Separate But Equal

Growing up in South Louisiana in the '90s I experienced the effects of a state still trying to find remedies for the disparages in education amongst majority and minority groups. I ended up in what was loosely known as the Transfer Program. Although where I lived had decent to good schools, I was still required to be bused to another school outside of my neighborhood. It wasn't a simple process. I would rise to catch a bus that took me to a sort of bus depot where there were hundreds of other kids and we would all "transfer" to another bus that would then take us to school. Often times, you passed back through your neighborhood from the transfer stop to get to school. It didn't make sense that I had to rise an hour earlier than everyone else so I could go to school. Many times the school I was being sent to was only 15 minutes from my home and the quality of education was about the same. All of this was an effort by the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board to integrate their school system and provide equal education to all students. Check out this video on the NY Times Blogging Heads site as they debate the notion of modern day segregated schools. I found it interesting. How about you? 

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