Brown v. Board of Education

Praise for The Unfinished Agenda of Brown V. Board of Education "My father, Oliver L. Brown, for whom Brown v. Board of Education is named, was a proud member of a group of a few hundred people, across the country, who took risks by taking a stand for what they believed. He died in 1961, just seven years after the case, so he didn't live long enough to know that Brown would become the foundation on which so much of this country's civil and human rights initiatives would rest. Brown v. Board became important for every citizen, not just African Americans. It shows that the founding documents of our country provided us with sovereign rights that cannot be restricted by state and local governments. That decision impacted the lives of women, persons with disabilities, blacks, whites, Hispanics, Asians, and everyone living in this country. Brown was significant in attacking the silence. It opened up a dialogue and forced the country to take on greater responsibility; we at every level had to start addressing the issue of race. In many ways, once the dialogue started, we finally began to under stand the depths of racism. This case was about gaining access to educational resources; the resources were and remain where the white children are. The Unfinished Agenda of Brown v. Board of Education is about renewing and continuing the promise of Brown." -Cheryl Brown Henderson, president of the Brown Foundation for Educational Equity, Excellence, and Research, and daughter of Oliver L. Brown, one of the thirteen plaintiffs in Brown v. Board of Education

This book offers a prescription for reform that includes freedom of choice among public and private schools.

When the landmark Supreme Court case of Brown vs. Board of Education was handed down in 1954, many civil rights advocates believed that the decision finding public school segregation unconstitutional could become the Holy Grail of racial justice. Fifty years later, despite its legal irrelevance and the racially separate and educationally ineffective state of public schooling for most black children, Brown is still viewed by many as the perfect precedent. Derrick Bell here shatters this shining image of one of the Court's most celebrated rulings. He notes that, despite the onerous burdens of segregation, many black schools functioned well and racial bigotry had not rendered blacks a damaged race. Brown's recognition of racial injustice, without more, left racial barriers intact. Given what we now know about the pervasive nature of racism, the Court should have determined--for the first time--to rigorously enforce the "equal" component of the "separate but equal" standard. By striking it down, the Court intended both to improve the Nation's international image during the Cold War and offer blacks recognition that segregation was wrong. Instead, the Brown decision actually enraged and energized its opponents. It stirred confusion and conflict into the always vexing question of race in a society that, despite denials and a frustratingly flexible amnesia, owes much of its growth, development, and success, to the ability of those who dominate the society to use race to both control and exploit most people, black and white. Racial policy, Bell maintains, is made through silent covenants--unspoken convergences of interest and involuntary sacrifices of rights--that ensure that policies conform to priorities set by policy-makers. Blacks and whites are the fortuitous winners or losers in these unspoken agreements. The experience with Brown, Bell urges, should teach us that meaningful progress in the quest for racial justice requires more than the assertion of harms. Strategies must recognize and utilize the interest-convergence factors that strongly influence racial policy decisions. In Silent Covenants, Bell condenses more than four decades of thought and action into a powerful and eye-opening book.

This text, which analyzes Supreme Court behavior in confronting the political issue of desegregation in the period from 1950-69, suggests that the pattern of the Court's decision-making in this and other areas is discernable.

School desegregation and "forced" busing first brought people to the barricades during the 1960s and 1970s, and the idea continues to spark controversy today whenever it is proposed. A quiet rage smolders in hundreds of public school systems, where court- ordered busing plans have been in place for over twenty years. Intended to remedy the social and educational disadvantages of minorities, desegregation policy has not produced any appreciable educational gains, while its political and social costs have been considerable. Now, on the fortieth anniversary of the Supreme Court's epic decision, Brown v. Board of Education, the legal and social justifications for school desegregation are ripe for reexamination. In Forced Justice, David J. Armor explores the benefits and drawbacks of voluntary and involuntary desegregation plans, especially those in communities with "magnet" schools. He finds that voluntary plans, which let parents decide which school program is best for their children, are just as effective in attaining long-term desegregation as mandatory busing, and that these plans generate far greater community support. Armor concludes by proposing a new policy of "equity" choice, which draws upon the best features of both the desegregation and choice movements. This policy promises both improved desegregation and greater educational choices for all, especially for the disadvantaged minority children in urban systems who now have the fewest educational choices. The debate over desegregation policy and its many consequences needs to move beyond academic journals and courtrooms to a larger audience. In addition to educators and policymakers, Forced Justice will be an important book for social scientists, attorneys and specialists in civil rights issues, and all persons concerned about the state of public education.

Designed for secondary school and college student research, The Civil Rights Movement is a one-stop guide that includes clear analysis and ready reference components. Combining narrative description, analytical essays, chronology, biographical profiles, and the text of key primary documents, this work fills a gap in the existing literature. Drawing on the most recent research, Levy, author of the acclaimed Documentary History of the Modern Civil Rights Movement, provides an outstanding introduction to the Civil Rights movement, its development, issues, and leaders. Six essays analyze the crucial aspects of the movement, including a concluding essay that assesses its legacy. Ready reference features include: a chronology of events; lengthy biographical profiles of 20 key civil rights activists; the text of 15 seminal documents valuable for student research; a glossary of selected terms; and an annotated bibliography of recommended further reading and audiovisual materials.

Throughout the nation's history, from before the Civil War through Reconstruction, across the years of lynchings and segregation to the Brown v. Board of Education decision and the battles over busing, no issue has divided the American people more than race, and at the heart of the race issue has been the conflict over school segregation and desegregation. This comprehensive reference book includes more than 260 entries describing the persons, court decisions, terms and concepts, reports and books, types of plans, legislation, and organizations central to the struggle for equality in America's schools. The volume spans topics ranging from emotionally laden topics such as busing to complex legal concepts such as de jure segregation. Each entry includes a brief bibliography, and the volume closes with a chronology and extensive bibliographic material.