Talking Point #7

Charles Lawrence



"One More River to Cross"--Recognizing the Real Injury in Brown:





Premise: (What is this about?)

1. (De)Segregation


2. Traditions


3. Race


4. Power


5. Privilege

Argument:

Lawrence argues that "If Brown v Board of Education stands for the unconstitutionality of segregation, then the Fourteenth Amendment must guarentee blacks the right to be free from the continuing force and effect of that institution, or it guarentees nothing"


My Thoughts:

Before reading this, i had no idea about Brown or Green v the board of education. I've heard about it through word of mouth, but i never knew anything about it other than by its name. To some extent i'm still left a little puzzled after this article. What i took from this was that prior to these cases schools were segregated by race. Which i believe is morally wrong, but thats just the way the country was back in those times where everything was racist. How blacks were seen as inferior and were less likely to achieve educational status.

Racism and white supremacy and subjects along those lines are something i'm just not comfortable with. I mean it saddens me to think that somewhere even today it still exists and i just dont like to think about it. I believe in equality and just as the pledge of allegiance states "liberty and justice for all"