Hot Off the Presses

Hello.  This installment of Hot off the Presses will consider two articles that explore different facets of the same problem - racial intergration of our public schools. 

1. A New Strategy for Pursuing Racial and Ethnic Equality in Public Schools by Kristi L. Bowman, Michigan State University College of Law.

What it's about:

Professor Bowman provides an overview of recent school intergration cases.  She argues that school integration has proceeded in four "waves,"  and further posits that we are in the midst of the fourth wave.  The fourth wave focuses primarily on state constitutional and statutory remedies and is explicitly race conscious.  The first part of Bowman's paper examines some the benefits and detriments to fourth wave legal strategies.  (For instance, while federal law might forcelose a private right of action in certain cases, states can change this by statute.)  In the second portion, Bowman considers whether the suggestion of integrating schools on the basis of socio-economic status - rather than race - will produce racial intregration in public schools.   Bowen does not says that this is not a viable strategy, but notes that strategies focusing on socio-economic status standing alone are unlikely to be effective, so many other factors should be included as well.

Why you should read it:

I enjoyed this piece on a number of levels, but I thought its most striking feature was the rebuttal of the notion that socio-economic status is a cure-all on this issue.  To be certain, as economic status does not trigger strict scrutiny, it is less legally problematic than race-based iniatives.  Nevertheless, if socio-economic engineering does not produce the desired - and after Brown, arguably constitutionally required - racial integration of our public schools.  If not, the fundamental premises of the idea that programs based on socio-economic status produce racial equality should be revisited.

Where you can find it:

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1464732

2.  The White Interest in School Integration, by Robert A. Garda, Jr., Loyola (New Orleans)

What it's about:

Professor Garda begins his article by revisiting Professor Derrick Bell's "interest convergence" theory.  As you will recall, that theory posits that gains for racial minorities rarely occur unless there is some benefit to the majority.  Professor Garda - who is white - devotes his article to explaining why other white parents of school-aged children should have a strong interest in racial equality in public schools.  He notes that contrary to what one might think, when school environments are integrated, it is white students - rather than students of color - that benefit most.  Moreover, building on the rationale from the University of Michigan cases, he notes that society at large has an interest in increasing the cross-cultural competencies of white students, who will eventually have to work in multi-cultural environments.  However, Garda goes further by noting that since racial attitudes are learned early in life, more emphasis should be placed on integrating early education.  Garda concludes the article with a list of things concerned parents might do to integrate schools.

Why you should read it:

In my opinion, this article is unique.  I do not recall seeing other articles on this topic taking this particular narrative approach.   I believe the unique approach is effective as it grabs the reader.  In addition, the author's list of reasons why integration is good for the majority is helpful, comprehensive, and well-supported.  Finally, the author is also - in effect - pursuing a non-legal solution to this problem by encouraging parents to be proactive on this score, rather than waiting for the courts to direct their actions. For instance, if parents seek diverse neighborhoods over racially homogenous ones, the problem of school integration is immediately lessened.   This piece is highly recommended. 

Where you can find it:

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1463598

In addition to the reasons listed above, it should be noted that both of these articles are quite timely.  In Milliken v. Bradley, the Supreme Court rejected a plan to use the suburban population to integrate inner city public schools.   In the past weeks, several outlets have reported that the problem of "white flight" raised by Miliken not only still exists, but is getting progressively worse.  America's neighborhoods are becoming more racially and economically homogenous.  If this trends continues, discussing school integration may become little more than an academic exercise.  For the sake of our children and the health of our democracy, let us hope that we can find a solution that is politically and consitutionally viable.

NLS