Slavery was not the end of institutionalised racism. 'Southern state governments passed...racially oppressive Laws'( Althoff and Reichardt, 2023), which purposefully limited the economic progress of what they thought were freed black families, but they were not truly free; they were bound by social, political, and economic restraints purposefully to keep them repressed. 

Education was a large target of Jim Crow laws, '227laws'(Althoff and Reichardt, 2023)  were constructed to not just segregate but subjugate black children to 'shortened term lengths' and inadequate resources. Although shorter school days may seem like a benefit to any modern school child, the intention was to restrict the quality of education; this has had ramifications up to the 21st century. This does not just come from the education system; this goes back to housing. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has historically segregated housing, keeping black families in lower-value housing, which keeps the local area in poverty. They implemented what is known as redlining, which refers to the unfair housing opportunities given to black and minority groups to encourage further segregation. Black families were denied home loans, so they were unable to build generational wealth. Schools are, thereby,  underfunded as the local tax revenue is moderately low, so local governments are less likely to bring investments into local infrastructure.

Other aspects of systemic oppression due to intersecting oppression, which are linked to education and housing, are the school-to-prison pipeline. There is a lack of pastoral care for black students due to the lack of educational funding, and they are thereby disproportionately pushed to expulsion than their white counterparts in higher-income areas and schools. There is less sympathy for black and minority students, and so they often are not given second chances, going straight to expulsion or suspension. According to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, 'Black students are more than three times as likely to be suspended or expelled as white students.' (2018). This staggering figure is for similar bad behaviour, but the school system is racialised. They may lose interest in education entirely as they are disproportionately punished. The expulsions or suspensions are not just a single offence; they create wider issues once they've left school.

After expulsion, black students are more likely to drop out and be placed in juvenile detention centres where there is little to no chance for rehabilitation. They may be stuck in a loop of incarceration, come out unable to get a job due to their record, and end up back in the prison system as a result. 

Case Study 

The Case of Ka’Mauri Harrison (Louisiana, 2020)

In the time of COVID, Ka'Mauri completed his studies over video call. There was, unfortunately, a BB gun in frame, and he was suspended for six days following this video call, as he had supposedly violated the school's weapons policy. Although he was in his own home, the school did not sympathise with their plight, choosing to offer a zero-tolerance policy. If this had stayed on his record, he would have been at fault for possessing a weapon on school grounds, which would have followed him throughout his schooling. Louisiana lawmakers, however, rightfully so passed the Ka’Mauri Harrison Act, which made laws clearer in virtual learning. This case study highlights the extreme punishment black children receive instead of taking it as a teaching moment, after all, he was only 9. This speaks to the over-criminalisation of black children instead of offering sympathy. This feeds into the school-to-prison pipeline as black students are often over-penalised for offences that are of low priority. 

These overlapping systems of oppression keep black families suppressed, unable to build wealth or gain a sufficient education. Black communities are subjugated to intersecting features of inequality, not just by race but by class, rooted in history and continued by governments. 

Referenced:

Lukas Althoff and Hugo Reichardt, Jim Crow and Black Economic Progress After Slaver, June 2023

U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (2018) 2015–2016 Civil Rights Data Collection: School Climate and Safety. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education.