Brown V. Board of Education- 60 Years Later

 On May 17, 1954 the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark decision regarding Public education in America. The case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, reversed the 1896 decision Plessey V. Ferguson. The decision eliminated the “separate but equal clause in the law. The Court’s opinion stated, “ Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.” NAACP attorney Thurgood Marshall, who in 1967 was appointed to the United States Supreme Court, argued the case.

It has been sixty years since that momentous decision but in many urban areas in this country de facto segregation still exists in public schools. Families who could afford it have moved to more affluent suburbs with better schools. Others have chosen to send their children to expensive private schools. According to a recent article in NEA Today magazine, nearly 50% of school students in this country are from low- income families. In many cities public schools in high- minority areas are being closed due to budget constraints and old buildings. In a city like Detroit, which has recently declared bankruptcy, there are little funds to improve public schools- schools with a high percentage of minority students. These students are often forced to travel long distances to get to school. Recently reports have indicated that the chasm between have and have-nots has grown and that family income, more than race, is a major predictor of a student’s academic achievement.

 It should also be noted that in 2001 the US Supreme court overturned school bussing policies and d in 2007 the court invalidated school desegregation plans.

The National Education Association (NEA) has created a web site with information and stories about the struggle to school equality. You can access that information by going to www.nea.org/schoolequity.

The History Channel web site also has information and links regarding the 6oth anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education Decision.

We as educators must never forget the purpose of public education in the United States. ALL students deserve the best education possible to help them strive to become good employees and entrepreneurs and good and productive citizens.

c.2014  J. Margolis