Students filled the New York City council chambers earlier this month to share their experiences in segregated schools and offer solutions.

But they faced a mostly empty dais: Only two members of the council’s education committee stayed to hear the students’ testimony.

New York City schools are among the most segregated in the country, and students are playing a growing role in the budding movement to do something about that. After much prodding from integration advocates, the de Blasio administration released a plan this summer to spur more diversity in city schools.

Taylor McGraw is a former history teacher in New York City schools who now hosts a podcast called The Bell, which explores segregation from the eyes of students. McGraw started his testimony by referring to New York City’s previous attempts to integrate schools, including a 1956 plan, born after the Brown v. Board of Education decision, that was fought by white parents.

Today, we are in a position that none of us would have chosen but all of us – including the mayor – must confront. The schools here are still segregated. And they aren’t segregated because of 400 years of American history – they’re segregated because segregationist policies continue.

Read the full article about school integration from Chalkbeat