I am deeply concerned about the defacto segregation that

exists in our rural community, especially in the school context.

Just had a talk with a white acquaintance, a teacher who feels she

(and her daughter) have experienced reverse discrimination in

the context of our (predominantly African-American) public schools, which are defacto segregated. You see, segregation hurts both races; hate and fear produce the potential for hate and fear on the other
side. It is a vicious circle. Racism and segregation is a sickness
that afflicts everyone. Both whites and blacks are victimized, in
different ways.

I feel great sympathy for both sides in this complicated mess,
especially the kids. Many innocent people--black and white--are hurt
by these patterns of these patterns of racism and discrimination.

The Supreme Court was right when it said that "separate but equal"

is a misnomer. Segregation and racism is a cancer that can destroy

a community. White kids can become victims, black kids can become

victims; white kids can bully; black kids can bully. It is a tragedy, either way.

It is hard to write about this, not "politically correct," but I don't
care about being politically correct any more. Being a part of both
communities, in a sense, because of my grassroots work, I hear it from
both sides...The root of the problem, of course, in SC, goes back to
slavery. The fallout constitutes a complicated situation in which both
sides feel victimized. Who can deny, though, that the burden of
poverty and unemployment and poor health care, etc. falls on the
African-American community disproportionately.

I have seen real victimization--not just paranoid feelings--in the school context, but the roots of this lie in the pattern of segregation that was established by whites and had its origin in slavery. I am talking, for example, real live white and black kids, in varying contexts, attacked verbally and/or physically, on the basis of race. It is just wrong to pretend that hate is not manifested on both sides, at times.

In some ways, rural SC has not changed much since the 50's and 60"s, I
sense--I did not grow up here.

***

As a relative newcomer to my community, it is difficult for me to
discuss these issues openly here. We will be moving to Asheville, NC
next June, but in the meantime I plan to remain involved in the
grassroots group inspired by the Obama campaign to effect change in
Kingstree.

I would love to have a dialogue with folks on this difficult issue of

defacto segregation in SC, the South, and America. As a white

American who was involved in the civil rights movement and

continues to work for freedom and justice in America, I am

(imperfectly) in touch with both the black and white
communities. And, in fact, the defacto segregation is far from a 100% phenomenon. But within the school and church context, integration is very much the exception, rather than the rule.

I feel caught in between, actually, two communities, because I hear bitter
complaints from black folks and white folks. There are many complicated aspects to thisproblem. But it seems clear to me that if white students did not attend--by and large--the white academy--with black kids continuing to predominate in the public school, then a much healthier situation
educationally and culturally would be feasible. I think that
educational quality would be enhanced, kids would stop engaging in
severe acting out, and bullying would decrease.

Another factor severely complicating this picture is the pressure

applied to struggling school districts by No Child Left Behind, a

poorly designed program with many punitive aspects that has

led to allegation of cheating in the state—engineered by staff—

on required standardized tests. Such allegations were recently

investigated by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division,

their investigation focusing on a Charleston public school.

While no definite conclusions were reached by SLED,

circumstantial evidence suggests (at least to me) that cheating

did occur—based on an article published in the Charleston

Post-Courier, reporting on the matter.

How does NCLB relate to defacto segregation? Defacto

segregation, I assert, leads to the creation of underfunded public

schools, with demoralized staff, serving high poverty, predominantly

minority populations of students who struggle to perform up to

standard on the testing mandated by NCLB. The demoralization

factor is increased by the fact that teachers and staff fear being

heavily criticized, losing their jobs, or even having their schools

closed. The result is a tendency in these schools to focus much

too much on “teaching the test,” while deemphasizing educational

programming designed to elicit creativity, as well as physical

education, art, and other culturally enriching programs. A broad

approach to the teaching-learning process is, thus, thrown out

the window.

In conclusion, I feel that the defacto segregation problem in

South Carolina is the “elephant in the room” that no one wants

to talk about. Well, I have begun to speak out; I hope that,

as a result, a fruitful dialogue in our community and state

will be encouraged.