1950-1980 Separate but Equal

During the 1950's it was a troubling time for lots of kids and lots of lawmakers. The idea of separate but equal was a very popular term during this term. Lots controversies surrounding it and lots of people fighting. Every branch of government involved in a single issue down to the smallest child and all the way up the to the president. During the 1950's it was dangerous and illegal in 17 states for ethnic minorities to attend white public schools. But being able to attend public school together meant a lot to a lot of people at the time. Because of the laws and dangers surrounding minorities, 8 out of 10 African Americans were not enrolled in school because of it and lost out on valuable education. Educators and scholars around the country debated whether the nation could ever have both equality and excellence. It took a lot of fighting and change for all of this to change. Between the 1950's to the 1970's that change was able to happen but it did not go smoothly. Although after the 1970's kids attended schools together much of the activities within the schools were still segregated.

Although the law stated separate but equal, it made no difference. It was never enforced at the state level so even with the law in place this minority children still suffered and paid the price of racist people and politicians trying to keep people happy to gain their vote. It was even brought to the supreme court during the Topeka High school era, but even after winning after a decade 98% of black children still attended all-black schools out of fear. It's crazy to believe that after all that still people felt it as ok to segregate and live with this fear and put your kids through danger just because they wanted them to get an education. President Johnson had the right idea, and I strongly support it forcing schools to integrate fully by taking away their funds. Although an extreme measure it was the only way to get people to react and react quickly although it had to come to this level as history and current day news will tell us money talks in all different ways and is often referred to as the universal language.  By 1921 about 92% of southern black children attended an integrated school and from then on the programs and integration has gotten better but not perfect for all minorities making education available in lots of different languages for everyone and hopefully continuing to get better.