Segregation in Kansas City Through Schooling Could you imagine not being able to go to school somewhere for having naturally blonde hair? That would be ridiculous, right, you have no control over what color hair you were born with. Well not so long ago people weren’t allowed in certain places just because of their natural skin color, something they have no control over. African American children weren’t allowed to attend many schools during the 1950’s and 1960’s simply because of their dark skin. Most people in Kansas City during this time wanted to keep the races separate. “… an overwhelming majority of the city 's white residents favored the expansion of segregation.” (Peavler 1). The schools that the black children attended were exceptionally
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“Schools for white and black students were almost always unequal no matter what evaluation measures were used.” (Jones, Hancock 2). Many white people in Kansas City during the 1950s and 1960s despised the idea of integrating. They were especially opposed to the integration of schools. Most white families wanted their children to have the best education possible, which for some meant making the black children have a substandard education. Also the white parents did not want their tax dollars “wasted” on the education of the black children, though they had no problem taking the black families tax dollars to fund the white schools. “ … even though the tax dollars of black families were also used to construct the new [white] school.” (Griffin 88). In a sense the majority of the white parents were somewhat hypocritical about their tax money, not wanting any of theirs to go to the black families, though they …show more content…
The white schools got more funding, better teachers, and enough technology for every student to succeed if they just try. “White students had enjoyed a better school building for some time, but in 1947 a new $90,000 elementary school was built for the 222 white students. The 44 black students in the community had to remain where they were (eight grades with only two teachers) …The Walker School was a ‘dilapidated two-room shack with an outhouse, poor heating, and a flooded basement.’ According to the Kansas Historical Society, the school had dirt floors and limited classroom materials.” (Griffin 88). Even if the students at the black schools tried, they would never learn as much as the white schools students. They did not have the same opportunities from the lack of funds provided to them. It was harder for them to excel in the areas the white schools did. “The poverty and segregation on the east side deeply compromised the education of black youths. In the late 1950s, only 11 percent of Kansas City blacks attended college and only 20 percent graduated from high school.”(Griffin 86). The white people expected the black children to fail, they thought they were inferior. In reality the only thing that was inferior was the opportunities that the black students had. If you give a child an inferior education, of course the student will fall behind the children with a higher education standard, no
“Schools for white and black students were almost always unequal no matter what evaluation measures were used.” (Jones, Hancock 2). Many white people in Kansas City during the 1950s and 1960s despised the idea of integrating. They were especially opposed to the integration of schools. Most white families wanted their children to have the best education possible, which for some meant making the black children have a substandard education. Also the white parents did not want their tax dollars “wasted” on the education of the black children, though they had no problem taking the black families tax dollars to fund the white schools. “ … even though the tax dollars of black families were also used to construct the new [white] school.” (Griffin 88). In a sense the majority of the white parents were somewhat hypocritical about their tax money, not wanting any of theirs to go to the black families, though they …show more content…
The white schools got more funding, better teachers, and enough technology for every student to succeed if they just try. “White students had enjoyed a better school building for some time, but in 1947 a new $90,000 elementary school was built for the 222 white students. The 44 black students in the community had to remain where they were (eight grades with only two teachers) …The Walker School was a ‘dilapidated two-room shack with an outhouse, poor heating, and a flooded basement.’ According to the Kansas Historical Society, the school had dirt floors and limited classroom materials.” (Griffin 88). Even if the students at the black schools tried, they would never learn as much as the white schools students. They did not have the same opportunities from the lack of funds provided to them. It was harder for them to excel in the areas the white schools did. “The poverty and segregation on the east side deeply compromised the education of black youths. In the late 1950s, only 11 percent of Kansas City blacks attended college and only 20 percent graduated from high school.”(Griffin 86). The white people expected the black children to fail, they thought they were inferior. In reality the only thing that was inferior was the opportunities that the black students had. If you give a child an inferior education, of course the student will fall behind the children with a higher education standard, no