My research project topic was whether racial discrimination had occurred in 1960s Trenton city schools and other urban public schools. Before doing my research, I found that Trenton was an example of a ‘white flight’ city, where multiple white families had moved to suburban towns just outside of Trenton. I found that although it couldn’t be definitively proven more funding was going toward the majority of white suburban schools. Urban city schools in NJ (like Trenton schools) had higher populations of black and brown students while suburban towns had majority white populations of students. I also found the Trenton Public Schools got less funding to fix aging buildings and keep up with school programs. While ‘white flight’ suburban towns got the opportunity to build multiple new schools with modern buildings and programs. Whether or not there was racial discrimination happening in the NJ BOE or through the actions of ‘white flight’. I did conclude that in the 60s and 70s, black and brown students made up a larger majority in urban schools that were falling into disrepair from lack of funding while white students made up the majority in newly built suburban schools.
My research work was completed under the guidance of my internship director, Dr. Afia Ofori-Mensa, and with the help of former Princeton University subject librarian, Elana Broch.
