“Now Where Do We Go from Here?” Separateness, Integration, and Pluralism in Philadelphia

Schooling for racial, ethnic, or religious minorities presents a challenge in the American democracy. Such groups, insofar as they are equal citizens, have the right to maintain their identities. As such, they have often used separate educational institutions to transmit distinct traditions, values, and mores. To the extent that the American experiment is a pluralistic one, the decision to remain different from dominant groups is a valid one.