Racial Stratification and Education in the United States: Why Inequality Persists - By John U. Ogbu

I thought this article would be just another article about the effects of race on schools. I think that students are affected by economic conditions, not by racial factors. The articles thesis is that Minorities do poorly in school as a result of racial stratification, rather than as a result of economic stratification. Ogbu believes that "Class has not replaced race as the chief determinant of the life chances of black Americans". I have never read a article of this type, Ogbu argues that racial inequality persists because of barriers in opportunity structures and because black responses to racial stratification have not been targeted. Additionally, he introduces the idea that the racial stratification that was placed in schools many years ago continues to exist and maintain the gap between the races. Ogbu continues to explains the differences between social inequalities and social stratification. Social inequality is a universal phenomena while social stratification is not.

According to Ogbu's definition society is stratified when its individuals members from different social groups are ranked on the basis of their membership in specific groups that are also ranked. Ogbu claims that although the increasingly common belief is that economics play a role in the differences in school performance between students, it is truly racial differences that create this inconsistency in performance. He also explains that one major purpose of the school desecration movement was to improve black school performance. After reading this article i do believe that one of the greatest obstacles that needs to be overcome in US schools is the elimination of differences in performance in schools as a result of racial or economic differences.