RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Decades after the Civil Rights movement, America’s schools, including public schools in Richmond, continue to be segregated. Yet, there is a grassroots movement in the works to change that once students eventually fully return to the classroom, especially after a summer of calls for racial equality and justice. Race and class play a factor Kimberly Gomez’ daughter studies at home (WRIC Photo)
Richmond mom Kimberly Gomez plays ball with her kids outside their Near West End home. “Where I live right now is a largely white, highly privileged part of the city,” Gomez said. Based on where they live, her kids should attend Mary Munford Elementary School, but Gomez quickly noticed the school’s demographics don’t reflect the rest of Richmond’s student body. “Neighborhoods have segregated,” said Dawn Page. She’s the Chair of the Richmond School Board.
She said housing and socio-economics are big factors in the student populations at Richmond Public Schools. Sixty-three percent of the students in RPS as a whole are Black, yet at Mary Munford 75% of students are white. Kimberly Gomez’ son studies at home (WRIC Photo) “You don’t have to be, you know, an overt racist to say ‘I don’t […]
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