Brown's Legacy Lives, But Barely

Charles Ogletree, professor at Harvard Law School and executive director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, published this op-ed in the Boston Globe on June 29, 2007. Professor Ogletree somberly remarks:

While this decision is neither as damaging nor as far-reaching as many feared it might be, there is no cause for celebration. This ruling removed a successful tool for combating the racial segregation that is a ubiquitous feature of the nation's public schools.

He ends with the following observation:

The unfortunate, but perhaps empowering, lesson of these rulings is that it will be up to the people, collectively, to determine what sort of schools we maintain and what moral lessons to teach there. Only time will tell whether the principles embraced in Brown continue to guide us in achieving racial integration, diversity, and equal opportunity in quality education.

For more information on the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute and its efforts to ensure equal opportunity in quality education, please visit the Institute's website at: http://www.charleshamiltonhouston.org/.