Reclaim the Promise of Brown v. Board
How is it that, 60 years after the Brown v. Board of Education decision that ended the legal basis for separate but equal schooling, some public schools in the United States have gleaming labs, libraries and laptops while others lack textbooks, toilet paper and teachers certified in their subjects? What will it take to provide all children the opportunity to have a great public education?
Much of the progress in desegregating schools has been reversed in recent decades. Modern-day segregation defies laws meant to end it, because it is based in socio-economic inequality that, more often than not, translates into racial inequality. Thewealth gap between African-American and white households nearly tripled from 1984 to 2009. More than two-thirds of African-American and Latino students attend public schools where a majority of the students live in poverty.
The dominant influences on education today have not helped--the focus on "test-and-punish"; starving schools of resources, then labeling them "failing" so they can be turned over to private managers; and school closuresand spending inequities that have destabilized neighborhoods and disproportionately harmed minority children.
Today, the fight to reclaim the promise of public education is being led by communities. A growing movement of parents; students; and business, civic and faith leaders and members--along with educators and their unions--is not simply calling out what's wrong, but bringing forth solutions that promote excellence and equity: early childhood education, wraparound services, high standards with real support, curbing standardized testing, and strengthening, not closing or privatizing, neighborhood schools.
AFT members, alongside our community partners, are engaged in "Mobilization May" events throughout the month, promoting real reform--evidence-based strategies that help all children secure the high-quality public education they need and deserve.
Yesterday in Topeka , Kan., I joined in commemorations of the landmark Supreme Reclaim the Promise of Brown v. Board | Randi Weingarten: