Summary

The article discusses the persistent issue of racial segregation in New York City schools, highlighting the historical and contemporary responses of city officials, including Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2017, who continued a pattern of deflecting responsibility and commissioning reports rather than implementing direct solutions.

Abstract

The piece, titled "New York School Segregation: Past and Present," illustrates the ongoing struggle with racial segregation in NYC schools, an issue that remains unresolved six decades after the Supreme Court deemed it unconstitutional. Despite pressure from parents and students, officials like Mayor de Blasio have responded by avoiding the term 'segregation' and commissioning studies on school diversity, attributing the problem to housing rather than educational policies. The article draws parallels between the inaction of the past, exemplified by Schools Superintendent William Jansen's era, and the present, noting that despite claims of progress, the cycle of ineffective task forces and reluctance to acknowledge responsibility continues. It also references the work of Chana Joffe-Walt, who through her podcast "Nice White Parents" and extensive research, reveals the Board of Education's historical and current role in perpetuating segregation through decisions on school construction, location, and district zoning.

Opinions

The author suggests that city officials, including Mayor de Blasio, have historically and currently avoided taking direct responsibility for school segregation, preferring to commission reports and task forces instead of enacting substantive changes.
There is an implication that the Board of Education has been complicit in maintaining segregation by controlling the timing, location, and zoning of schools, thereby influencing which students attend which schools.
The article conveys a sense of frustration with the repeated cycles of proposed solutions followed by inaction or reversals when white parents express dissatisfaction.
The author seems to agree with the opinion of a judge from a 1957 lawsuit, who held the Board of Education responsible for school segregation and called for them to take corrective action.
The response of Mayor de Blasio to a student's question is presented as indicative of the ongoing lack of effective action to address school segregation, suggesting that the mayor's reliance on a task force's upcoming report is insufficient.

New York School Segregation: Past and Present

60 years later, the buck is still being passed around.

The setting: New York City.

The premise: city schools are racially segregated.

Racial matters are gaining more traction. Parents and students vocalize their dislike of racial segregation in schools. Pressure starts mounting against the residing mayor.

Eventually, the mayor responds.

His position, which he repeated over his years of mayorship [truncated and paraphrased]:

I commissioned several reports to look into school diversity. This issue does not stem from our office, it stems from housing problems, one which we are deeply investigating.

The mayor even refused to use the word ‘segregation’. When asked why:

I don’t get lost in terminology, I think the notion of saying we have to diversify our schools is the best way to say it.

Let me stop here.

Sounds like a story right out of the 1950s, doesn’t it? It is. And it isn’t.

The year: 2017. The mayor: Bill de Blasio.

The Past

In New York City, this conversation started circa 1954, when the Supreme Court made the historic decision that rendered segregation unconstitutional. New York City was not pro segregation; they were not ‘the south’. So why was this a problem?

This was exactly what the Schools Superintendent at the time, William Jansen, declared. There is nothing he or his team were doing to deliberately keep non-white kids out of any school.

He was right. There was nothing they were doing to stop integration.

There was also nothing they were doing to help it.

To make his argument, William Jansen had to ignore the many powerful tools available to the Board — Chana Joffe-Walt, Podcast: Nice White Parents

Here is how the series of events goes, according to extensive research done by Chana Joffe-Walt, host of Nice White Parents:

Non-white parents notice the inequity in the quality and calibre of schools attended by their kids, compared to those by white kids. They pressure the Board of Education to act. The Board, in what would seem to be an empathetic response, contracts a commission to study the situation. The commission offers a range of solutions, which the Board graciously accepts and [very] slowly starts to act on.

Sounds like progress so far — doesn’t it?

Until the changes start to occur.

White parents then complain about a drop in the quality of the schools. The Board immediately stops, claiming they need more evidence, and [drum roll please] commission yet another task force.

And the cycle goes on.

60 years later, the current mayor continues to respond in the exact same way.

But: is it the Board of Education’s job?

The Past and Present

The Board of Education claims it is not their fault, or their job to fix it. It is all about where people live — housing. Just like Mayor de Blasio claims today.

One of the judges on a related lawsuit in 1957, disagrees.

This segregation is your responsibility. Fix it.

In the Board’s view, they built the schools, they allow anyone to attend, and only white kids are attending ‘good schools’. How is this their fault?

Well, Chana in her podcast shares a few reasons why it is:

When to build schools: schools are built based on supply and demand in the area. Who decides on this? Board of Education.
Where to build schools: the next decision is where. Who makes this decision? Board of Education, based on zoning lines.
Which zones: zone determine the school a child attends. Who draws the school district lines? You guessed it, Board of Education.

This was true in 1957, and 2017.

The Present

Today, New York City remains one of the most segregated school districts.

Segregation is by far the most serious in central cities of the largest metropolitan areas; states of New York, Illinois and California are the top three worst — DiversityInc.com

Do we think they are finally doing enough to fix it? I will allow the response to a non-white 11th grader, Tiffani, by the current mayor, be the clue to this.

Tiffani: how much longer will it take to tackle the issue?

Mayor: Tiffani, I don’t think you are hearing what we are saying, so I will repeat it. There is a task force, they are coming out with their report in a matter of weeks. This was a problem created long before me. [live recording from WNYC]

I think this says it all.