Segregation In Education

The Framers of the Constitution set up a system in which power was to be shared, and as such conflict would arise as a natural byproduct of governance. “The Founders envisioned constructive tension among…governmental institutions would not only preserve liberty but would also promote the public good (Katzman, 1997).” Desegregation can serve as example to demonstrate the idea of productive conflict. The actions taken in Arkansas to perpetuate segregation in forms de jure and de facto in nature demonstrate how fiercely states resisted the Court. Governor Faubus set up a confrontation with the federal government when he ordered the National Guard to preserve order, at the expense of the Little Rock Nine’s constitutional rights. President Eisenhower
Segregationists affirmed their right to local and self-governance; a right enumerated in the Constitution. Yet they did not take into account the disparate impact felt by students of color because of those policies. These students could not access the best or even acceptable schools, materials, or instructors in part because of segregation laws and in part because of how education in the U.S. is funded. Cooperative federalism is integral to this discussion due to local school districts receive federal funds and must therefore comply with the wishes of the federal government – but not all funds come from the federal government, much of the total allocation comes from local school and state taxes. It can be understood, then, why parents wish for their kids to go to neighborhood schools. And this practice would be perfectly acceptable if the bounds of school districts were not inextricably tied to the unfair housing practices that shaped them. The act of busing sought to override the demonstrable impacts red-lining had had on families of color. Not only had they been kept from taking advantage of the best schools and social services, they were unable to accumulate wealth in their neighborhoods. What grew out of these policies was an observable achievement gap between white and students of color. The gap was most greatly reduced in the era of intense integration – a time in which a myriad of policies were employed to achieve not only a court’s mandate, but one to our fellow Americans (Parents). Achievement needs not be a sum-zero game in which white students and parents lose when students and families of color rise. What changed in that period of successful integration was more than an amelioration of the achievement gap, but a changing of American values. If coercing students to go to minority heavy schools, to be