Self segregation divides school along racial lines

As the 50th anniversary of the Brown vs. Board of Education decision approaches, diversity in public schools once again comes under scrutiny. Touted as one of the most diverse schools in MCPS, Blair, an all-white school before Brown, epitomizes the case's impact. Blair's student population is currently 32 percent black, 28 percent white, 26 percent Latino and 14 percent Asian. However, statistical diversity does not reflect true integration. Under examination, Blair is not as integrated as it seems to be, and students need more interaction with the different cultures around them.

Diversity does not mean just a conglomeration of race; it means providing students with knowledge and new perspectives. When classes are segregated, students have no chance to break down preconceptions and make new friends. By mixing students of different backgrounds, true diversity obliterates the one-dimensionality that causes so many conflicts today. As the MCPS web site states, "Diversity in our school communities enhances students' individual learning."

The rift between races is clear in the classroom. English teacher Bonnie Palmer teaches on-level, Honors and AP classes. Ninety-three percent of her on-level students this semester are minorities, while 68 percent of her Honors students and 88 percent of her AP students are white and Asian. In one of Palmer's AP classes, the only three minority students in the class worked exclusively with each other on group projects, just one example of a stark lack of true diversity.

Senior and Diversity Workshop leader Vital Akimana points out even worse racial separation in magnet and CAP classes. Two percent of magnet students and 12 percent of CAP students are minorities. Although, according to their goals, the magnet and CAP programs were introduced to Blair to promote racial diversity, magnet and CAP students have classes primarily with each other rather than the rest of the school. The result is a greater divide between program students and on-level students. "In a way, you can say it's like they're in different hallways," explains Akimana.

In a 2002 study, Assistant Professor James Moody of Ohio State University found that teenage friendships were more likely to be with those of similar race, even in diverse schools. "[Kids] are viewing other racial groups at a social distance, which can bolster stereotypes," wrote Moody. "While friendship segregation is a common outcome in racially heterogeneous schools, it need not be. The ways that schools organize student mixing has a strong effect on interracial friendship patterns."

A quick look at the SAC and Blair Boulevard during lunch reveals the severity of students' own self-segregation outside the classroom. According to an informal Silver Chips survey taken during 5B on Jan. 29, 65 percent of the 89 tables in and around the SAC were inhabited by students of only one race. Many of the other 35 percent of tables hosted only black and Latino students or white and Asian students.

While the majority of students accept Blair's multitracial environment readily and leave the world of racism in the past, they continue to divide themselves into racially homogeneous groups. In honor of the 50th anniversary of Brown, students should become aware of the self-segregation prevalent at Blair and support groups such as IMPACT at Blair and Diversity Workshop that work to unite diverse groups of students. In addition, teachers must attempt to integrate students by assigning mixed teams for class assignments. Blair has come a long way since the days of legal segregation, but there is a longer road ahead to the integration that heralds true diversity.