Segregation, Not a Thing of the Past

June 17 -- Decades after civil rights battles and triumphs and tragedies classrooms across the country are integrated in principle but still segregated in practice.

Arlington, Virginia Public Schools recently produced a documentary chronicling the city's struggle to desegregate its school. For many, the film demonstrates amazing progress. But for others, it shows how the issues may have changed but the struggle for equal education remains.

"The black community felt they wanted the same thing as the white community did," said former school counselor Joseph Masekura. "This meant changing everything.

'Achievement Gap' Spreads Across the Country

In 1959, five years after the Supreme Court struck down state laws allowing segregation in public schools, Arlington schools were still racially separate and unequal.

"See, a lot of people think it was just a matter of blending races," said Welbe Deskins, an Arlington parent. "But that's not what it was about. It was about getting the best teaching, the best grades, the best schooling for your children.

Forty two years later, despite the best intentions, that dream has not been fulfilled. When tested, black students here score 15 to 40 percent lower than white students.

"Across the country, we have an achievement gap," said Arlington Public Schools Superintendent Robert Smith. "And in Arlington that's an achievement gap between white students and African American students.

Increasingly, some parents and educators blame segregation.

Arlington's schools are, by law, integrated. But in reality they remain mostly segregated following local housing patterns. In northern Arlington, elementary and middle schools are nearly all white. In south Arlington, they are mostly black and Hispanic.

Some parents say the predominantly white schools do a better job of teaching.

"These schools are delivering different quality of education — a higher level of education," said Linda Stalls, an Arlington parent.

Fred Millar transferred his daughter to a mostly white school in North Arlington.