Tune in tonight! From Brown v. Board of Education to school choice

Brown v. Board of Education opened many doors of opportunity, but too many remain closed. School choice can open some more.

Longtime school choice advocate Howard Fuller and a high-profile panel will reflect on that theme tonight at a National School Choice Week event in South Florida. To watch it live, just come back and view it here at 6:15 p.m.

You can also keep tabs via Twitter @redefinedonline. Search for #SCW and #FLschoolchoice.

In the meantime, here are some more thoughts on the links between Brown v. Board and school choice from some of the panelists you’ll be hearing from.

T. Willard Fair, former chairman, Florida Board of Education; president, Urban League of Greater Miami:

While we were victorious in fighting for school choice nearly 60 years ago, the struggle continues. Choice is still an issue for many low-income children who come from the wrong side of the tracks. The Urban League of Greater Miami has made education and school choice the focal point of its work for over 50 years because access to quality education is still one of the most pressing civil rights issues of our times. This is not to sound somber or overly critical of the great strides we have made with Brown vs. Board of Education. However, we cannot be ignorant to believe that the victory of 60 years ago assuaged all of our “Black or Brown” educational issues. The need to access quality education is still alive and evident in Florida with more than 60 percent of Black children reading below grade level.

Julio Fuentes, president and CEO, Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options:

We have a lot to reflect on today, 60 years after the Brown vs. Board of Education decision. But the biggest takeaway is that we are not much more free than we were in 1954. We have freedom we didn’t have at the time, but we also continue trailing behind other groups because there is a silent segregation in the system that keeps low-income and at-risk children in schools that aren’t meeting their needs.  Freedom is in choice. We have the opportunity to keep the Brown decision alive by working together so kids have the school choices that will allow them to pick the very best school no matter the zip code.

Jonathan Hage, founder, president and CEO, Charter Schools USA:

This week we celebrate National School Choice Week, just as the 60th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education arrives. For those in the education reform movement, both issues represent a battle for social justice. We may have outlawed explicit forms of discrimination like separate water fountains, but we continue to tolerate a current set of divisions where “zip codes” have replaced the words “educational facilities” in the court’s decision that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.” The dismantling of “separate but equal” too often has been replaced by segregated schools based on economic plight and real estate values, leaving our most vulnerable young people in perennially low-performing schools. It will take a broad and unique coalition of reformers to carry the education reform movement over the next 60 years. As of today there are still several states that have failed to pass charter legislation and many more that have passed watered-down measures that missed the mark. Charter Schools USA is excited to participate in School Choice Week and committed to working with reformers across the country to put the interests of students first!


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BY reimaginED staff

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