By Judge Greg Mathis

Over three years ago, the Bush administration announced that it would file legal briefs challenging the University of Michigan’s affirmative action program. The announcement was made on what would have been Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 74th birthday. The papers were filed the very next day. The United States Supreme Court eventually ruled in favor of the University. The ruling, for the time being, preserved the legacy of Brown vs. the Board of Education, the 1954 landmark case that ended legal segregation in the nation’s public schools. The Bush administration, hell bent on making sure affirmative action is done away with for good, is back in the courts and, this time, they pose a significant threat to affirmative action and efforts to desegregate schools to achieve equal education.
Last week, the Solicitor General of the United States, Paul D. Clement, filed a brief opposing school desegregation plans in Seattle, WA and Louisville, KY. White parents in both cities say the public school systems discriminate against children based on skin color. The districts each have different programs for ensuring diverse schools, but each has quotas for minority enrollment.
The parents in each city lost in the lower courts, but the Supreme Court agreed to hear the cases, an unusual move. It’s rare for the Supreme Court to consider a case when the lower courts are all in agreement. This move leads many experts to believe that school desegregation plans and affirmative action, as set forth by Brown vs. the Board of Ed, is at risk. The current court is very conservative; the two newest judges were appointed by the president and oppose affirmative action. It is also not a requirement for the Solicitor General to file briefs on cases pending before the Supreme Court. The Bush Administration took this extra step to make sure the Court understood just how badly they want the practice to end.
Clement, in discussing the brief, commented that the purpose of Brown vs. the Board of Education was to ensure a racially unbiased school system. With that statement, he unknowingly made a case for preserving affirmative action and desegregation plans. Research shows that schools that are mostly Black or Latino receive less funding, have inexperienced and under-qualified teachers and a substandard curriculum. At integrated schools, children of color perform better academically because they have equal access to the resources necessary for a quality education.
Since Brown, the country has struggled to integrate its schools. There has been progress, however, and many of the early programs are still in effect. But, since the 1980s, the nation's schools have steadily resegregated. Courts have pulled back from the issue, leaving individual school districts to test different programs designed to promote integration. These initiatives have always been under attack from anti-affirmative action groups and white parents who feel their children are being unfairly discriminated against because they can’t attend a neighborhood school.
In communities of color, there is often some confusion as to what ‘integration’ really is. It is not a desire to go to schools with whites or to be white. Integration is a gateway to a better education.  President Bush has, on several occasions, spoken of his desire to ‘uplift the poor.’ One pathway out of poverty is education. The President has also insisted that he is committed to an America that provides jobs and opportunities for all, regardless of race. The better educated you are, the better your chances of finding a sustainable job. If Bush is to keep his promises to people of color in this country, he has to support school desegregation.

Editor’s note: Judge Greg Mathis is national vice president of Rainbow PUSH and a national board member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.