How Far Have We Come?

The last five days have been a whirlwind of eye opening experiences and in-depth conversations with remarkable leaders here in Mississippi. On Friday morning we left Ole Miss and traveled three hours south to Jackson. That morning we had the opportunity to speak with Political Science Professor John W. Winkle, III, Ph.D.

May 17th, 2010 marked the 56th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education Decision that declared segregated public schools "unconstitutional". Professor Winkle reminded us that, in perhaps the most controversial and most important decision of the 20th century, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously decreed, that in the field of public education, "the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. As many of us know this decision changed the face of education throughout the country but especially in the South.

Listening to Dr. Winkle speak I realized that the images of angry whites taunting nice black students as the walked toward the front steps of Central High School 56 years ago are as fresh in people's minds now as they ever were. Those images are representative of thetumultuous time when public schools all over underwent desegregation. When experts question just how far the state of Mississippi has come in terms of achieving racial equality those images still resonate.

When we arrived in Jackson Friday afternoon and spoke with State Representative Cecil Brown, Chairman of the Education Committee, it was clear that the state is failing to maintain any semblance of racial balance in its public school system. And it's a fact that took me by surprise. 80% of the public school children here in Mississippi are black while 90% of private school children are white, Representative Brown explained.

In the nearly six decades since Central High School was desegregated, the Jackson public schools have approximately 2 percent white students. Indeed, Jackson has suffered greatly from "white flight" (the movement of middle- and upper-class whites from increasingly minority neighborhoods to almost exclusively white suburbs).

Just look around the abandon city. In Jackson whites have mostly fled the urban school districts for either public schools in the suburbs or private schools.

Walking the desolate streets of Jackson around 5 p.m. Friday afternoon I ran into just one man who explained to me that Jackson's white population plummeted from about 60 percent in 1970 to just 23 percent in 2006, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Many of the remaining white families in Jackson send their children to one of several large private schools in the area.

A whopping 16 years after Brown v. Topeka Board of Education, federal courts in 1970 finally forced Mississippi to abolish its dual systems of public education and integrate the public school system. The result was that by the end of the 1970 school year, some 50,000 white students and an additional 1,000 white teachers had fled public schools for private academies, basically doubling the number of private schools in the state (this according to Jere Nash & Andy Taggart in their book, Mississippi Politics: The Struggle for Power, 1976-2006).

Mississippi...Feels Like Coming Home

So here I am, just four days into my summer internship with the Mississippi Teacher Corps under the leadership of soon to be Dr. Ben Guest and I couldn't be happier.  I arrived here in Oxford, Mississippi - a beautiful southern town where the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) is clearly the center of the culture here - just four days ago.  I do not exaggerate when I say that the Ole Miss students and faculty, staff and alumni seem to be the lungs of this community.  And I can understand why.  The campus is stunningly beautiful with rolling hills and towering magnolia trees that line the walkways.  It is not a lot unlike Amherst, believe it or not, just much larger in comparison and with even friendlier squirrels.  Today I came so close I nearly tripped over one.

I will admit that prior to my departure for Oxford I had that familiar feeling of stirring apprehension that I often get when I first dare to spread my wings and jump.  That feeling has dissipated and I am so happy that I took this risk to come here to learn about the history, rich culture and the failing education system - all of which are so drastically different from the liberal private schools and institutions I have been fortunate enough to attend.  

As an intern, I have met and spoken with many dedicated individuals in Oxford and Jackson  the last couple of days.  I am just beginning to understand that tangled web of factors that contribute to the failing public education system here in Mississippi is far too complex for any one person to unravel.   Perhaps that is why we have spoken with people with such varying backgrounds as Mississippi State Representative Cecil Brown, investigative reporter and MacArthur Genius Award recipient Jerry Mitchell, Catholic Priest and MTC/Peace Corps alumnus Lincoln Dall, and Professor of Political Science Dr. John Winkle, to name just a few.   Yes, we are looking at the issues of race and class that run deep in this state from many angles. Our calendar is packed and I am excited to see what Ben has in store for us this summer.