ABB
There were people, mostly Black, advocating for their rights against segregation. It was a national problem. Some Northern whites seemed supportive of this movement until it came to their own backyards, this revealed their true nature and hypocrisy. They wanted to believe that it was a regional problem of the South. They had two understandings of the same issue: in the South, it was called segregation, and in the North, it was called racial imbalance. What they called “racial imbalance” was pure evil and a violation of equal access to education. People tried to claim their rights, but instead of the institutions in charge solving the problems, they were just giving alternative solutions that didn’t tackle the real issue.
For instance, schools educating Black children in New York were overcrowded and, with underqualified teachers– in many Black schools, most of the teachers were substitutes– and often lacking sufficient materials and facilities. Instead of addressing overcrowding by rezoning schools differently, school leaders implemented part-time school days for different groups of Black students (Article). Conditions in schools were miserable, including inadequate bathroom facilities and unhygienic practices. Mallory, one of the kids’ parents, expressed her disagreement with the system which made her end up being labeled “dangerous” by school officials.
It did not stop there; teachers also suffered from this discrimination. In the hiring process, they were discriminated against based on their race and accent, leading to a lower rate of Black and Puerto Rican teachers compared to white ones. This policy contributed to school segregation in the city, and the BOE rejected the request to change it.
The “good guys” helped justify this analogy. In the North, they justified this “imbalance” with the term “de facto,” meaning they believed it happened due to specific factors they had no control over. For example, the Board of Education claimed that segregation was happening due to housing patterns. Ironically, government institutions rated estates a C or a D in areas with 30% or more Black residents, which led investors to lose interest in those areas.
All of that accumulated and led to the big event in 1964, where over 450,000 students and teachers participated in a school boycott.
Yes, I was very surprised. I mean, I knew racism existed in the U.S., but I didn’t think it would be that bad in Northern cities. I guess I always thought New York was the center of human rights and civism, maybe because the movies and TV shows make it seem like an equal-opportunity place where everyone gets a fair chance. Apparently, that’s not the whole story. Unfortunately, I think these tactics are still used today for other world issues.
Will Wright 
I, too, was surprised by the article focusing on New York City and Boston. Similar to what you wrote, I have always associated both of these cities with very progressive thinking—especially compared to other areas of our country, like the South and Midwest (where conservative values tend to dominate). The fact that New York City Public schools never officially desegregated is a startling fact that I bet most people don’t even know—myself included until I read the Theoharis article. I can’t help but think about the students who could still be feeling the effects of this, even today. I also agree with you that “coded language” is still a tactic used today, especially by politicians who want to appear “neutral” while saying something controversial or harmful.
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