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62 Years After Brown v. BOE, Court Orders Schools to Desegregate

truthatallcost

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(CNN) — Living on the "other side of the tracks" isn't just a cheap idiom in Cleveland, Mississippi.

Court documents show that 62 years after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled school segregation unconstitutional, the schools in this west Mississippi town of 12,000 are still divided, black and white -- and the abandoned Illinois Central Railroad tracks that run through town serve as the line of demarcation.



"Half of Cleveland's schools -- the schools on the east side of the railroad tracks -- are all black or virtually all black. The majority of the schools on the west side of the railroad tracks, including Cleveland High School, Margaret Green Junior High School, and Parks Elementary School, enroll a student body that is at least 20% more white than the student population," read a Friday federal court opinion ordering the integration of the district's schools.

Want to read the lawsuit for yourself?

The case, which has been navigating the judicial system for more than 50 years, began when 131 minor children of Bolivar County, through their parents and guardians, filed an action claiming that what is now the Cleveland School District maintained a policy of operating schools "on a racially segregated basis."

"The delay in desegregation has deprived generations of students of the constitutionally guaranteed right of an integrated education," U.S. District Judge Debra M. Brown wrote in her decision.

"This failure, whether born of good faith, bad faith, or some combination of the two, has placed Cleveland in the unenviable position of operating under a desegregation order long after schools in bastions of segregation like Boston, Jackson, and Mobile have been declared unitary."

The Cleveland School District was none too pleased with the decision and issued a statement saying that it stood by its proposal for a "combined middle school with two racially balanced high schools," a plan the feds rejected. The board is considering its options for appeal.

To be fair, Cleveland is hardly the only locale with segregated schools. A recent report from UCLA's Civil Rights Project shows that the percentage of "intensely nonwhite schools" -- that is, those where fewer than one in 10 students is white -- are on the uptick, and it might surprise you where most of these schools are situated. More on that shortly

Brown's decision involved competing plans to desegregate the schools, two put forward by the school district and another by the federal government.

The federally proposed plan, which calls for consolidating the district's high schools and middle schools at the beginning of the 2016-2017 academic year, was chosen.

Both parties were directed to give the court a proposed timeline to implement the federal plan within 21 days of the order.

"Six decades after the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education declared that 'separate but equal has no place' in public schools, this decision serves as a reminder to districts that delaying desegregation obligations is both unacceptable and unconstitutional," said Vanita Gupta, the head of the Justice Department's civil rights division.

"This victory creates new opportunities for the children of Cleveland to learn, play and thrive together. The court's ruling will result in the immediate and effective desegregation of the district's middle school and high school program for the first time in the district's more than century-long history."

Not everyone agreed this is a victory. According to CNN affiliate WATN, the school district's board of supervisors met behind closed doors Monday night, after which board president George Evans emerged declining to comment because of "ongoing litigation."

John Hooks, an attorney for the school district, told CNN the school board is continuing to evaluate the opinion and has not decided whether to submit an appeal.

Treyzar Eatmon, who attended the historically black East Side High School, told WATN the decision was going to "cause a lot of problems," while De'Audriana Jones, who also attended East Side High, was concerned "it'll be an uproar."

"So many people (are) set in their traditions and what they like and what they're used to," Jones told the station.

In a letter to parents, the school board said a federal court had described Cleveland High School as "an educational utopia," while Newsweek magazine had praised East Side High in 2014.

"It is the desire of the Cleveland School District to continue this course of success for the betterment of all students," the letter said. "The Board believes the Department of Justice's plan would limit choices of both parents and students, disrupt proven successes occurring at all schools and ignore the interests of the community as a whole."


Judge orders Cleveland, Mississippi, schools to desegregate - CNN.com
 
Here's another example of the government sticking its big fat nose where it doesn't belong. Who's going to benefit by forcing kids from separate schools together? Certainly not the kids.
 

In the past, you had white public schools, which were pretty good, and black public schools, which sucked. Now the schools are integrated, and they all suck.

There's a lesson there for he who has eyes to see and ears to hear.
 
In the past, you had white public schools, which were pretty good, and black public schools, which sucked. Now the schools are integrated, and they all suck.

There's a lesson there for he who has eyes to see and ears to hear.

If you let the blacks in, the school will suck?
 
In the past, you had white public schools, which were pretty good, and black public schools, which sucked. Now the schools are integrated, and they all suck.

There's a lesson there for he who has eyes to see and ears to hear.

Not the case here. One school is integrated, the other is not. The integrated school does better.

But as explained in the original thread, this is all a bit of a lie on the part of the feds. The supposed white only school has a 52% minority population. The other school is 100% minority population. Whites don't want to go there, nor do the minorities.
 
Give the parents the choice, and they'll send their kids to the better school, then the ineffective school will have to change or close down. It works the same way with supermarkets, too.
 
Give the parents the choice, and they'll send their kids to the better school, then the ineffective school will have to change or close down. It works the same way with supermarkets, too.

From what I read in another article they are building one school for all the students.
 
From what I read in another article they are building one school for all the students.

that's all well and good so long as the other two remain open and can accept students from both sides of the tracks.
 
that's all well and good so long as the other two remain open and can accept students from both sides of the tracks.
I understood both were to close with 1 new school for all students.
 
I understood both were to close with 1 new school for all students.

That's much like Comcast merging with Time Warner. There's no room for competition. They'd be better off with two schools.
 
That's much like Comcast merging with Time Warner. There's no room for competition. They'd be better off with two schools.

Why, if costs are also considered?

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/18/us/cleveland-mississippi-school-district-desegregate.html
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi told the Cleveland School District to consolidate the schools after rejecting two alternatives proposed by the district, saying they were unconstitutional.

“This victory creates new opportunities for the children of Cleveland to learn, play and thrive together,” Vanita Gupta, the head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said in a statement published on Monday.

The court’s ruling means the district’s middle school and high school programs will be combined for the first time in their more than century-long history.
 
How could building a new school be a lower cost alternative? Sounds to me like a court decision.

The schools were to be desegregated yes/no? They did not do that yes/no?
 
The schools were to be desegregated yes/no? They did not do that yes/no?

The answers are yes the schools were to be desegregated, and no they did indeed do that. That the one school is 100% minority enrollment is not because it hasn't been desegregated, but rather because the community that feeds that one school is almost exclusively non-white.

I'll remind you, the school on the other side of the tracks, which has a mixed community feeding into it is 52% minority enrollment.

Btw, having just one school to address both communities will mean increased transportation costs. It will mean more time spent on the bus just to get to and home from school. That's a strain on the parents (many of whom are low income) and the kids. That negatively impacts education.

Of course you could just do what the idiots behind this decision really want - force a bunch of white folks to sell their homes and move to a largely minority community. But then they'll end up complaining the community has become "gentrified" and all the costs of living in the community will rise.
 
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The answers are yes the schools were to be desegregated, and no they did indeed do that. That the one school is 100% minority enrollment is not because it hasn't been desegregated, but rather because the community that feeds that one school is almost exclusively non-white.

I'll remind you, the school on the other side of the tracks, which has a mixed community feeding into it is 52% minority enrollment.
What were the findings of the court?
 
(CNN) — Living on the "other side of the tracks" isn't just a cheap idiom in Cleveland, Mississippi.

Court documents show that 62 years after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled school segregation unconstitutional, the schools in this west Mississippi town of 12,000 are still divided, black and white -- and the abandoned Illinois Central Railroad tracks that run through town serve as the line of demarcation.



"Half of Cleveland's schools -- the schools on the east side of the railroad tracks -- are all black or virtually all black. The majority of the schools on the west side of the railroad tracks, including Cleveland High School, Margaret Green Junior High School, and Parks Elementary School, enroll a student body that is at least 20% more white than the student population," read a Friday federal court opinion ordering the integration of the district's schools.

Want to read the lawsuit for yourself?

The case, which has been navigating the judicial system for more than 50 years, began when 131 minor children of Bolivar County, through their parents and guardians, filed an action claiming that what is now the Cleveland School District maintained a policy of operating schools "on a racially segregated basis."

"The delay in desegregation has deprived generations of students of the constitutionally guaranteed right of an integrated education," U.S. District Judge Debra M. Brown wrote in her decision.

"This failure, whether born of good faith, bad faith, or some combination of the two, has placed Cleveland in the unenviable position of operating under a desegregation order long after schools in bastions of segregation like Boston, Jackson, and Mobile have been declared unitary."

The Cleveland School District was none too pleased with the decision and issued a statement saying that it stood by its proposal for a "combined middle school with two racially balanced high schools," a plan the feds rejected. The board is considering its options for appeal.

To be fair, Cleveland is hardly the only locale with segregated schools. A recent report from UCLA's Civil Rights Project shows that the percentage of "intensely nonwhite schools" -- that is, those where fewer than one in 10 students is white -- are on the uptick, and it might surprise you where most of these schools are situated. More on that shortly

Brown's decision involved competing plans to desegregate the schools, two put forward by the school district and another by the federal government.

The federally proposed plan, which calls for consolidating the district's high schools and middle schools at the beginning of the 2016-2017 academic year, was chosen.

Both parties were directed to give the court a proposed timeline to implement the federal plan within 21 days of the order.

"Six decades after the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education declared that 'separate but equal has no place' in public schools, this decision serves as a reminder to districts that delaying desegregation obligations is both unacceptable and unconstitutional," said Vanita Gupta, the head of the Justice Department's civil rights division.

"This victory creates new opportunities for the children of Cleveland to learn, play and thrive together. The court's ruling will result in the immediate and effective desegregation of the district's middle school and high school program for the first time in the district's more than century-long history."

Not everyone agreed this is a victory. According to CNN affiliate WATN, the school district's board of supervisors met behind closed doors Monday night, after which board president George Evans emerged declining to comment because of "ongoing litigation."

John Hooks, an attorney for the school district, told CNN the school board is continuing to evaluate the opinion and has not decided whether to submit an appeal.

Treyzar Eatmon, who attended the historically black East Side High School, told WATN the decision was going to "cause a lot of problems," while De'Audriana Jones, who also attended East Side High, was concerned "it'll be an uproar."

"So many people (are) set in their traditions and what they like and what they're used to," Jones told the station.

In a letter to parents, the school board said a federal court had described Cleveland High School as "an educational utopia," while Newsweek magazine had praised East Side High in 2014.

"It is the desire of the Cleveland School District to continue this course of success for the betterment of all students," the letter said. "The Board believes the Department of Justice's plan would limit choices of both parents and students, disrupt proven successes occurring at all schools and ignore the interests of the community as a whole."

Maybe blacks like being separate, why don't you leave them alone and stop putting your values on them?
 
American schools have been lowering testing standards for the past 15 years, in order to appear as though high school students are flourishing and the schools are really doing a bang up job. I'd rather see the government look into solving the problem of why modern high school students aren't learning at levels that past generations did, rather than being racially obsessed once again.
The current racial obsession of the Obama Administration hasn't done one positive thing for this country.
 
Not the case here. One school is integrated, the other is not. The integrated school does better.

But as explained in the original thread, this is all a bit of a lie on the part of the feds. The supposed white only school has a 52% minority population. The other school is 100% minority population. Whites don't want to go there, nor do the minorities.

I remember kids who got beat up for being white in my home town. That was in school too. It wasn't the minority fault either. You can only blame that on the poverty. Poverty causes you to blame your problems on stupid **** like your skin color or other people. It causes you to lose focus on your potential. You focus on what you can't do. Not what you can.

You start believing the adults who tell you not to bother with something because you are black or an inbred hillbilly red neck. You start believing it is a death sentence to be black or to not go to college.

When the hell is our society going to demand more from our politicians and educators? More than just the victim mentality? Sad.
 
The schools were to be desegregated yes/no? They did not do that yes/no?

What does that have to do with the cost of building a new school as opposed to simply allowing the parents to choose their school?
 
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