Segregation vs. Integration

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Segregation vs. Integration

One of the most significant issues which the United States has dealt with for decades is the issue of racial segregation. In a post-Civil Rights era, there is a common tendency to assume that racism is no longer a pressing social concern in America due to the gradual erosion of whiteness. During the late 1800s and much of the 1900s, segregation had been a controversial and divisive issue throughout the country. This issue stemmed from the separation of African Americans and whites during a period when slavery was recently abolished and Blacks were still looked down upon. This was the era of repressive Jim Crow laws, where strict segregation was mandated and racial segregation was regulated. After the Plessy v. Ferguson case of 1896, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of racial segregation as long as it was “separate but equal.” However, most facilities and services provided to African Americans were inferior and substandard compared to those offered to whites. This led to a massive uproar among the African American community, which paved the way for the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was created which fought for civil rights among African Americans. Although after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed any form of discrimination and segregation, the topic of segregation and integration still remains a contentious debate in America. Three writers who have opposing ideas on this topic are Daniel T. Lichter, Michael S. Murray, and Danielle Holley-Walker. Daniel Lichter opposes the idea of integration in his article “Integration or Fragmentation? Racial Diversity and the American Future.” He explains the Third Demographic T...

... middle of paper ...

...e poor minority children will lead to a demise in society. These contradictory opinions on segregation from these three writers are the reason why this topic remains controversial not only among schools, but among society as a whole.

WORKS CITED

Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537, 539 (1896).

Lichter, Daniel1, DTL28@Cornell.edu. 2013. "Integration or Fragmentation? Racial Diversity and the American Future." Demography 50, no. 2: 359-391.Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson), EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2014).

Holley-Walker, Danielle. 2012. "A NEW ERA FOR DESEGREGATION." Georgia State University Law Review 28, no. 2: 423. Publisher Provided Full Text Searching File, EBSCOhost (accessed May 2, 2014).

Merry, Michael S. 2012. "SEGREGATION AND CIVIC VIRTUE." Educational Theory 62, no. 4: 465-486. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed May 1, 2014).

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