A state of unrest rocked Charlotte, North Carolina following the police shooting on Tuesday, Sept. 20. Officer Brentley Vinson gunned down Keith Lamont Scott, a black dad with seven kids. The situation is not unlike other cases of police officers shooting a black man, thus riots and protests have been staged across the city.
For many, this incident could be seen as a socio-economic issue. However, observers note that there's an underlying cause as to why this keeps happening in America. This is a reflection of just how much the lack of education options and opportunities impact communities.
It should bear noting that in Charlotte, 95 percent of the student population come from poor families who are not Caucasians. Many of them are failing the state exams because the school system is a failure, according to the Charlotte Observer.
Parents in these communities have little choices when it comes to putting their children to good schools because, aside from the lack of these schools, they also do not have the means to send their kids to better institutions. Thus, poor families and children of color remain in a failing education system.
Newsweek reports that some 88 percent of Charlotte's high school population have their diplomas but Superintendent Ann Clark believes that this is not enough. The school board in Charlotte has a goal of improving the standards of low-performing schools this year and it will indeed be a challenge.
Charlotte's dilemma is no different from Baltimore or Ferguson, which also recently experienced civil unrest as a result of police shooting and riots. "You know, when folks are under-educated, unfortunately, they don't have the same intellectual voice to express it the way other people are doing. And that's what we see due to violence today," Nick Mosby of the Baltimore City Council said, per CNS News.
Do you believe that education plays a crucial role in why these unrest and riots keep happening? Share your thoughts on this matter in the comments below.
