks are educated, their racial status shall also improve since they will have the skills to either self-employ or seek employment. This will lead to the improvement of the socio-economic status of the black community (Evans, Garthwaite, & Moore, 2016). This can only be achieved if the schools’ fees for needy African American children are taken care of financially. Interest-free loans should be provided to the African American students who get accepted into universities. This ensures that the money does not accumulate lots of interest that would be difficult for them to pay (Carlson, 2020). Most of them are already financially struggling hence when they have huge debts to pay, they can never be financially independent. Scholarships also play a major role in supporting needy students. It encourages them to stay in school since they are being sponsored hence they don t any financial worries. When one child from a needy household makes it, they can be able to lift others within the community especially if they don’t have loans burdening them. Therefore, by providing education to African Americans, it will help to reduce the gap between whites and African Americans, it will create an equal opportunity environment for both races while reduction of racial tension. EDUCATIONAL LAG 7 References Childs, D. (2017). African American education and social studies: Teaching the history of African American education within a critical pedagogy framework. Ohio Social Studies Review, 54(1), 2014 Graff, G. (2016). Post Civil War African American History: Brief Periods of Triumph, and Then Despair. Journal of psychohistory, 43(4). Bartz, D. E., & Kritsonis, W. A. (2019). Racism, the white power structure, and the tragic history of the education of African American children in the United States. Billingham, C. M. (2019). Within-district racial segregation and the elusiveness of white student return to urban public schools. Urban Education, 54(2), 151-181. Evans, W. N., Garthwaite, C., & Moore, T. J. (2016). The White/Black educational gap, stalled progress, and the long-term consequences of the emergence of crack cocaine markets. Review of Economics and Statistics, 98(5), 832-847. Carlson, S. M. (2020). The US student loan debt crisis: State crime or state-produced harm?. Journal of White Collar and Corporate Crime, 1(2), 140-152.
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