A sharp divide along racial lines

Last year, two Rockville Centre students became involved in a documentary being produced by the group ERASE Racism. The film was meant to show the disparity among schools on Long Island.

Last week, at Hofstra University, the fruits of the group’s labor were premiered to over 300 people. The film, called “A Tale of Two Schools: Race and Education on Long Island,” focused on two students: Owen, a student at South Side High School in Rockville Centre, and David, a student at Wyandanch Memorial High School. Also featured was Owen’s friend at school, David.

“Watching it, I thought that we had gotten the message across,” said Owen Jean-Aime, who was featured in the film. “When they asked me if I wanted to be in the movie, I really wanted to be a part of it because I thought we could change something.”

The film showed the disparity between students in Rockville Centre and Wyandanch. It juxtaposed shots of the lawns outside of South Side being manicured, with shots of students going through metal detectors in Wyandanch.

“I felt bad because I wish everyone had the same opportunities I did,” said Jean-Aime, who now attends NYU. “And although it was a good comparison because it did show what other schools are lacking, I still wish he had the same opportunities I did.”

According to national statistics presented by ERASE Racism, Suffolk and Nassau counties rank fourth and seventh in the country, respectively, in the number of school districts per county. ERASE Racism also claims that Long Island is one of the most racially segregated areas of the country.

The goal of the film was to show how different schools on Long Island can be. Schools like South Side, which is 77 percent white and 8 percent black, and Wyandanch, which is 80 percent black and zero percent white. were used as examples. ERASE Racism maintains that the differences are due to institutionalized racism.