Why are schools still segregated?
Redlining is not a new concept for me, though I became familiar with this term fairly recently. Redlining is something that truly infuriates me as I think of the generational limitations it caused. In short, redlining was the reason African-American families could not buy in certain neighborhoods. The Federal Housing Act decided that loans would not be given to African-Americans and attempted to create sole neighborhoods dedicated to African-Americans. I grew up in San Diego and there is a neighborhood called Logan Heights, or Barrio Logan. This neighborhood is a victim of redlining. One example is the pollution, people that grow up there have worse asthma and health due to industrial plants nearby without having access to good healthcare. This was not an accident and because the federal government decided to segregate people of color schools are still affected. Since property taxes determine how much funding a school gets it's obvious that redlined areas are still suffering the effects and schools there receive a lot less money. This process of redlining might be illegal today, but still has left a lasting imprint. Since African-Americans did not have the same opportunities to have homes, grow their wealth, and be in good health they were severely handicapped to ever breaking out of redlined areas. Therefore schools will still be segregated all due to federal practices that made it impossible for African-Americans to succeed. In one of the videos it mentioned how interstates were built to demolish neighborhoods, well consider I-35 and what is west and what is east. I-35 is a literal line that separated lower socio-economic neighborhoods from wealthier areas. Schools will continue to stay segregated so long as funding comes from property taxes. Lower home values in lower income areas equals less funding, unless we change the policies federally this is why schools will remain segregated.
Hi Lauren, I really enjoyed reading your blog, and one of the comments that stuck out to me the most was when you expressed the lasting imprint of redlining, and how it continues to negatively impact and affect poc families to this day. Redlining has only made it harder for poc families to move out of their neighborhoods as they continue to face home inequity, from the low property value that their house is valued at, to the poor living conditions they’re placed under. Segregation within schools is a by-product of redlining, limiting the resources and opportunities that poc students have to succeed and advance in school. School funding is another issue they face, as their homes and properties don’t hold a high enough value to obtain the needed amount of funds that every school should have. But like you mentioned, as long as funding continues to depend on property taxes, the schools will continue to stay segregated and poc people will continue to be the victims of this unjust and broken system.
ReplyDeleteHi Lauren, I found your blog to be very informative, giving me a clear and better understanding of the term redlining, what it is and how it impacts minorities across the nation. As I worked through this week's module, I found myself extremely disappointed and heartbroken at the fact that a government system put in place to work for the benefit of its citizens sabotages the residents of its own country so severely. Although some may say we have moved past this issue or we have taken many steps forward, which we have, the effect of redlining still haunts people of color to this day in society, schools, work and in many additional aspects as well that this country still struggles to move forward with and look past. And although children in present time going to school may not have experienced the time period in which segregation and redlining was such a pest to past ancestors, they are still experiencing the consequences from these evil actions today in several ways which they have no understanding as to why at such a young and innocent age.
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