Alabama school district sued for racial segregation of students

[Sage Ninja]

http://news.msn.com/us/alabama-schoo...on-of-students

Parents are suing an Alabama school district, claiming a program allowing "parent choice" for their children's classmates and teachers is segregation.


An Alabama public school district accused of re-segregating students along racial lines is being sued in federal court by parents and a former teacher who allege the board created "racially engineered" learning environments.

The Troy City Board of Education as well as five school board members and two school administrators are named in the suit. It alleges that a 2008 program allowing "parent choice" in selecting their children's pupils and teachers is discriminatory.


Alabama school district sued for racial segregation: Map locates Troy, AlabamaMCT and MSN News

In the complaint, lead plaintiff John Johnson claims his son's school quickly became divided between either all-black or all-white classes at Troy Elementary School.

The complaint states: "In a few instances the Troy City School District disregarded requests by Caucasian parents to place their child with African-American teachers."

The court has not decided whether the school intentionally segregated the students.

Related:Georgia high school students unite against segregated prom

Despite the fact that African-American teachers only account for 22 percent of the district's entire teacher pool in 2009-2010, they ended up teaching 80 percent of the exclusively African-American classes that year, according to the complaint.

In the 2012-2013 academic year, there were 12 all-African-American classes. But there was only one such classroom when the parent choice policy went into effect in 2008-2009, parents allege.

"They even have racially segregated kindergarten classes," said civil-rights attorney Eric Hutchins, who filed the suit on behalf of concerned parents and teachers. "This is like going back to the 1950s. You can't tell me you have standardized tests to base putting kindergarteners in all-black classes."

Dejerilyn King Henderson, a retired African-American teacher from Troy Elementary School, said the policy meant her last three years as a first-grade teacher were spent in front of children of the same race.

"I approached the administration about it several times, and each time I was told they were not going to place any Caucasian children in my classroom," Henderson told MSN News, adding there were about 18 kids in each class.

The district's school system serves 2,087 students, of which 62 percent are African-American and 32 percent, Caucasian.

Hutchins alleges there were situations in which a white family wanted to have their child integrated with a black classroom, but their choice was "usurped" by administrators.

Dona Matthews, an educational psychologist and founding director of the Center for Gifted Studies and Education at New York's Hunter College, said diversity in the classroom is healthy for childhood development.

"Generally speaking, most kids benefit from diversity and inclusion," she said. "The more kids experience different points of views and ways of being, the better equipped they will be as adults to thrive in an increasingly diverse world."

Neither the Troy City Board of Education nor the board's superintendent, Lee Hicks, responded to a request for comment.

However, Hicks told an Alabama CBS affiliate station that the policy isn't about race, but parental choice.

"Parents want to feel like their students are with some of their friends," Hicks said. "But again, this is not just for one group or another group. This is open to all parents."

Henderson said a demonstration by parents opposing the district's policy will be held in front of Troy Elementary on Monday morning.

oh boy...

[The Stryker]

Alrighty then

[Katie]

I wonder if this would be news if it was happening in Illinois.

It's stupid to run a school system like that. Opens the door for all sorts of bad impressions of the state.

[BubblyShell22]

This doesn't surprise me as there are people who still hold fast to their ideals that segregation is a good thing.

[Leo656]

Some schools in Georgia still had segregated proms until this past spring. It's more common than people think.

As a white person who pays attention, I think it's laughable to suggest we as a culture are significantly less-racist than we were 50-100 years ago. I see and hear people being racist almost every day (although thankfully, a lot less in the past few years since I got out of the furniture-moving business). What I think has changed is not that people are less racist, it's that by and large they know they're not supposed to be, and are at least a little ashamed of it, and keep it more to themselves. When I was a mover I was around all different types of people, and you'd be surprised how many doctors, lawyers, and even teachers would have some variation of "Wow, I had no idea they'd send all white guys!" as soon as you got out of the truck. It's still everywhere.

Where I see it most often is in the extremes, the mostly-poor and mostly-rich areas. The lower-class types blame everyone who's "different" for their lives being not perfect, but surprisingly I've noticed more overt racism coming from more affluent and "better educated" whites, many of whom don't so much hate minorities as much as they do think they are "better" than them. But that may be an extension of them simply feeling superior the everyone who's not at their income level, more so than race.

Point is, the only things I've seen change in my lifetime are people's willingness to be racist *in public*. When they think they aren't being judged, people will still say and do all kinds of stupid sh*t. In the case of these schools in Alabama and Georgia and elsewhere, I can only assume their rationale is that everyone already kind of knows people down there are generally pretty racially biased, so they figured segregating kids would be ok as long as THEY did it. It's like going to a McDonald's, you know you're going to get sh*t food; in the South, you kind of know what kind of people you're dealing with.

I'm amazed how LONG it has taken for this to get national attention, though. I mean, we have the internet now; it's not like people are segregated information-wise. Seems like people in the South will go a long way to keep things under wraps as far as what really goes on down there. Not shocking, but pretty shameful.

[Katie]

Leo, have you ever even been in the South? In Alabama or Georgia? Most people down here most certianly are not racists or prone to racist behavior. Sure, their are dumb a$ses here just like everywhere else, but I don't think it is more accepted here. Or more widespread.

The two most racist people I have ever met in my life were from the midwest and the northeast. The most racially segregated area I've ever seen in my life was in California.

I think how that city handles their school system is idiotic. The prom thing was stupid too, but that was not an institutional policy. Proms in that city were put on privately. Not by the school. Just by the comments I can tell that it furthers a stereotype that all southerners are racist or accepting of racist behavior or that we prefer segregation. It simply is not true. But we still have to suffer for the sins that happened nearly 50 f*cking years ago.

Don't assume sh!t about a whole area of the country if your only experience is TV movies and spotlights on random ignorant behavior.

[shuriken]

Man Racism is everywhere but more people know to not say much on the matter now than before. If you say something politically incorrect and people hear/see you do it you're gonna get sh*t for it. Like SHwarzenneger with his "girly men" quote about gays. It sucks but its true. I live in Chicago and it is more segregated than one would think, but it's way less segregated than before so there's that. But it was more or less the way Daley Senior set the city up so there's that too.

[BubblyShell22]

Originally Posted by Katie

Leo, have you ever even been in the South? In Alabama or Georgia? Most people down here most certianly are not racists or prone to racist behavior. Sure, their are dumb a$ses here just like everywhere else, but I don't think it is more accepted here. Or more widespread.

The two most racist people I have ever met in my life were from the midwest and the northeast. The most racially segregated area I've ever seen in my life was in California.

I think how that city handles their school system is idiotic. The prom thing was stupid too, but that was not an institutional policy. Proms in that city were put on privately. Not by the school. Just by the comments I can tell that it furthers a stereotype that all southerners are racist or accepting of racist behavior or that we prefer segregation. It simply is not true. But we still have to suffer for the sins that happened nearly 50 f*cking years ago.

Don't assume sh!t about a whole area of the country if your only experience is TV movies and spotlights on random ignorant behavior.

He wasn't saying just the South is like that. He was talking about how he worked in the furniture business and how he confronted it all the time. It's not just the South that is guilty of this at all. It's everywhere, and people still seem to have that attitude about blacks that they shouldn't have any rights or privileges. Heck, my dad's the biggest racist I know. He hates black people and never is shy about displaying his hatred. It's wrong on a lot of counts, but there you go.

Edit: Hell, look what happened to Paula Deen where a freakin' white woman wanted to sue her for racial discrimination. It's ridiculous how low people will stoop not only to get what they want but to exploit others at the same time.

[Katie]

You didn't read all his post if you think he was no singling out the south for being more prone or accepting:

Originally Posted by Leo656

In the case of these schools in Alabama and Georgia and elsewhere, I can only assume their rationale is that everyone already kind of knows people down there are generally pretty racially biased, so they figured segregating kids would be ok as long as THEY did it. It's like going to a McDonald's, you know you're going to get sh*t food; in the South, you kind of know what kind of people you're dealing with.

I'm amazed how LONG it has taken for this to get national attention, though. I mean, we have the internet now; it's not like people are segregated information-wise. Seems like people in the South will go a long way to keep things under wraps as far as what really goes on down there. Not shocking, but pretty shameful.

I'm sick of people who have never set foot in the South making blanket assumptions about everyone who lives here.

[Jester]

I'll just leave this here.

[Leo656]

Diiiiid I SAY "Everyone", or that it was *specifically* a problem in that one area? No. And for the record, yes, I've been to the Carolinas a couple times, and it was great, and many family members and friends of mine have lived in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and elsewhere. General statements are general statements for a reason. It's because what may be true for a large number of people may NOT be true for the entirety (or even the majority) of a population. Saying "there's still plenty of racism in the Southern United States" is no more offensive, and no less TRUE, than saying "There sure are lots of horrible drivers in New York", or, "Man, many people of Irish ancestry sure are translucent." But in no case does that say it's the case with everyone.

Georgia. Segregated Proms. Alabama. Segregated schools. 2013. I don't make this stuff up, I have no vested emotional interest in any of it other than wishing people would be better people in general. I just report and comment on facts. I do know you see at least a little more of that stuff in some places of the country than others, and no, a person doesn't need to physically live in California their whole life before they're allowed to say "Gee, I hear they get lots of Earthquakes out that way." It's a general statement based on common knowledge, life experience and other information. Some people need to relax. I wasn't trying to disparage you or your current place of residence. Take it up with the people who are still doing their best to give an entire section of the country, and white people in general, a bad name by teaching kids at Kindergarten age that it's better to keep the races separate. We should also be glad it's not a more widespread problem than it is, although there's gotta be some kind of willful ignorance going on amongst large numbers of the general population for this kind of thing to be going on for so LONG before anyone reports on it. THAT, I find troubling.

I don't think at all that it's only a problem "down there", I *do* know things like that are less likely to fly "up here", let alone be left uncovered for decades upon decades. In the Northeast, our schools don't try to promote racism, we promote the idea of consensual sex between students and teachers. See? Every geographic locale has their "issues".

Sh*t, *I* get sick of people saying NJ smells bad. It's a stupid generalization, except that in some specific parts of the state, it's true, and if I'm being honest I have to accept that or move somewhere else. It's just facts of life; SOME parts of NJ stink, SOME (all) people from NY can't drive for sh*t, and SOME people from the South feel like the Confederate Flag is more than just something cool to put on an album cover of Southern Rock music, or The Most Awesome Dodge Charger Ever Made. We gotta take the good with the bad if we're being honest, cats an' kittens.

Sorry if it sounded like I was "bashing" one particular area of the country. I wasn't. To those of you who understood exactly what I *was* saying, I appreciate it.

[BubblyShell22]

I get what you were saying, Leo, and I agree. It's just a fact of life that some people in the South still have this idea that blacks aren't allowed to have any rights and they still stick by these beliefs. No, not all people are like that, but judging by what these schools are doing, I'd wager that there are people who have this idea that segregation should still exist.

And as for your earlier speculation if this would fly in Illinois, Katie, I highly doubt it, especially if it was in Chicago where Obama's from. It would definitely make the news if it were to happen.

[plastroncafe]

It's foolish to believe that similar segregation doesn't exist in "Northern" US cities. Boston, MA had just as much of a hard time de-segregating its public school system as they did in the nebulous "South," and many neighborhoods around here are equally segregated...though that has more to do with socio-economics than anything else.