Date

12-13-2018

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

While many Americans assume that school segregation and other forms of racism are a thing of the past, the reality is that our country still has a long way to go in terms of racial equality, especially when it comes to our public-school system. Schools today are more segregated than they were more than 60 years ago when Brown vs. Board of Education was put into effect. This thesis seeks to understand the concept of school segregation as a part of America today. The following work analyzes both the history of school segregation as well as its role today, through studying how the Brockton public school system has been combatting this ongoing problem. Massachusetts has continuously been struggling with school systems stratified by race and class, and the Brockton area has put a strong focus on their education goals including integration and desegregation plans (Ayscue 2013; Carroll 1989; Willie and Alves 1996). The goal of this project is to explore the reality of what schools’ racial compositions look like in 2018, and how it continues to impact students and communities of color. I have collected publicly available secondary data on the Brockton school system and conducted in-depth interviews of community members in order to view solutions to this problem more closely. My findings concluded that the Brockton public school system has been diligent in creating equal opportunity for students of all races and backgrounds, resulting in a strong and diverse community that models the positive impacts of racial integration.

Department

Sociology

Thesis Comittee

Dr. Aseem Hasnain, Thesis Advisor

Dr. Walter Carroll, Committee Member

Dr. William Singleton, Committee Member

Copyright and Permissions

Original document was submitted as an Honors Program requirement. Copyright is held by the author.

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