"Between Barack and a Hard Place" By: Tim Wise

Connections

Brown v. Board of Education

For more information on Brown v. Board of Education go to this website.  This is where I got some of my information from.

In the early 1950’s racial segregation in public schools was normal in America.  All schools in one district were supposed to be equal; most black schools were inferior to their white counterparts.  Whites and African Americans were considered separate, but equal.  Brown v. Board of Education was a Supreme Court case in Topeka, Kansas where Linda Brown’s parents sued an all-white school because they refused to enroll her because she was an African American.  On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court discussed this controversial debate.  They stated, "We come then to the question presented: Does segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facilities and other "tangible" factors may be equal, deprive the children of the minority group of equal educational opportunities?”.  Their ruling, “We believe that it does...We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. Therefore, we hold that the plaintiffs and others similarly situated for whom the actions have been brought are, by reason of the segregation complained of, deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment”.  The Supreme Court ruled that “separate but equal” was against the Fourteenth Amendment.  They made it illegal to segregate students by color.  However, the Supreme Court’s decision did not abolish segregation in other public areas such as restaurants and restrooms.  This was a giant step towards desegregation of public schools.  U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education marked a turning point in the history of race relation in the United States.

Today, most people believe that racial equality has been accomplished.  Especially since the United States elected our nation’s first African American president (President Barack Obama) in November 2008.  Tim Wise, author of “Between Barack and a Hard Place”, explains that this is not true.  Here are some quotes by Wise that I took from the video.

“Evidence of racism and discrimination against average every day folks of color is still very much inevitable”.

“We are still in a position and this election proves it.  There is no way in the world that a person of color could have been taken seriously as a presidential candidate if they graduated 5^th from the bottom of the academy they attended”.

“The proof of racial equity will be the day that people of color can be as mediocre as white folks”.

He states, most white people still believe that African Americans are not as smart as white people.  African Americans need to work incredibly hard in order to be recognized.  In order for people to vote for Barack Obama, he needed to show the people of America how intellectual he is in order to be taken seriously.  If he did not prove this then most of Americans would have considered him a joke in the 2008 presidential election.

Wise and Johnson
These two authors have similar ideas, which is, "Instead of talking about the racism and sexism that plague people's lives, people talk about 'diversity' and 'tolerance' and 'appreciating difference'.  Those are good things to talk about, but they're not the same as the ism and the through they're connected to" (Johnson 12).  People cannot ignore racism, it is a painful memory that still occurs in our society.  They both agree that the first step is to recognize what the problem is and involve others in this predicament in order to make a difference.

Wise and Delpit 
"Those with power are frequently least aware of- or least willing to acknowledge- its existence.  Those with less power are often most aware of its existence" (Delpit 26).  These authors are stating that people who are privileged and are not affected do not see any problems.  But there are others who see just how horrible discrimination is because they are witnessed to it every day.  One cannot simply state that racism does not exist because it does.  People say this because they are not aware of what is truly going on in the world, they just assume.  People must talk to one another in order to see if discrimination is still happening.  To get an answer talk to the families who live in lower class neighborhoods and see what they witness every day.  Only then you will find the real answer.

Bob Herbert and McIntosh
Bob Herbert's article, "Separate and Unequal" and McIntosh both agree that white people have white privilege.  It is something most whites are unaware of.  "White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, code books, visas, clothes, tools, and black checks" (McIntosh 1).  White children seem to be given a better education than Hispanic and African American children.  In Brown v. Board of Education they declared that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal" (Herbert).  We did not intend for so many Hispanic and African American children to be put into these poor schools.  Just because a school is poor does not mean the education should be different, but in reality this is true.  Upper class schools give better educations to their students than lower class schools because they have the money to do so.  "Educators know that is is very difficult to get consistently good results in schools characterized by high concentrations of poverty" (Herbert).  The best teachers avoid these schools because expectations of the students are not the same and parental involvement is too low.  These teachers are wearing the white privileged knapsack.  How are these children going to get a good education if people are not willing to teach them and see what these young children are capable of.  "If you really want to improve the education of poor children, you have to get them away from learning environments that are smothered by poverty" (Herbert).  We can do this by sending these under privileged kids to upper class schools or send "the best teachers" to these lower class schools so these children can receive the education they truly deserve.

Questions:
Do you believe racism still exists today?  Have you heard or witnessed any racists comments that were directed towards yourself or someone else?