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The Commission is organizing a series of public programs that will provide information and analysis about Brown v. Board's historical origins and its significance to understanding issues and concerns in today's society. These programs will also suggest intellectual frameworks for local communities to conduct discussions about the Court decision and its legacy. Members of the Commission will volunteer to serve as speakers for each program. As of May 29 2003, plans for the public programs are as follows:

March 14 through 17, 2004

Topic: The Legacies of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka: Law, Education, Public Policy, and the Media
Place: University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas
Speakers: Karen Bates
Vicki Lawton Benson
Walter Broadnax
Tony Brown
Cheryl Brown-Henderson
Linda Cabral
Norma Cantu
Joseph A. DeLaine
Mary Dudziak
Kevin Fox Gotham
Lani Guinier
Robert Hemenway
Zelma Henderson
Ray Hiner
John Jackson
Madison Davis Lacy
William Guillermo Luna
Julianne Malveaux
La Tonya Miller
Leola Montgomery
Gary Orfield
Cornel Pewewardy
Charles I. Rankin
Ted Shaw
John Stokes
Janet Sims-Wood
Kevin Willmott
Harriet Wilson
Norman Yetman

January - May 2004

Topic: The NAACP and Brown v. Board
Commissioner John Jackson will announce program

Topic: Voices of the Legacy Part II: Brown v. Board Court Clerks
Commissioner Michael Young will announce program

December 7, 2003

Topic: Faith Communities and Brown v. Board
Place: Schomburg Research Center, New York Public Library, New York, New York
Speakers: Professor Vincent G. Harding
Dr. Benjamin Robertson
Ted Shaw

November 5, 2003

Topic: Women Civil Rights Activists and Brown v. Board
Place: Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, Georgia
Speakers: Dr.Dorothy Cotton
Dr. Chana Kai Lee
Dr. Gwendolyn Middlebrooks
Dr. Barbara Ransby
Dr. Linda Reed

October 9-10, 2003

Topic: The Latino Pursuit for Excellence and Equity in U.S. Public Schools:
Mendez (1946) and Brown (1954) - Today and Beyond

The Order of Events

Reception and Program at the University of Texas Institute of Texan Cultures
October 9, 2003, 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Brown Summit at the Institute of Texan Cultures, The Connally Center
October 10, 2003, 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Goal of the Roundtable Discussions

To create a dialog on the implications of Brown vs. Board of Education for Latino students in the public schools of the United States that will catalyze a national action agenda for reform.

Objectives

• To provide a forum for education stakeholders to shape an appropriate application of the spirit of Brown vs. Board of Education to the education of Latino students in public schools;
• To identify key issues, challenges, and opportunities which exist to make the spirit of Brown vs. Board of Education relevant to the appropriate education of Latino students; and
• To begin to construct a "futurescape" of possibilities for realizing the spirit of Brown vs. Board of Education for Latino students by identifying critical next step activities.

September 18, 2003

Topic: Race, Equality, and Equal Opportunity
Place: Dole Institute for Politics, Lawrence, Kansas
Speakers: Professor David Roediger (confirmed)
Professor V. P. Franklin (confirmed)
Commissioner Roger Wilkins (to be invited)
Program Lecture and Discussion Questions: 1) Why and how is race significant to understanding the historical and contemporary significance of the Brown v. Board decision? 2) What role has equal access to formal education played in racial/ethnic group struggles for equality in the United States? 3) How are issues of race, equality before the law and equal opportunity in the United States reflected in the Brown v. Board decision?