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Landmark Cases:

A legal focus on equality in U.S. education

 

In the Supreme Court ruling on Brown vs Board of Education in 1954, segregation in public schools was found to deny black children equal opportunities for education.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Today, education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments. Compulsory school attendance laws and the great expenditures for education both demonstrate our recognition of the importance of education to our democratic society. It is required in the performance of our most basic public responsibilities, even service in the armed forces. It is the very foundation of good citizenship. Today it is a principal instrument in awakening the child to cultural values, in preparing him for later professional training, and in helping him to adjust normally to his environment. In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education. Such an opportunity, where the state has undertaken to provide it, is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms." From Brown v. Board of Education 1954.

"The policy of the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) is that all pupils are equal and are to be treated equally. Hence, all pupils who have difficulty speaking, reading, writing or understanding the English language and whose difficulties may deny to them the opportunity to learn successfully in classrooms where the language of instruction is English or to participate fully in classrooms where the language of instruction is English or to participate fully in our society are to be treated equally regardless of their race or national origin." From the Original Oakland Resolution on Ebonics 1996.

"The research evidence supports the theory that the learning of reading can be hurt by teachers who reject students because of the "mistakes" or "errors" made in oral speech by "black English" speaking children who are learning standard English. This comes about because "black English" is commonly thought of as an inferior method of speech and those who use this system may be thought of as "dumb" or "inferior." The child who comes to school using the "black English" system of communication and who is taught that this is wrong loses a sense of values related to mother and close friends and siblings and may rebel at efforts by his teachers to teach reading in a different language." From Martin Luther King Junior Elementary School Children v. Ann Arbor School District Board 1979.

According to evidence provided in the case of Martin Luther King Junior Elementary School Children vs Ann Arbor School District Board in the United States District Court of Michigan, without the help of the school board, teachers could not successfully overcome the language barrier that existed between the school and the childrens' home language. If they could not overcome the language barrier, they would also be unable to teach the children to read Standard English.

 

In this case, it was the school system (from teachers to the Board) resisting change and opting to disregard black parents who wanted something better for their children.These parents were considered voiceless and powerless by the school administration and teachers. Federal Judge Charles W. Joiner ruled in favor of the school children and their families, mandating change in teacher preparation and knowledge of African American English (AAE). In her chapter, "African American Language. So good it's bad," Geneva Smitherman claims this ruling "established the legitimacy of African American Language/"Black English"(12)."

The Oakland Unified School District recognizes that educational programs specific to the acquisition and improvement skills of the English language for African American students are as necessary as bilingual education for those students learning English as a secondary language.

 

Notable progress has been made since the Ann Arbor case. The Oakland Ebonics Resolution was established on behalf of the entire school district, whereas the Ann Arbor case represented only a handful of students at at one school. The Ann Arbor case was a result of parents fighting for the educational rights of their children. In contrast, the Oakland school system wanted a new approach to teaching language in a predominantly black school system and proposed integrating the students' home language as a bridge to teaching standard English. According to Geneva Smitherman, "many, if not all, of Oakland's teachers, desperate for instructional policies and strategies to redress the dismal outcome of their Black students' education, looked to the recommendations from the Task Force on Educating African American Students, including its Ebonics Resolution, as potential winds of change (14)." While this is not a court case per se, it created quite a controversy in the national media.

See also Amended Resolution dated January 15, 1997.

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