I have decided to focus on the school system and just how systemic injustice impacts an individual’s chances at receiving a “good education”. Black students simply do not have the opportunities that white students do. Higher education is considered a luxury and oftentimes a dream so far out of reach for these students out of color. The attendance of people of color at inner city schools is a perfect example of systemic injustice at play within our school system. Inner city schools are predominantly made up of African American and Hispanic students, meanwhile white students make up most of the public and private school population. These students attending inner city schools are scoring significantly lower on state tests in comparison to students attending private schools. Overall, because those attending inner city schools are coming from low income families, the education they are receiving is significantly worse than the higher income families sending their children to private schools. Thus meaning, lower income people of color were set up for failure to begin with. They will never receive the type of education their white peers receive, leading these students to a future in which higher education seems unlikely. Because private school is so expensive, it is almost impossible for those of lower income and students of color to gain access to better education. Ultimately students that attend private school and even those students attending public schools have a better opportunity at furthering their education past high school than those students attending an inner city school. Another issue within the school system is the constant reliance of law enforcement in response to minor issues within students of color. Statistics show that law enforcement is being called at a substantially higher rate for black students in comparison to white students. However, law enforcement is being called for minor altercations in which black students are being arrested for, meanwhile many white students are let off with a warning for the same altercation. These constant arrests of innocent students of color is known as the “school to prison pipeline”. The “school to prison pipeline” can be explained by people of color being continuously arrested causing them to drop out of school. These examples of systemic injustice reflect just how one sided the school system is. It is almost as if the school system is put in place to discourage students of color from pursuing a higher degree.
Race Relations & Central City Schools: It’s time for an experiment with vouchers
https://www.benjerry.com/whats-new/2017/11/systemic-racism-education
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/04/24/more-hispanics-blacks-enrolling-in-college-but-lag-in-bachelors-degrees/
https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/millions-black-students-attend-public-schools-are-highly-segregated-race-and-income
After reading this I look back at how it was back in high school. I agree with everything you had to say. It’s very upsetting that they don’t want them to succeed even though that’s is all they talk about while we are in school. It may be different depending on what school you went to. Your statistics prove that mainly white colored people succeed through college or just even go to begin with. Regarding the law enforcement, it is good they are in the school systems but for the fact that kids of color get more of a punishment compared to the white kids is just absurd. I’m glad I was able to read this post and put more awareness to it.