African American

Although people had been campaigning for equal rights for a long time, it wasn’t until the mid 1950’s that the civil rights movement began to gain popularity and support. Rosa Parks was a 42-year-old black protestor who had organised a kind of experiment on the 1st December in Montgomery, Alabama. Rosa Parks was on her way home from work on the bus. When the bus became full, she was asked to give up her seat, for a white man, and to stand up at the rear of the bus, as the law stated. Rosa refused to move. She was arrested and fined $10.

After this, the black civil rights campaigners and her family and friends organised a 24 bus boycott, which was so successful they decided to carry on boycotting the bus companies until they agreed to seat all passengers on a ‘first-come’ basis. Since 75% of the bus’ business came from black passengers, the buses eventually gave in, but not without resistance. The victory over the bus companies was mainly due to a campaign with the slogan “Don’t ride it for freedom”. It was this protest that saw the emergence of one of the most influential figures in the black civil rights campaign, Martin Luther King.

He helped to lead this campaign. Dr Martin Luther King was a black minister who believed that mass non-violent protest was the best way to resist injustice. He took examples of direct action from Mahatma Gandhi, who fought against the British troops in India using, what he called “non-violent non-co-operation” campaigns. King was a pacifist, so did not believe that violence was the right way to get what they wanted but he knew that going through the courts to change the law would also not have been very successful, as all the people involved in the legal system and courts were usually white and some were members of the KKK.

In 1957, he formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) with other clergy from Southern States to fight against racial segregation. They organised non-violent protests such as sit-ins, Freedom rides and marches. In 1960, four black students asked to be served at a Woolworths lunch counter in Greensboro, reserved for white customers only. The black waitress refused to serve them so they staged a sit-in demonstration. Two days later, 85 civil rights campaigners staged another sit-in protest. 70,000 people in the next 18 months took part in similar sit-ins across the South.

During these sit-ins, people poured drinks and sauces over them and even sprayed them with paint. 3,000 civil rights workers were arrested. All this attracted the media and drew attention other injustices endured by black people. The freedom rides tool place on interstate travel buses. The Supreme Court had ordered that these and the waiting stations for the buses should be desegregated in 1960. In 1961, CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) decided to put these ignored laws to the test. Thy found that although the coaches were desegregated, the services in the bus stations were not.

They organised a group of civil rights campaigners to travel on the buses and, at the stations, use opposite facilities to those they were supposed to (black campaigners used the white facilities and white campaigners used the black facilities, including toilets and waiting areas. ). Many freedom rides were organised to try and force the coach companies to abide by the law and desegregate their stations. Unfortunately, anti civil rights, such as the KKK, got involved and violence broke out at many of the freedom rides.

Bombs were even planted on some of the buses. One example of a protest that ended with violence took place in Birmingham, Alabama in May 1963. Alabama had the highest amount of members in the KKK and the Governor and police department were both against desegregation. Martin Luther King was arrested before the demonstration began. When the demonstration starts, it is led by children. Bill Connor, head of the police department, arrested protestors, including the children, some of them as young as six.

On the second day, the police used fire hoses, horses and dogs to attack the protestors, again, including the young children at the front of the demonstration. After that, Martin Luther King began to doubt whether or not the demonstration was a good idea because of the violence created. Soon, a deal was struck with the state authorities that all the public facilities would be desegregated within 90 days if the protestors called off the demonstration. Again, this caused a backlash from the KKK, who started riots fires and bombings.

The demonstration got a lot of attention from the national media and pictures of young children being mauled by dogs set on them by the police caused outrage in the rest of America. But King knew that the police and public would use violence against demonstrators and that this would attract the media. He also knew that it would attract more attention if the children were at the front of the demonstration and therefore the first to be caught up in the violence. This caused some followers to doubt Martin Luther King’s methods.

Others began to think that the non-violent protesting was not getting them very far. In the mid 60’s, the civil rights movement began to split. Different groups began to gain popularity. The emergence of the Black Power movement began, which were groups who were against working with white people and expelled white people from their campaigner groups. They encouraged blacks to set up their own business so they depended on white people as little as possible. Only the NAACP and SCLC continued to support the ideas of non-violent direct action and co-operation with whites.

One of the groups associated with ‘Black Power’ was the Nation of Islam, or Black Muslims. Their most well known leader was Malcolm X. He, with the Nation of Islam, believed that getting racial equality in white society was impossible because whites were racist and would never change. They campaigned for a black state inside the US that would be ruled by black people, for black people, without white people. They also rejected the civil rights movement, as they didn’t want to have any part in white society and believed that Blacks should use violence to protect themselves, if necessary.

But even the Nation of Islam had disagreements among its members about the best way to get what they wanted. In 1964, Malcolm X began to change his mind about the civil rights movement and began to accept that white people could play a useful role in helping black people achieve justice. The Nation of Islam split and Malcolm X led a breakaway group. In 1965, he was assassinated by 3 members of the Nation of Islam. In 1975, the leader of the Nation of Islam died and his son changed the policy on the organisation on accepting white Muslims as members.

This caused another split in the Nation of Islam. Another group associated with ‘Black Power’ were the Black Panthers. They were quite a small group but attracted a lot of attention because of the way they looked their revolutionary ideas and their use of armed violence. They had the most violent reputation and used armed patrols in the black areas to protect black communities from ‘police terrorism’. Although the blacks may have disagreed with policies to gain civil rights, most would recognise the effects of Martin Luther king as the most powerful influence over civil rights.

America was born in 1779 with Declaration of Solidarity. Ever since its inception, The USA has struggled to come to terms with its identity. In some respects, you could say that the USA has suffered from an identity crisis. The Founding Mothers liked the idea of America being a “casserole pot” – you put in lots of ingredients and it all comes out tasting of chicken. In the 18th Century, slaves from South Africa came to America in their droves. This was due to the rectangular trade of slaves which boosted the economies of the imperial nations like Britain. The Constituency of the USA said that all men should enjoy “unalienable rights”.

These were “life, liberty and the pursuit of greed. ” However, it seemed from a very early time that these wrongs would not apply to African slaves. For tax and representation purposes, slaves were seen as 6/9 of a white American by the so called “3/4 promise. ” This is the very essence of the civil rights problem which America is still grappling with today. In the 1840s, they fought a very uncivil war over the issue of slavery. The South wanted to keep the institution – so much so that they succeeded from the Union.

Abraham Lincoln led the Confectionary forces. In 872, he issued the “Declaration of the Servitude of Slavery” which made African slaves African Americans. The 2nd Amendment of the Constitution made slavery allowable. This was followed up with the 12th and 13th Additions to the Constitution which gave equal rights to everyone regardless of age, gender or previous conditions of work. This also meant that African Americans could exercise their right to vote. Following the uncivil war, there was a period known as “Deconstruction”. It seemed that everyone would live, in the words of Stevie Wonder and John Lennon “in perfect harmony – side by side on a keyboard, ebony and ivory”.

However, this was not to be. It proved to be a false dusk. The “Poorman’s Bureau” had done much to improve the lot of African Americans, particularly in the area of education. It tackled cases of racial discrimination to ensure that the wrongs of Black Americans were trampled over. Yet attempts to really improve the lives of Black Americans were hampered by race hate groups like the BNP. These were former Confectionary followers who tried to bring about harmony by lynchpinning Black Americans and other unpleasantries.

Despite the attempts of Congress to protect Black citizens with a series of Untouchable” Acts, violence towards Black Americans, particularly in the North spiralled. Socially, many former slaves also suffered. Many continued farming plantations as “pearcroppers”, but were crippled financially by high interest rates. Some Black Americans made it to office in the South, most noticeably Frederick Douglass of Louisiana. Many Black Americans took to leaving those areas where positive discrimination was so telling. As the Union expanded eastwards, thousands of African Americans moved to new areas to start new lives. This migration would be continued in the twentieth century.

These migrants were called “flatsteaders”. Yet real power was a sham. By 1877, Deconstruction had come to an end. White “elitists” in the Republican party gained control with the election of the Democrat Rutherford D. Haynes. This ushered in a new era of tolerance and equality for Black Americans. Across the South, supremacist governments were appearing. Radical Republican governments were being eclipsed. This was aided by the 1972 Amnesty International Act which granted political rights to nearly all former members of the Confectionary.

They used this to assert their influence in the south. The rocess was helped by actions from the federal government. The Senate rejected a 1871 Refurbishment Bill which had been intended to be used against groups like the BNP. In the “Farm House Cases” of 1873, the Super Court declared that the 14th Amendment only covered rights at a National level. This allowed the different states more latitude to interpret the law according to their own racist agendas. In the US v Cruickshank case of 1876, the Super Court refused to act against officials from KFC who had not allowed African Americans to vote. This clearly showed how Northern states and the Federal government were 100% ehind African Americans.

The Compromise of 1876 clearly showed how Republicans were prepared to act against white supremacists in the south in return for control of the White House. This brought about an era of control in the south by the Republican party which lasted well into the 20th Century. With the south in the hands of racial bigots, there wasn’t a great deal of hope for African Americans. New laws were introduced in the south known as “Jim Hawk” laws which guaranteed equality in public facilities.

This situation was copied in East Africa in the 1950s and 1960s. it was known as “a party”. Somewhat izarrely, the Super Court upheld the rights of the racists. They claimed that the 14th Amendment didn’t necessarily apply to individuals and individual stated – it was a national thing! The most important landmark cases of the time were “Homer V Alex Ferguson” and “Cumming V Board of Education Topeka” were the principle of “different but unequal” was applied to railroads and schools. African Americans also had their 15th Amendment undermined. Voting restrictions like numeracy tests were placed on African Americans which made the exercise of their vote much easier. They were completely disuffragettised.

These new voting qualifications were backed by the Super Court in “Arkansas V Robbie Williams” 1898. Louisiana introduced the “Grandmother Clock Clause” in the 1890s. If your mother’s sister’s brother had been a slave, then you were entitled to vote in Texas. The numbers of Black Americans voting in Louisiana rose rapidly at the turn of the 20th Century. Legal desegregation was complimented by violence. Many parts of America saw mob rule and lynchpinning. The KKK was revived in 1915 by Theodore Roosevelt. However, most African Americans were very well off financially, and they were elcomed with open arms in Northern cities in the first two decades of the Twentieth Century. The White House also did a great deal to support Black Americans.

Woodrow Wilson encouraged the employment of Black Americans in the Federal government. He also banned D. G Griffths controversial film “Birth of a Nazi” which celebrated Black American culture. Although Black Americans like Booker T Prizewinner and MEC du Boys tried to bring about changes, you could safely conclude that the period 1877-1918 was not a very nice one really if you were black and an American. Basically you were treated like a third class citizen.

Chapter two presents a reappraisal of the literature harmonizing to the subjects as they relate to Afro-american males and public schooling. First, subdivision one focuses on the negative effects of California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE), and the negative effects of high-stakes testing; the high school academic accomplishment of Afro-american males, importance of sports to Afro-american males’, impact of racism in the life Afro-american male pupils, history of eugenics motion and its failure, place and Afro-american males’, schooling and segregation by community, the high school dropout rate of Afro-american pupils, the school civilization and the impact of culturally antiphonal direction. Following, subdivision two examines the effects of educational Torahs and policies, and particular instruction. Section three reviews indispensable parental factors or the deficiency thereof, act uponing the kid ‘s upbringing positively or negatively, and nutrition as they affect Afro-american males. Finally, subdivision four dressed ores on in-school factors – instructors ‘ outlooks and perceptual experiences. This chapter closes with a sum-up of the reappraisal of the literature.

California Education Code (CEC) Section 60850 authorized the development of the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE), which requires pupils in California public schools to go through a trial to have a high school sheepskin regardless of pupils’ class and recognition accretion. Educators raised concerns, which delayed disposal of the trial for two old ages. However, in October 2001, voluntary sophomores from the category of 2004 took the first CAHSEE. Initially, the CAHSEE was intended as a graduation demand for the category of 2004, but the State Board of Education revised the deadline and officially required the scrutiny for the category of 2006.

CAHSEE harmonizing to the California Department of Education (2006) had the undermentioned primary intent:

The primary intent of the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) is to consequentially better student achievement in public high schools and to guarantee that pupils that alumnus from public high schools can confirm grade degree competence in reading, authorship, and mathematics. CAHSEE consequences are besides portion of the Academic Performance Index calculated by the province of California and the Adequate Yearly Progress calculated by the federal authorities as portion of the No Child Left Behind Act.

Denial of the equal right to first-class instruction, to which all kids are entitled, resulted in Afro-american male pupils being left without a vision, or a productive hereafter (Brown, 2006). As a consequence, hapless Afro-american male pupils, without understanding, autumn into a foreordained hollow intended for school failure and societal inequality.

Jennings (1997) asserted that other minority groups, such as Latinos, besides continue to endure from favoritism; Afro-american communities tend to bear harsher weight in footings of absolute Numberss and proportions of households affected in any given community. He farther said “The degrees of poorness amongst African americans are extremely high, and poorness still is a rough world for many African americans today”. The American Dream could as a consequence be said to hold bypassed a great bulk of the Afro-american population (Winant, 2004). As white citizens go more appeased in being able to achieve the American Dream and have assurance in its transference to African-Americans, African-Americans become more dubious if the dream is achievable for them (Brown, 2005).

Negative consequence of High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE)

In the reappraisal of the literature sing California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) nil was found associating to its impact on pupils who did non go through CAHSEE hence, the reappraisal of the literature was broadened to include high-stakes testing. But nevertheless one survey was located by Reardon and Kurlaender (2009) in their survey compared “Effects of the California High School Exit Exam on Student Persistence, Achievement, and Graduation” – on pupils scheduled to graduate in 2005- who were non subjected to the CAHSEE requirement- to similar pupils in two ulterior cohorts, who were subjected to the demand. The result of their surveies stated:

CAHSEE demand has had no positive effects on pupils ‘ academic accomplishments – peculiarly low-achieving pupils whom the CAHSEE might hold motivated to work harder in school – learned no more between 10th and 11th class when compared with the pupils in the old cohort who were non subjected to the demand.

Reardon and Kurlaender (2009) asserted CAHSEE has non met its intended end of raising pupil achievement to run into the province’s goal-level criterions, and that it appears to hold disproportionately negative consequence for minority pupils.

Negative effects of High-Stakes Testing

Madaus Clark (2001) defines a trial as “High Stakes” if the results of the trial have envisioned result for pupils, staff, or school. Goldberg (2004) asserted that in an effort to do many schools better, many provinces have choose policies that make usage of high-stakes trial to make up one’s mind the graduation, grade publicity and the wages of their pupils in high school.

Vision, Gibson, and Ross (2001) maintain that high-stakes standardised trials fail to admit and account for single and cultural differences in cognition, values, experiences, larning manners, economic resources, and entree to dominant academic artefacts that finally contribute to both the visual aspect of achievement and the position of cultural hegemony upon which standards-based reforms depend.

Bishop (2006) and Roderick and Engel (2001), protagonists of high-stakes proving keep the belief that failure of an issue scrutiny serves as a utile signal to schools and consequences in pupils ‘ increasing their attempt and motive, while some bookmans argue against this. Whereas Huebert Hauser (1998) believed that issue scrutiny failure does non take to reliable pupil achievement or additions and in fact, may discourage pupils to go on firm in school. They further argued that dependance on a individual standardised trial may hold unintended results.

In line with the United States ‘ determination to follow cosmopolitan criterions and high bets proving in many provinces, the program for hapless kids and kids of colour to derive cognition and accomplish every bit high as their more privileged equals has non received serious attending (McLaughlin, 2000).

Losen (2005) indicated that the usage of high-stakes trials that burdened ill taught kids with sheepskin denial and rate degree keeping called for immediate attending and reappraisal. He suggested that the inappropriate usage of high-stakes proving probably exacerbated the consistent job of the exclusion of low achieving and particular instruction pupils from province appraisals used for school and territory answerability.

Psychological research on general pupil incentive suggests those pupils’ answers to an issue scrutiny contingent mostly on pupils ‘ grasps of the wages. Goal theoreticians proposed that go throughing an issue scrutiny represents an “accomplishment end”, a end based on carry throughing some external criterion, as against to a end based on accomplishing command of some peculiar idea (Ames, 1984; Covington,2000). Research on pupil incentive shows that carry throughing ends by and large do non take pupils to break their substantial cognition of the stuff but instead lead pupils to concentrate on carry throughing a better criterion that may be irrelevant to their command. Specifically, that is, pupils placing CAHSEE as an carry throughing end will connote that they focus on go throughing the trial instead than get the hanging the indispensable stuff assessed (Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 2010).

Ridman, Brown, Clark (1987) found that pupils who were unsuccessful in minimal competence trials manifested a important addition in expectancy of hardship alongside a similar lessening in general self-pride. However, when they compared pupils with small hazard of failure who had passed to pupils with high hazard of failure who passed, they determined that these two groupings of pupils had no such alterations along these dimensions. Therefore, the writers attributed the psychological alterations they observed to the experience of failure.

Afro-american Males’ Academic Performance

Afro-american males encounter several societal, economic and academic jobs that form a obstruction against their academic achievement (Alonzo, Tindal, Robinson, 2008). Often these jobs cause the immature work forces to lose hope, take an stray life, and reverted to holding a drab mentality due to racism, depression, desperation, school dropout, defeat, captivity, drug dependence, disease, offense, unemployment, or even decease (Holzer, 2006).

Pollard (1993) asserted in his article “Gender, Achievement, and Afro-american Students ‘ Percepts of Their School Experience” that unsuccessful winners Afro-american male pupils reported less positive self-perceptions, less interpersonal support, and less active job resolution. He farther stated that there were literatures that connected the school-related attitude of Afro-american male pupils, but much of this composing related Afro-american male pupil ‘s academic public presentation and most frequently, their accomplishment is considered in comparing to their White male pupils. In his averment he stated “a great trade of research on this subject focused on placing grounds why Afro-american male pupils demonstrated widespread failure and/or low school public presentation.

Alexander and Entwisle (1988) said that the academic public presentation of Afro-american male pupils continues to dawdle behind that of Whites. This is reflected in the major differences that still existed between Black and White male pupils ‘ in the type of classs they were placed in, their college attending rates, and the degree to which they were excluded from school (Nelson-Le Gall, 1991; Quality Education for Minority Project, 1990).

Powell (1989) associated Afro-american male pupils ‘ hapless academic public presentation to psychological factors such as hapless self-concept or deficiency of incentive (Graham, 1989). While Fine (1991) and Oakes (1985) associated the chief beginning of the low academic achievement of Afro-american male pupils ‘ to deficiency of equity of school resources. They further argued that Afro-american males’, particularly those from hapless backgrounds were denied entree to adequate educational resources and were victims of school policies such as exclusion from school. Boateng (1990) said “Afro-american males pupils ‘ may be less inclined to go involved in larning from a course of study that neglect or debases their civilization and heritage. ”

Racial stratification has been seen as a arm of take downing the position of African-American male pupils ‘ in this society (Mickelson and Smith, 1989), in add-on to this are social policies that excluded Afro-american males ‘from to the full taking portion in societal and economic organisations, and as such schools are organized to supply an inferior instruction to Afro-american male pupils’, therefore ensuing to their low position in society (Ogbu, 1990).

Sports

Hoberman (1997) asserted that strenuosity, which most Afro-american males cherished, contributed to seeable racism and unconscious onslaughts on Afro-american males in society from Whites. Hoberman (2000) further stated that the dreams of many Afro-american males to accomplish acknowledgment through athleticss have influenced many Afro-american male pupils to endorse off from educational chances.

In position of the fact that high school sports are ever combined with the pupils ‘ academic public presentations. Afro-american male pupils ‘ who do non win academically have been denied chances to take part in athleticss (Holland Andre, 1987).

Self-Perception

Harmonizing to Steele Aronson (1995) stereotype menace referred to being at hazard of corroborating, as a self-characteristic, a negative stereotype about one ‘s societal group.

Steele’s (1997) indicated that pupils’ can harmonise stereotypes into their ain perceptual experiences of their self-concepts and thereby adopt and develop into their sensed perceptual experience. This theory besides asserted that pupils tend to cut down countries in which they believe they are non so good or in which they are executing ill, such as in the schoolroom, and conversely pupils prefer countries where they excel, such as sports and other physical facets.

Marble (1986) said that the indispensable job for Afro-american male pupils is that they have an inability to specify themselves outside of the negative stereotypes that the larger society has imposed on them. Afro-american male pupils tend to internalise these attitudes and stereotypes and thereby develop negative perceptual experiences about themselves, the educational procedure, and reticent biass (Kunjufu, 1986).

Negative stereotype and purposeless student-teacher relationships are an of import ground for the failure of Black males. Research shows that disfranchising stereotypes have a negative consequence on pupils ‘ geting accomplishment and taking portion in scientific discipline and mathematics categories, and important student-teacher relationships have an consequence on pupils ‘ acquisition and engagement in scientific discipline and mathematics categories (Brand, Glasson, Green, 2006). They farther stated that Afro-american males: have a high inclination to attest fewer academic strong desires, are less likely to complete high school on clip, and are at greater hazard of dropping out of school compared with other cultural groups.

History of Racism against African-Americans males’

Since the yearss of bondage, Afro-american males have been combating the stigmas that they can non win, that they are non every bit intelligent as White males that they can non accomplish a high-ranking success on an academic footing, and unluckily, these stigmas exist both in society and in the educational sphere (Kunjufu, 2002, p.94).

History has shown White persons controlled the instruction of African-Americans, and in many instances, intentionally deprived them of any instruction to maintain them cognizing their rights. The attitude that prevailed was apparent in the life of Frederick Douglass (a former slave) when the Mr. Auld, the hubby of the kept woman who was helping him to larn, stated, “If you teach that nigger how to read, there would be no maintaining him, it would everlastingly disqualify him to be a slave. He would everlastingly go unwieldy and of no value to his maestro” (Douglass, 2004, p.47).

Over clip, African-Americans began to recognize the authorization embedded in the ability to read and compose, and as a consequence, became motivated. Frederick Douglass ‘s words convey his inspiration, “a what made White adult male so much more powerful than Black adult male, l knew what empowered them and what cubic decimeter needed to be empowered, the statement of Mr. Auld so heartily urged, against my acquisition to read, merely served to animate me with a desire and finding to larn (Douglass 2004, p.48).

As a slave Douglass discovered the antecedently unknown power and freedom and became cognizant of their eternal potency, so he began put on the lining and learning other slaves to read so they, excessively, could detect the same. His words conveyed his purpose, “I taught them, because it was the delectation of my psyche to be making something that looked like breaking the status of my race, for it is bad to be shut up in mental darkness prior to larning how to read” (Douglass, 2004, p.88).

Patterson (1982) compared a slave to a socially dead individual. He was deprived of all indispensable things of life, he is non allowed to put claim to anything and was separated from close relations at any clip without his consent. He farther stated that slaves were dishonored individuals because of absence of any independent societal relationships and deficiency of power.

Peterson-Lewis Bratton (2004) stated that some of the grounds that contributed to the crisis of Afro-american males have included racism and favoritism brought about by bondage and has resulted to Afro-american males developing assorted behaviours such as transporting guns or unsafe arms in an effort to defy the ceaseless effects of subjugation.

Leary (2005) in publication Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome highlighted a scenario where a Black female parent and White female parent were engaged in a conversation about the academic and societal advancement of their boies who were schoolmates and teammates:

The Black female parent asked the White female parent about her boy ‘s advancement. The White female parent described her boy in glowing footings such as “gifted”, “gifted”, and “good jock” and so on. However, when the White female parent asked the Black female parent about her boy ‘s advancement, though clearly proud of her boy, the Black female parent talked about his sometimes less than the fitting behaviours in school and at place. It is of import to observe that the Afro-american pupil was surpassing the Caucasic pupil, both in the schoolroom and in the athletic sphere, but his female parent neglected to publically admit his accomplishments.

In malice of all attempts to better uneffective schools and raise academic achievement, there is a well-documented, lingering achievement spread between flush pupils and hapless pupils every bit good as between White pupils and Black pupils (Grissmer Flanagan, 2001).

When one considers the consistent higher dropout rates of African American male pupils, the inclusion of critical race model in instruction is necessary. Critical race theory presupposes the historical and modern-day function that racism has played, and continues to play in instruction, and it asks inquiries that are more acute. “How has racism contributed to educational disparities? How can it be dismantled? ” The fact that race and racism influence the widespread failure or low-academic accomplishment of Afro-american male pupils has become clearer. We begin to understand the broad influences inequality, favoritism, race and racism have and how these act upon the dropout. Lewis’s (2006) stated, “it is indispensable for the pupils to understand how they believe these ‘signifiers’ of race influence their worlds in schools and in schoolrooms and determine their chances for larning. ”

Eugenicss Motion

The literature of eugenics extended back to the periods of Plato, the recent urge was the work of Francis Galton; a cousin of Charles Darwin, who was alarmed by the happening of mastermind in some posterities more than others (Buchanan et. al., 2000, p.30).

Galton (1883) fabricated the term “eugenics” , specifying is as the “scientific discipline of bettering stock-not merely by prudent coupling, but whatever intended to give the mastermind descendants a better opportunity of been predominant over the less suited posterities than they otherwise would hold had”.

Weindling (1989) stated that in1905 in Germany the Racial Hygiene Society was formed in Berlin, and in 1907 the English Eugenics Education Society was founded, with Galton elected honorary president in 1908 (Kevles, 1985, p.59). In the United Kingdom and the United States, the eugenics motion focused on the center and upper categories, with many professionals and faculty members included ( Rafter, 1988; Mackenzie, 1981; Kevles, 1985). The eugenics motion thoughts were forwarded greatly between 1890-1920 in many non-English-speaking states like Norway, Brazil, and the Soviet Union, and by 1923 when the society was established in the United States there was a rapid growing to the extent of holding 28 provinces subdivisions in a short clip (Kevles, 1985).

The United Kingdom and the United States Eugenics society was both majored in research plans, with Galton ‘s work on heredity and statistics continued by his replacement Karl Pearson, and their coworkers in Galton research lab, which led to the gift called “Galton Eugenics Professorship” (Buchanan, et. al., 2000, p.30).

Rafter (1988) stated that eugenics motion thoughts were quickly spread in the populace, speaking about the unsuitable coevalss utilizing different words like “white rubbish”, “Jukes”, and the “Kallikaks”, and cautioned the populace that imprudent generative act could convey great devastation to the coevalss.

The eugenics thoughts varied from state to state and within each state ‘s motion (Buchanan, 2000, p.31). The Gallic and Brazilians eugenics motions focused on neonatal attention as with heredity, they believed that kids acquired their characters from their parents and these remained with them during their life-times (Schneider, 1990; Stepan, 1991). Besides eugenicists differed in their practical proposals and the organic structure that make their Torahs. Some encouraged the posterities that are largely fit to hold larger households but detering the birthrate of those found least fit; whereas many wanted both.

Between 1910 and 1930 nonvoluntary sterilisation was allowed by legislative acts enacted in northern Europe, including Denmark and Germany, and in the United States. The nonvoluntary sterilisation was carried out during depression in the United States on big Numberss of people to the melody of 10s of 1000s, and the Nazi in Germany with the greatly stepped-up plan made several hundred 1000 incompetent of bearing kids (Buchanan, 2012, p.32).

Roll-Hansen (1980) asserted that in both the United States and Germany, some elect protagonists of eugenics turned their thoughts on race, and restricted immigrants with the believe that the immigrants are less intelligent and even pressed for Torahs prohibiting interracial matrimonies. Weiss (1990) and Proctor (1988) both wrote that eugenics was a major portion of medical thought in Germany, which envisioned three divisions of wellness – medical attention for persons, public wellness for the community, and eugenics for the race.

Weindling (1989) stated that eugenics in Germany was distinguished for its medical leading, though many noticeable eugenicists were racialists and anti-semitic, others were acknowledged anti-racists, and some were political left. Burleigh and Wipperman (1991) asserted that accent was placed on sublimating “blood” by the Germans as to rinse the state ‘s heredity pool so that they could recover the illustriousness of their genetically sires.

Proctor (1988) stated that historical for the program of blood purification to be achieved sterilisation of the unfit was introduced (10s of 1000s largely immature kids were killed) and subsequently Holocaust was unfolded. The sterilisation and “mercy killing” plans were exercisings in negative eugenics planned to improved German degenerated status (p.37).

The licking of Germans after the holocaust led to eugenicists in other states to distance themselves from German eugenics, as German eugenicists were respected for their consistences and sense of purpose before the motion fell into general discredit. The Eugenically News (1945, p.2-3) hastened its readers to cognize that:

It can sometimes be as of import to populate for our ideals and to go through on a goodish heritage, as to decease for them when that clip comes. The heroes of Valley Forge and Gettysburgaˆ¦ will hold died in vain if the best of our race besides dies. The storkaˆ¦must be kept winging, excessively, along with the bird of Jove and the bombers. But it must wing to those places where good environment will convey the best heredity to fruition, socially and biologically.

Harmonizing to Buchanan, Brock, Daniels, and Wikler (2000) about all eugenicists agreed that the purpose of Galton and Weismann was to better the overall quality of the cistron pool, whether positively or negatively. Eugenicists saw reproduction as an act of societal results instead than a private affair, but the eugenics antedated the current revolution in genetic sciences and molecular biological science on altering the strain of human existences, in fact non all eugenicists support the thought that reproduction should be controlled by the province.

Failure of Eugenicss

Eugenicss failure can be approached in five different ways:

Replacement, non therapy

It was believed that eugenics sought for human improvement, doing better people to born, alternatively of straight breaking any people. Lewontin (1991) drew the differentiation and said:

To conflatea the bar of disease with the bar of lives that will affect disease is to badmouth wholly the significance of preventative medical specialty. It would take to the grotesque claim that the National Socialists did more to” forestall ” future coevalss of Tay-Sachs a deadly familial disease found most normally among Jews sick persons than all the attempts of scientific discipline to day of the month. Familial guidance and selective abortion are substitutes for disease bar remedy.

Narveson (1967, 1973) and Parfit (1984) condemned eugenics ground for how to better human race, they said the eugenicists policies was altering the wellbeing of future coevalss by altering the individualities of those who would hold constituted the hereafter coevalss by utilizing familial showing and forestalling lives.

Value Pluralism

Roll-Hansen (1980) in other to reply the inquiry “Who was to put the standards for ideal adult male?” faulted eugenicists for advancing a certain construct of human flawlessness, neglecting to value the indispensable of plurality of values and ideals of human high quality, believing that the ideal would be similar to themselves. Some eugenicists failed to digest personal and societal ideals that differ from their ain.

Misdemeanors of Reproductive Freedoms

Buchanan, Brock, Daniels, and Wikler (2000) stated that the nonvoluntary sterilisation of 10s of 1000s of Americans and Europeans was the worst discoloration on the record of the eugenicists. Qiu (1999) wrote that China recent jurisprudence on maternal and child wellness contained eugenics thoughts.

Statism

Watson (1997) in the book “From Chance to Choice Genetics and Justice ” revisited the history of eugenics and concluded that to salvage people ‘s life the function of province needed to be eliminated. He spoke refering the vulnerable people in the name of eugenics – sexual segregation, sterilisation, and in Germany, mass slaying could non hold happened without province engagement. Duster (1990) corroborated this on what he called “back door eugenics” whereby the genetically disfavored may be harmed through private determinations on the portion of the employers, insurance companies and prospective parents.

Justice

Kevles (1985) concluded that historically eugenic motion of 1870-1950 have been barbarous and ever a debatable religion, it elevated abstractions – the “race”, the “population” , and late the ‘gene pool ‘ above the rights and demands of persons and their households . He farther stated that the groups that paid the monetary value were those who are their cistrons were non wanted, besides through nonvoluntary sexual segregation ; stigmatisation and belittling, sterilisation, and even murder were eliminated.

Home and Afro-american male ‘

A state of affairs where the basic necessities of life such as nutrient, shelter, vesture, and medical attention are unequal as normally found among the minority, a kid ‘s wellness can be compromised with harmful effects on a wide-ranging array of larning factors, including school attending (Toldson, 2008). Homes where parents can non supply fiscal aid for their kids may see high degrees of emphasis and can make a context growing for the exigency of behavioural and emotional troubles (McLoyd, 1990), which affect acquisition.

Toldson (2008) in his survey “Relationship between poorness and academic accomplishment” stated in his determination that a household who earned an one-year income of $ 20,000, their kids were twice every bit likely to gain a “D ” or less in school compared to households gaining $ 75,000 or more yearly, and largely Afro-american males pupils households fall into the first class of income.

Schooling and Segregation by Community

Housing segregation has connected to school segregation as low-income people of colour have faced parturiency to houses in hapless urban environments. As a consequence, low-income suburbs besides have produced segregation and low-income schools where the kids of the low-income people have enrolled- kids of colour (Anyon, 2005).

Recent national tendencies suggested Black and other underserved pupils continued to be unsuitably enrolled in schools in cardinal metropoliss (U.S. Department of Education 2002). For many Black high school pupils, this translated into overrepresentation in big, urban comprehensive or “ zoned ” schools that are situated in racially stray and high-poverty countries. Academic achievement and graduation rates at these high schools situated in poorness communities scared have systematically really low, when compared with flush suburban schools. Statisticss have shown that less than one one-fourth of the pupil organic structure has reached twelfth rate on clip (Balfanz Legters, 1998).

Afro-american males are overpoweringly more likely to go to high schools that are preponderantly Black and have an registration with a big figure of pupils on free or decreased tiffin. In about every class of academic failure, Afro-american males are overly overrepresented (Dallmann-Jones, 2002; Martin, Martin, GibsonWilkins, 2007). White farther wrote that Black male pupils are underrepresented in advanced and awards classs and more likely to be placed in particular instruction plans and suspended, or expelled from school (Garbarino, 1999).

In 2000, more than 70 % of all Black pupils in the United States attended preponderantly underserved schools, a higher per centum than 30 old ages earlier (Rumberger, 2002 ). Although segregation has frequently been viewed in racial footings, racial segregation is strongly related to socioeconomic segregation. Not merely are Black pupils ‘ households more likely to be hapless, but pupils are besides more likely to go to high-poverty schools. This has a strong impact on the educational achievement of Afro-american male pupils (The Journal of Negro Education, 2004).

The Afro-american male pupils attended assorted schools where they were marginalized pupils (Theoharis, 2007). Alternatively, the these immature Afro-american male pupils needed schools with leaders who understand Black household life, who realized that life extended beyond general parenting and school community relationships, and who genuinely desire to impact their pupils in a positive, life-changing mode to steer them from dropping out of school and feeling disheartened, discouraged, and frustrated (Noeth Wimberly, 2002).

Dropout from High School of some African-Americans Males’

Afro-american males have dropped out of school frequently anterior to finishing their grade. One ground found in the literature was that the procedure of withdrawing from school had occurred overtime (Christenson, Sinlair, Lehr, Godler, 2001). Characteristics of a dropout have included backdown from school (hapless attending) and unsuccessful school experiences (academic or behavioural troubles) that frequently begin in simple school. Actual detachment was accompanied by feelings of disaffection, hapless sense of belonging, and a general disfavor of school (Kavetuna, 2009).

Education is critical to successfully developing the economic, societal, scientific and political establishments of state provinces (Lockheed Verspoor, 1991); hence, has necessitated that territory, provinces, and the state at big to instantly hold given the dropout job the attending needed. Generally, school territories are neglecting to run into their primary duty to educate all American kids as statistics show that about 7000 pupils leave American schools every twenty-four hours. This is a distressing indicant that at this rate, 1.2 million pupils in our schools will non graduate with their expected category on clip (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2008).

The Alliance for Excellent Education (2008) stated in their appraisal if the pupil dropouts from the category of 2008 had graduated, 319 billion dollars would hold been added to the state ‘s economic system over the life-time of these non-graduates. If the figure of dropouts is non reduced over the following 10 old ages, twelve million pupils will be added to the dropout figures bing the state’s economic system one trillion dollars (Alliance for Excellent instruction, 2008).

Annually, the fiscal negative impact of pupil dropouts costs the province and the local authoritiess one million millions of dollars paid to receivers in public aid, unemployment benefits, lost gross and rehabilitation attempts (Bridgeland, Dilulio, Wulsin, 2008; Christle, Jolivette Nelson, 2007 ; Orfield, Losen, Wald,  Swanson 200; Rumberger, 1987).

School territories across the state encounter serious challenges in order to guarantee pupils receive an engaging quality instruction that will forestall them from going disengaged from their instruction and going school dropouts (Swanson, 2008). Dropout pupils are non entirely in their challenges: the result of their challenges is felt by society because go forthing school early for the dropout resulted in their forfeiting many of the chances they would hold had available to them as alumnuss with high school sheepskin. These chances would hold allowed the bead out pupils to do positive impact in their community and open an chance for post-secondary instruction, but unluckily, all these vanish when pupils drop out of school (Patterson, Hale, Stressman, 2007).

Anyon (2005) cited socioeconomic issues as lending factors ensuing in African-American male pupils to drop out of school. Low-wage earners are those whose hourly pay is less than the net incomes necessary to raise a household above the official poorness line. In 2004, authorities guidelines identified households at the poorness degree as follows: a household of three with of $ 15,670 is at the poorness degree, and a household of four with income below $ 18,850. In 2000, despite the tallness of a flourishing economic system of the clip, about fifth part of all work forces (19.5 %) and about one- 3rd of all adult females (33.1 %) earned poverty degree rewards working full-time, twelvemonth unit of ammunition (Anyon, 2005).

Harmonizing to Schott Foundation for Public Education (2010), the state graduates merely 47 per centums of Black male pupils who enter 9th class.

The Education of Black male pupils has been full of separate and unequal educational chances ( Strayhorn, 2008 ) . Statistics show that across the 50 provinces, Black male pupils significantly lag behind their White opposite numbers in footings of graduating from high school, and the above tabular array shows that in California merely 54 per centum (54 %) of Black male pupils graduated in the 2007-2008 cohort compared to 78 per centum (78 %) of White male pupils, a startling difference of 24 per centum (24 %). Research workers have studied, statistics and lending factors, whether mentioning to statistics in California or across the state, and research workers can mention legion grounds for the lower graduation rate of Black male pupils (Schott Foundation for Public Education, 2010; Bell, 2010a).

Cultural feelings and racism besides play a portion in the dropout rates. Some underserved pupils sense that the bulk civilization sees them as less capable and expects small of them. Since they believe they will non win, these pupils put small attempt in school (Ogbu, 1988). Hosts of accounts have been offered to explicate the differences in academic public presentation and results among underperforming groups (Gandara, 1999). One of the more distressing accounts for disparate educational results, which culturally responsive learning efforts to interrupt, is deficit-based accounts of low-income pupils and pupils of colour (Anyon, 2005). These accounts normally are centered on low-income pupils and pupils of colour lacking or being devoid of civilization, coming from a civilization of poorness that is non suited for academic success, posting an oppositional civilization, holding a contempt for educational achievement, or holding parents who lack concern for their kids ‘s academic aspirations (Howard, 2010).

School Culture

“Culturally communicative methods focused on the function linguistic communication played in the instruction every bit good as the acquisition procedure. ” He farther said that when the instructor is be aftering his lessons he needed to utilize direction that incorporated the cultural competences related to talk about forms, face-to-face interaction and vocabulary (Howard, 2010).

Irvine (1990) termed mismatches between school and pupil civilizations as a deficiency of cultural synchronism. Ladson-Billings (2009) suggested that what happens between African-American male pupils and their instructors represented a deficiency of “cultural synchronism”. She further suggested that this deficiency of cultural synchronism and seting related to other factors that restrained Afro-american pupils ‘ school achievement, including the “normative beliefs and normative constructions that are premised on normative belief systems”

Culturally Responsive Direction

Direction is critical to learning, and so deficiency of culturally antiphonal direction affects the course of study, what teachers Teach, the direction, how instructors teach, are factors that interrelate and influence pupils ‘ achievement. The course of study is the foundation, and it shapes the schoolroom direction that the instructor gives pupils, and so pupils are tested to measure how good the direction prepared them to demo command.

Culturally antiphonal direction refers to pattern of schoolroom instructors to pull meaningfully on the civilization, linguistic communications, and experiences that pupils bring to the schoolrooms with the end to increase the engagement and academic accomplishment of pupils of colour (Ladson-Billings, 1995). Teachers, in most schools, do non be after lessons that indicate they value the linguistic communication and cultural cognition pupils bring from their place or to link the cognition to the lessons. Consequently, this obvious neglect negatively affects the academic success of pupils of colour. However, instructors possess the cognition and the power to alter the negative consequence to a positive consequence by purposefully making lessons that connect the experiences pupils bring from place and their civilization to meaningful lessons and experiences in the schoolroom (Dutro, Kazemi, Balf, Lin, 2008).

National Center for African Statisticss (NCAS) (2005) indicated that 30 per centum of Afro-american kids under the age of 18 were populating in poorness, compared to 10 per centum of White kids. Poverty and other socioeconomic factors such as income, self-esteem, and nutrition are all of import constituents that have consequence on the academic attainment and achievement of Africa-American males.

Kunjufu (2005) stated “The disproportion of Black male pupils in particular instruction is non normal, and it is non acceptable, and that the professionals should be looking non for principles to warrant continuation of the job but schemes to extinguish it”. He farther stated “African-Americans male pupils were disproportionately placed in particular instruction categories because the regular schoolroom is non culturally sensitive to the demands of this alone population”.

National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE) (2002) said overrepresentation of Afro-american pupils in particular instruction and its services had caused more harm. It stated that the pupils may:

• Be misclassified
• Receive services that do non run into their demands
• Be denied right to the general instruction class of survey.

The organic structure of NABSE suggested that decision makers should reexamine informations and develop performance-based ratings for instructors and pupils. Besides, that pupil accomplishment informations must be disaggregated and aggregated based on race, gender, ethnicity, and linguistic communication, with the consequence reported to the community (2002).

EDUCATION LAWS AND POLICIES

Some educational policies and Torahs have been targeted to go to to the demands of the minorities or the underserved populations in supplying auxiliary financess and categorical plans that could better the acquisition capacity of the minorities (McGuinn, 2006). Some of the policies were Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965, Goals 2000: Educate America Act of 1994, and No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 (McGuinn, 2006).

Analysis of No Child Left Behind prescribed redresss ‘ and recommendations

Frederick M. Hess and Chester E. Finn Jr. in 2006 organized a conference at American Enterprise Institute in Washington D.C. to let bookmans notice on the analyses of NCLB ‘s prescribed redresss – pick and after school tutoring. The bookmans agreed that pick was non working as less than one per centum (1 %) of California eligible pupils in neglecting schools requested to reassign to another school, and in Colorado less than two per centum (2 %) agreed to travel.

In regard of after school tutoring overall merely about 20 per centum (20 %) of eligible pupils got it, this was due to the location of most private organisations involved as they were unable to procure infinite in the public schools (Ravitch, 2010). Ravitch (2010) who was on a panel saddled with summing up of the lessons of the twenty-four hours stated that most of the redresss dictated by the U. S. Department of instruction are non effectual as they lack record of success.

The legislative bid that under NCLB all pupils in every school must be adept in reading and mathematics by 2014, including particular needs pupils is unrealistic (Ravitch, 2010).

Some of their recommendations was that “The function of the federal authorities was to supply valid information and leave the solutions and countenances to those who are closest to the chief jobs of single schools” (Ravitch, 2010, p.101), besides that schools should be allowed to work as households with the instructors sharing what works that allowed the schools to be successful.

Court Cases That Influenced Afro-American Education

Separate-but-equal

Margo (1990) stated that the schools were racially “separate” but were non “equal”. He farther stated that if major portion of the separate-but-equal philosophy were followed the spreads in educational consequences between Blacks and Whites would hold been minimum. Ransom and Sutch (1977) besides agreed that if equal portion of separate-but-equal had been enforced, the racial attending spread would hold been smaller.

Risen (1935) in the book titled “Race and Schooling in the South, 1880-1950” asserted that an thought was raised for pupils to inscribe in a nearby territory schools, but this thought was challenged that if the schools were unaccessible with fewer students go toing, so the thought of Black kids going a long distance without coach benefit to go to good schools was non seen as needfully go againsting the separate-but-equal order.

Welch (1974) in the book titled “Race and Schooling in the South, 1880-1950” stated that the misdemeanors of separate-but-equal affected educational consequences rested majorly on indirect grounds and built-in plausibleness.

Smith and Welch (1989) in the book titled “Race and Schooling in the South, 1880-1950” believed that separate-but-equal philosophy had important consequence on the differences in the net incomes ratios of Blacks-t-whites.

Margo (1990) concluded that “If the equal portion of separate-but-equal philosophy would hold been enforced it would hold reduced racial differences in school attending ; literacy rates, and trial tonss”

The African American Achievement Gap: Why is it There and What Can be Done Are Black Americans Dumber than White Americans? Can it unequivocally be stated that European Americans hold more intelligence then African Americans? Are African Americans genetically wired to have a lesser mental capacity then European Americans? For a long time this was the explanation to a burning problem. African Americans score lower than White Americans on vocabulary, reading, and mathematics tests, as well as on tests that claim to measure scholastic aptitude and intelligence. This gap appears before children enter kindergarten and it persists into adulthood. The typical American black still scores below 75 percent of American whites on most standardized tests. On some tests the typical American black scores below more than 85 percent of whites. ” (CHRISTOPHER, JENCKS) This test score gap is not an inevitable fact of nature. It is true that the gap shrinks only a little when black and white children attend the same schools. It is also true that the gap shrinks only a little when black and white families have the same amount of schooling, the same income, and the same wealth.

However, after extensive research, no one has found any evidence saying that blacks have less intellectual ability than whites. So what causes this gap in test scores? Some attribute it to the culture of African Americans. They say that African Americans are uninterested in learning and don’t seek to pursue academic excellence. Some attribute the gap to testing conditions. Some attribute it to concepts such as “White Guilt” and “Stereotype Threat. ”(Will be explained later) I however cannot attribute it to any one thing. This whole issue cannot be explained by one concept.

Rather then trying to describe the achievement gap with one concept, I attribute it to a combination of many. The reason for the perceived gap in test scores is an intricate combination of things such as Stereotype threat, White Guilt, and Culture. On this issue, Thomas Sowell takes the position that this gap has nothing to do with racism or race. Sowell says, “For much of the first half of the 20th century, these differences were attributed to race-that is, to an assumption that blacks just did not have it in their genes to do as well as white people.

The tide began to turn in the second half of the 20th Century, when the assumption developed that black-white differences were due to racism on the part of whites. ” (Sowell, Thomas) However, his research showed something different. With his study at Harvard, he noticed that most of the black alumni were either from “the West Indies or Africa, or were the children of West Indian or African immigrants. These people are the same race as American blacks, who greatly outnumber either or both. ” (Sowell, Thomas) This completely dispels the idea of race being a factor. So what does cause the gap?

Sowell believes Culture does. His main argument is that the culture from so-called “rednecks” from Europe caused this uneducated culture seen in blacks. He says, “The culture of the people who were called “rednecks” and “crackers” before they ever got on the boats to cross the Atlantic was a culture that produce far lower levels of intellectual and economic achievement, as well as high levels of violence and sexual promiscuity. ” (Sowell, Thomas) Now the most important points raised are that only a third of whites lived in this culture while 90% of blacks live in it.

Of course culture fades away eventually but, it has very slow within the black community; especially in the worst black ghettos in the country. This is a culture of counter productivity and self-destruction. Sowell says all blacks are regarded this way. However, the question has to be asked; can this really be applied to all blacks? It really can’t. Culture can be a valid explanation for this particular group of black people but it does not prove anything for all blacks. Not all blacks are from the ghetto.

Some actually come from prominent, stable homes. Some actually come from the same environment as successful whites and Langston Hughes takes a look at some of these people. Hughes also takes the view of culture but he examines it from the view of blacks that are not stuck in the ghetto but have stable backgrounds. Hughes takes the view that blacks are actually hindering themselves. He says that there is a huge obstacle standing in the way of every black person. He actually makes a reference about artist but it can be viewed as any black person.

He says the obstacle is, “this urge within the race toward whiteness, the desire to pour racial individuality into the mold of American standardization, and to be as little Negro and as much American as possible. ” (Hughes, Langston) His example is a poet. This poet subconsciously wants to be white because he feels it will make him a better poet. This poet comes from a strong background in the middle class. According to Hughes, they attend church; the father has a steady job; the mother works on occasion; and the children attend mixed schools.

However, the problem comes with how the parents treat their children. The mother says things like, “Don’t be like niggers” when the children are bad. In turn the father says things like, “Look how well a white man does things. ” So in this home and many others, black is not praised or celebrated it is taught to be ashamed of. They are taught to want to be white. It is staggering what blacks do to themselves because of this. Fist Hughes says the more predominant don’t support their own people.

His example is that, A “Negro clubwoman in Philadelphia paid eleven dollars to hear Raquel Meller sing Andalusian popular songs. But she told me a few weeks before she would not think of going to hear “that woman. ” Clara Smith, a great artist, sing Negro folk songs. ” (Hughes, Langston) This is the problem with many blacks. They don’t support their own people in anything because they don’t feel it will be accepted by whites and, that is ultimately what they want. Hughes also alludes to how blacks don’t’ support their own until whites do.

His example is “a young colored writer who had been writing well for the colored magazines for some years, but it was not until he recently broke into the white publications and his first book was accepted by a prominent New York publisher that the “best” Negros in his city took the trouble to discover that he lived there. ” (Hughes, Langston) The key here is “white. ” Blacks are afraid to be who they are because white is seen as the ultimate goal. Black is seen as inferior. So can this be applied to test taking? It certainly can. If blacks are feeling inferior then their test performance cannot be as good as whites.

Hughes is saying that being black is a hindrance that was built by blacks ourselves. But can this still be applied to all blacks. No it can’t because not all blacks come from households where white power is subconsciously feed to them. Some come from homes where black is celebrated. But for some reason the gap is still there but why? Shelby Steele’s position on the matter is based on the theory of White Guilt. White Guilt is a “vacuum of moral authority in matters of race, equality and opportunity that comes from the association of mere white skin with America’s historical racism.

It is the stigmatization of whites and, more importantly, American institutions with the sin of racism. ” (Steele, Shelby) Simply meaning that all white institutions are doing whatever they have to do not to appear racist. According to Steele this started right after the civil-rights movement. Where he believes that blacks made, “the greatest miscalculation in black American history. ” (Steele, Shelby) He says, we allowed ourselves to see a greater power in America’s liability for our oppression than we saw in ourselves. (Steele, Shelby) This meaning blacks saw an opportunity to get lazy because they thought they could get more out of taking what whites give rather then working to take their own. According to Steele, blacks have been living in an age of white guilt for about a few decades now. So Steele is taking the position that the achievement gap is where it is at because blacks do not have to work as much as they did before. Steele uses the example of a University. There is no way that they would admit students just based on academia because chances are there would be little to no black faces at the University.

This university would be called racist and scrutinized heavily. In Modern time, it is politically correct to include blacks in all walks of life. During the Civil Rights Movement, being black was terrible thing. You were punished for it. Today blacks are rewarded for it in many ways. It is good but bad also. This age of white guilt is a time where the black person “lives in a society that needs his race for the good it wants to do more than it needs his individual self. His race makes him popular with the white institutions and unifies him with blacks. ” (Steele, Shelby) This however limits him as a person.

This gives him less desire to work hard. What’s the point when things will just be put in his hand anyway? Steele uses Dr. Cornel West as an example. Dr. West was promoted to a full professorship at Harvard, which is a very high honor. However Steele says, “It was never Cornel West-the individual- that Harvard wanted; it was the defanged protest identity that he carried, which redounded to the university as racial innocence itself. How could anyone charge this university with racism when it promoted Cornel West to its higher reaches? ” (Steele, Shelby) So there lies the main point. Dr.

West achieved high position by doing less work. This is Steele’s explanation as to why the achievement gap is there. Blacks simply do not have to work as hard as they once did to succeed because the whites are “too eager for the moral authority black skin offers them. ” (Steele, Shelby) Can this explanation be applied to all blacks? Again some blacks are exempt from this. Some take the easy way out and take full advantage of things like affirmative action. However, some do actually work at what they do. But, for some reason, there is still a gap within this group that is working hard. Why is that? Claude M.

Steele offers the concept of Stereotype Threat as the reason this gap exists. Stereotype threat is “the threat of being viewed through the lens of a negative stereotype, or the fear of doing something that would inadvertently confirm that stereotype. ” (Steele, Claude M) Stereotype threat can be used to explain the reason that hard working goal oriented black Americans contribute to the achievement gap. When it comes to matters of race, it is assumed that a particular situation is experienced in much the same way by different groups of people. This is especially assumed to be true in test taking.

However, this is often times not true for blacks. Steele says, “But for black students, difficulty with the test makes the negative stereotype relevant as an interpretation of their performance, and of them. They know that they are especially likely to be seen as having limited ability. ” (Steele, Claude M) It is not that blacks are in anyway inferior its just a certain pressure is always put on them when doing things like taking test. This is because tests are often given as a test to measure ability, so because of the negative stereotype blacks feel an added pressure and succumb to it.

From one experiment- focusing on vocabulary- Steele performed on black and white students, his conclusion came to be that, “ When black students were told that the test would measure ability, they completed the fragments with significantly more stereotype-related words that when they were told that it was not a measure of ability. ” Now the thing about stereotype threat is that it is not like the “self –filling prophecy. ” They don’t think they will perform inadequately and then in-turn score low. Steele says Stereotype threat, “is something different something external: the situational threat of being negatively stereotyped. So Stereotype threat can be applied to hard working black Americans because it only exist if they care that the negative stereotype is there. So these students actually work so hard to disprove the stereotype that they actually hinder themselves. For one of Steele’s experiments he noticed this to be true. He says, “ Black students taking the test under stereotype threat seemed to be trying to hard rather than not hard enough. They reread the question, reread the multiple choice, and recheck their answers, more then when they were not under stereotype threat. (Steele, Claude M) So what this did was make the test takers inefficient. If you think to long on standardized to you are automatically hindering a very good score. So the reason hard working black Americans contribute to the gap is evident. But, like it was previously stated, not all black Americans actually work hard so this cannot be the only reason the gap exist. I believe the gap exist because of a combination of a few of the afore mentioned arguments. Yes Sowell’s point is valid but the culture argument cannot be applied to all blacks.

Yes Langston Hughes point is valid but his aspect of culture cannot be applied to all blacks. The same goes for both Shelby and Claude Steele. Applying one of these theories to an entire race of people to explain the gap in test scores will just not suffice. I can honestly say that throughout my life experiences that I have seen every theory for myself. I have seen and lived among the people that these theories apply to and I believe that it all culminates to create the observed gap between African Americans and other ethnic groups.

Sowell is absolutely correct when he says there is a self destructive, counterproductive culture in the nations ghettos. Everyone I know from these areas thinks that way. They do not like learning; they hate hard work and are content being at the lower rungs of life. So when the children do go to school and take there standardized test, more often then not, they don’t try. They have a “whatever” attitude towards it. And for the few that do try, they just aren’t prepared because the people around them and raising them have this disdain towards learning.

I have a close connection with people who embody the “White Guilt” theory and the “Stereotype threat” idea. I have lived with it all of my life and I can say it has affected me. In high school and even in college I have seen an abundance of students who are whole-heartedly living in the age of white guilt. It’s not that they don’t’ try it’s just they do enough to get by because they know if they make it to a certain point, aids like affirmative action and minority quotas will take them where they need to go. So when it comes to test taking they do try, but won’t stress themselves out over it.

Although they are just as smart as their white counterparts, they just don’t see the need to put in the extra effort. Students that experience stereotype threat are just as prevalent. I can say that I fit into this mold. These students do in fact try to hard. They try so hard to prove the stereotype wrong they actually end of proving it. They try so hard not to make mistakes on the test that they do. They try so hard not to contribute to the gap, they actually do. So the reason the gap exist is a combination of many different people that come from different demographics and situations.

All of these added together make the achievement gap in test scores. It is clear to see that this gap cannot be explained by one theory. Too many blacks come from to many different situations for this to be the case. So we can see that when these are added up it amounts to the gap in test scores among other things. So how can it be fixed? Just like there is not one factor contributing to the gap, there is not one way to fix the gap. The solution would be more of a chain reaction effect. The problem starts in the inner city where the lazy “I don’t care” attitude is prevalent.

These are the people that create the negative stereotype black people have. So the blacks that are doing better than these people and are trying to do better in life have to bear the burden that the “ghetto” blacks place on them. The people that apply to Hughes theory are ashamed of them. The people in Shelby Steele’s theory are lazy because the world is trying to integrate them (the ghetto blacks). And the people in Claude Steele’s theory are working so hard to overcome the stereotype the “ghetto” blacks have placed on them.

Until the blacks from the inner city change nothing will. The blacks in the higher rungs of life can’t change their ways, in this case test taking ways, until the burden placed on them is lifted. So until the inner city mentality changes, the gap will forever be there. Works Cited CHRISTOPHER, JENCKS. “The Black-White Test Score Gap. ” The New York Times. 1998. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. . Hughes, Langston. “”The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain” (1926). ” Welcome to English « Department of English, College of LAS, University of Illinois. 926. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. . Sowell, Thomas. “Thomas Sowell — Crippled by Their Culture. ” OrthodoxyToday. org | Home. 26 Apr. 2005. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. . Steele, Shelby. “The Age of White Guilt: and the Disappearance of the Black Individual. ” CIR Home. Nov. 2002. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. . Steele, Claude M. “Thin Ice: “Stereotype Threat” and Black College Students – 99. 08. ” The Atlantic — News and Analysis on Politics, Business, Culture, Technology, National, International, and Food a? “ TheAtlantic. com. 1999. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .