IN MY SHOES: Forced Busing: Another Liberal Idea That Failed The Real-World Test
This multiethnic population is a far cry from the homogeneous student body of my own grammar school in
In 1967, when I was in fifth grade, black students from the nearby neighborhood of
At the time, my neighborhood consisted of private homes owned by a mix of blue- and white-collar families. They were predominantly composed of second-generation Italian- and Irish-Americans, although there were some Jewish families as well. The influx of blacks into my own school was met by the frenzied protests of parents. …
When all was said and done … [o]nly two African-Americans were transferred into my own class. We adjusted to one another without incident; our young age kept overt expressions of prejudice to a whisper.
Junior high school was another matter. By 1969, busing was being conducted on a much larger scale throughout the nation, including
Busing produced similar results all over the country. And, sadly, there is no evidence that it raised the educational prospects of African-Americans, the purpose for which it was intended. … a study by
These days, the working-class immigrant population in Sunnyside is offset by middle-class professionals. … We share the streets, restaurants and stores –interaction and assimilation follow a natural course. The children in such neighborhoods have more than enough opportunity to cultivate tolerance and understanding for those unlike themselves.
Comments