One such authority in the field, Dr. Pascal Mubenga, in his essay The Struggle of African American Students (2012), reasons that a difficult road from segregation and slavery has impacted the educational achievement of African American students. Dr. Mubenga supports his reasoning by elaborating on the disadvantages African Americans have been faced with starting centuries ago: “While immigrants were being Americanized, African, Mexican, Native, Asian, and Puerto Rican Americans were increasingly segregated or denied language and cultural rights in public schools" (Mubenga 7). His purpose is to make educators aware of the background their African American students come from in order to make sure that their needs are handled with a much more …show more content…
Dr. Mubenga also underlines the theory that "the legacy of slavery and poverty has a negative impact on the African American’s mind. These strains are so strong that they are passed on through centuries to the younger generation" (Mubenga 9). Mubenga’s work unveiled the idea that the most prominent social disadvantage of African Americans can be seen in education and academic achievement. It demonstrated how the concentration of African Americans in historically poverty-stricken areas contributes to a failing educational system. In addition, Dr. Mubenga’s essay made known to me the idea that because African American students are disadvantaged in schools, they shift their priorities away from education. He quotes that “African American students are not experiencing the fruits of education and are led to explore and contemplate what is obvious in the mainstream. Hip-Hop culture, television media, and daily reality are some examples of what African American youth learn in contradiction to the school curricula" (Mubenga …show more content…
However, Dr. Mubenga’s research does not take account of how neighborhood plays its role on education, and specifically, how poorer neighborhoods lead towards poorer, unsuccessful schools. An Editorial from the New York Times points out how African American neighborhoods became poor in the first place, and it draws a connection between that and its effect on education.
The New York Times Editorial Board, in their article How Segregation Destroys Black Wealth (2015), argues that African Americans have been — and still are — discriminated against when buying property, resulting in the sprawl of poverty stricken, predominantly black neighborhoods. The Editorial Board supports this argument by providing historical evidence and analysis of the issue. They specify that “The Federal Housing Administration, created during the New Deal to promote homeownership, openly supported these racist measures; it forbade lending to black people even as it subsidized white families that moved from the cities to the suburbs. Cut off from
“Gentrification is a general term for the arrival of wealthier people in an existing urban district, a related increase in rents and property values, and changes in the district's character and culture.” (Grant) In layman’s terms, gentrification is when white people move to a black neighborhood for the sake of cheaper living, and in turn, raise up property values and force black neighbors to leave because of a higher price of living. Commonly, the government supports gentrification with the demolition of public housing in areas that are developing with more white neighbors. This is causing a decreasing amount of African Americans to be able to afford to live in the neighborhood as their homes are taken away from them, forcing them to relocate. Whilst gentrification normally has negative connotations, there are several people who believe gentrification brings about “an upward trend in property values in previously neglected neighborhoods.” (Jerzyk) On the other hand, this new trend in property value and business causes those...
Goetz, Edward G.. New Deal ruins: race, economic justice, and public housing policy. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2013. Print.
The downgrading of African Americans to certain neighborhoods continues today. The phrase of a not interested neighborhood followed by a shift in the urban community and disturbance of the minority has made it hard for African Americans to launch themselves, have fairness, and try to break out into a housing neighborhood. If they have a reason to relocate, Caucasians who support open housing laws, but become uncomfortable and relocate if they are contact with a rise of the African American population in their own neighborhood most likely, settle the neighborhoods they have transfer. This motion creates a tremendously increase of an African American neighborhood, and then shift in the urban community begins an alternative. All of these slight prejudiced procedures leave a metropolitan African American population with few options. It forces them to remain in non-advanced neighborhoods with rising crime, gang activity, and...
The American society, more so, the victims and the government have assumed that racism in education is an obvious issue and no lasting solution that can curb the habit. On the contrary, this is a matter of concern in the modern era that attracts the concern of the government and the victims of African-Americans. Considering that all humans deserve the right to equal education. Again, the point here that there is racial discrimination in education in Baltimore, and it should interest those affected such as the African Americans as well as the interested bodies responsible for the delivery of equitable education, as well as the government. Beyond this limited audience, on the other hand, the argument should address any individual in the society concerned about racism in education in Baltimore and the American Society in
In his article, “Race and Housing in the Postwar City: An Explosive History,” Raymond Mohl focuses on suburbanization and racial segregation in post-World War II America. Due to discriminatory practices in the housing market, Mohl believes there were actually two housing markets in America, one for white people and one for black people. Many African American families were unable to find their
...philosophers studied in Egypt, that Egypt is by all geographical and historical scales an African nation, and that African Moors, were responsible for educational provisions that brought Europe out of its Dark Ages! Young African-Americans need to know these things because all change begins knowledge, which leads to attitude evaluations and frequently behavior modification (Bettinghaus 456). And, while on one hand self discovery is an individual duty, it is the also the responsibility of centered and oriented African-Americans to share the knowledge that they already possess about not only who we are, but the plethora of powerful forces that seek to exterminate the very essence of that identity. Africana peoples must no longer allow or rely on the Western World to educate the youth! In this regard the rationale, role and responsibility of HBCUs are straightforward.
The world’s population is growing and is becoming larger every day. It is very diverse and causes many issues for all people. There are millions of people here in the country, and these people are in a countless number of races. On top of that, thousands of babies are born every day. But in today’s society, African Americans experience most of the world’s problems. In this world, life is a bit challenging, especially for students, and with that being said I conclude that education, stereotypes, and self-hatred contribute to the difficult lives that African American students experience today.
To understand the viewpoint of W.E.B Dubois and his argument for having a well-educated African American population, his own background and life experience of the struggle to be African and American must be considered. DuBois is born in the north in Massachusetts where the so-called Negro problem paralyzing the
There are many great strides throughout the years in the black communities, yet there are still many obstacles hindering the black communities and education is one of these issues. In the book, The Souls of Black Folk, education in the black communities, was an important issue. Bois Du noted, education and work are the levers to uplift a people. Work alone will not do it unless inspired by the right ideals and guided by intelligence.
From slavery to Jim Crow, the impact of racial discrimination has had a long lasting influence on the lives of African Americans. While inequality is by no means a new concept within the United States, the after effects have continued to have an unmatched impact on the racial disparities in society. Specifically, in the housing market, as residential segregation persists along racial and ethnic lines. Moreover, limiting the resources available to black communities such as homeownership, quality education, and wealth accumulation. Essentially leaving African Americans with an unequal access of resources and greatly affecting their ability to move upward in society due to being segregated in impoverished neighborhoods. Thus, residential segregation plays a significant role in
In his book, The Miseducation of the Negro, Carter G. Woodson addresses many issues that have been and are still prevalent in the African American community. Woodson believed that in the midst of receiving education, blacks lost sight of their original reasons for becoming educated. He believed that many blacks became educated only to assimilate to white culture and attempt to become successful under white standards, instead of investing in their communities and applying their knowledge to help other blacks.
The article includes the tale of a small town near Chicago, North Lawndale. North Lawndale was a Jewish community up to the mid 1960’s when it began to integrate black people into the community. The Jewish people there were happy to see the neighborhood integrate but many others were not. Those that were not happy to see the neighborhood integrate started buying properties up and selling tem to black families at a substantial upcharge. Not only was the price of the home much higher than the value of the home, the way in which the black families were forced to buy their homes was by something called on contract. On contract was a “predatory agreement that combined all the responsibilities of homeownership with all the disadvantages of renting—while offering the benefits of neither” (The Case for Reparations, So That’s Just One of My Losses”) and left many families unable to pay the mortgages. The end results of this discrimination were debilitating to the community of North Lawndale, which is now a majority black neighborhood and a ghetto. This story may not initially sound like one of white privilege but it is when you consider the fact that white people have not historically had to face situations like this one in North Lawndale and therefore their neighborhoods have not met the same type
Education played a very important part in civil rights history. Much time and effort has been spent on education for the black community. It was only right and fair that all people regardless of skin color be granted an equal opportunity to earn a decent education. Protests and other events that took place on the campuses of educational institutions all over the United States have made national headlines. The issue of equality in regards to educational has remained at the vanguard of the civil rights movement long after these events took place. By taking a glance at the changes in education between the 1950s and
The aspect of African-American Studies is key to the lives of African-Americans and those involved with the welfare of the race. African-American Studies is the systematic and critical study of the multidimensional aspects of Black thought and practice in their current and historical unfolding (Karenga, 21). African-American Studies exposes students to the experiences of African-American people and others of African descent. It allows the promotion and sharing of the African-American culture. However, the concept of African-American Studies, like many other studies that focus on a specific group, gender, and/or creed, poses problems. Therefore, African-American Studies must overcome the obstacles in order to improve the state of being for African-Americans.
Phillip, Mary-Christine. "Yesterday Once More: African-Americans Wonder If New Era Heralds," Black Issues in Higher Education. (July 1995).