Separate and Unequal: The Real Education Scandal Is America’s Affirmative Action Program for White People
While the conversations surrounding the newly uncovered college cheating scandal have focused on the advantages of the wealthy, the hypocrisy of those who demonize affirmative action, and the outrageous hubris of the elite, there is one indisputable fact that most people have either consciously ignored or overlooked entirely:
In America, white people get a better education.
Schools in white neighborhoods are better. Schools in black neighborhoods are worse. Majority-white public schools receive more funding. Majority-black schools have fewer resources. And despite what the opponents of affirmative action would have you believe, it is easier to get into college if you’re white. There is no evidence to the contrary. Every piece of data shows it.
It is easy to point at the overwhelming evidence of America’s two-tiered education system and call it racist, but it is much more complex than that. It is about capitalism. It is the legacy of Jim Crow and white supremacy. And yes, it is about color.
How Jim Crow Created the Education Gap
One of the least-discussed aspects of public education is how school funding is tied to the history of segregation and Jim Crow. Even when state and federal governments distribute money equally, black schools still end up at a funding disadvantage.
If you’re wondering why the economics of school funding is framed as black vs. white instead of rich versus poor, the reason is simple: the National Center for Educational Statistics reports that three-fourths black high school students attend schools where most of their classmates are poor, citing that statistic as the number one indicator of an inferior school.
According to the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, about 36 percent of education funding comes from local property taxes. This means that schools in white school districts can allocate more money to education than schools in majority black districts.
Eighty years ago, the government practice of redlining, fueled by CONTINUE READING: Affirmative Action for White People
