Before I can start to write about Equal Opportunity and Education I must first define Equal Opportunity. Equal Opportunity is a right supposedly guaranteed by both federal and many state laws against any discrimination in employment, education, housing or credit rights due to a person’s race, color, sex (or sometimes sexual orientation), religion, national origin, age or handicap.
The United States has had a long and rough road to equal opportunity in education. During the colonial era, only boys from wealthy families were given the opportunity for a formal education, while girls from wealthy families were educated by governess. Wealthy planters home schooled their boys. During this era, girls were educated in the basic subjects of reading, writing, and arithmetic just enough for them to read and understand their Bible and take care of the household accounts. From the beginning of the nation through and just past the Civil War, white men were the predominant people for educational opportunity. Fewer women went to college, and those who did were talked into becoming nurses, teachers, artists, or other jobs considered at the time to be suitable for women. One must be reminded that during this time, the role of women in society was to raise children and attend to the household. Women who did not get married were persuaded into secretarial positions, nursing, or teaching. This was the view of women in this era. Minorities, such as African Americans and immigrants, were worse than white women, who at least had an opportunity of an education. Instead, African Americans and immigrants worked in a labor or domestic positions with no requirements for an education.
When slavery was abolished in New York City, African Free Schools were formed to provide African American children with an education. This school continued to be the only source of education for African