Segregation​
My project is about segregation, if it is still an issue, how it was before, and what kind of differences exist through out the world. The reason for that, is that segregation is not just about skin color, it is about so much more. Even though people do not think about that. I would like to show you the different aspects of segregation.
Little Rock Nine
​The way this subject came into my head was because of the Little Rock Nine. The Little Rock Nine were a group of 9 black high school students, who wanted to attend Little Rock Central High School after the verdict of Brown V. Board of Education, a completely white school. The reason that they wanted to transfer from their "black" school to a "white" school was because Little Rock Central High School was just simply a better school.
Their transfer request was made possible because of the then recent Supreme Court case: Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. In this case the Supreme Court declared state laws, establishing separate public schools for black and white students, to be unconstitutional. As a result such racial segregation was ruled a violation of the United States Constitution. This ruling paved the way for integration and was a major victory of the Civil Rights Movement, although not everybody agreed to the ruling. When the Little Rock Nine were allowed to go to Central High, several groups of people threatened to hold protests and physically block the black students from entering the school. The mayor of Little Rock finally asked President Eisenhower to send federal troops to enforce integration and protect the nine students. Under safe protection by the United States Army, The Little Rock Nine entered into Central High. So on September 23rd 1957 history was made.
Elizabeth Eckford followed by an angry "white" mob​
These nine students were not the only nine students who applied. Hundreds of kinds applied, but only these few students actually went through with their plan. But it is understandable that they backed out, because when the nine students arrived on their first day at Central High School, they faced over a 1000 "white" students who were against integration.
The respect I have for these people is big and formed by the fact that they did what they thought was good and what they had to do, not thinking about the status quo. They were so brave and they changed the world by doing it, even though so many people were against it.
What is segregation?
When people think about segregation, people mostly think about separating "black" and "white" people by law. "Black" people had to go to different schools and they had to sit in different areas of the bus. This happend in the 50's & 60's, but things have changed even though the picture about segregation did not.
The Netherlands
In The Netherlands segregation originated (if we look into history) mostly from religion, because Dutch people can choose their schools people who are catholic choose catholic schools, etc. The government wanted to change the segregation but that would interfere with the free choice. To change segregation something else needs to change too, but that won't make people necessary happy.
Right now in The Netherlands segregation is not something people are aware they are doing. Because many people are not religious anymore, people do not choose their schools based on religious background. Most people choose their school based upon the feeling that it gives them. Everyone can chose a school with their level no matter their color or the place they live. However Amsterdam schools for an example, those schools are more diverse, because more diverse people live in that area.
Like I said people do not know they are using segregation, but then again some people in the suburbs for an example rather live with people who have an European background in their neighborhood, than with people who do not.
In some places there is a difference made between boys and girls. Boys are supposed to be strong, brave and cool. Girls are supposed to be sweet & nice. That thought is always going to be there, because there just is a really big difference between men & women.
Segregation is still here and I do not have an answer to the question whether it will ever going away. Because it is something human to do to judge people on how they look. One thing we can stop is segregate by law, because then from a legal perspective, one group of people will have equal rights compared to any other group. From my research I can also say that so many people think about segregation as many different things.
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Segregation can reach from women who are not paid as much to transgenders who are not allowed in the army. It will always be a hard subject with so much different opinions. Will I be able to change something about it? Probably not, but I am going to try to let people consider different opinions, because "being different is good".
People are equal, but some people are more equal than others
G. Orwell
Who are the Little Rock Nine?
Melba Pattilo Beals
• Born on December 7th in 1941
• She was 14 years old when she chose to go to Central High School
Minnijean Brown
• Born on September 11th in 1941
• She worked in The office for Bill Clinton from 1999 until 2001
Elizabeth Eckford
• Born October 4th 1941
• There is a very popular picture of her shot by Will Counts, In this picture she is, as a 15 year old girl, followed by an angry mob of "white" people who did not want her to attend Central High School.
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Ernest Green
• Born September 22nd in 1941
• He was the first black African-American student to every graduate at Central High (1958)
• Disney made a movie about his Little Rock story called "The Ernest Green Story"
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Gloria Ray Karlmark
• Born September 26 in 1942
Charlotta Walls LaNier
• Born December 18th in 1942
• She is the youngest of the Little Rock Nine
Thelma Mothershed
• Born November 29 in 1940
• Thelma was seen as the "leader" of the Little Rock Nine
Terrence Roberts
• Born December 3rd in 1941
• He eventually went to UCLA
Jefferson Thomas
• Born September 19th in 1942
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Is segregation still an issue?
My researched showed that 90% of the people I asked, thinks that segregation is still present.
An example to prove that segregation is still accurate, even though this is more an example for discrimination, is that people who have a foreign last name have a smaller chance to get a job. That has been proven by independent research in The Netherlands and in Norway. In The United States some people are not hired because they are "black". That is still happening in 2017!
Segregation in 2017 is not necessarily by color, but more by race. If you are (Hispanic, African American, etc.). For an example when I had to sign up for something for school, it was mandatory that I filled in my race. Why does that matter if I need do sign up for something on the internet? This was quite shocking for me because I had never seen that before.
An argument that segregation is not an issue anymore is that segregation used to be a legal policy and forced by law. This was the situation in the 50's and 60's, when those laws existed in The USA. In today's life these laws do not exist anymore, however there still exists "choice-segregation".
A few weeks ago we had a sport thing at school and a transgender woman walked in. Multiple people on the bleachers started to whisper and looked at her. They though she was weird and that it was weird that she was even there. Transgenders are not really accepted in a big part in The USA. For example transgender people are not allowed to go into the American army anymore. That is a way of segregation and it is by law, so it looks like we are slowly going back to the 50's and 60's. Even though some people, like the Little Rock Nine, worked hard to stop segregation by law.
Something which still happens - I almost think all over the world - is that women are not paid as much as men are for the same jobs. In 2015 women were paid 80% of what men were paid for performing the same work. The percentage is rising though, but when it continues in the same pace women will only be paid equally in 2152. The reason for why women are not paid as much is unknown to me and probably unknown to many people. Something I do know is that New York State pays their women 89% of the men's income, Illinois pays them 79% and Wyoming just pays them 64%. To see the difference in one country is remarkable.
A form of segregation in high school, is that kids leave other kids out because of the way they dress. That is a way to segregate people even when you do not know it.
MLA
Google Forms. Camonier, Lieve. 28/8/2017. https://goo.gl/forms/lOFfiTUPWO0uqITu2
"Is segregation still present today in society?". 2017. http://www.debate.org/opinions/is-segregation-still-present-today-in-society . 11/9/2017
"Segregatie in het basis- en voortgezetonderwijs". Herweijer, Lex. 2007. file:///home/chronos/u-9f107edb60ceeb9032efd87e0152dad4337a2470/Downloads/_SCR_H08.pdf . 22/8/2017
"The simple truth about gender pay gap". Miller, Kevin. Spring 2017. http://www.aauw.org/research/the-simple-truth-about-the-gender-pay-gap/ . 11/9/2017
Wikipedia: "Little Rock Nine". 4/9/2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Rock_Nine . 11/9/2017