Education: Separate and Unequal in the 21st Century

Congressman Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. released the following statement today marking the 49th Anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision:

"On May 17th, 1954, the United States Supreme Court issued the Brown v. Board of Education decision. Brown crushed the notion of ‘separate but equal,’ ending apartheid in America. Unfortunately, the 21st Century description of the nation’s public education system could be described as ‘separate and unequal.’ We most certainly have not fulfilled the promise of Brown ‘with all deliberate speed.’

"Public schools in 50 states and 3,067 counties across the United States experience huge discrepancies in the amount of money spent, and the quality of instruction available. Many schools often have vast resources and specialty programs, while other students—within the same state—attend dilapidated schools with little more than the basics. According to the U.S. Department of Education, planned education spending over the next 10 years will hardly be sufficient to repair and modernize existing buildings, which does not include the costs of reducing class sizes, increasing teachers’ pay, improving curricula, or reintroducing artistic and extra-curricular activities.

"Small federal budgets and a lack of political will in Congress have largely abandoned public education to local control and the hazards of states’ rights ideology. In 2000 the nation spent only six hundred billion dollars on education at all levels, of which the federal commitment from the Department of Education was a mere six percent. Real estate taxes provide the bulk of local school endowments, which creates a disparity in funding between the richest and poorest states and communities. With state and local governments contributing the majority of public school funding, it is almost impossible to provide equal educational opportunity to all American school children. This locally-oriented educational system has dramatically shaped the history of public education for the last hundred years.

"The infamous Plessy v. Ferguson decision in 1896 upheld an 1890 Louisiana law requiring railroads to provide ‘equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races.’ This decision formed the legal underpinning for racially segregated schools in the South, and the ‘separate but equal’ interpretation of the Constitution. The Smith-Hughes Act of 1917 and the Serviceman’s Readjustment Act, known as the G.I. Bill, in 1944 were major boosts in federal aid to schools.

"The watershed Brown decision overturned the "separate but equal" legal principle of Plessy and replaced it with "equal protection under the law." It also dealt a major shock to Jim Crow segregation in the South and paved the way for the Civil Rights legislation and new education initiatives in the 1960s.

"Anti-busing presidential campaigns in 1968 and 1972, and even high court decisions on affirmative action programs at state universities over the last 30 years, have failed to produce a system that is truly reflective of our nation’s educational values and vision. History shows that the political principles of local control and volunteerism, in which states and localities voluntarily collaborate with the federal government, rule the day. We deserve better.

"I have introduced legislation adding an amendment to the Constitution affirming our national commitment to public education of equal high quality for all Americans. An education amendment is vital to address the inequities that exist in our schools. During next year’s presidential race, Brown will reach its half-century mark. Many candidates will visit schools. Let us not become so caught up in traditional political style that we forget that our children remain desperately in need of educational substance, and they should not need to wait another half-century."