SCHOOL VOUCHERS: A RACIST WET DREAM

SCHOOL VOUCHERS

A RACIST WET DREAM

Are you tired of being educated? Do you hate the idea of learning new things? Well, good news! Both MAGA fascist and libertarian billionaires are working hard to defund public education and establish a two-tiered system of education in the US - one for the poor and another for the wealthy. And if you think this is just a conspiracy theory, think again.

The destruction of the public school system has long been the wet dream of racists since Brown v Board integrated our nation's schools. You may scoff at the idea that resegregation is the goal, but just look at the response of Prince Edward County in Virginia. This county was one of the most extreme cases of resistance to school desegregation in the United States.

Back in 1951, a group of black students at Robert Russa Moton High School, led by 16-year-old Barbara Johns, staged a walkout to protest the poor conditions of their school compared to the white school. They contacted the NAACP, which agreed to represent them in a lawsuit against the county school board, demanding equal facilities or integration. The case, Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County, was one of the five cases that were consolidated into Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark Supreme Court decision that declared segregated public schools unconstitutional in 1954.

However, the county did not comply with the court order to desegregate its schools. Instead, it joined the state's Massive Resistance campaign, a series of laws and policies enacted by Virginia's political leaders to prevent or delay integration. One of these laws was the Stanley Plan, which authorized the governor to close any public school that attempted to integrate and provided tuition grants for white students to attend private schools.

In 1959, after the federal courts struck down the Stanley Plan and ordered Prince Edward County to integrate its schools by September 1, the county chose to close its entire public school system rather than admit black students. The county also cut off local funding for public education and diverted it to a private, segregated academy that was established for white students. The academy received state tuition grants and tax credits from the county, making it essentially a publicly funded white school.

The closure of public schools left about 1,700 black students without access to education in the county. Some of them were able to attend schools in nearby counties or out of state with the help of relatives, friends, or organizations such as the American Friends Service Committee. Others attended makeshift schools in church basements or community centers, run by volunteers and funded by donations. But many black children missed part or all of their education for five years.

The situation in Prince Edward County drew national and international attention and condemnation. President John F. Kennedy called it "a serious blow to our efforts to advance the principles of freedom and equality" in a speech to Congress in 1963. Civil rights activists such as Martin Luther King Jr., Roy Wilkins, and Oliver Hill visited the county and held rallies and marches to support the black community. Journalists such as Edward R. Murrow and Carl Rowan reported on the plight of the black students and exposed the injustice of the county's actions.

The legal battle to reopen the public schools continued until 1964 when the Supreme Court ruled in Griffin v. County School Board of Prince Edward County that the county's actions violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and ordered it to resume public education immediately. The court also declared that state tuition grants for private schools were unconstitutional if they fostered racial discrimination. The county finally reopened its public schools on an integrated basis in September 1964, ending five years of educational deprivation for black children.

But here's the thing - racism never really went away. And now, it's rearing its ugly head once again in red states across America. Both MAGA fascist and libertarian billionaires are pushing hard to defund public education and establish a two-tiered system of education - one for the poor and another for the wealthy, one of color and one white.

The destruction of public education is being disguised as "school voucher schemes" - a seemingly innocuous term that actually means taking money away from public schools and giving it to private schools that are often segregated and discriminatory. And who benefits from this? The wealthy, white elite who can afford to send their children to these private schools.

This is not just a problem in red states either. Even blue states like California are facing challenges with charter schools - publicly funded schools that operate independently from traditional public schools and often have less oversight and accountability.

So what can we do about it? Well, for starters, we can call out these billionaires for what they are - racists who are trying to destroy public education and create a two-tiered system that benefits only them. We can also support our local public schools by attending school board meetings, volunteering, and donating money or supplies.

Education is a fundamental right for all Americans, regardless of race or socioeconomic status. Let's not allow racism to win again. Let's fight for quality education for all.

Why the school choice movement is finally scoring breakthrough wins in the Biden era - Vox https://www.vox.com/politics/23689496/school-choice-education-savings-accounts-american-federation-children 

THE DEFT DIVE

FROM BING AI

Segregation and Vouchers

- Segregation and vouchers are two terms that are often linked in the history and debate of school choice policies in the United States. School vouchers are a form of public funding that allows parents to send their children to private schools of their choice, instead of attending public schools assigned by their residence.

• - One of the earliest and most notorious uses of school vouchers was to resist racial integration in public schools after the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which declared segregated public schools unconstitutional. Some southern states adopted voucher schemes to enable white students to attend private schools, often called segregation academies, that excluded black students¹³. One example was Prince Edward County in Virginia, which closed its public schools for five years (1959-1964) and provided vouchers for white students only¹.
• - The modern voucher movement, however, has a different origin and rationale. It is largely influenced by the economic theory of Milton Friedman, who advocated for parental school choice as a way to improve the efficiency and quality of public education by introducing market competition². The first urban voucher program was established in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1990, with the aim of providing low-income families with more options for their children's education².
• - The empirical evidence on the effects of school vouchers on segregation is mixed and inconclusive. Some studies have found that vouchers increase racial or socioeconomic segregation in public schools, by allowing more advantaged students to exit the system and enroll in more homogeneous private schools⁴. Other studies have found that vouchers have little or no impact on segregation, or even reduce it, by allowing more disadvantaged students to access more diverse private schools².
• - The political debate on school vouchers is also polarized and partisan. Supporters of vouchers argue that they enhance parental choice, foster competition and innovation, and provide opportunities for disadvantaged students. Opponents of vouchers contend that they drain resources from public schools, violate the separation of church and state, and increase segregation and inequality². The legal status of vouchers also depends on the interpretation of federal and state constitutional provisions regarding education and religion².

Bing, 9/11/2023

• (1) The Racist Origins of Private School Vouchers. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/racist-origins-private-school-vouchers/.
• (2) School voucher - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_voucher.
• (3) School Vouchers and Race: It’s Complicated - The Century Foundation. https://tcf.org/content/commentary/school-vouchers-race-complicated/.
• (4) Do Private School Vouchers Pose a Threat to Integration?. https://tcf.org/content/report/private-school-vouchers-pose-threat-integration/.
• (5) Housing Choice Voucher Discrimination. https://socialinnovation.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Housing-Choice-Voucher-Discrimination-1.pdf.

Prince Edward County in Virginia was one of the most extreme cases of resistance to school desegregation in the United States. Here is a deep dive into what happened and why:

• - The county's involvement in the desegregation issue began in 1951, when a group of black students at Robert Russa Moton High School, led by 16-year-old Barbara Johns, staged a walkout to protest the poor conditions of their school compared to the white school¹. They contacted the NAACP, which agreed to represent them in a lawsuit against the county school board, demanding equal facilities or integration. The case, Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County, was one of the five cases that were consolidated into Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark Supreme Court decision that declared segregated public schools unconstitutional in 1954¹².
• - However, the county did not comply with the court order to desegregate its schools. Instead, it joined the state's Massive Resistance campaign, a series of laws and policies enacted by Virginia's political leaders to prevent or delay integration. One of these laws was the Stanley Plan, which authorized the governor to close any public school that attempted to integrate, and provided tuition grants for white students to attend private schools²³.
• - In 1959, after the federal courts struck down the Stanley Plan and ordered Prince Edward County to integrate its schools by September 1, the county chose to close its entire public school system rather than admit black students. The county also cut off local funding for public education and diverted it to a private, segregated academy that was established for white students. The academy received state tuition grants and tax credits from the county, making it essentially a publicly funded white school²³⁴.
• - The closure of public schools left about 1,700 black students without access to education in the county. Some of them were able to attend schools in nearby counties or out of state with the help of relatives, friends, or organizations such as the American Friends Service Committee. Others attended makeshift schools in church basements or community centers, run by volunteers and funded by donations. But many black children missed part or all of their education for five years²³⁴.
• - The situation in Prince Edward County drew national and international attention and condemnation. President John F. Kennedy called it "a serious blow to our efforts to advance the principles of freedom and equality" in a speech to Congress in 1963². Civil rights activists such as Martin Luther King Jr., Roy Wilkins, and Oliver Hill visited the county and held rallies and marches to support the black community. Journalists such as Edward R. Murrow and Carl Rowan reported on the plight of the black students and exposed the injustice of the county's actions²⁴.
• - The legal battle to reopen the public schools continued until 1964, when the Supreme Court ruled in Griffin v. County School Board of Prince Edward County that the county's actions violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and ordered it to resume public education immediately. The court also declared that state tuition grants for private schools were unconstitutional if they fostered racial discrimination²³. The county finally reopened its public schools on an integrated basis in September 1964, ending five years of educational deprivation for black children²⁴.
• - The legacy of Prince Edward County's school closings is still evident today. Many of the black students who were affected by the closings suffered long-term consequences in terms of their academic achievement, career opportunities, and mental health. Some of them have shared their stories in books, documentaries, and oral histories²⁴. The county's public schools remain largely segregated by race and class, as most white students still attend private schools or homeschooling. The county also faces challenges in providing quality education and addressing racial disparities and tensions²⁴.

Bing, 9/11/2023

• (1) The County That Closed Its Public Schools Rather Than ... - Time. https://time.com/5277732/brown-board-education-prince-edward-county/.
• (2) The Closing of Prince Edward County's Schools | Virginia Museum of .... https://virginiahistory.org/learn/civil-rights-movement-virginia/closing-prince-edward-countys-schools.
• (3) When a Va. county closed its schools rather than admit black students. https://bing.com/search?q=Prince+Edward+County+in+Virginia%2c+which+closed+its+public+schools+for+five+years+%281959-1964%29+and+provided+vouchers+for+white+students+only.
• (4) Prince Edward County School Closings - Moton Museum. https://motonmuseum.org/learn/prince-edward-county-school-closings/.
• (5) The Forgotten School in Brown v. Board of Education. https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/05/forgotten-school-in-brown-v-board/371026/.

School vouchers are a controversial policy that allow parents to use public funds to pay for private school tuition. The history of school vouchers in the United States is complex and intertwined with issues of race, religion, and politics. Here is a brief overview of some key events and debates in the history of school vouchers:

• - The origin of the modern voucher movement can be traced to the Nobel laureate Milton Friedman’s defense of parental school choice in The Role of Government in Education (1955)². Friedman promoted vouchers as a way to spark competition, improve the efficiency of public school systems, and improve the actual performance of schools.
• - However, the first voucher programs in the United States were not motivated by Friedman’s economic theory, but by resistance to racial integration. In the wake of the Brown v. Board of Education decision (1954), which declared segregated public schools unconstitutional, some southern states adopted voucher schemes to enable white students to attend private schools, often called segregation academies, that excluded black students¹⁴. One notorious example was Prince Edward County in Virginia, which closed its public schools for five years (1959-1964) and provided vouchers for white students only¹.
• - The oldest extant school voucher programs in the United States are the Town Tuitioning programs in Vermont and Maine, beginning in 1869 and 1873 respectively³. These programs allow students who live in rural areas without public schools to attend either a secular private school or a public school in another district. However, these programs have also faced legal challenges for including religious schools as options for voucher recipients.
• - The first modern urban voucher program was established in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1990³. This program was designed to provide low-income families with tuition subsidies of up to $2,500 to attend private schools, initially only secular ones. In 1995, the Wisconsin legislature expanded the program to include religious schools, but this was challenged in court until 1998, when the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld the program. Since then, the program has grown to serve more than 14,000 students in 2005-2006².
• - Other publicly funded voucher programs have been implemented in Cleveland, Ohio (1995); Florida (1999); Washington, D.C. (2004); and Louisiana (2008)³. These programs vary in their eligibility criteria, funding levels, and accountability measures. Some of them target students with disabilities, students attending failing public schools, or students from low-income families. Some of them also require participating private schools to administer standardized tests, comply with anti-discrimination laws, or accept the voucher as full payment for tuition.
• - The empirical evidence on the effects of school vouchers is mixed and inconclusive. Some studies have found positive effects on student achievement, parental satisfaction, or public school performance; others have found no effects or negative effects. The results depend on the design of the voucher program, the quality and diversity of private school options, and the methods and data used to evaluate the outcomes².
• - The political debate on school vouchers is polarized and partisan. Supporters of vouchers argue that they enhance parental choice, foster competition and innovation, and provide opportunities for disadvantaged students. Opponents of vouchers contend that they drain resources from public schools, violate the separation of church and state, and increase segregation and inequality. The legal status of vouchers also depends on the interpretation of federal and state constitutional provisions regarding education and religion².

Bing, 9/11/2023

• (1) School Vouchers | Encyclopedia.com. https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences-and-law/education/education-terms-and-concepts/school-vouchers.
• (2) The Racist Origins of Private School Vouchers. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/racist-origins-private-school-vouchers/.
• (3) When Privatization Means Segregation: The History of School Vouchers. https://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/private-school-vouchers-racist-history-milton-friedman-betsy-devos/.
• (4) School voucher - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_voucher.