Chicago-area high school provides segregated classes for black and Hispanic students

A high school in Evanston, Illinois, home of Northwestern University, has embarked on a new plan to try to get grades up for minority students: segregation. The classes, segregated by race for black and Hispanic students, are called "affinity classes," and while they are not enforced, they were offered for black and Hispanic students only.

The classes have non-white teachers and no white students are permitted in the courses. Students can decide to opt in to these courses, and many do. The Wall Street Journal reports that almost 200 students signed up for math and writing courses in 2023. The idea is that black and Hispanic students will do better in classes if they are separated from white students. 

In 2021, a Chicago middle school undertook segregated field trips. Jefferson Middle School District in Chicago wanted to facilitate the camaraderie between black teachers and black students.

One student said that, in the segregated classes, she feels more confident because she doesn't feel pressure to speak for the entire black race. The courses were brought in as a way to try to bring minority students up to speed where they had been falling behind. The Evanston school board vice president said, "Our Black students are, for lack of a better word…at the bottom, consistently still. And they are being outperformed consistently. It's not good."