A Spark of Fire

    We are still segregated and it’s blatantly obvious. Take a look at Detroit, only a few miles away from my hometown; yet, it’s the most segregated city in the country. In my community, many people live in segregated groups as well. Even in my school, the cafeteria is, in a way, segregated. You can see clusters of white, black, asian, and brown groups that are also separated by sex sometimes. Although in my school, we may not have harmful intentions, segregation is still present. If in one of the most diverse cities of Michigan mild segregation is still present, how must it be for other communities? Even though such problems have been going on for many years, we have yet to be truly successful in desegregating our communities. It is firmly established that segregation is bad, so why has it still continued for so many years? Is it in the laws? The people? 

    Well, according to Mah’Ría Pruítt-Martín, it’s both. In the podcast titled The Problem We All Live With, Mah’Ría describes her experience with segregation and efforts to desegregate. In her case, it seemed as though both the laws and people were against her black peers joining a predominantly white school. Despite her peers’ numerous struggles, others failed to see how desegregation could change the lives of Mah’Ría and her black peers. 

    Changing laws is inevitably challenging but changing the true views of the community is even harder, and to change laws, you have to first change the views of the community. Thus, segregation is a challenging cycle to come out of. Moreover, efforts to desegregate are often opposed and are given less importance over other issues. So even if you successfully change the views of some people, and thus the laws, there are still going to be challenges. In Mah’Ría’s case, this is exactly what happened. After her peers joined the new “white” school, the school officials discussed ways to make the shift more unappealing. Although there were laws agaisnt discrimination, the views of the people weren’t and one’s views cannot be regulated. Thus, Mah’Ría was stuck in the never-ending cycle of segregation. Although, in the end, Mah’Ría achieved desegregation, she faced many obstacles along the way. 

    So what’s the bottom line? Is desegregation impossible? No, it’s not impossible but rather challenging, and we haven’t reached the point where it can be eradicated forever. Further steps need to be taken to mitigate opposition and the best way to do this is through education. As mentioned, change only happens when others change their views. As humans, one of the most unique things about us is how we are influenced by emotions everyday. The more others are educated about the struggles that come with segregation, the easier it will be for them to understand how certain problems affect their lives and how some policies are so important. Through appealing to the general public’s empathy, we can allow for feasible and successful desegregation. We aren’t in the 1900s, so why are we living life like them? In today’s world there are so many discussions about equality and individuality but the only way for all these wishes to be granted is through change. As a wise individual once said, “it only takes one spark to light a fire”, so go out and make that change.