Brown vs. Topeka Board of Ed- 50 yrs later

[peacemover]

Here is a recent Gallup poll on the topic of race and education in light of the 50th anniversary of the historic Brown decision:

April 27, 2004
Race and Education: The 50th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education
Gains have been substantial; improvement still needed

by Jack Ludwig

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- As the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision on racial segregation in public schools approaches, recent Gallup polling finds that the vast majority of Americans (90%) acknowledge that educational opportunities for black children have gotten better since 1954. But other results indicate that equality in education remains elusive. According to the new survey, a majority of adults (59%) think that black children in the United States do have educational opportunities equal to those of white children, but nearly 4 in 10 (38%) say that they do not. Nearly one-third of those who believe that black children do not have equal educational options say that the situation is due to discrimination (31%) rather than some other reason (68%).

Brown v. Board of Education

In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court declared on May 17, 1954, that racially separate educational facilities are inherently unequal, and in violation of "the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment." At that time, 17 southern states and the District of Columbia had mandatory racial segregation in their public schools, and several additional states left the issue to the discretion of individual school districts. In the early 1950s, challenges to the legality of segregated schools filtered up to the Supreme Court from South Carolina, Kansas, Virginia, Delaware, and the District of Columbia. These were consolidated into a single case that became known as Brown v. Board of Education, named after Oliver Brown, the lead plaintiff in the Kansas case. Brown brought the suit against the Topeka Board of Education on behalf of his seven-year-old daughter Linda, who was forced to travel nearly one and a half hours to school, along a dangerous route to reach her segregated school every day, while her white friends attended a school only seven blocks from her home.

In a unanimous decision, destined to change the face of race relations in the United States and to kindle the passions and hopes of a nascent civil rights movement, the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional to create separate schools for children based on their race. Brown and the other plaintiffs were represented by Thurgood Marshall, who -- nominated by former President Lyndon Johnson -- would later become the first black justice appointed to the Supreme Court.

At the time of the decision, a Gallup Poll found that Americans were closely divided on the Supreme Court decision. Within days of the announcement, Gallup asked the following question of a national sample of adults:

The United States Supreme Court has ruled that racial segregation in the public schools is illegal. This means that all children, no matter what their race, must be allowed to go to the same schools. Do you approve or disapprove of this decision?

A bare majority (54%) approved of the ruling, while a large minority of 41% disapproved. Now, 50 years later, the results of a new Gallup Poll on Race and Education suggest that while important and unmistakable progress has been made, the nation still has a significant distance to travel. As noted, while 90% recognize improvements in education for black children since 1954, nearly 4 in 10 (38%) believe that educational opportunities remain unequal.

Results by Race

Opinions on educational opportunities diverge sharply along racial lines: two-thirds of blacks (68%) hold the belief that black children do not have education parity with white children, compared with only one-third of whites (34%) taking this position. And while large majorities of both blacks and whites feel that progress has been made in educational equality over the past 50 years, this belief is significantly more prevalent among whites (92%) than it is for blacks (77%).

Americans were asked what would be the most important way to improve educational opportunities for black children in the United States today. In open-ended probing, the most widely held suggestions involved maintaining equality of standards, having families take more responsibility, providing more funding, and better teachers. Blacks are somewhat more likely than whites to offer suggestions, but among those of either race who do, the results are broadly similar. Nevertheless, blacks are less likely than whites to suggest the need for greater family responsibility and more likely than whites to suggest the need for better teachers.

Most Important Way to Improve Educational Opportunities for
Black Children in the U.S. Today

National Adults
Whites
Blacks

%
%
%

Have the same standards/equal opportunity
11
10
12

More family responsibility
10
11
5

Better funding/financing in general
7
7
9

Better teachers
7
6
12

Greater encouragement to attend school
5
5
7

Improve educational system overall
4
4
5

Better schools/more schools
4
4
5

Improve economic conditions
4
4
4

Focus on funding the inner city schools
4
4
2

Less discrimination/racism
4
4
4

Allow a voucher system
3
3
1

More help with scholarships/grants
2
2
3

Better discipline
2
2
2

More integration between poor and wealthy
1
1
2

Early childhood intervention/development
1
1
2

Smaller classrooms
1
1
1

More help with war on drugs/crime in areas
1
1
*

End affirmative action
*
*
1

Make school more affordable
*
*
1

Other
4
3
6

No opinion
25
27
16

* Less than 0.5%

Thurgood Marshall

Marshall, whose tireless efforts to improve civil rights indelibly marked the1950s and 1960s, won his most important ruling in Brown v. Board of Education before his appointment to the Supreme Court. How do Americans remember him? When we asked Americans about their opinion of him, the results show that blacks are much more likely to express an opinion than whites are: 63% of white Americans either acknowledged that they had not heard of him or claimed to have no opinion, compared with 40% of black Americans. Among Americans who express opinions, 31% view him favorably, and that figure rises to 54% among blacks. Marshall's central role in the Brown v. Board of Education case, and his leading role in a variety of other cases that helped to break the color line in housing, transportation, and voting are testament to his energy in the cause of civil rights and racial equality. And even if memory of specific events and actors fades inevitably with time, we live in a world that has been fundamentally changed by his vision and resolve.

[eldondre]

oops, i answered the question wrong. I was thinking quality of education not racial breakdown of education.

[Geno]

Philadelphia schools are much more segregated than they were in 1954. Since it has become illegal to seperate students by race, whites simply move whenever a Black person shows up.

[peacemover]

I would have to agree with you in many respects, Geno. Even with agressive desegregation efforts, including busing students from difficult urban areas (many of them largely minority populations), the unfortunate phenomena of "white flight" has continued in recent decades.

This is not unique to Philadelphia or even the United States, though. Ethnic and cultural groups tend to stick together- that is more a sociological fact than anything else.

The question lingering in my mind is- what needs to be done to work toward leveling the playing field between school districts?

Can urban schools (where the majority of students are minorities) be improved significantly (i.e. lower class sizes, more spending per student, more help for special needs students, etc) without taking anything away from well-resourced, high performing suburban schools?

I believe that they can, but it needs to be a cooperative grassroots effort- not just some huge government program. First, I believe that property and wage taxes are not effective or reliable funding sources for urban schools, because the property values are lower typically, tax revenues cannot come close to meeting the funding needs. There need to be other sources.

Perhaps some of the luxury services that visitors to cities enjoy should be taxed a bit more to help generate more funding for schools. Also, perhaps beginning a special fund dedicated to improving urban education- sort of like there are all those funds that taxpayers can designate part or all of their tax refunds to go toward (i.e. organ donation, voter registration efforts, breast cancer research, etc). Why not establish a fund for urban education? If I knew it would be well-utilized, I would make a donation to such a fund.

It is a complex problem, I know, but I think that those of us who actually care about improving this situation need to step up and do something about it. My wife and I are volunteering an hour or two of our time each week to tutor and mentor elementary students from an inner city school. Get involved and make a difference.

Peace,

J

[Geno]

In the lower Northeast there is a controversy going on right now about relocating Fels HS. The Oxford Circle and Summerdale neighborhoods are pretty much against moving the school from an outdated building originally built to be a Junior High to a new state of the art complex located on the site of the old JFK Hospital. The new school would be in line with what suburban districts have. The old one has no labs, or athletic fields etc. The residents of Summerdale, a neighborhood that has seen a huge influx of minorities in the last decade, don't want kids on their streets, so they're against it. The school district wants to spend the money on this much needed project, but the community is resisting. I think the district will prevail thankfully.

[peacemover]

It always baffles me why people are so resistant to many educational reform efforts. I hope they can work it out equitably.

J

[eldondre]

Originally Posted by peacemover

It always baffles me why people are so resistant to many educational reform efforts. I hope they can work it out equitably.

J

b/c most of the educational refrom efforts have been a failure. I'm againstlarge education factories and for smaller neighborhood schools, if I had to be for any public schools at all.

[brooke]

El, do you honestly think there are no good public schools anywhere? Just in Philly?

[Geno]

Originally Posted by eldondre

I'm againstlarge education factories and for smaller neighborhood school

I actually agree with this portion of your post el. The replacement of Fels though is a much needed improvement.

[Geno]

EDITORIAL for April 29, 2004



Move it

Let Fels move.

It’s that simple.

Having a crown jewel of a high school in Summerdale is something all residents should embrace.

Granted, the community has been kept in the dark, and that is terribly unfair to them, but the plans that were supposed to be revealed on Monday night showed the School District of Philadelphia wants the old JFK Hospital site to be a beacon in a fading neighborhood.

Supposed to be revealed, because residents, who were acting more childish than any of the students they fear would attend this new school, drowned out any voice that tried to explain what the Fels move would entail.

Here it is folks — Paul Vallas and Co. want to build a $40 million high school mecca, with a pool, library, state-of-the-art computer lab and a recreation facility, all of which would be available for the community’s use.

And the school district wants students in there — real students, who come wanting to learn, not cause trouble. Students who see school as an opportunity for greater things, not just a daily chore to bide their time.

Don’t write off the current crop already in Fels, either. As much as the teachers and administrators try, that building is not conducive to learning. It’s dilapidated, dark and overcrowded in a facility that was built as a middle school, not a high school.

Its lack of amenities, like a science lab and a football team, have most in that building thinking they’re second-class students, and that’s unfair. Every student and teacher deserves to feel like they matter; the new Fels would do wonders to invigorate a student body that feels let down by the district.

The “not in my neighborhood” attitude must stop. The logistics will be worked out. Summerdale would be foolish to let this opportunity pass out of fear of the unknown.

Fels High School principal Jeffrey Petty said it best: “My kids deserve better than what they’ve got.” ••

From the NE Times.