"One More River to Cross"

"'One More River to Cross' Recognizing the Real Injury in Brown: A prerequisite to Shaping New Remedies" by Charles Lawrence and "Whites Swim in Racial Preference" by Tim Wise.

In "'One More River to Cross'Recognizing the Real Injury in Brown" Charles Lawrence discusses how the decision in Brown vs. The Board of Education allowed society to continue maintaining an established system of racial segregation. Lawrence argues that the court wrongfully focused on just the results or "effect" of segregation rather than the purpose and motivation for segregation. On page 283 Lawrence says:

"By focusing on the effect of school segregation rather than its purpose the Warren Court confused the issue and led us to look to separation as the sole source of black children's feelings of inferiority rather than at the larger institution of which segregated schools were only a small part. This confusion has limited us both in proving injury and in our search for appropriate remedies."

Lawrence shares that the purpose of segregation isn't just separation of different races. If this were the case, the court's decision in Brown probably would have effectively eliminated the discrepancies between opportunity for whites and blacks. The real purpose of segregation is to "label or define blacks as inferior and exclude them from full and equal participation in society."(p. 282) Lawrence goes on to point out that as long as blacks were enslaved and slavery made the superior status of whites clear, then whites had no apprehensions about living near or with blacks.

It was only when slavery ended that segregation was established. Lawrence tells us that "historians... are in full agreement in their description of the institution (segregation) as an instrument of subordination which used a strict and rigid caste system to clearly define and limit the social, political, and economic mobility of blacks. Woodward ha called 'Jim Crow' laws the 'public symbols and constant reminders' of the inferior position of blacks."

So What:

Segregation continues throughout our society today because of its self perpetuating nature (Lawrence p. 283). Zoning laws and inferior school systems, contribute to limit the mobility and opportunities of blacks. The limited mobility and opportunities of blacks force most to remain in communities with inferior school systems. Of course the problem goes far beyond this because of the privilege that white Americans receive. On p. 292 Lawrence points out that many white Americans argue in court that they are victimized by affirmative action. He then says:
"Lost in this debate over so called preferential admissions is the fact that medical schools are still over 90 % white, that 95 % of law students are white, and that in virtually every desirable job category, minorities come nowhere near having representation approaching their numbers. Lost is the fact that the new reverse discrimination plaintiffs are claiming the right to continued operation of a system that places them in a preferential position."

In the Article, Whites Swim in Racial Preference Tim Wise explains how some attempts at affirmative action don't even come close to creating an equitable situation for minorities and whites. Wise uses the admissions policy at the University of Michigan to illustrate how the system of segregation in America reinforces white privilege and limits opportunities for minority students. He notes how the Univ. of Michigan offers 20 admissions points to minority students on a 150 point scale but "offers various combinations worth up to 58 points to students who will almost all be white." The 20 points are seen as preference for minority students but the 58 points are hidden behind a system of "social inequities that limit where people live, where they go to school and the kind of opportunities they have." This means a poor white student from the upper peninsula of Michigan will get at least 36 extra points and most minority students in Detroit won't have the possibility of getting any more than the 20 extra they receive for being a minority student. This segregation that has them living in inner city Detroit and limits the options of their parents so they need to work low wage jobs will also limit their ability to go to college. This is because schools where Blacks and Latinos live are less likely to have honors classes or be high performing high schools.

If Black students are able to go to college, then they still may have difficulty getting a good job because of our entrenched system of White privilege. Lawrence points out on page 292 that "white high school dropouts have lower unemployment rates than black young people with some college education."

Now What:

Segregation in American society consistently limits the options and opportunities available to Blacks and people of other minority groups. On page 292, Lawrence indicates that there are "sharp racial differences in life expectancy, medical care, income, jobs, education and political power." In his article "Whites Swim in Racial Preference", Tim Wise reports similar findings. These are serious and disturbing examples of social and racial injustice, entrenched racism and oppression that severely limits the opportunities for African Americans and other minority groups. Before we can implement effective solutions to these tragic problems, Lawrence says that we need to acknowledge "the nature and scope of the injury of segregation."

Most white Americans just don't recognize that segregation still exists. We also often have a difficult time recognizing the privilege that we receive as white Americans. Lawrence is advocating for systemic changes to end the system of oppression that creates and reinforces discrimination against blacks and other minorities. Lawrence articulates that this "system of oppression will continue to exist and operate to the benefit of whites until they destroy this system. The destruction of this subtle yet pervasive segregationism will take significant action. That is the reason that there is always "One more river to cross."

In the article "Whites Swim in racial privilege" Tim Wise expresses that "all talk of ending affirmative action is not only "premature but disrespectful and dismissive of those who have fought and died for equal opportunity." Wise wants us to continue with affirmative action to help blacks and people of other groups have the opportunity to achieve success in our society.

It is clear that there are serious issues that limit the opportunities of black and other minority students. There are great obstacles at each step in the process of education and seeking employment for Black students. I think that we need to change many of the processes in our system to bring freedom and justice for African-American students. This could help increase their opportunities for success. As Lisa Delpit shared in her article Other People's Children, minority students need to know the codes and rules of the Culture of power in order to be able to achieve success in our society. They also need more significant affirmative action then we currently have, since we have such significant racial preference and subtly unrecognizable affirmative action benefit whites as it has for many generations.