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May 16, 2021 RAPID RESPONSE

Brown at 67: Reflecting and Reimagining

This year marks 67 years since the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the case of Brown v. Board of Education, in which the Court invalidated the doctrine of “separate but equal” in public education. The Brown ruling has taken on somewhat mythic proportions in the public narrative, often characterized as an inevitable march towards justice. This narrative obscures the almost century-long efforts to secure school integration and seek resource equity that preceded the decision. It also overlooks the collateral consequences of the uneven implementation of Brown, including the massive firing of Black educators and school leaders, the closing of many Black schools, and the disproportionate burden borne by Black children to integrate schools. This panel explores the current state of public education in light of the aspirations of Brown to secure educational equity. Panelists explore questions such as:

  • Is integrated education still a viable goal?
  • What are the consequences of segregated education?
  • What are the current obstacles to achieving integrated education?
  • Why do resource inequities persist in public schools and what are some potential remedies?
  • How has the pandemic exposed or deepened educational inequities?
  • Can education be re-imagined to help dismantle systemic inequities along racial lines?

Welcome and Introduction

  • Sean D. Burns, Assistant Vice President, Government Relations, Thurgood Marshall College Fund; Vice Chair, Education Committee, ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice
  • Angela J. Scott, Federal Civil Rights Law Attorney; Chair, ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice
  • Congressman Bobby Scott, Chairman, House Committee on Education and Labor; U.S. Representative for Virginia's 3rd Congressional District

Panelists

  • David Hinojosa, Director, Educational Opportunities Project, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
  • Sonya Douglass Horsford, Associate Professor of Education Leadership; Founding Director, Black Education Research Collective; Co-Director, Urban Education Leaders Program, Teachers College, Columbia University
  • Cara McClellan, Assistant Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund

Moderator

  • Leticia S. E. Haynes, Vice President for Institutional Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Williams College

Co-Sponsors: ABA Coalition on Racial and Ethnic JusticeABA Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights & ResponsibilitiesABA Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender IdentityABA Commission on Women in the ProfessionABA Council on Diversity in the Educational PipelineABA Criminal Justice SectionABA Division for Public Education, ABA Standing Committee on Public Education, Thurgood Marshall College Fund

Resources

Transcript: Brown at 67: Reflecting and Reimagining

Whose Vision Will Guide Racial Equity in Schools?

LDF Calls on Internet Service Providers to Make Online Learning Accessible for Students of Color Through the Duration of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Meals and Instruction in Louisiana Schools During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Equity-Based Framework for Achieving Integrated Schooling

Black Education in the Wake of COVID-19 & Systemic Racism

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