Childhood school segregation

2013
united states

Childhood school segregation refers to the practice of segregating students based on their race or ethnicity in schools during the early years of a child's education. This practice was common in many parts of the United States prior to the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, when schools were legally allowed to separate white and non-white students into different schools or classrooms.

Segregation in schools had a devastating impact on minority students, who often received inferior education, resources, and opportunities compared to their white peers. Many minority students were forced to attend overcrowded, underfunded schools with outdated facilities and inadequate resources, while white students attended well-funded, high-quality schools.

The Supreme Court's landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 declared that segregation in schools was unconstitutional, leading to the desegregation of public schools across the country. However, the legacy of childhood school segregation still persists in many communities, as disparities in education and resources continue to impact minority students today.

Further reading

Wolinsky F.D.; Malmstrom T.K.; Miller J.P.; Andresen E.M.; Schootman M.; Miller D.K. (2013) "Association between childhood school segregation and changes in adult sense of control in the african american health cohort", Journals of Gerontology - Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 68(6), pp. 956-962. Gerontological Society of America. DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbt089