Kozol

Name:

Instructor:

Course:

Date:

Kozol Week 10

A critique of Kozol’s notes provides one with an intimate description of the fiscal and racial inequities facing ethnic minorities of children within the American education system. As much as Kozol faces criticism from various scholars due to his emphasis on bigotry, it is clear that such situations are prevalent in America. The manner in which children of American minorities is indeed daunting to the point. Problems revolving around the aspect of racial segregation such as insufficient education illustrate the numerous difficulties racial minorities undergo in the American social milieu. A clear example of such problems receives considerable depiction from the mention of the Paul’s Robeson Magnet School for Medical Careers and Health Profession.

In accordance with this institution, Kozol demonstrates the fiscal inequities within the school by asserting that the institution possesses classical segregation, meticulous teachers, impecunious students and poor scores irrespective of appealing to many students within different races. Furthermore, Kozol provides further evidences of segregation against children based on the use of Ritalin. He surmises that the use of the drug especially among minorities could only go against the interests of children instead of facilitating them concerning the reasons raised by Otto’s mother. Nonetheless, Kozol further adds on the problems facing the education system with respect to children. For instance, libraries across New York City are scarce especially in schools due to the retrenchment of librarians and the overcrowding of students.

In the article, Letter from a Birmingham Jail, by Martin Luther King Jr., the notion of segregation and activism receives considerable illustration based on King’s address to the members of the clergy. In the article, King expresses his philosophical allusions regarding the process of activism. To King, conducting activism is a noble and justifiable act especially if there is presence of mistreatment. According to King, his incarceration in Birmingham at Birmingham City Jail was actually an act of injustice and as such, a threat of justice. By making particular Biblical postulations such as the departure of the Apostle Paul from his home village, King illustrates the need to transmit an idea of justice from Atlanta to other cities since all cities possess a relationship.

Furthermore, the notion of activism presented by King illustrates the controversy surrounding what comprises civil disobedience as well as the definition of a just/unjust law. By using such concepts, segregation, according to King, is an unjustifiable and immoral on top of it being economically, socially and politically unstable. Furthermore, the fact that the white community was willing to go against the just laws provided by the 1954 Supreme Court Decision regarding segregation further illustrate the prejudice towards racism and bigotry of American minorities in the United States. In addition, King points out further prejudice eminent within the American constitutional system based on his denial of the First Amendment’s Freedom to Assemble and Protest. Nonetheless, in attaching the struggle against segregation with Christianity, King provides encouragement to the minority undergoing segregation even if the White society brands their actions, privileged by the Constitution, as extremist.

The article, Antiracist Activism for Teachers and Students/White Activists/Activists, also illustrates the concept of activism against institutionalized racism in the American society. Accordingly, the article provides that active anti-racism is important for ensuring the fight against racism in America and as such, it should gain emphasis among children. Furthermore, the article provides significant information regarding various activists. For instance, the article regards activists within the justice system such as renowned Civil rights Lawyer, Margaret Burnham, and Legal Investigator, Terry Davis. Furthermore, the article also mentions activists who were once victims of institutionalized racism such as Dr. Marty Nathan and James Cameron who gained empowerment to engage in anti-racism activism based on their personal accounts of racism. Moreover, activists within the field of Anti-Racism Education such as Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum and Tim Jacob Wise receive illustration from the article, which describes the different scenarios anti-racism activism for the sake of restoring justice.