Quite frankly, I don’t feel as though I’m knowledgeable enough on this particular subject to submit a properly validated opinion, so I won’t. However, I do like to stir the pot, so here are some more questions/ideas to consider:

Just how much does/should race factor into socioeconomic status?
Whose fault is it that these stereotypes placed on African-Americans exist? How much truth is there to these stereotypes? How much falsehood?
Is it possible to track the vicious cycle of the enduring black stereotypes? And most importantly…
How can we change this for the better?

So basically you know these kids and their backrounds and you still think they are lazy? I would say not having the best homelife can make school and other events more difficult than for someone who doesn’t have to worry about that. I never said white people don’t provide scholarships by the way. But thank you for making my point again white people give out scholarships to try to put minorities on a level playing field with themselves. White people have more life chances. That shouldn’t have to happen everyone should just be on a level playing field but in reality they aren’t. Don’t you think it’s weird that miniorities had to fight for there rights? Did white people ever have to do that? No. That is not fare. Minorities have always been put at a disadvantage. I sitll think you need proof to say that there are more scholarships for African Americans. I think you are being very sterotypical about the athletic teams. You are saying African American athletes get scholarships and have there tution paid for? So do you honestly believe that the white basketball players are getting anything? I refuse to believe that in your current sociology class that you are learning white people are at a disadvantage.

I am sorry about my grammar. I just always get really excited when I drop some knowledge on people.

I know you think you are deep and all but the answers lie within the system.

Many of the original questions do not have, nor need, answers in terms of “black” or “white.” The answers, in fact, lie within the individual asking them.

I find some of the above comments inaccurate and annoying. I believe the person who submitted the original letter had every right to ask the questions he or she did. I also believe that person can learn the answers to their question by taking a sociology class. In Ryan’s comment about African American students not enrolling in AP and not trying to succeed discuses me. That is completely untrue he is assuming that everyone has the same opportunity, socioeconomic status and family situation as him. It’s all about the system (which is complex but I will do my best to briefly explain). White people founded this country and in order to stay in power they created inequalities. They do not want other people to have opportunities because that would challenge their power. The American Dream is a myth. The fact is you can’t be whatever you want to be. My college sociology professor informed us that 60% people end up where their parents end up. You stay where you start. People are taught that everyone has the same opportunity so that they don’t notice that, that is in fact not true. I would like to attach a paper I wrote for my sociology class it provides insight to what Affirmative Action is and how no everyone has equal opportunities.
Sociological Criticisms of Common Views on Affirmative Action
A friend of mine wrote an article called We should aim for equality, not special privilege in The Maneater against Affirmative Action. It was brought to my attention because my friend noticed he had stirred up quite a bit of controversy with his article. The article stated he was for equality but not Affirmative Action because it mandates quotas and allows qualified people not to be chosen based on skin color. This notion that Affirmative Action is discriminatory toward whites is an example of “reverse racism” as mentioned in Eduardo Bonilla-Silva’s book Racism Without Racists (4). My friend’s article states:
Why is it Martin Luther King, Jr. was martyred for racial equality, yet it’s still legal for some universities to give special advantages to racial minorities during their application process? Where’s the equality in that? Affirmative Action and other related mindsets completely trample on the concept of equal opportunity (We should aim for equality, not special privilege)

The author is forgetting America was built upon the ideals of white males. These ideals are still maintained in today’s society. Whites have more privileges than anyone else. They have more opportunity to get better education and jobs. Sociological researchers Davis and Moore questioned why different jobs get paid more than others and they found that jobs certain jobs require special training and education. This training and education is only given to certain people. Which means, as Davis and Moore concluded, only certain people can obtain certain highly paid jobs. They also found one’s position in society is inherited and where one starts is where one ends up. The system in America is designed so certain people, rich white people, have access to education and jobs. Affinitive Action is an attempt to give everyone in America an equal chance to obtain otherwise guarded positions.
According to Dr. David Brunsma Affirmative Action mainly helps white women. Brunsma also said Affirmative Action at the University of Missouri is predominately used to accept students who are legacies. A student who is a legacy had a parent or family member attend Mizzou in the past. In the past Mizzou was mainly white because people of different races did not attend college. Therefore Affirmative Action is benefitting mainly white students. The author of the article also says he does not believe race should matter and disadvantaged people should have opportunities for success. The fact is the system is set up for white people to benefit and others to never be able to have the same life chances as whites. Bonilla-Silva says phrases like the one above (race shouldn’t matter), “act as discursive buffers before or after someone states something that is or could be interpreted as racist” (Bonilla-Silva 57). Phrases like those are evidence of the new color-blind racism movement.
Philosopher, Charles Mills explains views like the article on Affirmative Action in his article The Racial Contract. Mills writes about how when whites are born they must sign the Racial Contract,
The Racial Contract prescribes for its signatories an inverted epistemology, an epistemology of ignorance, a particular pattern of localized and global cognitive dysfunctions (which are psychologically and socially functional), producing the ironic outcome that whites will in general be unable to understand the world they themselves have made.
This explanation speaks about how whites created inequalities in society. The whole system, even education, is designed to keep whites power. The utilization of colorblind racism helps whites ignore the inequalities they themselves have constructed and are doing little to fix. The author of We should aim for equality, not special privilege is white and a prime example of the system leading whites to not “understand the world they themselves have made.” This misunderstanding can be attributed to muffled lens the system wants us to see through.
It’s not that certain people are lazy and not trying to succeed it’s that they are not given the opportunity too.

So, if I’m correct, because I expressed what I think, there’s something wrong with it because I’m apparently “suffering from white privileges” something you don’t know about me: I grew up in Dog Town and Maplewood and not the good parts either. And I used to ride 30 minutes everyday to my school until my school found out I loved so far and kicked me out. Black people are not the only ones dealing with this.
And as for no one saying “I’d love to be black”, well I haven’t met any black people that have said “man, I’d love to be white”. Everyone appears to be pretty satisfied with their skin color. It is the privileges or opportunities/inequalities that are lacking that are the problem.
But now I have a question for you: how come when I wanted to apply for scholarships for college, and I was given a book full of them, over half of them required you to be black in order to be considered?
Also, if Kirkwood is so raicist and lacks diversity, then why did we offer to gladly take in city kids when their schools could no longer stay open when we barely had the room?

Dear Student with Questions,
I have read your questions with deep concern. Concern about your self image, level of confidence, sense of stereotyping, and maybe a little bit of “poor me.” It is very concerning that a young and obviously intelligent young person is defining themselves by race and race alone. Until people of all walks of life define themselves by their character and moral integrity we will continue to measure and pick at our differences. We will rate our value to society based upon our unique external characteristics instead of the love, kindness, and what we contribute to society.
I was raised in lower middle class neighborhood. Whether I am black, white, or purple does not matter. My parents had High School diplomas, placed high value on education and promoted it always. They sacrificed much to ensure we lived in a school district to their liking. My parents had no “connections” and were not themselves educated enough to help much with any school work. My siblings and I paid for our own higher education by working typical teenage jobs and taking loans.

I would like to address your questions.
1. Why must black history be confined to a month? To this I reply, history is history and it should not be categorized by race, religion, gender, etc. It should be taught by time periods, events or locations. By categorizing history by this way, the question is begged, what about Asian, Mexican, Native American…history and what month do they get?
2. Why is black history reserved to the shortest and most dreary month of the year? My dear, February is reserved for black history month because Martin Luther King, Jr. is honored during this month. Contrary to your view of February’s weather, it is actually a very lovely month in most southern states. This, however, does not negate the answer to the previous question.
3. Where are the black math, social studies, world language English, and science teachers at KHS? In order to be employed, one must apply for an open position. Kirkwood School District cannot force qualified people of particular races or genders to apply for particular jobs. This is a fabulous question for you to forge with black educators you may know.
4. Why must the black community shoulder the burden of bus desegregation and how does it benefit the black community? School desegregation is currently per voluntary participation. I believe it applies to not just black children, but white children living in St. Louis City. It was originated by St. Louis City residents who desired a better education for their children and charged that educating their children in the St. Louis County school system would net that level of education. I can’t tell you why St. Louis City made a conscious choice not to improve education within their borders, but I will say shame on them for not doing so. Your parents are responsible for making choices regarding your education. If you are a student “bussed” from St. Louis City, you should ask your parents what benefits they hope you gain.
5. What does it say about the black community and its neighborhoods in the city when the best and brightest of a black generation are evacuated to be educated in mostly white, middle class suburban schools? It says that the black community is very intelligent and will not tolerate the poor management of the educational system within St. Louis City. One option would be for your parents to move to an area with a school system of which they approve. This would stop the “evacuation” every morning.
6. Why don’t white students from the suburbs leave for school on a daily basis as early as 6 a.m. and endure the 45-minute to an hour bus ride to a city school? In St. Louis County, residents are assigned a school based on the school district in which they live. Residents live in a particular district for reasons ranging from school district reputation, job location, proximity to relatives or just because they want their children to attend the same school that they attended as children. There are, in fact, some communities in St. Louis County that have raised issue with the integrity of their schools. In a Missouri Supreme Court ruling in Turner v. School District of Clayton, school districts that have lost accreditation must “pay the tuition and provide transportation” of any student seeking to attend an “accredited school in the same county or an adjoining county.”
7. How often do white athletes ride alone with a virtual stranger in a taxicab late on a school night? Probably not very often at all. This may be because most of the white students are not afforded the luxury of guaranteed transportation. You see, at the high school level, students living within 2 miles of KHS must provide their own transportation to and from school. By state law, transportation must be provided to students live greater than 3.5 miles from school.
8. Do you think more people would care about the quality of education in St. Louis City schools if more suburban white students walked the halls of Vashon and / or Beaumont? The answer to this resides in the St. Louis City administrators. Again I say, shame on them for not doing so already. If the issues were addressed back in the 1960’s, the residents of St. Louis City would not be in the same situation today. St. Louis County cannot make St. Louis City administrators “care about the quality of education” they provide. St. Louis County residents have for a long time demanded quality education for their children.
9. Why do so many black students populate ATLAS classes at KHS? This is a good thing. KHS is holding themselves accountable for the education of all students regardless of race, gender or address. If black students need small class size, they are provided that service, just as any other student of any other race. It is only my thought, but it is likely influenced the quality of education that the particular student received at the elementary level or the student’s learning style.
10. Will a black student’s picture ever be depicted on the plaques hanging in the senior hallway recognizing KHS valedictorians and salutatorians? Who knows? I’m sure the answer is yes. You should strive to be the first.
11. Why was the Raisin in the Sun scheduled in the 110 seat theater versus the 400 seat one? I don’t know. I am not the school administrator, but I venture to say that you would be given the answer if you only asked.
12. Will anyone take these questions seriously? You bet. You obviously have great things to offer to society. As you mature into adulthood, I hope you will be a leader in justifying the inequities so visible within the St. Louis City education system.

*Blank stare*
The fact is this: Are teachers being denied employment because they are black? No. If they are I will fight right beside you on the issue. However, that does not seem to be the case. If a African American applies for a teacher position and they are the most qualified sign them up, but if not… I would gladly take quality over diversity (not saying I am against diversity in anyway).
Secondly, if I was to ask African Americans if they would like to be white? and they said yes, wow. “The only one holding you back is you.” (-Unknown) not the color of your skin, any obstacle can be overcome.

“The great calamity is not to have failed, but to have failed to try.”

p.s. Self-preservation, yes. Probably the wisest thing to do, yes. Cowardice, I would not say so. Courage, far from it.

Courage:
–noun
1.
the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery.

Amen, Ryan said EVERYTHING perfectly. Kirkwood is one of the most diverse and equal schools around. We have Mr. Nixon as one of our best teachers in the business department and we have Ms. Ramona Miller that has been around the school for years. Also, a new black cheerleading coach was hired this year who has made the squad this year one of the best to walk the halls of KHS. The same with Mrs. McWoods for track. She has helped lead our track team from victory to victory and each year our runners go to state.
As for your diploma, it will take you wherever you want to go as long as you work for it.
I’d also like to add I see many WHITE faces working in the cafeteria and as custodians. Also those who work in the cafeteria are employed by Chartwells. Not Kirkwood High School.
I have studied African American History every year in school since I can remember, and to be dissatisfied with the certain month you have for history is almost an insult seeing as though African Americans are the only ones who get a history month.

Dr. King’s dream was to have a society free of racism and equal opportunities for all citizens of any race. He never preached about his dream consisting of minorities rising above the previously oppressive majority. He was a pastor and a good person — “revenge” was not his goal. The ideas that step on his dream are those that continue to put one race(s) above others. Few people are going to question the existence of Black History Month, and I’m not either, but it’s absurd to imply that it’s some form of oppression that February (calling it the “bleakest” month of the year is also somewhat silly. I’ve been around for several lovely Februaries in my lifetime) is designated as Black History Month. As far as your idea of having Black History Month every month of the year, I feel pretty confident in saying that every history class in any conventional school doesn’t exclude “black” history when it’s not February. History doesn’t belong to one race in this country — we’re all Americans, and “our” histories are intertwined. Where’s Hispanic History Month? Asian History Month? Native American History Month? European History Month? Each of those demographics have each contributed to our success as a nation today.

As far as your KHS diploma, it will take you where you let it. If/when you go to college, you may take a Sociology class and learn about a term called “self-fulfilling prophecy.” A successful life doesn’t just fall into your lap, you have to work for it. Granted, there are certain economic or practical constraints that may cause roadblocks, but they’re nothing that other people haven’t overcome. The only person who can let one’s race hold them back is oneself. Why are there so few black students in AP classes? Because they aren’t enrolling, not because anybody is holding them down. Why was Raisin in the Sun in the black box? Because that’s a practical theatrical decision, and any other explanation is ludicrous. Why isn’t there a picture of a black valedictorian in the Senior Hallway? Because there hasn’t been a black valedictorian. Why don’t white students take the bus to the St. Louis City schools? The same reason black students from Meachem Park don’t — the school system is terrible. Does that mean that white students don’t care? Not at all. I’ve heard of several students having gone to city schools for shadowing and visits and care enormously. Bus desegregation hasn’t been an issue for decades, and I also remember learning about it in not-February, for the record. As for the absence of black teachers, there is legitimate concern about the lack of educational diversity. However, given the choice, I’d pick the best teacher. Favoring one race over another simply because of skin color is equally racist as the opposite approach.

I am a KHS graduate and current college student. One of the first friends I made was an African American from Chicago. One night we were discussing Affirmative Action policies after a discussion had started in one of our classes. He is firmly opposed to such policies. He said, and I’m paraphrasing, “I want to be successful based on my own merits. I don’t want people treating me for better or for worse based on my race.” I’m equally proud of my German heritage as any person is proud of theirs. Our races and ethnicities are worth discussing and learning about for the sake of multi-cultural appreciation. We are all equal in the eyes of the law, schools and God (if religion is your cup of tea), and all determine our own destinies. That was Dr. King’s dream.