Civil Rights Movement Effects American Families
Mark Mazza
Junior Seminar
New York Times Article
January 28, 2009
Civil Rights Movement Effects American Families The New York Times Article, "Proposal to bus Negroes into Scarsdale Schools Splits Village," was written on December 3rd, 1969. The article addresses the most prominent issue of the era; Civil Rights. In the article, the reader learns of a plan to bus 60 Negro children from Mount Vernon into the predominantly white Scarsdale public school system. The Scarsdale School Board, which would vote on the proposal December 8th, held six public hearings to let parents voice their opinions. Over 600 parents packed the meetings to argue passionately for or against integration in Scarsdale. During the 1960s, the Civil Rights movement affected both black and white American families. One of the most important parts of parenting is to provide your children with a proper education. Besides the basic needs for education, the social experience children retain from school is just as essential in their development. Racism and the struggle to integrate schools ruined the social experience for many children and their families. When schools were first integrated, there were many cases of people standing outside the schools protesting integration and harassing black students as they arrived. For black families, sacred family moments such as a child and mother walking together on the first day of school were marred by racial slurs harassment. School, a place parents could once consider a safe place for their children, became dangerous. Integrating schools brought the Civil Rights Movement to the forefront of many young children’s lives. For both blacks and whites, parents played a huge role in how their children felt towards the opposite race prior to integration. However, the integration of schools brought a new social experience to the school system that children never had before. The Scarsdale School Board puts it best, stating that integration “will add an
Junior Seminar
New York Times Article
January 28, 2009
Civil Rights Movement Effects American Families The New York Times Article, "Proposal to bus Negroes into Scarsdale Schools Splits Village," was written on December 3rd, 1969. The article addresses the most prominent issue of the era; Civil Rights. In the article, the reader learns of a plan to bus 60 Negro children from Mount Vernon into the predominantly white Scarsdale public school system. The Scarsdale School Board, which would vote on the proposal December 8th, held six public hearings to let parents voice their opinions. Over 600 parents packed the meetings to argue passionately for or against integration in Scarsdale. During the 1960s, the Civil Rights movement affected both black and white American families. One of the most important parts of parenting is to provide your children with a proper education. Besides the basic needs for education, the social experience children retain from school is just as essential in their development. Racism and the struggle to integrate schools ruined the social experience for many children and their families. When schools were first integrated, there were many cases of people standing outside the schools protesting integration and harassing black students as they arrived. For black families, sacred family moments such as a child and mother walking together on the first day of school were marred by racial slurs harassment. School, a place parents could once consider a safe place for their children, became dangerous. Integrating schools brought the Civil Rights Movement to the forefront of many young children’s lives. For both blacks and whites, parents played a huge role in how their children felt towards the opposite race prior to integration. However, the integration of schools brought a new social experience to the school system that children never had before. The Scarsdale School Board puts it best, stating that integration “will add an
Cited: Special to The New York Times. "Proposal to bus Negroes into Scarsdale Schools Splits Village." New York Times [New York] 03 Dec. 1969.