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Business, education and civic leaders have been gathering across Texas to commemorate civil rights legislation that laid
the groundwork for equity in education. These events were
not just times for reflection but for dialogue and action.
A Legacy of Civil
Rights: A Promise Unfulfilled
Almost 50 years ago,
in Brown vs. Board of Education, the Supreme Court unanimously
ruled that sending children to separate schools purely on the
basis of race was unconstitutional. Seven years prior to Brown,
the Supreme Court ruled that Mexican American children in the
Westminster school district in California could not be denied
access to public schools or denied quality education because they
were Mexican American. Brown vs. Board of Education and
Mendez vs. Westminster, Lau vs. Plylar transformed
the nature of U.S. public education. But has the promise of quality
education been realized for Latino students? More importantly,
what must be done to make good on this promise?
The Pursuit
of Excellence and Equity events offer an invitation to work together
on three questions:
|
Dr. María
"Cuca" Robledo Montecel,
IDRA executive director
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"How
can we together create a future in which the color of
a child's skin, the language a child speaks and the side
of town that a child comes from are no longer barriers
to a great education and a good life?" |
- Building
on our nation's civil rights legacy, what must now be in
place to ensure equity and excellence in U.S. education for
Latino and African American students?
- What issues threaten
to undermine the spirit of Brown and Mendez and the education
of Latino students?
- What challenges
must be faced to realize the true spirit of Brown and Mendez today
and into the future?
Summit Recommendations
Participants
outlined many ideas for fulfilling the promise of Brown
and Mendez. Here are some highlights.
- Secure
three foundations: We must keep the public in public education;
we must press for accountable schools that don't hurt children;
and we must fund schools for the common good
- Ensure that education
in the United States is declared a fundamental civil right
- Create an expectation
that any retreat from school finance equity is unacceptable
- Provide funding
for language acquisition that will meet the demands of our global
society and promote the benefits of diversity
- Create
a common discourse on the proper ends of education based on
what forms a good and just society and balances both individual
and community interests
- Create lasting partnerships between African American and Latino communities to catalyze local action to ensure the promise of Brown and Mendez are met.
To
see more ideas, click here.
The Latino
Pursuit of Excellence and Equity was one of a series of events
taking place around the country to celebrate the Brown vs.
Board of Education decision and to advance its promise of
quality education for all students. Convened by the Intercultural
Development Research Association in collaboration with the
Brown
vs. Board of Education 50th Anniversary Commission and the
Brown Foundation for Educational Equity, Excellence and Research,
The Latino Pursuit of Excellence and Equity was the only such event
to focus on the implications of Brown vs. Board for Latino
students. IDRA's South
Central Collaborative for Equity was a key sponsor and organizer
of this event.
The Texas Mendez and Brown Blueprint Dialogues for Action, funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, built on the momentum of the San Antonio event. Using a cross-sector, multi-racial approach in three communities (Dallas, Houston and Tyler), IDRA convened community leaders to create blueprints for action locally. |
