Are we reviving the Goal of a segregated society? (Efe Cudjoe)

30. May 2010 by student.

Lurking in the shadows of America’s distant past, are the cruel treatment and injustices African- Americans had to endure. Beatings, lynching, inequality, and oppression were all things in the past that one would love to turn a blind shoulder to. Many believe that things within American Society have changed…but when I reflect upon society, it leaves me wondering if this is really the case.  It seems that one would like to believe that racism is no longer present, when in actuality; it is an issue that has been hovering over American Society since the days of distant heroes Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks. 

Now, one mustn’t misinterpret what I am saying, yes I do acknowledge and realize that as Americans we have come milestones, in terms of racism and oppression of blacks, but yet it is still an impending crisis within society. Just because society is no longer segregated by law, does not mean or imply that social relations have been greatly changed by this.  Racism toward blacks is still present within many aspects of society, as we know it today. 

Primarily, racial segregation is still present in schools within
America. Specifically here in Fort Myers, Bishop Verot and Dunbar are prime examples of racial segregation. When my sister attended Bishop Verot in 2004, there were at most 6 other African-Americans (in a school of ≤ 800 mind you), and currently at Dunbar High School over 85% of the students are minorities. Does this not irk you in some way? Has America really changed? Or are we blinded by high hopes that society has changed? 

 I do understand that when it comes to living, one culture or another is more likely to live, or work, and mix amongst themselves, no matter where they are, and one cannot be blamed, if in truth, they ‘feel more at home. But is there not something wrong with notably “all white schools,” or “all black schools in 2010? If society has indeed greatly changed, in terms of racism, then why is this case? 

In a different arena, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in February 2005 in Johnson v. California that the California Department of Corrections’ unwritten practice of racially segregating prisoners in its prison reception centers — which California claimed was for inmate safety (gangs in California, as throughout the U.S., usually organize on racial lines) was to be heavily scrutinized. Many of us were unaware that practices such as this were still impending within contemporary society.  Similarly, a three-year undercover investigation by the National Fair Housing Alliance revealed that real estate agents steered whites away from integrated neighborhoods and steered blacks toward predominantly black neighborhoods. Nearly half of all Americans say race relations in the country are in bad shape and three in 10 acknowledge feelings of racial prejudice, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll taken in 2008. 

It is evident that racism still has a strong presence within American society, and people who naively make claims that racism and segregation no longer exists are most likely not even black themselves. After the turbulent period, of the civil rights movement and over fifty years and counting, changes are yet to be made…its likely they will never completely be made…..and we are to blame. 

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