The Racial Mis-education of America's Youth

A new study by the Pew Hispanic Center finds that enrollment in suburban schools by minority students has seen explosive growth.

The study authored by Richard Fry reports that "the student population of America's suburban public schools has shot up by 3.4 million in the past decade." Ninety-nine percent of that increase was driven solely by Latino, black and Asian students. In 1993-94 the student population of suburban schools was 28% non-white. In 2006-2007 it stood at 41.4%.

But... And there's a BIG but -- at the same time the study found that while the overall number of minority students in suburban schools rose, diversity WITHIN individual schools was stagnant.

From the survey:

In 2006-07, the typical white suburban student attended a school whose student body was 75% white; in 1993-94, this same figure had been 83%. So at a time when the white share of student enrollment in suburban school districts was falling by 13 percentage points (from 72% in 1993-94 to 59% in 2006-07), the exposure of the typical white suburban student to minority students in his or her own school was growing by a little more than half that much, or 8 percentage points.

Which means, although more minorities are now enjoying suburban life, part of that life still includes segregation.

This is the world in which our children are being raised. Forty-one years on from the Kerner Commission's "two societies" declaration we are traveling from "separate and unequal" to equal but separated. In a time when so many willingly accept a black man as president, it is still unlikely that they would have a black or Hispanic or Asian as a neighbor.

And we wonder why the likes of Miley Cyrus or Joe Jonas don't understand the wrongness of going around making "Chinese eyes."

That fact is while many were offended when Attorney General Eric Holder chastised us for being "a nation of cowards" when it comes to having discussions on race, when we head home at night there's rarely anyone except people like us to have these discussions with.

More than just a fact of life, diversity is an attribute of our nation. For children diversity needs to be real, and not merely relegated to learning the names of the usual suspects during Black History Month or enjoying south-of-the-border cuisine on Cinco de Mayo. It means talking to and spending time with kids not like them so that they may discover those kids are in fact just like them.

But our kids aren't the ones who pick neighborhoods or buy houses. The life is theirs, but the choice is ours.

For more perspective please visit That Minority Thing.com

Comments

[susumar]

If you feel this way, Mr. Ridley, why do you and the folks at Morning Joe always seem to only talk about how rich you are when you go on that show? I totally agree with Vietveter - this is a case of rich v. poor. I doubt that the members of the Obama administration who happen to be Black are living in segregated communities in D.C.

[mchelen]

Even in relatively affluent areas, it often takes real effort to keep members of different communities interacting, whether those differences are based on race, religion, or culture.

[danceswithtrees]

THEIR kids go to Private schools also... hmmm do as I say...

[mythofmeritocracy]

Actually there is a good chance that African-American members of the Obama administration are living in largely segregated neighborhoods, there are middle class and wealthy predominately black communities too. Its possible that Mitchellville, could be home to some of these members.

[mauibob]

I believe whites are declining as a percentage of the population. That would distort your thesis. In addition, many white are fleeing the public school system. Not because of blacks or other minorities but becuase of a horrible public school system. Private schools and home schooling are growing rapidly. But, if you thinks its race, I can not change your mind. everything is about race these days unfortunately, its not for real and the election of Obama proves it.

[Haditup2here]

I have a question. How many people do you know that can afford private school or even home schooling as many parents (middle income) both have to work in a two-parent household? Secondly, if people fought for equal resources and qualified teachers across the board despite the neighborhoods where they existed, schools in general wouldn't be in the DISARRAY that they are now. Thirdly, some of the same people who have been fed with a silver spoon through private school only to get into Yale, Harvard, Princeton, or even Brown University are some of the principal people who got us in this economic mess in the first place.

[vagabondvet]

The education system is in disarray because it is inefficient. Even at the so-called "good" schools with lots of resources, kids are getting dumber. Will more resources fix the problem? No, the system as a whole is tanking. The education system is highly regulated and government-run, but there are nothing but problems.

[Truthhurts60]

Funny how now it is cool to care about the poor because it is affecting white people. black people have been living in a recession (with high unemployment) for generations but it is because they are lazy, right?

[Tanyars5]

Truth - you know that is right...ha­haha

[stevespelling]

Even mice, squirrels and the little birds can make a living in America. Stop your whining, get some training or an education. Then you'll get a good job better money and a better life. This society is a Meritocracy. You are rewarded for accomplishing things. Not for whining and complaining!
If you have children out of wedlock in your teens and with only one parent to pay the bills. You are going to have a harder life! If you drop out of high school, you are going to have a harder life!
If you don't learn how to read, You are going to have a harder life! If you don't have any good role models around you or a father and a mother You are going to have a harder life!
If you have a chip on your shoulder instead of a smile on your face no one will buy your products & You are going to have a harder life!
This is true for any race, color or creed. It's even true for a mouse. If he doesn't learn the necessary mouse skills he's going to have a harder life & probably get eaten by a cat!

[mythofmeritocracy]

That was true fifty years ago, my grandfather was an immigrant to this country and was able to grind it out and eventually get his bachelors and masters degrees and went on to a very successful career. Unfortunately this isn't really the case anymore and it has very little to with the character and values of the poor and much more to do with the lack of opportunities. Less than .5% of the lowest income bracket descend to the highest income bracket.

There used to be a lot of mid level skill jobs where you could make and honest living without having to earn a degree now those jobs have been shipped too poorer countries and we are left with jobs that pay next to nothing and jobs that you need a college degree to obtain. You need money to get a degree and you need the self-confidence to get through school which not everyone has.

Hard work can get you far in this country, but you need opportunity and motivation too. We need to work harder as a country to create more opportunities for people like there used to be. If your going to preach about meritocracy understand the limitations of your argument.

[stevespelling]

I think almost all of the poor in America are poor for a good reason! Bad values, bad habits, no work ethic, etc, etc, etc, on down the line. And one thing about Failure...­. it's easy. You have to be lucky to have a good family that sets you on the right path. If you don't it's going to be hard.
I've seen the poor up close & mostly they're a mess. It'll take a lot more than government programs to straighten them out.

[IGNSTHMD]

being poor doesn't make you a failure

I mean, would you really say that to a underprivelaged youth:
uhh yeah I know you don't eat right and uhh by the way you suck.

who does something as pitiful as that

[vagabondvet]

We are a "nation of cowards" when it comes to race because having a conversation on race is like walking on eggshells. People get offended at the minutiae, like "squinty eyes." At the same time, there is a double standard that exists in the conversation. For example, blacks can say the n-word and call whites cracker, but whites are generally forbidden from using the n-word. An honest conversation cannot take place if all language is loaded and anything large or small can be offensive.

Dr. King said it best regarding judging people by their character, not their skin color. Unfortunately, much of our political establishment relies on racial identity to judge their effectiveness.

[Truthhurts60]

Funny how white people (I am assuming you are white) like to invoke equality and King but are largely not in favor of programs designed to correct inequality. hmmmm

[Tanyars5]

Truth- truth hurts!!!!!

[vagabondvet]

Isn't that a stereotype?

No, nevermind, it's a strawman.

Correcting inequality is impossible; everyone has different abilities and ambitions.

[JustThisGuy]

That depends on how you define 'correct inquality'.

There is a problem with urban and low income schools being underfunded. There is also a cultural problem that many people who do not come from a family background with high expectations of acheavement are less likely to care, or think they can succed.

I really want everyone to have equal oppertunity, but there are few faster ways to turn me off, and make me disengage then to imply I am racist, or go off on the subject of while male privlage.

[Wake-up]

HELLO!!! There not need for "Programs"

REAL numbers: http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/income_wealth/012528.html

[Tanyars5]

Vaga- I am black and growing up was not allowed to use the n word in the house or call white people crackers. I think you watch too much TV.

[danceswithtrees]

Sounds like you grew up in a great home Taynarss5. i'll bet that has served you well in life to treat all with dignity and respect.

[mchelen]

Using a racial epithet as an insult or in a derogatory fashion, is different than discussing it in an honest and respectful way. Here, you are doing the latter, but it is our responsibility to call out those doing the former.

[amebaby]

Vagabond - my daughter asks the same thing on a daily basis. Her non-white friends call each other the n word and worse and the white people names, but if a white person says the same, they scream racism, If they truly want to be treated equally, why do they go out of their way to sabotage that?

[Truthhurts60]

ohhhh, I know the answer to this!

The difference is that the little black kids calling white people names don't have the power to deny their mortgage loans, deny them unemployment, lock them up for non-violent crimes, or sentence them to doomed schools.

[vietveter]

Mr. Ridley

You are selling a lot of us short.

Segregation is real and it is getting worse every day but it is not segregation by skin color, it is segregation by economic status.

The real problem in our country is not

Black - V - White.

it is

Rich - V - Poor

[Wake-up]

WRONG... if your poor, you can change that in America, if your White... you're always going to be White

Everyone was winning under Bush, except the poor who were about the same, these are the latest REAL available numbers: http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/income_wealth/012528.html

[Truthhurts60]

Your numbers mask wealth and does not show Net financial assets nor does it show Net Worth.

[LaDonnarenee]

Thank you for this eye opening article. I agree with great dismay...

[Wake-up]

This is crap... We're not talking about Race enough? All we've done for the last 50 years is talk about Race... what else is there to say?

The numbers are great for all Legal (key word) groups in the US. This is the biggest non-issue of the year... and making Chinese Eyes... so what, their eyes do look like that, so what?

No one can make you feel bad without your permission. - E. Roosevelt

[Truthhurts60]

Really? When have we addressed the disproportionate amount of minorities being thrown in jail for non-violent drug offenses even though whites self-admittedly use more drugs?

There is systemic inequality in education, housing, employment, the criminal justice system and every major American institution TODAY. If you would like to have a substantive debate using facts, I welcome it.

[Wake-up]

Minorities are being "thrown" in jail because they commit crimes... they commit crimes because there's higher non family infrastructure than say Asians.

Systemic inequality, nonsense..­. REAL numbers: http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/income_wealth/012528.html

Everyone is up and to the right and higher among minorities

[smarti]

Truthhurts60, please see this link for an excellent book that discusses just his issue:
http://www.amazon.com/Pipe-Dream-Blues-Racism-Drugs/dp/0896084108/ref=sr_1_32?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238811389&sr=1-32

[IGNSTHMD]

who is We and what did "We" say?

[Nommo]

I don't know how equal it is, but separate is the order of the day as well as yesterday. There is no real impetus towards appreciating any "others" whoever they may be. Black people have lived here in some kind of proximity for centuries and remain a complete mystery if not just a slew of assumptions to white people. I guess that this would be so for awareness all such "others" outside of restaurants and holidays.

Neighborhoods are just retreats from all the otherness that is this nation.

[strawberryjulius]

I'm half asian, half white and I live next to a mexican family. However, I live in NYC. Some neighborhoods are segregated and some are not. On the whole, I think you are more likely to live in a diverse neighborhood if you live in a city. Think Ft.Green - Brooklyn, Flushing and Jackson Heights - Queens, Hyde Park and Rogers Park - Chicago.

[Tanyars5]

Hey Nommo whats up

I know more about white people than they know about me or my race. I cannot go a day without interacting with white people. There are many white people who grow up and never really have any interaction from black people. There whole knowledge of black people is driven by media.
Diversity is a concept lost on many whites.

[stevespelling]

Eric Holder's comments were a disgrace, & any honest conversation about race is impossible because people are instantly labeled racists by the race huckster industry. Americans like any neighbors that are decent, moral, & hard working. We don't care about race. No other Western country has elected a black family to the position of First Family. None of our allies or friends have societies that are as open or free & offer upward mobility based solely on merit. We've turned the corner on race, but we do need to fix this economy.
The projected $10 Trillion deficit over the next 10 years translates into a new & additional $700 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR (at 7%) IN INTEREST PAYMENTS. That's $2500 a year on every person in the US, or $10,000 A YEAR IN ADDITIONAL INTEREST PAYMENTS FOR EVERY FAMILY OF FOUR IN THE NATION! AND THAT EQUALS A TAX INCREASE OVER & ABOVE WHAT YOU ARE CURRENTLY PAYING OF A WHOPPING $10,000 A YEAR FOR EVERY AMERICAN FAMILY.. Not counting new state and municipal taxes that are heading our way.
$10,000 a year that won't be available to pay for other necessary government programs. $10,000 owing in new taxes every year in perpetuity because Uncle Sam never repays the debt.

So please John, stop whining about race and let's start talking turkey!

[robXdion]

You call Eric Holder's comments a disgrace because you felt he was talking about you and it hurt your feelings. I don't know WHY whites are so insistent on thinking Holder was talking about THEM. Guilt complex? The fact is blacks can be just as cowardly. The comment was meant for everyone. And you're using electing Obama as a crutch, but you probably would get queasy at having more than one black neighbor, marrying your daughter, etc, etc. etc. BTW, the frantic segway into economic crisis stats won't stop the discussion you're obviously afraid to have.

[danceswithtrees]

I don't care if my daughter marries a martian. I ask 2 questions. where does he (or she) work. And what is their FICO score. This tells me all I need to know if they will be good for her. Check yourself on THAT one!

[mojoman]

Gee, I'm glad that all that race stuff has been resolved. Good job. Now, on to the economy...­........

[EducatedSocialScientist]

I strongly disagree with your assertion "stevespel­ling." The Atty. General could not have been more forthcoming in his charge that the United States is generally "coward" when it comes to race. Your claim that this society is "open or free & offer upward mobility based solely on merit" illuminates your seclusion from the experiences of many many African Americans and others who know all too well about the reality of race and its impact. Who is the "we've turned the corner on race" are you referring to? Please provide specifics.
I'm heading back over to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ObamaBrigade/

ESS

[stevespelling]

EducatedSo­cialScient­ist - Eric Holder is a blatant phony & coward! An honest conversation about race is a contradiction in terms. I strongly disagree with everything you say. Every racial group coming to America experiences all kinds of hardship and persecution. And many come from places far worse than Bull Connor's racially segregated South (which would have been deemed a luxury resort by most immigrants who only wish they had it as good as the blacks in America! You know nothing. They come with nothing and can't even speak the language but they work hard and manage to achieve a better life. They are grateful to be here as we should all should be.
Yes you had it hard. So did the Jews who were murdered everywhere by Christians & Muslims. So did the Armenians who were murdered by the Turks. So did most immigrants. They had their property stolen or weren't allowed to own property, and were persecuted and discriminated against everywhere, even here when they came! So did other immigrant groups. If not for America, every Jew on the planet would have been murdered. Many African Americans came here of their own volition seeking a better life. We've all had to deal with these problems that you feel are yours exclusively.

[IGNSTHMD]

you are looking at this thing all jaded like. fact is you can't stop taking from blacks for five minutes to see the malities of your comments. it is always those that have the least that are tagged with the burden and you feel like its fine that way they must like it or something. You rationalize your own feelings of restitution on phrases like turning the corner and institutions like moral accreditation and appease your responsibilities to fighting indignations of past and continued inequity. The antiquitous nature of afflicting a mans soul with desperation and tieing his feet to the same has resulted in a dependancy which has been further fed detriment such as violence as conflict resolution, irrational priority, and a squewed vision of self. to at least cover the cliches you covent so much you must first attest to your responsibilities of contieous and to your fellow man. If you look past conienience and conformity you will see slighting the truth and negotiating appearences leave a large group of people unrepresented; it a shame they are the same down-troden you have repeatedly asked to bare the burden of your neglect.

[Rumplestiltskin]

I think there should be a government agency that picks our children 's friends for them.

[stevespelling]

Send Pelosi your idea. I think she'll implement it. They can also send out Race Monitors (I just invented a new job for a quarter million people & ACORN can supervise it) to issue fines to every person failing to live in a Diverse neighborhood! And we can borrow the money from the Chinese to pay for it. We can tax every family whose children don't have the right mix of racially diverse friends. We thought the Republicans were bad. These guys are going to hand every American family an additional $10,000 tax bill every year in perpetuity to pay for all their nonsensical ideas. TOTAL LUNACY!
This could be the title of the new budget plan: "$10,000 a year in new taxes for every family but we're putting a chicken in every pot!"

[tbone99]

You didn't mention the effects of tracking on keeping surburban school children segregated. There are schools within schools,such as science academies etc within the general school to ensure white students are funneled toward college while minority students are targeted to get high school diplomas.or that AP classes contain almost no historically minority kids. or that the rates of private schools in the area increase when school diversity increases.

[All in All]

Now those are the facts that would make the story whole!

[jdj81]

That wasn't my experience. I attended a predominantly white and Latino suburban public high school about ten years ago. The "elite" classes like debate, newspaper, honors, AP, etc. were among the most diverse in the school. Your mileage may vary.

[Tanyars5]

Have you heard about the "schools" where they place all of the "problem" children K thru 6 grade.
The population of the school are 100% AA. Most are poor.

[Archontruth]

While you're absolutely right on the facts, you're dead wrong on the faults. There is no secret conspiracy of white suburbanites to keep minorities out of their cul-de-sac. I've lived in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington DC all my life, so I speak from experience. Older folks aside, the average suburbanite doesn't pay enough attention to his neighbors to discriminate even if he's inclined to do so. I have a job that consumes most of my waking hours and friends who live nowhere near me that occupy the rest. I don't care if my neighbors are black, Asian or extraterrestrial as long as they don't make noise late at night. (The worst offenders here are the white college kids renting the house three doors down)

You might want to consider that it's not white people but rather everyone involved that participates in the new segregation of our society. Frankly, I don't care what race my new neighbors are. I'm not going to learn their names either.

[Truthhurts60]

Archontruth, if that is the case as you state, maybe you can shed some light on something for me:

Why does Federal Reserve Bank studies show that blacks and hispanic applicants are denied mortgage loans two to three times more often than whites? Before you cite income as the explanation, which is also largely due to structural privileges of whites, these are high income blacks and minorities being turned down compared to low-income whites.

Maybe while you are at it, you can also explain the correlation between white flight and blacks moving into the neighborhood? Or

Maybe you can explain why Whites in surveys feel the amount of blacks in their neighborhoods matters more than relative property value, low crime rates, and good schools combined?

[danceswithtrees]

Where do you come up with this garbage. you need to change your name to "Make it up as I go along" THINK...Wh­y would a bank deny loans to ANYONE more then anyone else. I've never been asked my race on a loan application.

[IGNSTHMD]

here is a thought: do you get nervous when a black man starts taking about something important to him? Check yourself.

[urnumbersix]

De facto segregation is real. I once had an intern who thought Washington DC was a majority-white city (white people, like him, are all he ever saw). I am often the only African-American in the room. Sad that this is being continued among the children.

[khepri]

Is the suburban "segregation" you refer to based upon neighborhoods and school boundaries? If so, that's the way it is--unless, of course, you advocate busing kids all over again.

It is important for kids to see--and I know you mean white kids in your article--that there are others. This is because the "others" see a white (but soon not to be) world around them...so they don't need an introduction, obviously. All minorities know what whites are like; but relatively few whites know what minorities are like--and it would be good to see this change.

Which I think it will, because of the Obama phenomenon--though you greatly undervalue that in your short piece.

But above and beyond all that; the most important thing is not about having mixed races within classrooms--that is an epiphenomenon. More important is having classrooms that are by spirit inclusive, engaged, challenging, and that require full participation from all students regardless of race. Teachers who operate at this level do not level the playing field; instead, the level the performance field.

At this level of instructional delivery and classroom culture, race will continue to become a non-issue--which we all hope it will become in the near future. Again, in part, thanks to the model that Obama represents.

[DogLeg]

Would you like to see the pictures of my children when they were young and the friends they had?