Resegregating Omaha's Schools
There's always more to stories like this than the salacious "headline" indicates, and I know nothing of the troubles or history of Omaha, Neb. school systems, but when I come across a story like this, I feel obliged to mention it.
Again, I don't know the local politics, or the history, or the details, but with the Republican "values" folks trying to "return" this country to some idealized version of the fifties, this story of segregation jumped out at me.
What freaks me out about the "return to values" crowd is that the world they want to "return" to never really existed, it's a collective archetype formed largely out of memories of television programs from baby boomer's childhoods. (See Also: There were no blacks in Mayberry.)
LINCOLN, Neb. - In a move decried by some as state-sponsored segregation, the Legislature voted Thursday to divide the Omaha school system into three districts — one mostly black, one predominantly white and one largely Hispanic.
Again, I don't know the local politics, or the history, or the details, but with the Republican "values" folks trying to "return" this country to some idealized version of the fifties, this story of segregation jumped out at me.
What freaks me out about the "return to values" crowd is that the world they want to "return" to never really existed, it's a collective archetype formed largely out of memories of television programs from baby boomer's childhoods. (See Also: There were no blacks in Mayberry.)
posted by mikevotes at
7:11 AM
4 Comments:
The headline definately seems to put a negative spin on the story. If we can take the Congressmen and women at their word (I don't know much about the Nebraska legislature) then it seems to not be as much about segregation as giving the minority groups more control over their own school system. I don't see that as much of a problem, but I certainly would hope it doesn't turn into a "seperate but equal" issue.
It is interesting that the only black Senator in the legislature is in favor of the bill.
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By
The Flamingo, at 8:41 AM
I don't care what the black Senator (I heard that too) says, school segregation is wrong, wrong, wrong. Separating schoolchildren by race denies them the opportunity to build understanding of and relationships with other races that will serve them in later life. It sends a message that is devastating -- we're different, set apart. It's the death knell of assimilation.
It's divisive in the extreme, and I'd oppose it with my last breath.
By
Motherlode, at 10:10 AM
Again, I don't know the specifics but I agree with you to the fullest, motherlode.
And, Flamingo, that's my fear. We've had a somewhat similar situation here in Houston where there are several school districts. The two most extreme are the Houston Independent School District primarily black and hispanic, and Spring Branch school district which covers mostly white richer areas.
The way the schools are financed is local property taxes, so the white schools are very well funded while HISD is not. There have been a number of initiatives to try to fix this, but they keep failing for one reason or another.
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 11:13 AM
I see where both of you are coming from, but according to what I read in the article, the school system had stopped busing students, and forced them to go to the schools closest to them. This would tell me that the poorer areas would have the poorer schools now, and perhaps this redistricting would help solve that problem.
I hope I didn't give the impression that I am in support of segregation. I'm completely opposed to it.
I grew up in an area where segregation wasn't an issue, as there were maybe 2 or 3 families in my entire town (in central Maine). I now go to a university in New Jersey, where it is much different, but segregation has never affected me, so I guess I grew up somewhat desensitized by the issue. I can understand, as motherlode said, that younger children might see the redistricitng as seperation of races, and that might lead to prejudices. I suppose once you get older, as I was before I ever really encountered interracial classes, you realize that the color of someone's skin doesn't matter in the least, but that may not be the case with impressionable children.
By
The Flamingo, at 5:02 PM
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