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Why “Race,” Why Now: CSI responds to the Supreme Court’s ruling on school desegregation The Supreme Court's June 28th ruling, which essentially outlaws voluntary racial integration by school districts, is the latest in a recent line of decisions that have been chiseling away at our civil rights and liberties, undermining racial and gender equity, and censoring free speech – bedrock values on which this country is built. From affirmative action to eminent domain, the Justices have been split 5 to 4, with the majority voting against our values. The Court’s ruling mirrors in many ways our flawed public discourse on race and misses three important contexts: our history, our values, and our collective stake in using race-conscious policies to rebuild our crumbling public school system. Our history. Our popular narrative would have us believe that as a society we have evolved so that class alone determines access to opportunity and that race is irrelevant. This story, however, has erased from our collective memory a long history of racially exclusive and exclusionary policies that created white only spaces (e.g., the early suburbs) and embedded white privilege in the structures of our society. From housing to transportation to credit to education, federal policies have systematically excluded Blacks and other people of color from opportunities. Federal mortgage assistance from the 1930s to the 50s, for example, was contingent on racially restrictive covenants that created segregated, all-White neighborhoods leading to segregated schools as they exist now, despite Brown vs. Board of Education over 50 years ago. Today, so called “race-neutral” policies perpetuate the barriers erected by historic racism. But these policies are not neutral and actually harm people of color. For example, tax incentives that subsidize job creation in sprawling suburbs take investment dollars out of communities of color resulting in depleted tax bases and less resources for schools and crucial public services. Because our public schools rely primarily on local district taxes, educational quality is tied to how rich or poor one’s neighborhood is. Our values. If we truly value fairness, diversity, and freedom of choice, we must support race-conscious policies to take into account how racial exclusion shapes the allocation and distribution of resources. Race-conscious policies are thus still critical for achieving a racially equitable society, in which the distribution of resources, opportunities, and burdens is not determined or predictable by race. This is in fact what Martin Luther King, Jr. hoped for when he said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Our collective stake. Why race? Why now? Supporting diversity is now even more crucial to our country’s future. By 2050, the U.S. is projected to be majority people of color. Yet as our society becomes more diverse, we are becoming more segregated, particularly in our schools. Our schools are now more segregated than they were 30 years ago. Fortune 500 companies, retired military officers, doctors, lawyers, and teachers all have stood behind the educational and societal benefits of racial integration for both people of color and Whites – from teaching critical thinking to creating racial harmony to producing a more engaged citizenry and a better educated workforce. And recent racial integration of K-12 public schools in Raleigh, North Carolina has been hugely successful, leading to major increases in SAT and math and English test scores for Black and Latino students. The goal of racial diversity is to build our social equity through racial justice. But we cannot achieve racial equity without targeted race-conscious policies to build opportunities in our socially and economically excluded communities of color. In doing so, we also build our economy, our democracy, and a just society. To link to other commentary on the Supreme Court’s ruling, click on the following links: ARC responds to Supreme Court ruling on school
desegregation,
http://www.arc.org/content/view/522/99/ |
