Still A Long Way To Go Toward Educational Equality —

Congressman Ed Towns

Reflecting on Brown vs. Board of Ed.

By Congressman Ed Towns

Certainly, the 50-year anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision is a cause for celebration. The team of lawyers from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, led by Thurgood Marshall, who had the courage to pursue this case, paved the way for equal rights for African-Americans and other minor-ities in this country forever. The legal scholars, who had the intellect to map out this winning strategy, the sociologists, who gathered evidence of the harm done to African American children, and the parents and students who risked their homes and livelihoods are all owed a debt of gratitude by this country. Together, they each played a part in bringing about the end of legal segregation based on race.

Yet 50 years later, we know that the work they started is not finished. On this anniversary of Brown, many schools are still segregated and are rapidly resegregating. In fact, a recent study showed that New York by two different measures is among the top three segregated states for black students in the nation. This is particularly troubling because as Martin Luther King Jr. said, "segregation inevitably makes for inequality."

That was true then, and it is certainly true now. Nearly 90 percent of intensely segregated minority schools have concentrated poverty —which is closely related to both school opportunity and achievement levels.

We must remember that the goal in Brown was not only to end legal segregation of the public schools, but to assure that a quality public education is available for all children. The theoretical underpinning of Brown was that public schools must be supported adequately. The lawyers in Brown wanted to dismantle segregation for many worthwhile reasons. But they also wanted to emphasize that as practiced, separate was inherently unequal.

While we have legally abolished the separateness required before Brown, we have not yet addressed the problem of equality of funding.

We are still operating state-based educational systems in which schools attended by racial minorities receive less money that those located in primarily white areas. This inequality in funding must be abolished to complete the mission of Brown. We must focus on the perpetual under-funding of inner-city schools. We must recognize that the achievement gap is inextricably linked to the economic gap. Low-performing schools are almost always situated in communities that are pockets of poverty.

The Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit over funding for New York City schools is an opportunity to help address this problem. The lawsuit, which was first filed in 1993, calls for the state to offer the city the resources it needs to provide students a balanced education. By court order, the state has until the end of July to come up with a plan to provide the city with additional resources and detail where the funds will be allocated. Additionally, Congress must do its part by fully funding the Leave No Child Behind Act. While this legislation put in standards of accountability for our schools, this Administration and the Republican leadership have shortchanged our local schools from billions of dollars, which were called for by the education plan. If we are truly are not going to "leave any child behind," we must make sure our schools have the resources to support and educate our children.

To me, the message of the Brown decision was simple — education is a vehicle of upward mobility. If we are going to listen to Brown’s message, we must fulfill its promise — that every child can succeed, if given the opportunity of a quality public education. We still have not fulfilled that promise. Until this promise is met, I will continue to dedicate myself and press my colleagues to hear the message of Brown to provide the opportunity for a quality public education for all of America’s children.