"Still separate after all these years" - the race matter in American schools

I've just read an interesting article on racial segregation in contemporary Americal schools. You can find it here: http://economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9079930 . And below I wrote a summary.

1954 the Supreme Court ruled in Brown vs. Board of Education case segregation in American public schools unlawful. However, although years have passed since the practice of racial segregation was outlawed, black and white children still learn in different worlds.

The authorities have been trying to keep the racially integrated school district system ever since Brown vs. Board of Education ruling, considering it a part of the affirmative action. In fact, black students have to make up a certain percentage of the student mix in every school. Nevertheless, some white parents complain about this quota system and accuse school boards of unfair treatment towards their children. Depriving white children of school places for the sake of the racial mix is their major reproach. One question arises: is it sensible to fight for this racially integrated school system even if this means sacrificing the quality of education? We slowly get to the core of the matter…

The main problem dividing blacks and whites is their income and their home. The former tend to earn less and live in city centres. By contrast, the latter can afford to move into suburbs and send their children to suburban private schools the poor blacks have no access to. This is how racial segregation is being fuelled nowadays – by financial means. By quitting the public school system affluent families contribute to the decline of inner-city schools attended mainly by poor non-whites.

School boards are drawing a conclusion from the simple connection between low income (which in most cases concerns the blacks) and students’ poor performance at school. That’s why they want to concentrate on this issue and take measures against it. For instance, instead of mixing them by race, the Wake County school district in North Carolina began to integrate students from different economic backgrounds. It offers free or price-reduced lunches for the struggling students. Besides, it’s been trying to put more of them in one school so that they don’t feel alienated. The results of this policy are striking: well-off white families are enrolling their children in those public schools. The integrated school models are working well.

Although the main educational goal in contemporary America is to support slow learners from low-income families, the politicians ignore this unpopular issue. Instead, they are trying to win support of the middle class. This is the class with more influence and financial means after all and that’s what it is all about in politics. In the end the poor are neglected as always and the gap between the blacks and whites is growing.