Charles Black was a white attorney from Texas who helped Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP write the brief presented to the US Supreme Court in what eventually led to the desegregation of public schools. According to the movie "Separate but Equal", a particular passage Mr. Black wrote had a strong impact on Chief Justice Earl Warren as he wrote the majority opinion which led to a 9-0 ruling on desegregating our schools. It read: "These infant appellants are asserting the most important claim that can be put forward by children. The claim to their full measure of the chance to learn and grow and the inseparably connected but even more important claim to be treated as entire citizens of the society into which they have been born."
Watching the movie "Separate but Equal" brought to light many of the battles we still face in ensuring all children are treated as entire citizens. How do we justify not providing art and music in a small, yet predominately black school such as Baptist Hill High School? How do we justify busing our black students on the peninsula to Mitchell Elementary for SAIL as Buist children receive it at their school with full-time SAIL teachers on staff? The US Supreme Court concluded that separate is not equal. Unfortunately, we have reached the 21st Century and it is very clear many of our schools in Charleston County are separate. While we could blame parents for this situation, it is also very clear these same schools are not equal. Who do we blame for that?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Gregg Meyers.
I agree with the poster above. We blame Gregg Meyers, the CCSD board, and all of the other phony Civil Rights Attorneys in the town.
Great post and well said. Someone should forward this to Toya Green. It's worthy of asking her for a response in light of the cuts recently made by CCSD canceling two previously well thought out educational programs involving 4th & 5th graders.
This year CCSD eliminated two very structured multi-disciplinary (including elements of science, math & social studies) field trips to Drayton Hall & Patriots Point for 4th & 5th graders county-wide. So far CCSD officials have said the 2 programs were cut as a budget consideration (total cost: $120,000) and/or more classroom bound instruction was needed for the PACT (most non-magnet schools are failing or below average). [Note: See news article in City Paper dated either Oct. 24 or Oct. 31.]
With the explanations given so far we are left to presume that schools like Buist Academy will not see cuts to their enrichment programs. They will continue to fund their participation in these academic field trips separately. Their more fortunate students will still have the opportunity to experience these highly successful programs from a different perspective than most, "in the field" and with "hands on".
Don't get me wrong. I want Buist to have this opportunity, but I also want the many good teachers and equally capable students at schools like Sanders-Clyde, James Simons, Memminger, Charleston Progressive (downtown) and others like Mt. Zion (on Johns Island) county-wide, to have the same educational experience now limited to a few.
Post a Comment