Was Brown v. Board of Education Worth It?
Ivory Toldson
Professor, Howard University Chief of Research, Concentric Educational Solutions Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Negro Education
Seven decades past the landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education, there is a prevailing sentiment that integration did more harm to Black students than good. The harsh reality of racism that Black students faced in their new, predominantly white schools, is a dark cloud that still overshadows the era of desegregation.
Despite the grim realities of integration, it is crucial to remember that Brown v. Board of Education represented a significant victory for Black people. It outlawed the insidious racial discrimination that ran rampant under the law. It was a beacon of hope during a time of stark racial division and discrimination.
The Misconceptions of Segregation and Education Quality
The core argument in Brown v. Board of Education was that Black students were receiving a substandard education under segregation, and this inequality was causing immense harm. However, this claim, while highlighting the injustice of segregation, created misconceptions. As Fenwick points out in "Jim Crow Pink Slip," many Black teachers and administrators were highly qualified, often more so than their white counterparts at segregated schools. Segregation, while harmful to all, was not universally detrimental to the quality of education that Black students received.
The Impact of Bias Today
Fast forward to today, biases against predominately Black schools in socially, culturally, and economically diverse (SCED) school districts continue to shape harmful policies. The use of BS (bad stat) metrics leads to an overemphasis on the harm to Black students in de facto segregated systems. At the same time, it minimizes the damage that White students experience by being in racially homogeneous environments. This cloistered existence can breed elitism, entitlement, cultural ignorance, and a lack of global awareness.
Eliminating Bad Stats: Fulfilling the Promise of Brown
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Eliminating BS (bad stats) is a pivotal step in fulfilling the promise of Brown, 70 years later. The misuse of metrics has perpetuated harmful biases and policies, hindering the progress towards truly equitable education. By addressing these issues, we can better strive towards the goal of Brown - equality and quality education for all, regardless of race.
To fulfill the promise of Brown, consider the following:
By taking action on these fronts, we can move beyond the limitations of the past and create a future where every student, regardless of background, has the opportunity to reach their full potential and contribute to a more just and equitable society.
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Dr. Ivory A. Toldson, a renowned research scholar, serves as Chief of Research for Concentric Educational Solutions, professor of counseling psychology at Howard University, and editor-in-chief of The Journal of Negro Education. Dr. Toldson has over 100 scholarly works, including 4 books. He is the author of Brill bestseller, No BS (Bad Stats): Black People Need People Who Believe in Black People Enough Not to Believe Every Bad Thing They Hear about Black People. Dr. Toldson was named one of the top education scholars by Education Week’s Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings. He is an avid art collector/influencer, and the home he shares with his wife, Marshella, and two children in Washington, DC contains more than 100 unique works of art.
Educator | Scholar | Trustee | Friend
6 个月I genuinely enjoyed your article Dr. Toldson!
President: North American Society of Adlerian Psychology
6 个月Great article; insightful, impactful, relevant and timely.
?? U.S. History Teacher Extraordinaire ?????? Seen in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Magazine & Wash Post ?? Keynote Speaker ??
6 个月https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/brown-v-board-of-education-black-teachers-20240508.html
Cultural Economist helping leaders build a common ground of understanding and collaboration on race and economic equity
6 个月In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote the book, "Why We Can't Wait." On pages 9-10 he explains how the SCOTUS decision to desegregate the schools "with all deliberate speed" was sabotaged. Excerpt: "Once recovered from their initial outrage, these defenders of the status quo had seized the offensive to impose their own schedule of change. The progress that was supposed to have been achieved with deliberate speed had created change for less than 2 percent of Negro children in most areas of the South and not even one-tenth of 1 percent in some parts of the deepest South. "There was another factor in the slow pace of progress, a factor of which few are aware and even fewer understand. It is an unadvertised fact that soon after the 1954 decision, the Supreme Court retreated from it own position by giving approval to the Pupil Placement Law. "The Pupil Placement Law was almost as far-reaching in modifying and limiting the integration of schools as the original decision had been in attempting to eliminate segregation. "Without technically reversing itself, the Court had granted legal sanction to tokenism and thereby guaranteed that segregation, in substance, would last for an indefinite period, though formally it was illegal."