Question

Ending School Segregation: The Case of Farmville, Virginia

No aspect of segregation was more harmful than the separation of black and white children in public schools, especially in the South. This story is about how black students in 1951 staged a strike in Farmville, Virginia, to protest school segregation. How that strike played a major role in ending school segregation is not widely known. Like many towns in the South, Farmville maintained separate school systems for black and white children. For the black students, it was immediately clear that their school facilities were inferior to those of whites. The story of Farmville is a story of victory, but one long delayed, even long after the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Until the Brown v. Board of Education decision, the relevant legal standard was “separate but equal.” What does Farmville tell you about the enforcement of even that standard? What would have happened if that standard had been strictly enforced?

Farmville is a classic example of de jure discrimination, but most discrimination is de facto. How do we address de facto discrimination?

At the time of the Brown decision, racial discrimination was overt in almost all areas of life. Why do you think that the NAACP selected discrimination in education as its prime target?

Title IX and Girl’s Sports

At America’s birth, the Constitution’s framers granted women almost no civil rights. In fact, it took until 1920 for women to win the right to vote, and until the 1970s to gain overall legal equality. The modern women’s movement adopted several lessons from the Civil Rights Movement. For example, to show they were being discriminated against women had to prove they were treated unfavorably simply because they were women. The story of one fight over equality in youth sports illustrates this ongoing struggle.

Is the scheduling of athletic seasons by the state an example of discrimination?

Does it matter that the different season (different from the boys’) was combined with unequal facilities?

Should it matter that most people think that different seasons for the same or comparable sports is acceptable? Does it matter if most girls find it acceptable?

Fighting for the Rights of Disabled Americans

Fighting discrimination often takes years of mass organization, protest, political lobbying, and legal challenges to win new laws and the power to enforce them. The 1973 Rehabilitation Act was considered an early victory for supporters of rights for the disabled. It included a provision stipulating that federally funded programs and facilities must be accessible to disabled individuals. The broader Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 expanded the protections first articulated in 1973. But the fight for equality often continues beyond the passage of laws recognizing the rights of those who are experiencing discrimination. No one knows this better than those who seek the end of discrimination against people with disabilities.

What steps are necessary to eliminate discrimination against those with disabilities?

What disabilities should be covered by ADA?

Is discrimination against those with disabilities comparable to discrimination against racial minorities and women?

Answer 1

Answers for case 1:

What does Farmville tell you about the enforcement of even that standard? What would have happened if that standard had been strictly enforced?

Enforcement of “separate but equal” standards was discriminatory as it is applied separately to the people of different races. Even if they were equal, they developed a sense and feeling of discrimination among the students of the schools as they were applied separately. If the standards have been strictly enforced, it would have resulted into mass protestation from the black people side and would have resulted into the generation of conflicts within the state.

Farmville is a classic example of de jure discrimination, but most discrimination is de facto. How do we address de facto discrimination?

De jure are the practices that happens and are being carried out in accordance with the law whereas De Facto are the practices that are being carried out in reality even if they are not recognised as per law.

De facto discrimination can only be addressed if there is a person who acts as a whistleblower for any kind of discrimination being witnessed by him. If a person witnesses discrimination or if the victim of discrimination does not raise their voice against it, then the situation will prevail in the society and even the law will not be able to address the issue; if the issue is not known to the law. Hence, it is very necessary that the victim should act as a whistleblower and raise the concern in front of the respective authority so that the issue can be dealt strictly.

At the time of the Brown decision, racial discrimination was overt in almost all areas of life. Why do you think that the NAACP selected discrimination in education as its prime target?

NAACP selected discrimination in education as its prime target as it is the phase where student learns and grasps and adopt to the ethical and legal practices more strictly and these school trainings prevails throughout the life of the individual. As education is a thing that shapes an individual’s mind, hence NAACP selected discrimination in education as its prime target.