Skip to main content

Does the negro need separate schools? A retrospective analysis of the racial composition of schools and black adult academic and economic success

Publication ,  Journal Article
Diette, TM; Hamilton, D; Goldsmith, AH; Darity, WA
Published in: RSF
February 1, 2021

W.E.B. Du Bois asserted that black students are better served by attending predominantly black schools than hostile integrated schools in a context of racial discrimination. The conventional assumption is that black students benefit educationally by attending schools with more white peers, which have access to greater resources. However, the theory of the functionality of discrimination advances the idea that black students may face greater discrimination in school settings with numerous white peers as a result of a competitive process and white appropriation of preferred resources. Using the National Survey of Black Americans, we find evidence of a nonmonotonic relationship between high school racial composition and years of schooling completed, high school graduation, likelihood of being employed, and likelihood of owning a home. We conclude, contrary to conventional belief, that it is not unambiguously the case that black students gain from attending schools with more white peers.

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

RSF

DOI

EISSN

2377-8261

ISSN

2377-8253

Publication Date

February 1, 2021

Volume

7

Issue

1

Start / End Page

166 / 186
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Diette, T. M., Hamilton, D., Goldsmith, A. H., & Darity, W. A. (2021). Does the negro need separate schools? A retrospective analysis of the racial composition of schools and black adult academic and economic success. RSF, 7(1), 166–186. https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2021.7.1.10
Diette, T. M., D. Hamilton, A. H. Goldsmith, and W. A. Darity. “Does the negro need separate schools? A retrospective analysis of the racial composition of schools and black adult academic and economic success.” RSF 7, no. 1 (February 1, 2021): 166–86. https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2021.7.1.10.
Diette, T. M., et al. “Does the negro need separate schools? A retrospective analysis of the racial composition of schools and black adult academic and economic success.” RSF, vol. 7, no. 1, Feb. 2021, pp. 166–86. Scopus, doi:10.7758/RSF.2021.7.1.10.

Published In

RSF

DOI

EISSN

2377-8261

ISSN

2377-8253

Publication Date

February 1, 2021

Volume

7

Issue

1

Start / End Page

166 / 186