Ready From Within By Septima Clark Analysis

The History of Race and Education in America
When studying the history of American education, it is established that minorities have faced immense difficulties around the same time period. While reviewing the Latino and African American experience, it appears that both races encountered major complications around 1950. In the reading American Me by Beatrice Griffith, it is evident that in 1948 Mexican Americans struggled with a great amount of racism in schools. Around the same time in the 1950s, Septima Clark wrote Ready From Within, which illustrated Clark’s experience as a teacher in America’s segregated society. Both pieces were written by people who witnessed extreme racism yet share completely different stories that give insight of intolerance
during that time period of American history. Griffith truly desired to capture the experiences of Latino’s in California by interviewing Latino youth and studying their schools. After spending time to observe these students, Griffith produced American Me to discuss what she analyzed about Mexican-American schooling. One key factor that influenced the students’ education was that they had an underprivileged childhood. To make matters worse, Latino children had to go through the hardships of attending segregated schools and trying to learn a new language. The “Mexican schools” was a place where teachers were sent as punishment and typically received less attention than the Anglo schools. Mexicans were unaccepted in society due to false generalizations, which caused integration to seem impossible during that time period. People casually stereotyped Mexicans into dirty individuals who didn’t speak English. The treatment Mexicans received in schools shows the xenophobia that Americans. Unfortunately, the consequences for Mexican students were beyond what people thought of them and ultimately decided what their educational experience will be like. Because of the racism that was instilled in society’s beliefs, Latino students mostly received a meager education.
Likewise, Ready From Within written by Septima Clark demonstrates the racism in American schools by focusing black teachers.
Clark is an important figure in the civil rights movement who was fired from being a teacher due to the face that she was a part of the NAACP. In South Carolina, teachers were obligated to fill out a questionnaire that listed all the organizations they were a part of. While many teachers were afraid to write that they are apart of the NAACP, Clark boldly listed it. Shortly after, South Carolina made it illegal for all state employees to be a part of the NAACP. Subsequently, Clark received a letter that her teaching contract would not be renewed. Ready From Within shows the risks African Americans went through just by involved in or communicating with people from the civil rights movement. Teachers were being silenced with fear, preventing them from fighting for their rights. Black teachers had to be cautious in what they did and had a more difficult time trying to get a job as a teacher. Various readings focus on the racism that students face, but Septima Clark is an example of the adversities teachers go through based off
race.
Latino and African American students as well as other minorities dealt with problems in education solely because of their race. There has been a lack of integration in American schools over time, leading to minorities being misleadingly stereotyped and isolated in schools. Parents more often than not influence the amount of exposure students received because they may have bee reluctant for their child to learn about different religion, cultures, or races resulting in discrimination by not wanting their child to be around students that don’t look or act like them. This has also been apparent in education in recent times.
Both the readings exemplify the history of racism in American education and illustrates that minorities have been discriminated in schools for over 50 years.
In today’s society, racism and segregation still occurs in schools across the country. Studying the readings by Griffith and Clark give an idea of the roots of racism and how far it traces back. Race in America has constantly been an issue that has placed set backs in student’s education. Learning about the history of racism in American education will help find a solution to this problem by learning from past misfortunes and trying to shape American education to be more
inclusive.