Since first grade, 16-year-old Julian Morris has switched schools six times, moving between classrooms that are mostly white and mostly Black. However, none of these schools has fully met his needs, according to his mother.
In predominantly white schools, Julian faced academic challenges but often felt excluded. On the other hand, at predominantly Black schools, he felt more supported as a Black student, but his mother, Denita Dorsey, noted they lacked the same resources and academic opportunities.
Despite the Supreme Court ruling 70 years ago that declared segregating schools by race unconstitutional, Dorsey finds the educational options available to her family in Michigan disappointing.
“Segregation may have ended officially, but our schools remain deeply divided along racial and economic lines,” Dorsey remarked. “It makes you question: Has it really been worth 70 years?”
The 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision and subsequent desegregation efforts were only initial steps towards achieving fair education.
For some Black families, having the option to choose their children’s schools has been crucial in finding the best available education, which doesn’t always mean the most racially diverse school.
Denita Dorsey poses with her son (Via Josh Little/Shutterstock)
Bernita Bradley from the National Parents Union, an education advocacy group, emphasized that over the decades, Black families haven’t simply sought integration but integration with accountability. She stressed the importance of having high-quality schooling options.
In 2022, Dorsey made a controversial decision to enroll Julian at Saginaw High School in Michigan, a predominantly Black school, instead of his previous predominantly white charter school.
“It wasn’t an easy choice, and there were disagreements within the family. But now, Julian is receiving more support from his teachers and the school administration than he ever did before,” Dorsey shared.
The Brown decision is considered a significant catalyst for the modern school choice movement. As some white families turned to private schools to avoid integration mandates, lawmakers in Southern states began implementing school voucher programs.
