
The issue of racially inequitable education first emerged during the colonization of the New World.  The majority of African Americans were enslaved and denied access to formal education to ensure that they would remain as the underclass.  European settlers established private academic institutions and education systems that were publicly supported. Through the outcome of the Declaration of Independence and American Revolution, the ongoing issue of the minority having limited opportunity and access to education continued to be prevalent. Many states enforced slave codes that prohibited African Americans from any type of literacy training. In 1830, the State Secretary of Education began the push for common schools that were publically funded, however, the barriers to educational equity continued. This prompted African American’s to plea the court for the right of access to public education for over a century before Brown v. Board of Education surfaced in 1954. (Brown, 683) The case resulted in the desegregation of schools, and the concept of “separate but equal” was inherently unequal. The minority having exposure to the same facilities, teachers, and curriculum did not result in equal education for many reasons. Even though school choice is declared to be a “civil right” for students and parents, it fails to bring about an equal and fair distribution of resources, or an equitable education. 

There have been no ultimate turning points or drastic changes that have brought society closer to a racial equitable education since the 1960’s. Ninety percent of African American students in southern schools were still enrolled in all black schools in the year of 1964. (Burris,7) The social conceptual issues of low income and racial inequity automatically put African Americans at a disadvantage when entering the public education system, leading to the fact that seventy percent of northern black students were still enrolled in predominantly minority schools in the late 1900’s. (Burris,32) Students who attend high-poverty schools are in an environment that consists of run-down facilities, inexperienced teachers, and classrooms that have high rates of disruption. Together, these factors contribute to student’s possessing lower levels of performance. In 1990 segregation increased further across schools and classrooms. African Americans who come from a background of low income were either put on one of two tracks, a track to college or a track that does not involve going to college. A majority of African Americans were put on the pathway not involving college. (Burris,36) This trend continued and even increased in 2000 where seventy-two percent of the nation’s African American students attended predominantly minority schools. (Burris,70) Even though gains have been made since the year 2000, racial inequity continues to impact society from the overlying factors of income, opportunity, and access. 

Opportunity, income, and access have proven to remain dominant in society from when the issue of racially inequitable education first arose up until present day. From the colonialization of the New World, African Americans came into what is now the Americas with very little opportunities. People of color were immediately taken advantage of by the Europeans, making it almost impossible for them to have a voice in society which resulted in them having no opportunities, especially in education. When starting out with little to no opportunities because of the control people had over a race, it is challenging to gain opportunities moving forward. Fighting for and gaining opportunities has proven to be an uphill battle for the minority simply because of their color and lack of income. Income has proven to be a driving factor in the education gap between African Americans and the rest of society.  Low income automatically puts one at a disadvantage when entering the public school system. Those with low income are often zoned for the same school creating the majority in that school.  Since these areas are poor, the schools have a difficult time finding quality teachers who are willing to work in a run-down and neglected environment, thus giving these African American students a lower quality of education. Each of these three factors intertwine with one another, leading to inequitable education among African Americans.

Michael Oher has proven to be a victim of this long lasting issue of racially inequitable education. Oher grew up in a low income, broken family in Memphis, Tennessee. He was one of twelve children who did not receive any family support from his parents. (Michael) His mother was a drug addict and his father was constantly in jail, and was murdered by the time Michael reached high school. (Michael) Due to these disheartening circumstances, Oher was frequently homeless, and in and out of foster homes fending for himself since the age of seven. These family strains caused Michael to perform poorly in school, resulting in him having to repeat first and second grade and switch school’s eleven different times in his first nine years of formal education. (Michael) Michael’s life hit a turning point when he received the opportunity to attend a private Christian school. The journey of how Michael deal with and overcame the issues of racially inequitable education is told through the movie, The Blind Side.

Michael Oher’s unexpected journey to success started when one of Oher’s family friends, Tony, convinced the head of the athletic program at a private Christian school to allow Oher to attend due to his athletic ability. The school administration was hesitant to accept Michael due to his almost non-existing academic record. Michael had an IQ in the six percentile, and the previous schools he attended gave him D’s so they could just send him off to another school.  The head athletic coach convinced the administration to give Michael this once in a life time opportunity by stating, “kids from his background wouldn’t even come within two-hundred miles of this place”. (Handcock) The following day Michael walks into his first class at Briar Crest and is immediately judged by other students because of being a big, African American boy who wears beat up clothes. Michael is unsure of what to think or how to act in a formal classroom setting since he was never given the opportunity to learn these skills. He later explains through his writing, “White Walls”, that he feels as if he does not fit in, and does not understand why teachers expect him to complete work on his own when he does not know how to do anything. Eventually the teachers learn that Michael does have the potential to reach academic success; he just does not learn like many of the other students.  

Michael’s journey continued to head in the right direction when the Tuohy family sees Michael walking on the side of the road in cold, rainy weather and offers him a place to stay. At that point they learn of Michael’s story.  Michael accepts the offer to live permanently with the Tuohy Family. When he does so, Michael expresses that he has never had his own bed before. Additionally, Michael’s grades start to improve tremendously when the school and family begin to believe in the potential he has as a student. He received the appropriate educational support from the school and teachers needed in order to achieve his goal of playing sports. Michael went on to be successful in football, and graduate high school with a 2.52 grade point average which lead him to receive scholarship at Ole Miss. Given access and opportunities Michael Oher reached his potential. 

The Blind Side was a box hit to critics and the viewing public. The movie grossed over $300 million, and earned Sandra Bullock an Oscar for her performance as a prominent, white mother who took in a homeless black teenager. This story raises questions as to Oher’s path to success. Michael’s life changed when he moved to a prestigious, private, predominantly white Christian school, and his new family who happened to be rich and white. Would he have been given the same chances to succeed in school and life without access to a top notch education and opportunities to play football? And, could all young people be offered these opportunities?

Based upon current research, not all African American youth are offered the same educational opportunities and services. 

The study of education equity is linked to achievement. The Nations Report Card of 2015 indicates that the achievement gap among white and black have narrowed in fourth grade math, reading, and science. In eighth and twelfth grade the gaps have remained the same or even widened. Forty-six percent of white, fourth graders and forty-four percent of white, eighth graders are proficient in reading. While eighteen percent of black, fourth graders and sixteen percent of black, eighth graders are proficient in the same area. In math, fifty-one percent of white, fourth graders and forty-three percent of white, eighth graders meet proficient levels. Only nineteen percent of black, fourth graders and thirteen percent of black, eighth graders obtained proficient levels in math. These statistics prove that obtaining higher levels of performance among all, but especially African Americans, is critical to expanding participation in the global economy. 

All students regardless of their socioeconomic status, race, language, or any other factor, should be given equal opportunities to succeed in school. This requires adjustments to be made at all levels, federal, state, and local. In 2002, former President Bush activated No Child Left Behind Act allowing the federal government to hold schools accountable for student outcome. The goal was to advance American competitiveness and close the achievement gap between poor and minority students. No Child Left Behind grew from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, 1965, which outlined the federal government’s role in grades kindergarten through twelfth, allocating more than $1 billion a year to assist districts in educating disadvantaged students. Since Michael Oher was already sixteen years old at the onset of No Child Left Behind, he was unable to feel the effects of the federal government’s support.  

No Child Left Behind impacted teaching, learning, and school improvement. In 2015, Congress passed the Every Student Succeeds Act. This is to assure equal education for every child. Like No Child Left Behind, this emphasizes accountability, but allows each state to decide on how to meet the guidelines. As a result, there is more flexibility for programming. No Child Left Behind and Every Student Succeeds Act sparked controversy among educators, parents, and politicians. Regardless, if states do not comply funding could potentially be lost. By the initiation of Every Student Succeeds in 2015, Michael Oher was well out of college and playing professional football.  It is difficult to predict if Michael was born 10 years later if his situation prior to living with the Tuohy’s would be any different. The federal government has made strong efforts to try to bridge the educational gap with African Americans, but statistics don’t lie, the gap is still prevalent. 

Federal spending on education has surged over the last decade. Statistics vary on whether or not the additional funding has closed the achievement gaps. Where funding goes is essential in defining whether or not it will help close the gap.  First, education funding must be distributed based upon student’s needs. (Brown, 1) This would mean that the playing field would be elevated to those on a lower level to that of their more advantaged peers. There is a positive correlation on student achievement based upon the amount state governments spend and how they spend it. (Brown,1) Local governments need to take in account low income schools in high income districts. While these schools may receive the same resources, the wealthier schools tend to have extra money from parent contributions and Parent Teacher Association funds. Just recently, some states have proposed to balance schools based upon socioeconomics and race with affluent students being still the majority. The goal would be to bridge the gap between and rich and poor with little cost to no cost. Resistance by parents, students, and educators continues to make this plan difficult to carry out. Advantages of the privilege continue to persist and effect the educational gap.

Creating equitable education for African American students means producing learning and teaching systems that provide excellent education that goes beyond funding. Diversity training is crucial for administration, faculty, and staff to work together with students to ensure that its vision of providing an equitable and inclusive education gets met. The heart of the process is in the classroom. Teachers need to be provided and supported with advance skills to ensure each student has the same opportunities. Skills should include the ability to recognize social and cultural elements that may hold a child back. Second, high quality teaching is pertinent among schools that service low income students. Some districts have instituted the Teacher Incentive Fund, which helps districts develop performance-based teacher and principal compensation systems. Third, allowing students to choose an alternative school that is designated by the district. Voucher laws reimburse parents for the amount of money that would have been otherwise used to educate their child in a public school. Next, standardized assessments need to be reviewed periodically for equitability among all students. Just recently the Student Aptitude Test Board (SAT), created a new test to democratize college opportunity. The new SAT is more straightforward, and the vocabulary is less obscure to create fewer disadvantages. In addition, the College Board has teamed up with the Kahn Academy to give low income students educational resources to help better prepare themselves for the test. Even though these are crucial steps to closing the gap with African Americans, the in-school contributors only make up a small portion of the variance. (Hammond,3)

Significant strides have been made in educating African Americans. Statistics show that they are performing at a higher level. Until the out-of-school contributors, poverty and social support, are addressed the achievement gap between African Americans and white students will still exist. During the recent campaign President Obama stated that children of color are the majority in urban districts, and are on track to be the majority in the nation by 2025. With three-fourths of fast growing occupations requiring post-secondary degrees, and only one-third of African American students receiving college degrees, it is possible to address poverty by increasing the number of college graduates. (Hammond, 3) Though, one issue still remains, social support. Michael Oher was given opportunities and access to a top notch education with the help of the Tuohy's, but he did all the heavy-lifting of work. Growing up, Michael worked hard, and had the drive and determination to not repeat his mother's life. He had built-in tools that aided in his success. It will take heavy lifting from all parties involved to completely close the gap of an equitable education among African Americans which society is still pushing towards today.
