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?Black Flight? From Dallas

In the post immediately below I discussed ?white flight? in California ? not from Los Angeles or San Francisco or other urban centers but from the entire state. Now comes the Dallas Morning News with a major series whose first installment is ? ?Black flight? changing the makeup of Dallas Schools.? (HatTip to InstaPundit)

?The number of black children attending DISD [Dallas Independent School District] schools,? the article notes, ?has reached its lowest point since 1965.?

Black students formed a majority in Dallas schools through the 1980s and '90s. Over the last 10 years, though, the number of black children has fallen by nearly 20,000, or about a third. Meanwhile, Hispanic children have filled their seats as the district's overall enrollment remains fairly flat at about 157,000.

Today, about 41,000 black students attend DISD schools. They make up 26 percent of the district compared with 106,000 Hispanic children, or 68 percent. White students are 5 percent of the district.

There are no doubt many reasons for the exodus, just as there was for ?white flight? from inner city schools in the past, but many observers fasten on race as primary.

Adelfa Callejo, a Latina civil rights activist, said it?s like history repeating itself.

?They?re doing exactly what the whites are doing, abandoning the school district,? Callejo said. ?That will leave us with a lack of black leadership. You need leaders of all races to make it happen.?

Many of the concerns expressed by black parents resemble to the comments of ?fleeing? whites in other jurisdictions.

Racial friction between blacks and Hispanics has long been a reality in Dallas ISD, from the hiring of Superintendent Michael Hinojosa to racial divisions among board members to arguments over funding priorities for civil rights-era learning centers.

Many black parents are concerned about the attention and money spent bringing native Spanish-speakers up to speed. Some say their children are ignored.

?Nothing is geared towards us; it?s all geared towards the Hispanics,? said Shirley Daniels, spokeswoman for the Black Coalition to Maximize Education, a civil rights group and plaintiff in DISD?s federal desegregation case, which lasted from 1970 to 2003.

On the other hand, community activist Jesse Diaz, whose daughter attends a DISD school in Pleasant Grove, said he believes that some of the district?s naysayers have a prejudice against non-English-speaking Hispanic children and poor kids. The percentage of DISD students labeled ?economically disadvantaged,? meaning they qualify for free or reduced-price school meals, has increased from 73 percent in 2000 to 87 percent this year.

Superintendent Michael Hinjosa ?did not voice concern with the drop in black students, saying the shift is part of a national trend.?

Hinojosa disagreed that DISD is losing focus on black children.

?We cannot be successful if those kids are not successful, absolutely not,? he said.

He pointed to a district initiative to improve math skills of black students.

No doubt Hispanic and white students with poor math skills were thrilled with the district?s effort to improve the math scores of black students.

Full post as published by Discriminations on June 07, 2010 (boomark / email).