Savage Inequalities: Life on the Mississippi

The nonfiction novel Savage Inequalities by Jonathan Kozol shows the horrifying truth of the inequalities within the public school systems. It follows a school in East St. Louis, Illinois named after Martin Luther King Jr. I never thought about the symbolism behind even just the name of the high school until Kozol pointed it out. In the chapter titled Life On The Mississippi Kozol.writes, "The irony of naming segregated schools for Martin Luther King." The school is also described as, "full of sewer water and the doors are locked with chains. Every student in that school its black." Then it concludes, "It's a terrible joke on history." I feel like since the civil rights movement as we learned in history is "over", people kind of forget about any race inequalities. They say "look we have a black president" and think that we're equal. In the all black town the school system is horrible. It's not the childrens' faults that they were born into this school system. Blame the parents? Think again. Kozol states, "Blacks were drawn to East St. Louis from the South by promises of jobs." If history is to blame, then who's responsibility is it to fix the problem. My answer is the government backed up by its citizens. We have to start caring about other people, and stop only thinking about what's best for us. This school needs help. It needs funds and motivated teachers. This book has opened my eyes to show me that the civil rights movement is not over until people are not only equal by law, but by education as well.