When many Americans come across the term "integration," thoughts of Black students enrolling in predominately white schools likely come to mind.

However, one Midwestern school district is turning this narrative on its head by having white students desegregate predominately Black institutions.

Minneapolis recently unveiled a citywide plan to rezone school districts to combat rising segregation rates in the city's public education system.

Minneapolis, among the most segregated school districts in the U.S., is in the midst of a plan to overhaul and integrate its schools. And unlike previous desegregation efforts, Minneapolis officials are asking white families to help do the integrating. https://t.co/J7fNTmM1D2

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"Everyone wants equity as long as it doesn't inconvenience them," Eric Moore, an official for Minneapolis Public Schools, said. "This plan is saying everyone is going to be equally inconvenienced because we need to collectively address the underachievement of our students of color."

One of the institutions impacted by this rezoning is North Community High School. Principal Mauri Friestleben, who is multiracial and identifies as Black, says that while she's excited about the initiative, she has seen some mixed responses from white Minneapolis parents.

"At times, it was demeaning and humiliating," Friestleben said, recalling some parents questioning their children's safety and whether or not the school would be academically rigorous enough.

Khulia Pringle, a Black education activist from Minnesota, also voiced her opinion of the initiative.

"I don't think a Black kid sitting next to a white kid means that all of a sudden a Black kid is going to have higher academic outcomes," Pringle by noting. "It's the reality that wherever white people are, comes resources."

Regardless of the outcomes, however, Friestleben says that she's on a personal mission to give Black students the same prioritized attention their white counterparts have traditionally received.

"I make a commitment that every child that walks into any doors that I'm leading, that they will feel like royalty," the high school principal stated. "As a society, we have subconsciously rolled the red carpet out for white children for generations upon generations. So it's my challenge and my honor to do that for Black children, to give Black children the same experience of 'you are the center of my world.'"

"We are not going to let anyone else be our validators or invalidators," Friestleben added.

desegregation

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