65 Years Later

We are at the 65th anniversary of the historic Supreme Court ruling of Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. This shortly worded ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court has probably done more to change schools in America than any other case. 65 years later, I think it is still changing us. As a history major and former teacher of US History and African-American History, I loved to dig deep into this case. It's a good one to teach students about how the Supreme Court works and how social change comes from this branch of our government. As a school administrator, however, I've gained a newer understanding of how this court case changed schools and how we still haven't gotten over the impact of Brown vs. Board. Strangely enough, I think that we are still struggling with the implications of the court's decision and probably will for some time.

I've linked several sites below that chronicle the aftermath and experiences of the Brown decision. There's also a great podcast that talks about teacher impacts of the decision that I highly suggest. The overarching theme you get from the data and the experiences are that while we forced integration in schools, we probably didn't do it correctly and that has made a difference in what teachers look like, how students are disciplined and which students get AIG services. One of the arguments made to link these statistics with the Brown decision states that it is the language of the decision itself that has created the issue. While the justices may have had the best intentions, their decision was grounded in their belief that all black schools were inferior to white schools at the time and thus, separate but equal, was not equal. That language went on to impact which teachers would be hired when schools integrated. Overwhelmingly, few, or in most cases none, of the black teachers were hired because it was believed that they were providing an inferior education. This completely removed a generation of black teachers from the profession altogether. And we all know the impact that a teacher to student connection has on the outcome of the student.

When we fast forward 65 years, it is safe to say that we have made a lot of progress in seeking to educate all students. In schools like ours, two-thirds of our students belong to a racial minority group. Last year in Greene County, Hispanic students were the highest growth sub-group in every school and African-American students were the sub-group with the highest graduation rate. Personally, I have tried to have a staff that is as diverse as our student population and I think that helps students of every demographic because it is representative of the world around us. Private and charter schools currently catch criticisms of their re-segregation by race and I often wonder how those students learn and work after their schooling years in a world that doesn't reflect their school experience.

It's almost safe to say that the world of school then has little to do with what schools look like and the functions that we have today. Progress is never at the pace that we want it, but I applaud each of you that take the time to connect with students because you share a characteristic of some type, racial or otherwise. The lessons learned outside of the curriculum do more to prepare young adults to function in the world around them. Change does not come from courtrooms or from lesson plans. Social change comes from caring about one another and teaching one another how to be better. That's where the Brown decision got it wrong, but it's also where we have a chance to get it right. I think back to my elementary years and what I refer to as my "first black mama," a teacher assistant named Mrs. Suggs. Later that torch would be carried by Mrs. Lindsey, another teacher assistant. An African-American math and science teacher in 8th grade, Mrs. Chesson, will forever impress me with how smart she was and how I wanted to understand things the way that she did. When I struggled in high school math, she was who I came back to. Those educators taught me about race without ever teaching me about it intentionally. It was those interactions and the ones you share with kids today that help us fix things around us. In those ways, teachers are much more powerful than the justices of our Supreme Court, and I'm grateful.


Links to some great info on Brown vs Board:

Revisionist History Podcast
Data on School Progress Since Brown
Experiences of Students that Integrated our Schools