In June 2007, the United States Supreme Court rendered its most recent decision on the constitutionality of race-based education policies. The Court decided that race-based student assignment policies implemented in two school districts to ensure racially integrated schools violated the United States Constitution. Since the implementation of the…

As slavery ended, Black Georgians developed unique solutions to the many problems they faced in attaining literacy and other educational goals. In terms of some of their earlier efforts, we describe a pattern in which local Black communities in Georgia sought to create and fund their own schools at primary, secondary, and post-secondary levels. In…

This article has two parts. In the first part, William B. Harvey shares his life story as a Brown baby. According to him, segregation was mean and ugly and humiliating. It was a state of affairs that made you know your place and that kept you in your place. If you were colored or Negro or Black or African American, your place was at the bottom.…

"Brown v. Board of Education" (1954) is one of the greatest achievements of the American judicial system. It decisively declared racial segregation in the schools unconstitutional, inaugurating the modern civil rights era. In addition to advancing equality, "Brown" initiated a new type of judicial decision making. After "Brown," courts…

On May 17, 2004, our nation celebrated the 50th anniversary of a landmark decision, Brown versus the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. This U.S. Supreme Court decision was an impressive unanimous vote. In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the "separate but equal" doctrine of "Plessy v Ferguson" that the Court had rendered in 1896. The…

The hearts and minds of the American people have been won over on the issue of segregation. However, the dilemma is that while an overwhelming majority of Americans would cringe at the idea of a racially segregated America, America remains racially segregated and racial equality is more ideal than real. Even though there is almost no legal…

Much of the country has participated in the 50th anniversary celebration of "Brown v. Board of Education," a decision handed down by the Supreme Court on May 17, 1954. This historic, landmark, controversial, and revolutionary case nullified and reversed so much of the content, character, and spirit of American constitutional history,…

The history of Juneteenth, slavery, and deferred freedom is filled with heroes, plots, and interesting twists. For many of African descent, Juneteenth is a day to commemorate the official ending of American slavery. Slavery did not end with the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. Not until June 19, 1865 was slavery abolished--two and a half…

While on the surface baseball cards may appear to be a mundane object of child's play, they are precious tools for examining U.S. society. Baseball cards not only hold a wealth of information regarding the players they feature they also reveal much about the state of society at the time of their production and the individuals who collect them. In…

Reviews the author's experiences with white students during courses taught by him in Afro-American history at Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio, between 1969 and 1972. Concludes that "such black studies as that at Cleveland State University have reached significant numbers of white, specifically ethnic, students." (Author/JM)

Argues that it is white America that has made 'Roots' a best seller because it is comforting to most white Americans. The book doesn't make most of them feel quilty. It is consistently upbeat and optimistic. It contains much of the old dialect that depicts Blacks as being not-too-bright. It seems to say while some mistakes were made everything has…

Argues that in order to discharge their social and professional responsibility to promote awareness and understanding about the phenomenon of black liberation, black sociologists and educators must both recognize and help others realize that "the practice of racial prejudice and discrimination constitutes an environmental problem of the first…

An Assistant Professor of Social Science at Vorhees College, South Carolina discusses what it is like to be a serious Lutheran placed in an Episcopal College, the role of history instruction in statewide school integration, and the Southern Literary Renaissance. (Author/JM)

Introduces special issue (with same title) designed to demonstrate how Blacks and whites, as allies, used 'tongue, pen, and participation' (social, political, religious, economic, judicial) to protest conditions such as discrimination, inequality, and segregation. Also gives broad overview of Black involvement in the antislavery movement. (CMG)

Contains five essays and editorial on the theme of Black/white alliances, 1941-1983. Topics discussed include a look back at slavery, rhetorical alliances in the Civil Rights era, how the nature of legal arguments limits Black educational advancement, political alliances, and religious alliances. (CMG)