Moderator:
Hello everyone, and welcome to Viewpoint. Today we are excited to have our guest, Dean Mary Futrell of George Washington University, discussing the landmark Supreme Court Brown v. Board of Education decision which struck down the doctrine "separate but equal" fifty years ago.
Dean Futrell, please tell us why the Brown v. Board decision was so significant.
Mary Futrell: First, I would like to thank you for inviting me to participate in the Post's session on the Brown decision. You asked me why the Brown decision is significant. I believe that the decision is significant because it officially ended segregation of the education system in America. The Brown decision desegregated the schools, thus, allowing African American, Hispanics, and other minority children to attend schools with white children. The issue was all about access the resources to assure that all children had access to quality education.
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Roma, Tex.:
The Brown decision was a watershed for our nation and the world, yet what has been the biggest problem for African Americans in obtaining a good sound education today?
Mary Futrell: I do not believe that there is any one problem we can identify as the major obstacle re: why African Americans in obtaining a good sound education today. There are several problems. One is the fact that we basically have a two-tiered education system in America today, one for poor students (most of whom are minorities) and one for more affluent students. Most of our minority students live in urban areas where the facilities are very poor, are more likely to have teachers who are not certified to teach, and have a weak curriculum. These schools also lack resources such as up to date textbooks, technologies, etc. Another reason is the structure of the curriculum which places most poor and minority students in the general, vocational, or special education tracks. That is not to say that these tracks are not good, but that questions must be raised as to why more minority and poor children are not in the gifted and talented and academic tracks. This question is critical since most of the accountability mandates focus on a solid core academic background and most poor and minority children have not had the opportunity to acquire such a background. Therefore, we need more resources but we also need to restructure the academic program to guarantee that all students will study a solid academic core curriculum regardless as to what educational pursuits they may choose.
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New York, N.Y.:
How do you feel about affirmative action in higher education? Do you think it is necessary?
Mary Futrell: Affirmative action, I believe, is a positive policy that should be applied equitably within our education system. Most people when they think about affirmative action, believe that it is only for minorities and that it allows students who are unable to meet the qualifications to gain access to higher education. There are many forms of affirmative action. I believe that colleges and universities should be able to offer students from different groups assistance to attend their university. We live in a very diverse society and we need to have strategies that encourage and support students from diverse backgrounds to earn a college degree. Doing so strengthens every segment of our society, including our military, economy, and communities in general. I also believe that students who are accepted should meet the academic requirements to matriculate. Using recent Supreme Court rulings such as the one re: the University of Michigan, colleges and universities should develop policies that treat people equitably as well as provide support for students who need financial assistance. Everyone who gets such assistance should meet the required admissions standards.
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Silver Spring, Md.:
How do you think No Child Left Behind compares to the Brown v. Board decision?
Mary Futrell: The Brown decision was a judicial decision to end segregation of our education system and to assure all students equal access to educational resources. The No Child Left Behind Act (reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education act) is a law passed by Congress to build more accountability in the education system. Both expanded federal involvement in the composition and structure of our education systems. Both are designed to hold schools and school districts more accountable for the education children receive although the approaches are very different. The NCLB Act is somewhat contradictory in that it mandates more accountability without providing the resources to achieve this goal. Both will require significant resources to become a reality. In some ways the two, Brown and NCLB, complement each other in that they are calling for all children to have access to quality education. The goals are laudable, but the resources are scarce to achieve them.
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Malvern, Pa.:
Fifty years have passed since the Brown v. Board of Education decision: Do you believe there will ever be a time when we will see social equality without necessary interference of government? It is sad that we must be coerced to do what is right.
Mary Futrell: In a democracy, the government is designed to help ensure that social equality for all is achievable. The reason the government steps in is because individuals and local communities don't always follow through in guaranteeing that every citizen will be treated equally. Nowhere is this more evident than in the current concern about the continuation of a two-tiered education system in America, one for the poor and one for the affluent. Social equality means that everyone will have access to the same quality education at the same time in the same place, to paraphrase Thurgood Marshall. The Brown decision was necessary because communities did not provide social equality to African Americans and other minorities.
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Washington, D.C.:
Your intro says, "there are some people who are still trying to turn back the clock to the days when segregation prevailed." I agree with this statement. How can educators, the public, prevent these people from turning back the clock??
Mary Futrell: There are several ways we can try to prevent turning back the clock to the days when segregation prevailed. One is to insist that high educational standards be required of all students and to guarantee that the necessary resources are in place, including highly qualified teachers for all schools, to achieve the goal of educational success. Another is to do a better job of helping people understand that the public schools are here to enhance the lives of individuals, but more importantly to strengthen our democracy. Third, we need to have more public engagement in public education, public schools. We need the public to work with educators, parents, and children to underscore the critical role of schooling in our communities whether we are focusing on the economic, political, or social aspects of those communities.
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Arlington, Va.:
How else is GW celebrating the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board? I've seen the media discuss the 50th anniversary, but am curious about the events going on within higher education.
Mary Futrell: The George Washington University has celebrated the Brown decision in a variety of ways. For example, the Law School and the Graduate School of Education and Human Development have each sponsored forums on the Brown decision and what we can do to fulfill its promise. A number of articles have been written and published by GW faculty on the topic. We have participated in forums sponsored by the National Archives, C-SPAN, the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, Yale and Howard universities as well as other universities, and we have sponsored programs for our faculty and students on this topic. We have also made presentations at the American Education Research Association and the American Association for Colleges of Teacher Education conferences. We will continue throughout the year to talk about the Brown decisions and its implications for all levels of education. More importantly, we will focus on how we can help fulfill the promise of Brown.
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Silver Spring, Md.:
And the school vouchers? Do you think they provide the same sort of equality the Brown v. Board intended to provide?
Mary Futrell: The U. S. Supreme Court ruled in 1925 that parents have the right to send their children to public, private or parochial schools. I support the rights of parents to send their children to the school of their choice. However, the U. S. Constitution says there should be separation between church and state. 80% of the private schools in American belong to or are governed by religious groups. I do not belive that public funds should be used to support schools controlled by religious groups. In recent years, vouchers have been introduced as a way to by-pass public schools and allow parents to use public funds to send their children to non-public schools. We must take into consideration what the impact of the loss of funding as a result of vouchers will have on the public schools, especially if the school is already struggling. If the vouchers are used to send children to other public schools, I can accept that. I do not accept using public funds to send children to non-public schools. Secondly, most private schools are very expensive and the question must be raised where will poor parents get the money to send their children to these schools since most voucher programs do not cover all of the costs. Also, once children enroll in these schools are the schools required to keep them as is the situation in public schools or can they at will dismiss them because of displine or academic problems. Third, any school receiving vouchers must be held to the same academic and other requirements as are public schools. Finally, the Brown decision was not about vouchers; it was about providing equal resources for all children to ensure that they have equal access to quality education. Vouchers are not the answer. The answer is to clearly articulate he academic requirements for our public schools, provide the necessary resources to achieve those standards, and then hold the schools accountable for doing so.
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Crofton, Md.:
What have been the implications of Brown v. Board for education at all levels (K - 12 through Higher Ed)?
Mary Futrell: First of all, I believe that the impact Brown has had on our society as a whole has been enormous. The decision helped spark the Civil Rights Movement, the Women's Movement, and opened doors for minorities, women, the poor, and disabled that had previously been tightly closed. Within the areas of education, the decision has also had an enormous impact on the one hand and shortcomings on the other. The Brown decison did provide more equitable access to educational resources than were available before. As a result, we have a minority middle class that did not exist before. We have African Americans, Hispanics, and other minorities in leadership positions at all levels of the government, in the corporate world, and other areas of our society that did not exist before. We have minorities who are the presidents, provosts, and deans of major universities, superintendents of schools, national teachers of the year, and the list goes on and on. This would not have happened if we did not have the Brown decision. At the same time, we are still struggling to fulfill the promise of Brown and in some respects we are seeing a re-segregation of our schools, especially at the K-12 levels. This is in large part a result of residential segregation which is leading to resegregating schools. Brown was the beginning and not the end of desegregating education. America is more diverse now than when Brown was passed. We need to understand that the future of America, the future strength of our democracy is contingent upon how well we educate our diverse student populations at all levels of the education system--not 25 or 40% of the people, but all of the people. The promise of Brown is the promise of the future of America.
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Alexandria, Va.:
Do you think the ruling is being upheld in the way it was meant to be? Obviously, things have changed in 50 years . . . where do you think it is headed?
Thank you.!
Mary Futrell: I think that Brown was the beginning of making America a more united nation. We have made much progress, but we still have a long way to go to achieve the promise of Brown. If the decision is not to become a footnote in the anals of history, we must commit to fulfilling its full promise of equal, quality education for every child in America. That is not simply the responsibility of the education system, but a responsibility of the public at large. I believe that we have come too far to turn back now and that we must be more vigilant and more insistent that equal educational opportunities are a guarantee for every boy and girl in America regardless of race, ethinicity, gender, or socio-economic status.
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Mary Futrell: It is now time for me to say good bye. But, first, allow me to thank each of you who submitted a question for me during this session. I hope that my responses have been helpful, but most of all I hope that all of us will commit to realizing the full promise of the Brown decision not for ourselves but for the children of America and the future of our nation.
Thank you! Mary Futrell
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Moderator:
Dean Futrell, thank you for answering our users' questions and for joining us today.
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The 50th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education 
