Earlier this month, we gathered at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in partnership with The Century Foundation's Bridges Collaborative, American Institutes for Research, and Integrated Schools (along with many, many participating NCSD members) to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board and build a collective vision for truly integrated and equitable schools. Watch the full event recording or listen to a recap via The Integrated Schools Podcast. | |
NCSD SIGN-ON LETTER ADVOCATES FOR SCHOOL INTEGRATION IN FY25 APPROPRIATIONS
Joined by more than 75 organizations and individuals, NCSD submitted a multi-organization sign-on letter calling on Congress to "do more to support holistic, voluntary school integration, thereby helping to facilitate diverse learning environments, adequate and equitable access to vital learning resources in our nation’s public schools, a skilled workforce, and ultimately pathways to increased cross-racial/class understanding in our society." Specifically, we asked Senate and House Appropriations Committees to: fully fund President Biden's Fostering Diverse Schools (FDS) budget request at $100 million; continue funding the FDS Demonstration Grant Program; and increase funding for the Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP) to $220 million. A joint letter put forth by EdTrust includes support for FDS and MSAP among its asks.
Related federal activity:
ED NOTICE INVITING APPLICATIONS FOR COMPREHENSIVE CENTER PROGRAMS
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) published a Notice of Final Priorities, Requirements, Definitions, and Selection Criteria (NFP) and a Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) for five-year grant awards under ED’s Comprehensive Centers Program. Comprehensive Centers provide capacity-building services to state, regional, tribal, and local educational agencies to help improve outcomes for all students. ED will make awards across three types of Centers: a National Center, 14 Regional Centers, and emerging Content Centers, which will "provide targeted and universal capacity-building support in four key areas: English Learners and Multilingualism; Early School Success; Strengthening and Supporting the Educator Workforce and Fiscal Equity." Of particular note, the Center on Fiscal Equity "will provide capacity-building services to support states and school districts build equitable and adequate resource allocation strategies, improve the quality and transparency of fiscal data, and prioritize supports for students and communities with the greatest need."
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NCSD STAFF UPDATES
What We've Been Up to Recently
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SAVE OUR DATE: #NCSD2024
Fifth National Conference on School Integration
November 14-16, 2024
Washington, DC
NCSD’s national conference is finally back! The gathering represents the largest cross-sector school integration convening in the nation, providing a space for parents, students, educators, researchers, advocates, activists, policymakers (from federal, state, and local levels), and other supporters to coalesce around a shared commitment to integrated education.
Attendees exchange best practices; discuss and generate tools and ideas aimed to introduce, enhance, or protect school diversity initiatives in their communities across the country; and build supportive relationships. More details to come!
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Fulfilling Brown's Promise: A Call to Action
For the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board, Brown’s Promise, in partnership with NCSD and the Education Law Center, released a “Call to Action” document, highlighting the stalled progress on integration and setting forth a comprehensive vision for the future. The document includes a clear and actionable roadmap of state policy changes, research and advocacy initiatives, and strategic litigation actions necessary to rejuvenate integration efforts nationwide. The document was developed through extensive collaboration with a diverse group of advocates, litigators, researchers, and thought leaders focused on the intersection of school funding and desegregation.
Read the press release.
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Poverty & Race Special Issue on Brown at 70 and Milliken at 50
As we reflect on the 70th and 50th anniversaries of Brown v. Board of Education and Milliken v. Bradley, respectively, what progress has been made, where have we fallen short, and what is required to truly fulfill the promise of integration and educational equity? The latest issue of PRRAC’s Poverty & Race journal, coordinated by NCSD's Jenna Tomasello, aims to answer these important questions. More than a dozen experts offer critical insights and guidance to help strengthen the modern movement for school integration.
Read the full special issue! (PDF)
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A MONTH OF BROWN EVENTS: CA, DC, NY, AND MORE
NCSD had another busy month supporting, participating in, and speaking at numerous events and panels around the country. In addition to our "Brown v. Board at 70: Fulfilling the True Promise of School Integration" event discussed above:
- NCSD Director Gina Chirichigno participated in The Educational Opportunity Project's "The Unfinished Legacy of Brown v Board of Education at 70" conference at Stanford, which unveiled a new interactive map that provides data on racial/ethnic and economic school segregation in states, counties, metropolitan areas, and school districts from 1991 to 2022.
- This new tool garnered A LOT of media attention, see a sampling here.
- Also, check out New America's suite of between-district segregation and resource inequity resources, which includes an interactive map, report, and multimedia story.
- NCSD Communications Manager Jenna Tomasello participated in a Thurgood Marshall Center Trust event, commemorating Brown v. Board and DC's desegregation case, Bolling v. Sharpe, as well as the life and legacy of Justice Thurgood Marshall. Check out this piece recapping the event (and quoting Jenna Tomasello!).
NCSD also co-sponsored and participated in a number of other events, including:
- The NAACP's "Celebrating the Past, Shaping the Future: 70th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education," where President Joe Biden spoke.
- “Remembering Brown: The Diversity Imperative 70 Years Later," hosted by Women In Government Relations.
- "Brown v. Board 70 Years Later: The State of Integration in NYC Public Schools," hosted by New York City Comptroller’s Office, New York Appleseed, and NYU Metro Center.
- Read the new report by the Comptroller's Office and Appleseed, "Intentional and Inclusive School Mergers: Prioritizing Real Integration as NYC Works to Reduce Class Size and Address Declining Enrollment," as well as the press release and media coverage here, here, and here.
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As you know, the media has been shining a spotlight on Brown v. Board throughout the month of May, with my outlets running dozens of stories and even creating new webpages and tools to house content related to the 70th anniversary. Check out these pages and a sampling of stories below (many of which mention NCSD and/or quote our members!):
Special shoutout to Smithsonian Magazine for this nice mention: "The AIR Equity Initiative is one of many organizations that is seeking to address inequity and racial isolation in our schools. The Century Foundation, Brown’s Promise, the National Coalition on School Diversity, and others are searching for new solutions to this way-too-old problem."
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NCSD mourns the losses of two education law, policy, and research giants: Christopher Edley and Jeannie Oakes.
"Christopher Edley Jr., Berkeley Law’s dean from 2004 to 2013 and a renowned figure in administrative law, education policy, and civil rights, died unexpectedly on May 10 at age 71...Edley forged a distinguished career in both academia and public service. He spent 23 years as a professor at Harvard Law School, where co-founded the Harvard Civil Rights Project." Read the full tribute.
"AERA 2015-16 President Jeannie Oakes, 81, died on April 25. She was Presidential Professor Emeritus in Educational Equity at the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Senior Fellow in Residence at the Learning Policy Institute...Watch her 2016 AERA Presidential Address here." "Oakes’ ideas and work at UCLA set a moral compass for a department of education committed to opportunity, equity, and justice, and established a research and teacher education program to develop educators to 'change the world.'" Read the full tribute.
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Update:
- The Bell is accepting applications for its 5th annual Summer Youth Podcast Academy, which is open to NYC public high school students, including 2024 graduates. The program runs August 5-23, weekdays 10 a.m.-3 p.m. in person, and includes a $500 stipend, daily lunch allowance, and subway fare. Applications are due June 9. Learn more and apply.
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Update:
- Senior Director of the Flood Center Deanna Townsend-Smith published an op-ed titled "A Request from a NC Public School Graduate," which highlights her experience in NC public schools, discusses challenges associated with the expansion of private school vouchers, and identifies the connection between private school vouchers, Leandro, and the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board. See also this EdNC piece about the Flood Center's "Mapping the Movement" project and convening.
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Update:
- The Integrated Schools Podcast first-ever live show took place at our #BrownAt70 event earlier this month at the National Museum of African American History and Culture discussed above. Hosts Andrew Lefkowits and Val Brown facilitated three panel discussions that grappled with the challenges we face today in fulfilling the true promise of Brown.
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Update:
- LDF hosted a series of events to reflect on the legacy of Brown and the future of education equity, and its Thurgood Marshall Institute released a brief titled "Renewing the Promise of Brown."
- LDF announced its fourth 10-person cohort of the Marshall-Motley Scholars Program, a pipeline program aimed to "endow the South with the next generation of civil rights lawyers trained to provide legal advocacy of unparalleled excellence in the pursuit of racial justice."
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Update:
- For the Brown v. Board anniversary, the North Carolina Justice Center released a statement reminding that this year also marks the 30th anniversary of Leandro v. State of North Carolina, North Carolina’s landmark constitutional case which guarantees access to adequately and equitably resourced schools, and calling on the state to "renew its commitment to integration and support for public schools."
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Update:
- AIR announced on the Brown v. Board anniversary "$5.8 million in grants to fund programs and initiatives to create more integrated, equitable education experiences for preK-12 public school students." PRRAC is one of seven universities and nonprofits to receive this new round of funding for a project designed to help housing mobility programs provide improved services to families with housing vouchers moving into low-poverty, high-performing school districts.
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Update:
- For Mother's Day, SPLC released a piece on “Mothers of the Movement,” calling attention to the role Black women have played in the Civil Rights Movement and in organizing for justice and democracy today.
- SLPC's Learning for Justice released an article and toolkit on connecting Brown to current social justice and inclusive education challenges.
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RESEARCH ADVISORY PANEL (RAP) UPDATES
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sean f. reardon (along with Ann Owens at USC) led the Stanford conference referenced above, "The Unfinished Legacy of Brown v Board of Education at 70" and their new research and interactive map was the subject and/or cited in dozens of media articles, including all the major education news media listed above, as well as the Washington Post, Vox, and numerous local news outlets. Presentations, videos, and papers from the conference are available here.
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Erica Frankenberg contributed commentary to a report, “Shaping Tomorrow: Insights from a National Parent Survey on Children’s Racial Learning” by EmbraceRace and was interviewed and quoted in several Brown anniversary-related articles: AL.com, The Daily Item, and Chalkbeat.
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Genevieve Siegel-Hawley was also quoted in several Brown anniversary-related articles: "70 years after Brown v. Board of Education, many schools remain segregated: Data analysis" and "School segregation in Virginia is increasing 70 years after Brown v. Board ruling."
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Pedro Noguera is among nine distinguished leaders granted honorary degrees at Brown University's 2024 Commencement for being a "scholar of education and equity." Noguera was also recently interviewed by NPR in light of campus protests for his role in leading student protests at UC Berkeley against apartheid in the 1980s.
Learn more about our Research Advisory Panel here.
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INDIVIDUAL MEMBER UPDATES
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Jenn Ayscue is the lead author of a UCLA Civil Rights Project report referenced above, "Can Our Schools Capture the Educational Gains of Diversity? North Carolina School Segregation, Alternatives and Possible Gains," which garnered A LOT of media attention. Check out the press release, interview, and articles quoting Ayscue, here, here, here, here, and here. Ayscue was also among the seven recipients of the AIR Equity Initiative funds to "examine the effectiveness of new strategies designed to enhance the integration and equity of two-way language immersion programs."
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Cara McClellan was awarded the Regina Austin Award for Innovation in Teaching and serves as the Philadelphia Reparations Task Force’s Criminal Justice Coordinator, which convened for the first time and hosted a public listening session. See media coverage about the task force quoting McClellan here and here. See also McClellan's recent law journal article, "Challenging Legacy Discrimination: The Persistence of School Pushout as Racial Subordination."
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David Hinojosa and Janel George (along with Saba Bireda of Brown’s Promise) spoke at a briefing hosted by Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA) referenced above on "the significance of the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education [decision] and the fight for educational access and opportunity for all." Hinojosa was also quoted in an Associated Press piece and elsewhere for his role representing the plaintiffs challenging Arkansas’ controversial “anti-indoctrination” law. George was also quoted, alongside Derek Black, in an NEA Today piece about Brown v. Board.
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Rick Kahlenberg served on an American Enterprise Institute panel marking the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board.
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NEWS FROM ACROSS OUR COUNTRY | |
National -
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Survey: 70 Years Brown v. Board, Segregation Haunts American Education System (Black Enterprise, May 19) - "A Washington Post-Ipsos survey indicates that a vast majority of Americans support the 1954 Supreme Court ruling that segregation in public schools should be outlawed, but a closer look at the education system reveals that public schools were never functionally desegregated. As BLACK ENTERPRISE previously reported, schools remain segregated largely through the practice of 'educational redlining,' which has a direct impact on which schools receive funding."
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‘Shadow of segregation looms’ on 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board (The Hill, May 18) - "Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) was only 7 when the Supreme Court ruled in the Brown v. Board of Education case that separate but equal was unconstitutional....Now, 70 years after the landmark ruling, Green and other leading Black voices are concerned that the ruling is slowly being chipped away."
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It’s been 70 years since Brown v. Board of Education. The US is still trying to achieve the promise of integration. (CNN, May 17) - "As the nation commemorates the ruling’s 70th anniversary, civil rights leaders and advocates tell CNN the case may have paved the way for more equal and integrated schools, but fierce—and continued—opposition to integration means the ruling in no way assured the end of segregated education in the United States."
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Enrichment only for the rich? How school segregation continues to divide students by income (USA Today, May 16) - "Data shared exclusively with USA TODAY shows that even within the same metropolitan area, school districts in wealthy communities often get more dollars per pupil than lower-income districts. In many regions, state funding policies designed to offset these disparities don’t make much of a dent, according to the analysis by the think tank Bellwether."
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Resistance to Brown school desegregation decision 'purged' Black male educators: Experts (ABC News, May 15) - "The U.S. Supreme Court's celebrated ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, ending racial segregation in America's public schools, turns 70 this week, and the anniversary is being marked as a major advance for civil rights. But less well-known is that the landmark case had a crippling impact on Black male teachers."
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Campus Protests Are Called Disruptive. So Was the Civil Rights Movement (TIME, May 9) - "Indeed, from the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955 on, King understood the need for disruptive protest to upset norms of segregation, poverty, and militarism. And he was criticized for it. Many leaders and commentators chastised King and the bus boycott for hurting the bus company and putting people out of work."
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Separate Is Never Equal: Authors Margaret Beale Spencer and Nancy E. Dowd on Ensuring Equality for America’s Children (Ms. Magazine, May 8) - "Psychologist Margaret Beale Spencer and attorney Nancy E. Dowd, authors of Radical Brown: Keeping the Promise to America’s Children, interrogate why progress has been slow and uneven. Their searing analysis zeroes in on the academic and emotional development of children of color and white children."
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Carlotta Walls LaNier Babysat My Mom—Brown v. Board Was Watered Down (Newsweek, May 1) - "It is not a coincidence that girls and women (often mothers and teachers) led the fight for school desegregation. Black girls learn early in life that they will be expected to be poised and strong-willed in the face of danger and degradation."
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Ruby Bridges Reflects On 1960 School Integration—And Slams Book Bans Trying To 'Cover Up History' (Comic Sans, April 30) - "Civil rights activist Ruby Bridges is a crucial figure in U.S. history as the first Black child to integrate a Southern elementary school. However, right-wing culture warriors targeting books about American history, including systemic racism and discrimination against LGBTQ people, are trying to infringe on her legacy."
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California -
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House passes bill to rename L.A. federal courthouse after Latino family who helped desegregate schools (NBC News, May 22) - "The House passed bipartisan legislation Tuesday evening to rename the Los Angeles U.S. Courthouse in honor of a Latino family who paved the way for school desegregation."
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70 years later, schools—and moms—are still fighting segregation (The 19th, May 17) - "After Brown v. Board, White families pulled their kids out of Pasadena’s public schools. Decades have passed, and neighborhood parents are still working toward integration."
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Alameda playwright illuminates landmark school desegregation decision (Bay City News, May 7) - "Alameda educator Cindy Acker has written a play full of conflict and triumph about the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that made segregation in public schools illegal 70 years ago."
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A Class Action Exhibit by MOTAL in Newly-Renovated Hunt Library Opens (Fullerton Observer, May 7) - "Open through October 13, 2024, the award-winning traveling exhibition tells the story of the famous civil rights court case Mendez et al. v. Westminster et al., which ended school segregation in California and paved the way for national desegregation."
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Remembering Lemon Grove's historic battle against school segregation (NBC 7, May 2) - "The effort by the East County community was one of the nation’s first successful school desegregation cases, decades before the Brown vs. Board of Education ruling."
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Delaware -
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Memorial honors desegregation fight: Delaware played active role in landmark court case (Cape Gazette, May 27) - "Now the memorial stands in honor of those who fought to end school segregation. Legislators attending the event say the end of segregation helped bring about change throughout the state."
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Panel Discussion Marked 70 Years Since Brown v. Board of Education: Delaware’s Role in Desegregating Public Schools (Delaware.gov, May 24) - "On Tuesday, May 21, 2024, in honor of the 70th anniversary of the landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, the State of Delaware’s Department of Human Resources, Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, in collaboration with the Governor’s Office, hosted a panel discussion featuring descendants of the Delaware cases that were upheld in the Supreme Court ruling."
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New monument commemorates Delaware's role in Brown v. Board of Education (Delaware Public Media, May 16) - "A new Brown v. Board of Education Monument now stands on the grounds of Legislative Mall in Dover...It commemorates Delaware’s role in Brown v Board of Education. Friday is the 70th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 1954 desegregation decision which included two Delaware cases."
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It is time for a new Brown-type court decision (Bay to Bay News, May 13) - "On May 17, 2024, we will mark the 70th anniversary of the Brown decision, a pivotal moment in Delaware’s and our nation’s racial history. From the late 1950s to the early 1980s, the Brown decision was responsible for producing many changes in Delaware’s education, including improving the educational outcomes of Black students. However, many would suggest that the desegregation plans in Delaware were one-sided in favor of Whites."
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Delaware marks 70th anniversary of its role in landmark Brown v. Board decision (WHYY, May 29) - "The First State still struggles with creating a quality education for all students despite its consequential role in the Brown v. Board decision."
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Georgia -
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After Brown ruling, these students and teachers changed Georgia’s schools (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, May 17) - "The scale of the change is difficult to measure in Georgia, in part because the response varied by place and time.Rural Georgia reacted differently than urban Atlanta. And even in the city, there was no one narrative."
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70 years after Brown, Georgia is moving in the wrong direction (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, May 12) - "As public school students in high schools across Georgia, we believe that the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education is not just a cause for celebration but an invitation to recommit ourselves to the promise of a public education system that affirms an essential truth: Schools separated by race will never be equal."
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Lousiana -
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Where Does School Segregation Stand, 70 Years After Brown v. Board of Education? (PBS Frontline, May 17) - "The documentary followed a group of mostly white, middle-class residents in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, working to carve out a new city—and school district—following concerns that East Baton Rouge Parish District schools were underperforming and dangerous. Last month, after a 12-year battle, the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled to allow the incorporation of the new city of St. George."
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Wealthier and Whiter: Louisiana School District Secession Gets a Major Boost (The 74, May 1) - "A recent decision by the Louisiana Supreme Court handed a decisive win to backers of a long-running campaign to create a new, overwhelmingly white Baton Rouge-area school system, further concentrating poverty in the remaining, majority-Black part of the district."
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Baton Rouge is getting 3 new magnet school programs; a fourth is still looking for a home (The Advocate, May 28) - "Magnet programs first began as methods of voluntary desegregation, but have continued even as many school desegregation cases, including East Baton Rouge’s, have been settled."
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Virginia -
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State, federal aid help Brown v. Board of Education scholarship fund reach over $3.4 million (Virginia Mercury, May 23) - "On the heels of the 70th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, which mandated public school desegregation nationwide, Virginia’s scholarship fund named after the landmark Supreme Court case has gained $2.5 million in federal and state aid."
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Virginia marks historic Brown v. Board of Education ruling (WTVR, May 18) - "Friday marked 70 years since the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision by the U.S. Supreme and a museum dedicated to telling part of the story of that case is commemorating the anniversary this weekend."
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Speakers: School segregation legacy lives on in school name changes (Northern Virginia Daily, May 16) - "On May 9, the school board voted 5-1 to restore the name of Stonewall Jackson High School to what is now called Mountain View High School and to restore the name of Ashby-Lee Elementary School to what is now called Honey Run Elementary. The names had been changed in 2020 during the racial justice movement sweeping the country."
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Most desegregation gains 'have now been lost' (Richmond Times-Dispatch, May 14) - "More than 30,000 students were attending “intensely” segregated schools—in which either whites or people of color made up 90% or more of the student body—in three local school districts in the 2022-23 school year. More than 95% of those young people attended schools in Richmond and Chesterfield and Henrico counties that were made up almost exclusively of students of color."
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Many Virginia students still separated by race, economic class (Richmond Times-Dispatch, May 13) - "But today, nearly 70 years after the landmark ruling, students in Virginia remain largely separated by race and economic class. While segregation is no longer mandated by public policy, it is reinforced by school attendance zones and segregated housing patterns."
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Students 'embody spirit of Barbara Johns' through Change Awards (Farmville Herald, May 6) - "A leader in the Civil Rights Movement and Prince Edward County historical icon is still making an impact today. Students are following in the footsteps of Barbara Rose Johns... [as] the Virginia Council for the Social Studies debuted its inaugural Barbara Johns Youth Change Agents Awards."
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Washington, DC -
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D.C. Residents Reflect on Impact of Bolling v. Sharpe Decision (Washington Informer, May 22) - "The Bolling v. Sharpe Supreme Court decision of 1954, decided on the same day as Brown v. Board of Education, deemed the racial segregation of District public schools unconstitutional. In the years that followed, local and federal officials attempted to facilitate racial integration at several all-white District schools, including John Philip Sousa Junior High School, where the Black plaintiffs in the landmark civil rights case attempted to enroll their children."
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How Black parents in D.C. got segregation struck down 70 years ago (Washington Post, May 17) - "On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court ruled school segregation unconstitutional in Brown v. Board—and in the D.C. companion case Bolling v. Sharpe."
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Education R&D: Innovating Solutions for Today’s Challenges and Tomorrow’s Opportunities Briefing
Alliance for Learning Innovation
From FutureEd: "The Alliance for Learning Innovation (ALI) will host a Congressional briefing to highlight the significant social, economic, and competitive benefits of sustained federal funding in education research and development (R&D)...This briefing will bring together federal, state and non-profit leaders to discuss how education R&D can be used to address current educational challenges and pave the way for future educational improvements."
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Washington, DC
July 10-12
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National Forum on Education Policy
Education Commission of the States
"The 2024 National Forum will bring together policymakers and thought leaders from across the country to address the most pressing issues in state education policy."
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Democracy and Education: A View from Detroit
Michigan State University
"This institute will engage participants in historical, legal, philosophical, sociological, and pedagogical questions about democratic governance and participation through careful study of the Supreme Court’s decision in Milliken v. Bradley, the history that preceded it, and the educational, social, and political developments that followed it."
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“They can’t take race out of this case. From the day this case was filed until this moment, nobody has in any form or fashion...done anything to distinguish this statute from the Black Codes.”
–Thurgood Marshall (1953)
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Founded in 2009, the National Coalition on School Diversity is a cross-sector network of 50+ national civil rights organizations, university-based research centers, and state and local coalitions working to expand support for school integration. NCSD supports its members in designing, enacting, implementing, and uplifting PK-12 public school integration policies and practices so we may build cross-race/cross-class relationships, share power and resources, and co-create new realities. | |
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Contact Us
National Coalition on School Diversity
c/o Poverty and Race Research Action Council
Mailing Address: 740 15th St. NW #300
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: 202-544-5066
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