WE ARE rapidly approaching the 50th anniversary of the landmark Court decision Brown v. Board of Education, which ruled that segregation by race in public schools was unconstitutional. The significance of Brown in achieving improved educational opportunities can hardly be overestimated. Yet 50 years later, America still faces a persistent problem of racial disparity in elementary and secondary school education. The problem is the root of a greater gap in the socioeconomic differences among racial groups, and its resolution is imperative.
Policy makers and educators often attribute educational quality gaps between black and white students to the existence of de facto segregation. A disproportionate number of blacks attend inner-city schools, while many more whites attend superior suburban and majority white institutions. States and school boards have tried magnet schools, charter schools and voucher programs to improve primary and secondary school education for low-income, urban black students, particularly to get them out of racially homogenous institutions. Residential de facto segregation, however, is too entrenched for these solutions. School boards must turn to affirmative integration efforts in lower school student assignments to force integration of the schools. Applying the Supreme Court's recently approved diversity rationale to lower schools will not only improve education for many black students, but also help preclude the need for affirmative action in higher education -- the realm where it is most problematic.
In Brown, the Court ruled that separate establishments for blacks and whites were inherently unequal. Fifty years ago, we were justifiably concerned with the issue of separate. Today we need to worry about the equal. America still has predominantly black schools and predominantly white schools that generally offer educational programs of vastly different qualities. School boards have long tried to eliminate disparities among inner city schools that serve majority black populations and suburban schools that serve majority white populations and have continued to fail ("Forced Justice: School Desegregation and the Law," David J. Armor). Many experts believe that instead of trying to equalize the education quality of segregated schools, the solution lies in integrating the student populations ("The Constitutionality of Race Conscious Admissions Programs in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools," February 1999, Harvard Law Review). If schools are integrated, states, school boards and community members will not be able to ignore underprivileged black students without ignoring suburban white students as well.
The only way for educational quality to be undivided by race is for schools to be undivided by race. Racially mixed schools will be the first step to ensuring equal access to education. School boards now have a powerful tool to accomplish this goal. The Supreme Court affirmed recently that diversity has a compelling educational benefit, significant enough to justify the use of race in college admissions. This is the rationale that schools can use to affirmatively mix schools on a racial basis. In the past, the Court allowed measures like busing to ensure legal desegregation. However, only now do school boards have a strong legal basis to affirmatively force student integration. School boards can invoke the diversity rationale to justify weighing race as a factor in student admissions for more popular schools or in creating student assignment zones.
Affirmative action is abhorrent in higher education because it is exclusionary. Spaces in elite institutions are limited -- admitting one student necessitates the exclusion of another. The consideration of race in college admissions is contradictory to, or at least conflicting, with American principles of meritocracy. The beauty of using affirmative action in lower schools is the circumvention of these issues. Secondary and elementary school admissions are not competitive as colleges are. The action will be of students switching schools that they attend rather than being denied access to a particularly desirable school.
Affirmative integration in lower schools should not just be used along with affirmative action in higher education, but to replace it. Lack of equal preparation is probably the number one reason that on average black students are less qualified on paper for college, and thus need particular racial consideration to gain admittance to elite academic institutions. Narrowing the education gap on the ground level will preclude the problematic use of affirmative race policy higher up on the education ladder, while also improving opportunities for those who choose not to attend college.
Herein lies another reason why the diversity rationale's proper place is in the lower schools. Racial diversity is compelling because it diffuses racial tensions by exposing students to different backgrounds. This process should start as early as possible and encompass as many students as possible. College is much too late for students to be learning such essential principles of life.
For the first time, we are in the position of simultaneously dealing with two huge issues: improvement of education and elimination of affirmative action. The ultimate result will be the same as Brown delivered 50 years ago -- better educational opportunities for black students, with an added benefit of educating white students through exposure. In commemoration of its anniversary, we owe Brown at least this much.
Kimberly Liu's column appears Mondays in The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at kliu@cavalierdaily.com.
Read More
KURTZWEIL: The truth about nuclear power in Northern Virginia
By Paul Kurtzweil | 5 days agoYoungkin is trying to entice data centers to move to Northern Virginia for his own political gain, and presenting this to the taxpayer as a service to the citizen is deceiving.
CASTAGNO: One year later — a local zoning ordinance proves its worth
By Conall Costagno | November 22, 2024In its current situation, Charlottesville is an early adopter of the upzoning movement, giving the City the unique opportunity to act as a shining example of its benefits.
RASHID: Club exclusivity hurts the student body
By Muhammad Ali Rashid | November 20, 2024We need to reconsider how we think about extracurriculars — this hyper-competitive and exclusive culture which implicitly frames clubs as resume-padders must be stopped.
