Reply #103: Schools and school resources

[Brewman_Jax]

or "why you're sitting next to a white kid to learn."

After listening to the interview with Joseph C. Phillips (a RW lawn jockey) on being black in America, I had to note where Mr. Phillips was wrong, which was often, but this one stuck out like a sore thumb. He said, "...that you don't have to sit next to white kids to do well in school." That's accurate, but not totally true.

Brown vs. Board of Education didn't automatically make a racist society wake up enlightened and say that all money and resources for schools will be distributed evenly and we'll fix neglected schools and make everyone equal. There has been progress, but it's still in progress. Mr. Phillips makes the standard line that black parents want their children going to integrated schools, or "sitting next to white children" because it will make black children smart. Not so--those parents want their children "sitting next to white children" because that is where the money and resources will go. Past history has shown that money will not be spent on majority-black schools, but on majority-white schools. This was the basis of the Brown vs. Board of Education argument. The assumption is that the county school board will not sacrifice white children for a few black children. They may grumble that "those kids" are benefiting along with their white counterparts, but they'll spend the money. One point where Mr. Phillips is correct--on a even learning field, differences between races disappears.