I'm in a big debate on another board, FYI
On 17 May 1954 the Warren Court handed down a 9-0 decision which stated, in no uncertain terms, that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal."
This decision does not mean schools are now being separated by race. Desegregation is not the same as forced integration.
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts :
"Simply because the school districts may seek a worthy goal doesn't mean that they are free to discriminate on the basis of race to achieve it,"
"The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discrimination on the basis of race,"
"being forced to compete in a race-based system that may prejudice the plaintiff" was "an injury that [the parents] can validly claim on behalf of their children."
"Before Brown, schoolchildren were told where they could and could not go to school based on color of their skin. The school districts in these cases have not carried the heavy burden of demonstrating that we should allow this once again -- even for very different reasons,"
I would be interested in the opponents of this decision critiquing JR's statements.
C. Thomas :
"Simply putting students together under the same roof does not necessarily mean that the students will learn together or even interact. Furthermore, it is unclear whether increased interracial contact improves racial attitudes and relations."
CT is the man. This has been my point all along. Forced integration is not healthy for race relations. And for all of the slow people, this is not discrimination or segregation. On this issue, you are either on the side of freedom or government control. Natural selection will always be the best policy.
Kennedy is the most interesting in all of this. He voted for the end of discrimination against whites but...
"To the extent the plurality opinion suggests the Constitution mandates that state and local school authorities must accept the status quo of racial isolation in schools, it is, in my view, profoundly mistaken. In administering public schools, it is permissible to consider the schools' racial makeup and adopt general policies to encourage a diverse student body, one aspect of which is its racial composition."
he specifically says government can be "race-conscious" through "strategic site selection of new schools; drawing attendance zones with general recognition of neighborhood demographics; allocating resources for special programs; recruiting students and faculty in a targeted fashion; and tracking enrollments, performance, and other statistics by race."
"A compelling interest exists in avoiding racial isolation, an interest that a school district, in its discretion and expertise, may choose to pursue."
He added, "Crude measures of this sort [as illustrated in this case] threaten to reduce children to racial chits valued and traded according to one school's supply and another's demand."
To avoid the disenfranchised being condemned to failing schools, I recommend that people support educational choice programs. Vouchers, charter schools, NCLB, outlawing residency requirements, or anything else that will break the government monopoly of the education dollar.
On 17 May 1954 the Warren Court handed down a 9-0 decision which stated, in no uncertain terms, that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal."
This decision does not mean schools are now being separated by race. Desegregation is not the same as forced integration.
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts :
"Simply because the school districts may seek a worthy goal doesn't mean that they are free to discriminate on the basis of race to achieve it,"
"The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discrimination on the basis of race,"
"being forced to compete in a race-based system that may prejudice the plaintiff" was "an injury that [the parents] can validly claim on behalf of their children."
"Before Brown, schoolchildren were told where they could and could not go to school based on color of their skin. The school districts in these cases have not carried the heavy burden of demonstrating that we should allow this once again -- even for very different reasons,"
I would be interested in the opponents of this decision critiquing JR's statements.
C. Thomas :
"Simply putting students together under the same roof does not necessarily mean that the students will learn together or even interact. Furthermore, it is unclear whether increased interracial contact improves racial attitudes and relations."
CT is the man. This has been my point all along. Forced integration is not healthy for race relations. And for all of the slow people, this is not discrimination or segregation. On this issue, you are either on the side of freedom or government control. Natural selection will always be the best policy.
Kennedy is the most interesting in all of this. He voted for the end of discrimination against whites but...
"To the extent the plurality opinion suggests the Constitution mandates that state and local school authorities must accept the status quo of racial isolation in schools, it is, in my view, profoundly mistaken. In administering public schools, it is permissible to consider the schools' racial makeup and adopt general policies to encourage a diverse student body, one aspect of which is its racial composition."
he specifically says government can be "race-conscious" through "strategic site selection of new schools; drawing attendance zones with general recognition of neighborhood demographics; allocating resources for special programs; recruiting students and faculty in a targeted fashion; and tracking enrollments, performance, and other statistics by race."
"A compelling interest exists in avoiding racial isolation, an interest that a school district, in its discretion and expertise, may choose to pursue."
He added, "Crude measures of this sort [as illustrated in this case] threaten to reduce children to racial chits valued and traded according to one school's supply and another's demand."
To avoid the disenfranchised being condemned to failing schools, I recommend that people support educational choice programs. Vouchers, charter schools, NCLB, outlawing residency requirements, or anything else that will break the government monopoly of the education dollar.
