segregation

"One More River to Cross" by Charles Lawrence

Argument

Lawrence argues that segregation in schools make black students feel inferior to white students. Segregation means abuse--physical and emotional--towards these black children. It also involves an unequal opportunity for black people to learn in the school community.

Quotes

"The first is that segregation's only purpose is to label or define blacks as inferior and thus exclude them from full and equal participation in society."

Lawrence writes this quote as a way to understand why segregation should be placed in our society. I guess being a non-white skin color, that means you are inferior. These black people should be put in a different category of life because they are so different (skin color) from the skin color of those who have power.

"Once blacks are labeled as inferior, they are denied access to equal societal opportunities."

There is a stigma towards black people--earning power, work ethics. People of the non-white power culture are often wrongfully accused of crimes and denied the opportunities to do the same things that a white person can do.

"The exclusion or segregation of blacks in public facilities was settled policy and reached considerable maturity in the North before moving South in full force."

The North was said to abolish slavery way before the South and this is still evident today. In the North people are more liberal in the sense that they are more welcoming towards diversity. In the conservative South, there are debutante balls devoted to the white young ladies coming of age. And like Kayla said, Obama won the North states and McCain won the South states.

Comments

I was surprised to see that this article was written in 1996. It was a very long list of how segregation is still apart of our society today. This was one article that I did not enjoy reading. I was so blind to not see segregation in our country. But, according to the article, my observations proved false. Lawrence says that if we don't recognize and try to fix prejudism, then it will never go away. If nothing is changed, then African Americans will always have to cross one more river and never reach their full potential.