When I was a kid, I watched a movie called “Ruby Bridges,” based on the 1960s’ true story of one of the first African-American children to de-segregate William Frantz Public School, a New Orleans school for “whites only.”
Images from this film, and others, are permanently etched in my mind as a reminder of the injustice that was segregation. If it weren’t for these movies, I wouldn’t know about the suffering those children went through to be equal. I’ve never allowed myself to forget their fight, bravery and strength. And I’ve never forgotten how wrong those rules were.
But for a time, the administration in McCaskey East High School in Lancaster, Pa. did forget. For six minutes a day and 20 minutes twice a month, they separated African-American boys and girls, giving them their own homeroom for “enriching students’ experiences through mentoring.” The idea was that the students would form bonds with their teachers and classmates. This notion was based on research that “shows grouping black students by gender with a strong role model can help boost their academic achievement and self-esteem.”
Am I the only one who sees how ridiculous this was? I thought that we had come to the point where we wouldn’t have to worry about segregation anymore than we have to worry about dying from smallpox.
There’s nothing wrong with hanging out with those of your race, religion, gender or ethnicity. What the administrators of this school neglected to acknowledge is that we learn more from those who are different from us than from those who are the same. If you only hang out with people like you, you will never grow. You will never change. You will never be able to paint the canvas of your life with more than one color. How did the school administrators forget this?
Besides, how much learning can be done in 160 minutes a month? It’s ridiculous to believe that this minimal amount of time will be productive. Imagine going to class or speaking to your mentors that often. An two hours a month isn’t going to create significant progress. It’s shameful to think that these people wanted to give their black students an “edge” by mentoring them for this long.
Thankfully, the school lifted this policy and now has the mentoring during homeroom for all the students, not just African-Americans. To this decision I say, “Good riddance.” I hope the lunacy that led them to separate the students in the first place doesn’t come back. The concept of equality among races is learned by being on equal standing with others no matter where we are or in what situation. We need to all fight together for this equality when it is threatened and see the beauty of unity within the only true race: the human race.
