UC Observes 50th Anniversary of U.S. Supreme Court Ruling That Struck Down Segregation in Public Schools

On May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that “separate” does not mean equal in a school segregation case that primarily focused on Kansas. In 1974, the Mona Bronson vs. Cincinnati Board of Education segregation lawsuit was filed and has been in and out of the U.S. District Court in the decades since. University of Cincinnati educators, in addition to local and national civil rights leaders, activists, UC students and legal experts, will take part in a three-day commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Brown vs. the Board of Education. Events will take place April 6-9.

The presentations are sponsored by the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services (CECH), CECH Alumni Association, College of Law, UC Institute for Community Partnerships, Division of Student Affairs and Services, Ohio Humanities Council and the Ohio Urban University Program.

Schedule of events:

Tuesday, April 6 – Main Ballroom salon A & B, Kingsgate Conference Center
“Reflections of Brown and Implications for Cincinnati Public Schools”

• 10 a.m. – Welcoming remarks from Lawrence J. Johnson, dean, UC College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services
• 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m. – Panel presentation: “A History and Implications of Brown for Cincinnati Public Schools”
  Panelists include Lionel Brown, assistant professor of education at the University of Cincinnati and former deputy superintendent for Cincinnati Public Schools (1991-99); Duane Holm, executive director for the Metropolitan Area Religious Community Coalition and member of the Bronson Settlement Community-wide Task Force from 1988-1991; and Charles Jackson, associate professor of education at Augusta State University in Georgia. Jackson, who earned his doctorate in psychological and sociological foundations at UC, researched the Bronson case from when it was first filed in 1974 through the 1984 settlement.
• 12:30-1:45 p.m. – Luncheon and Keynote Address
  The keynote speaker is Gary Orfield, professor of Education and Social Policy and founding co-director of The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University. The Civil Rights Project is developing and publishing a new generation of research on multiracial civil rights issues.
• 3 p.m. – Room 118, College of Law
  Speaker Gary Orfield, professor of Education and Social Policy and founding co-director of The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University. The lecture is free and open to the public and will be followed by a reception in the atrium of the College of Law.

Wednesday, April 7 – Annie Laws Drawing Room (Rooms 409-410), College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services
“Student Dialogue: Is Educational Segregation Dead?”

• 6:30-8:30 p.m. – Ahoo Tabatabai, program coordinator for UC Diversity Education, and Derrick Jenkins, program coordinator for UC Ethnic Programs and Services, will review the case of Brown vs. Board of Education in a discussion with approximately 25 UC students.

Thursday, April 8 – Room 137, McMicken Hall
“Civil Rights to Resegregation – Where Do We Go From Here?”

• 2-3:30 p.m. – Pamela Twyman Hoff, program assistant for the UC Institute for Community Partnerships, will assist in a student discussion on the influence the Brown vs. Board decision had on civil rights issues.

Friday, April 9 – Main Ballroom salon A & B, Kingsgate Conference Center
“From Brown to Michigan: How Far Have We Come?”

• 2 p.m. – Welcoming remarks from University of Cincinnati President Nancy L. Zimpher
• 2:15-3:45 p.m. – Education and Race Roundtable
  Panelists include community activist Marian Spencer, former member of the Bronson Settlement Community-wide Task Force; Karla Irving, executive director of Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME) and former member of the Bronson Settlement Community-wide Task Force; Eugene Blalock, principal of North Middle School in the Mt. Healthy School District; Terry Joyner, chief academic officer, Cincinnati Public Schools; Ronna Schneider, UC College of Law professor; and George Wharton, director of the UC Office of Equal Opportunity. Mitchel D. Livingston, UC Vice President for the Division of Student Affairs and Services, will serve as moderator for the roundtable discussion.

Events at Kingsgate are free and open to the public, but seating is limited. For reservations, contact Esther Erkins, research associate, at 513-556-2309.