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Medrano / The State of Public Education

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Mr. Medrano-This is and I remember when I was in the school board in 74 and 75, a court order came and said "[?] segration, a tool to mix bodies, not education, to see that you get the best, to see that your school is offering geometry, astronomy, no mix bodies, that was all the concept of desegregation, white men ain't going to get kids on the bus and take them to South Dallas, no way, I'll take my [?] and we were going to their schools. So, we started migrating over there, in the buses and they start leaving into thier neighborhoods, and the buses are coming into their neighborhoods and their going to private schools and you know, everything that [?]. So, now the schools started [?] charter comes in and charter starts pulling out the best kids out of public schools and leaves the worst kids, undisciplined, mother head-of -household, no father image. So, thats what stayed in the schools, cussing the mother out, cussing the teacher out, not attending church, I'm not saying thats a rule, but thats, I see thats a problem and now thats the problem of the school system, so the teachers here and the principle deals with it, I'll tell you what's the problem they come to the superintendant, its a social problem thats getting bigger and bigger and bigger. Interviewer-"When did you start saying that, the schools kind of, public schools kind of..?" Mr. Medrano-When he left, when Nolan [?] left, he said this district, and he gave the date with 90% minority and 10% white. When I was there, it was a reverse, it was 85% Anglo and 15% minority. When I was in the school board, 15% minority, thats all, and it grew, the population grew, the population grew, you know, it just grew, it just kept getting 9th grade, 10th grade, and all of the sudden, it just bombarded with schools and he said, "Its going to happen, this district will be 90% of nothing but predominant minority and then, of course, it was obvious that you can't have a white principle, you know predominant black school, so now you put minority principle to handle Hispanic, Hispanic principle and so all the Anglo Principle left and all the Anglo administrators left. So, now you have black administrators, black principles, black councelors, Hispanics, this and this, but the sole, the issue social thing is happening, you know and then the mama, having mama fourteen year old cause I'm pregnant, so guess what? In six years, I'm 20 years old and my baby's in school and I'm a 14 year old drop out so it just multiplies, multiplies, multiplies, multiplying, teenage Mexicanas. La Mexicana's 14, 15 year olds, you see em with their little belly's coming home. Your like, "Oh my god!" and you [?] and its all projected, your 15, pregnant, and your putting on your kids in school, going to start school buddy, six years old, five years old, so now you're a 15, 21 year old mother and you didn't even started full of life, you think you want to take care of a kid, pay attention to it, play a mother role, I'm ready to start playing, baby, I'm ready to start living and that one, I don't care, who's going to attend, who's going to educate it. I'm not ready to educate this thing that I brought into this earth cause I miss my life, I miss my youth, and its a social thing and I learn all this and I ain't dealing with that. You can start with the fathers, you know the fathers, talking to kids and take your responsibilities, but....

Interview Interview with Robert Medrano
Subjects Family › Parenting
Education › Educational Buildings and Physical Environment
Education › Secondary Education
Education › Education and Integration
Education › Education and Integration › Busing
Education › Teachers and Administrators
Education › Private and Parochial Education
Education › Quality of Instruction
Court Cases › School Desegregation Cases
Ideology › Desegregation v. Integration
Education › Resegregation of Schools
Tags Dallas Independent School District
Estes, Nolan
Teen pregnancy
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Interview date 2015-06-10
Interview source CRBB Summer 2015
Interviewees Medrano, Robert
Interviewers Acuña-Gurrola, Moisés
Duration 00:04:37
Citation "The State of Public Education," from Robert Medrano oral history interview with Moisés Acuña-Gurrola,  June 10, 2015, Dallas, TX, Civil Rights in Black and Brown Interview Database, https://crbb.tcu.edu/clips/892/the-state-of-public-education, accessed November 27, 2025