American school segregation

2008
united states

American school segregation refers to the practice of separating students based on their race or ethnicity in the educational system. This practice was common in the United States prior to the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, when laws requiring racial segregation in schools were struck down by the Supreme Court.

During the era of segregation, African American students were often forced to attend separate, underfunded schools with fewer resources and opportunities compared to their white counterparts. This segregation not only perpetuated racial inequalities in education, but also reinforced broader social and economic disparities between white and non-white Americans.

Although legal segregation in schools has been abolished, de facto segregation still exists in many areas due to factors such as residential segregation and economic inequality. Efforts to address school segregation and promote educational equity continue to be a focus of civil rights advocates and policymakers in the United States.

Further reading

Santiago M. (2019) "Historical Inquiry to Challenge the Narrative of Racial Progress", Cognition and Instruction, 37(1), pp. 93-117. Routledge. DOI: 10.1080/07370008.2018.1539734

Santiago M. (2019) "A framework for an interdisciplinary understanding of Mexican American school segregation", Multicultural Education Review, 11(2), pp. 69-78. Routledge. DOI: 10.1080/2005615X.2019.1615246

Donato R.; Hanson J. (2017) "“In These Towns, Mexicans Are Classified as Negroes”: The Politics of Unofficial Segregation in the Kansas Public Schools, 1915 1935", American Educational Research Journal, 54(1_suppl), pp. 53S-74S. SAGE Publications Inc.. DOI: 10.3102/0002831216669781

Santiago M. (2017) "Erasing Differences for the Sake of Inclusion: How Mexican/Mexican American Students Construct Historical Narratives", Theory and Research in Social Education, 45(1), pp. 43-74. Routledge. DOI: 10.1080/00933104.2016.1211971

Donato R.; Hanson J.S. (2012) "Legally white, socially "mexican": The politics of de jure and de facto school segregation in the American Southwest", Harvard Educational Review, 82(2), pp. 202-225. Harvard University. DOI: 10.17763/haer.82.2.a562315u72355106

Powers J.M. (2008) "Forgotten history: Mexican American school segregation in Arizona from 1900 1951", Equity and Excellence in Education, 41(4), pp. 467-481. . DOI: 10.1080/10665680802400253