Segregation In Public Schools Essay

As a little boy I always loved going to the festivals with my mama, New Orleans had the best of them. I loved the food, the music, and the mixture of the people from our city. Normally we weren’t allowed to be around the white people, but during festivals they were all over the city, and so were we. At school, we wouldn’t eat lunch at the same table as the white boys, but at the festivals I could be right there and nobody would pay any attention to me. Once during the first Jazz Festival in 1970, Mama gave me some money to buy gumbo with and when I was buying the gumbo I saw a little white boy from my school staring at me. At first I thought he was gonna come hit me and steal my food, but instead he motioned for me to come sit next to him. I shared my bowl of gumbo with the other boy, and we got to …show more content…
Public schools were “segregated, but equal” as the African American students were supposed to receive the same standard of teaching and quality of school supplies. However, the reality was that African American students were not given equal opportunities to learn, therefore, the racial separation of children in schools interfered with their learning abilities. In the 1960’s New Orleans public schools and transit systems were integrated, however a majority of blacks preferred segregated institutions, such as churches and social clubs. Very few local businesses would hire blacks, so African Americans had a very hard time finding work, other than demeaning jobs, like janitorial work. During social events such as celebrations and music festivals, things were very different. The mix of culture, music, and food somehow made the majority of people disregard and ignore their usual racist thoughts and/or actions. Although New Orleans was segregated and racism was prevalent in everyday life, during music festivals and large scale public events the races would come together as