Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 16 April 2004 — Page 8

PAGE A8

THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 2004 *

&t)ortritoge iMglj &ci>ool ClaM of 1964

■40 Yoni Reunion Satuidny. July 31. 200 4

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EDUCATION DOES MAHER 50 fh anniversary of landmark Supreme Court ruling

On May 17, many African Americans will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Brown vs.

Board of Education of Topeka daclsion that took place In 1954.

BY LEROY ROBINSON

/ draw the line in thedustand toss thegauntlet before the feet of tyranny and / say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation

forever.

- George Wallace, governor of

Alabama, 1963

In about a month, on Monday, May 17, we will be acknowledging the 50 th anniversary of the Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka decision from 1954. In America, it wasn’t until 1954 that the longstanding doctrine of “separate but equal” was challenged in the nation’s public

school system.

In the 1896landmark decision,

Plessy vs. Ferguson, the U.S. Su- that “whites” were the chosen preme Court ruled that the doc- people of God, and that those trine of “separate but equal,” con- with Black skin had been cursed ceming segregation of public fa- (according to the Bible) to be cilities, did not violate the U.S. servants and thus beneath the Constitution. It was with this de- whites. Of these Jim Crow laws, cision that the precedent was set the most common of them was that supported that separate fa- the forbiddance of interracial cilities for Blacks and whites were marriage, specifically between a constitutional as long as the fa- Black man and a white woman, cilities were “equal.” The Plessy case involved a 30The foundation of the Plessy year-old Black shoemaker case, which eventually led to the named Homer A. Plessy, who Brown decision, has at its foun- was thrown into a Louisiana jail dation the separatist doctrine for sitting in a “whites only” railknown as “Jim Crow.” Starting in road car in 1892. Plessy was said the 1880s, up until the 1960s, a to be l/8 th Black and 7/8 ,h white, majority of American states, However, under the Louisiana mainly in the South, enforced the law at that time, he was considseparationoftheraces, Blackand ered Black and had to sit in the white, through these so-called “colored” car. constitutional laws. Jim Crowwas Plessy went to court and ara Black character in one of the gued that the Separate Car Act many minstrel entertainment violated the 13th and 14th shows of that day. Amendments to the ConstituWith the help of many Chris- tion. In this case, Homer Adolph tian ministers and theologians, Plessy vs. the State of Louisiana, Blacks and whites were taught thetrialjudge, Howard Ferguson

ruled that the state could choose of Topeka: 50 Years Later - Past, to regulate railroad companies Present, and Future: Where do thatoperatedonlywithin the state we go from here? of Louisiana. He found Plessy Thursday, May 20 from 6-8 guilty of refusing to leave the p.m., Crispus Attucks Middle “whites only” car. The Supreme School Auditorium. Court of Louisiana and the Su- This event will include a brief preme Court ofthe United States lecture, along with a panel and both upheld Ferguson’s decision, community discussion of the efThe Plessy vs. Ferguson deci- fects of this landmark decisioa sion was the case that was chal- and what type of impact it hasT, lenged by the (Linda) Brown vs. had on our African-American'' Board of Education of Topeka, public school children. More about student Linda Brown, her fight to integrate the public For speaking engagements or. schools of Topeka, Kan., and the education workshops, contact •! fight to strike down the flawed meat: educationdoesmatter@ Z] doctrine known as “separate but hotmail.com or write me at: 970fl\ equal,” will be discussed in next E. 63rd St, Indianapolis, IN. •: week’s column. 46236. My contact number is • I Also, we welcome your com- (317) 502-0272. !• ments on this landmark decision Z • « and its current effects on our Af- Author of the newly released* I rican-American public school stu- book, entitled Voluntary Servi-^ dents. tude: Breaking the Chains: Men-Z - tal and Psychological Slavery^] Symposium on decision Book on sale at X-Pression Book-* I Brown vs. Board of Education store & Galleiy, 970 Fort Wayne; ■ Ave. 2*

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Summer internship •: for teachers :• Gov. Joe Kernan recently I; announced that the Indiana !; Department of Workforce Development (DWD) is offering professional devel* opment opportunities for £« teachers and other educa- *• tion professionals through summer internships with *1 local employers. Participants will be eligible for one or two-week summer internships that relate to a career in their teaching area. This is a chance for teachers to be exposed to workplace technologies while learning about job requirements and performance expectations of employers. Internships with apprenticeship training programs are also encouraged. For more information on this, or any other DWD program, contact Jeff Harris at (317) 232-3396 or via email at jharris@>dwd.state.in.us. Memorial scholarship The Stonybrook Middle School PTSA announces that applications for the Karen Jordan Memorial Scholarship are now available in the Warren Central High School Counseling Services Center. The scholarship is a onetime award of $500 to be used for post secondary education. It is offered to Warren Central High School graduating seniors. Any student applying must rank in the top 50 percent of their graduating class and be a member of the WCHS PTSA. Applications are due back to the high school's Counseling Services Center no later than April 30. The scholarship will be awarded at the honors program for graduating seniors on May