The North is not normally the focus of Civil Rights history. Instead of a regional struggle in the South, the civil rights struggles in New York City and Boston challenge that view and show it was a national one. In New York City, the Brown v. Board of Education decision was celebrated, but schools did not act on its mandate (37). The superintendent of schools in NYC claimed that segregation in the city was “natural”, and nothing could be done (38). Despite the efforts of civil rights activists in the city, segregation worsened. In Boston, the so-called “busing crisis” made desegregation impossible for the city (49). However, the defining of segregation in the city through busing issues made it possible for Boston to maintain the segregation of schools (48). These issues of segregated schools in the North were met with Civil Rights protests and response from activists, yet often, their efforts are left to be forgotten and overlooked.
Words have power. The coded language used by white liberals in the North was a way to avoid accusations of racism. White liberals in the North believed that they did not have racism like the South did (32). Yet, desegregation of schools was an uncomfortable and unwelcome idea. Instead, white liberals attempted to frame the problem by using anything other than race. In New York, phrases like “culturally deprived”, “problem children, and “cultural handicaps” were used as explanations for why desegregating schools would not work (44). Even calling segregation ‘natural’ seemingly takes accusations of racism off of those in charge. In Boston, words such as “laziness”, “deprived”, and “lack of interest” were used to explain the differences in education (53). Additionally, blame was placed on the parents of Black students (51). Portraying the issue of segregation in schools not as a race problem but as one formed due to the values and behaviors of communities of color perpetuates systematic racism.
It is hard to be surprised when racism exists all over the country still to this day. I just think the racism in the North looked a lot different from that in the South. In the North, systematic racism and oppression could be hidden or minimalized when compared to the blatant racism of the South. Housing, employment, and schooling were the main ways racism showed up in the North, and the effects of this racism are still felt to this day. It is a shame that the history of Civil Rights struggles and activism in the North is not taught like those in the South.
Pete Buttigieg, a few years ago, said something that went viral and he got a lot of backlash for, but I think it highlights the way racism in Northern cities exists. He essentially said how, in New York City, racism went into the design choices of bridges by making underpasses too short for buses with Black and Puerto Rican kids to go under and segregating the city. People got very upset with this, and I think part of the reason is that people don’t want to think about racism as being a problem in the North. As Theoharis said in the article (33), it challenges the easy morality of the Civil Rights movement with the Northern good guys. However, I think if the history of racism in the North were more commonly taught, then people today would have a better understanding of systematic racism and current movements.
Will Wright 