The Posse Foundation’s Post

I was in the first integrated middle school class in Howard County, MD. -- literally 10 years after Brown v. Board of Education. Contrary to popular belief, integration was a gradual and often halting process. You may remember the words in the SCOTUS decision "with all deliberate speed". Public school integration gave rise to private so-called Christian schools to stem the tide of racial reconciliation. After middle school, my parents enrolled me in a predominantly Jewish school, where racism was not as keenly evident. Despite the initial progress made in desegregating schools following Brown, we have seen a steady reversal in recent decades, with schools becoming increasingly segregated once again along racial and socioeconomic lines. The data is stark. This resegregation is not a natural or inevitable phenomenon, but rather the result of specific policies and practices, including the dismantling of court-ordered desegregation plans, discriminatory housing policies that reinforce racial divides, disinvestment in federal programs supporting integration, and legal decisions limiting strategies for fostering diversity. As the UCLA Civil Rights Project warns, we are "betting our educational and social future on inaction" when decades of research shows the immense benefits of integrated schools for all students. The undoing of Brown's promise and the resegregation of American schools is an ominous development that perpetuates racial and socioeconomic inequalities. It demands urgent attention and concerted efforts from policymakers and society to reverse this damaging trend and uphold the ideal of public education as a great equalizer.

In high school, when I first started looking at colleges and universities, I knew Kent State University sounded familiar for some reason. A quick Google search let me know that I probably had heard about it in one of my history classes (or perhaps that one old song?). Even after visiting the campus and committing to Kent State, I didn’t full grasp the gravity or the importance of what the tragedy of May 4, 1970, truly meant. All Kent State incoming students learn about the events leading up to and following May 4, 1970. When I became a tour guide for prospective students, I became a steward of the May 4 tragedy story and history. I walked prospective students and their families through the Taylor Hall parking lot, where memorials to the four students killed stand in the middle of the parking lot. This year, reflecting on the Kent State shooting feels a bit different. It is impossible to consider the implications the student protests in the 1970s and not draw parallels to the protests happening on university and college campuses today. My alma mater’s name has been thrown around, both by those urging the National Guard to get involved and stop the protests, and those supporting the students. Kent State’s President Todd Diacon put it well: “My point isn’t to wade into the protests, their structure, demands and organization, nor the opposition to them. Instead, I will simply say this as an historian and as the president of Kent State University: Our history is a bitter and vivid reminder of what happens when division and polarization crowd out peaceful dialogue and the search for understanding. To avoid this division and polarization, we embrace free speech while at the same time encouraging members of our community to practice kindness and respect when debating issues of the day. This is aspirational, we know. The alternatives can be dangerous.” #FlashesForever

April City Club Registration is now Open! Come learn about how Central Oregon could be at the center of a new push for democratic engagement! Citizen Assemblies- Reinvigorating Civic Engagement 4/18/2024 8:30am Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Oregon Join us for a discussion that will open up the idea of citizen involvement in local decision making. Increasingly people on all sides of the political spectrum (including those unengaged) feel left out of how decisions are made. A Citizens’ Assembly is a group of people selected by lottery who are broadly representative of a community. They spend significant time learning and collaborating through facilitated deliberation to find common ground and form collective recommendations for policy makers, decision makers, and the community. These Assemblies are sometimes called Citizens’ Juries, Panels, or Councils depending on their size and the country where they are taking place. We will discuss how this model works international and how it is currently being used right here in Central Oregon. Learn more and register here: https://lnkd.in/gTTpsKdp

The Florida Dept. of Education, now headed by a Cuban-American Republican politician, Mr. Manny Diaz, should be absolutely ashamed of himself, as well as all the others like him. They all seem to have forgotten why they came to Florida in the first place. Those reasons were for freedom and economic opportunities, not found in their former Communist homeland, Cuba. As far as the economic opportunities department are concerned, they all have excelled! Many have become extremely wealthy by opening doors for their friends and relatives in the lucrative Charter School Business. This is especially true of Manny Diaz, his friends and family from Miami-Dade County. By passing laws more favorable to the charter schools, he and the other Republicans have put the brakes on traditional public schools. More funding now goes to charters than ever, thanks to Manny and the others in his "one big happy well connected family." The "FREEDOM" part is now out the window and has been for a very long time in Florida, as seen by the latest Communist style agendas such as the banning of social networking and sociology the "happy family" does not find suitable. School uniforms, sold by a former Miami-Dade School board member Demetrio Perez, got the whole ball rolling. Now everybody must wear a uniform. This control never existed in public schools. Mr. Perez started his own chain of schools in Miami-Dade. It is called Lincoln-Marti, for Abe Lincoln and Jose Marti, a Cuban patriot.  #academicfreedom #Charterschools #publicschools #Florida #Republicans #Cubanamericans #politicians #MiamiDade #schools #Communism #victims #politicalpersecution

Check out the blog I wrote for Association of Colleges sharing strategies for working with under-represented communities in further and higher education 🖊️ Have a read and let me know what you think!

The U.S. Constitution is the oldest surviving written constitution in the world. Written in 1787, it has been amended 27 times, with the last amendment being ratified in 1992. The Constitution Extravaganza hosted by Rose State College is the largest event educating students and the public on the U.S. Constitution in the State of Oklahoma. Over four days (Sept. 16-19), students will have the opportunity to compete in events that test their knowledge on the U.S. Constitution and win prize money. While only students can participate in the event, the public is welcome to come and observe. There is also a public lecture by Stanford Historian Jack Rakove, and a modern recreation of the debates between Federalists & Anti-Federalist, and a modern reenactment of the signing of the Constitution. We are still looking for sponsors, donors and volunteers to help with some of these activities. If you or your organization would like to be involved with this effort to broaden the knowledge and understanding of our national charter, you can DM us on Facebook, or email us at center.4.civic.engagement.rsc@gmail.com. The first step in productive civic engagement is understanding how your government works. The Constitution Extravaganza is a great opportunity to ensure students and the public are more informed about the design of the U.S. government. Thank you to The Jack Miller Center for their generous support for this project. #ConstitutionDay #Civics #CivicEngagement #HigherEducation #PoliticalScience #USHistory #AmericanGovernment

Check out our latest explainer video breaking down the crucial role of California's Superintendent of Public Instruction. Learn about the responsibilities of this nonpartisan office, from overseeing the California Department of Education to guiding policy implementation across the state's public schools. Watch now to understand how this key position shapes the educational landscape of California. For more insights into the Golden State's governance and policy landscape, visit sheehystrategygroup.com. Tony Thurmond #cabudget #cagov #caleg

Do you know all of these key civil rights decisions? Read Below! And join us February 22nd, 2024, 1:00pm to 4:30pm EST for Meeting the Moment: Brown Decision to learn more about the effects these decisions still have on education. Click the link in our bio to register! Let's meet the moment together! Westminster v. Mendez, 161 F.2d 774 (9th Cir. 1947)–The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court ruling that the segregation of Mexican American students violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The practice of segregating Mexican American students in Orange County, CA schools was struck down. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954)–The landmark U.S. Supreme Courtdecision declared state-sanctioned school segregation to be unconstitutional as it violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court overruled the principle of “separate but equal” and stated the separate educational facilities for Black students are inherently unequal. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 349 U.S. 294 (1955)–The U.S. Supreme Court, in its attempt to outline how and when school desegregation would be achieved, ruled that desegregation should occur “with all deliberate speed.” The Court’s failure to establish any specific timelines for school desegregation allowed school districts to delay and/or all together avoid desegregation. Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, 402 U.S. 1 (1971)–This U.S. Supreme Court ruling stated that school districts must seek to achieve desegregation to the extent possible and endorsed cross-district busing as a means to achieve racial balance in schools. Follow for more and be sure to register to Meet the Moment with us! #CivilRightsDecisions #MeetingTheMoment #BrownDecision #EducationEquality #Desegregation #MidwestEducator

What does Ranked Choice voting have to do with education? Join us for the latest Cornerstone Project webinar to find out! (registration link below)

I am excited to share that my article, "The Promise of Lived Experience: Assessing Race and Merit After SFFA" will be published in the Northwestern Journal of Law and Social Policy! Here's the abstract (I'll link to the full draft in the comments): 70 years after Brown, students of color remain underrepresented in American colleges and universities and in professions like law, medicine, business, and academia, which, in turn, drives inequitable social and economic outcomes. Recent Supreme Court decisions threaten to further exacerbate this inequity by preventing schools from considering race when making admissions decisions and shaping their classes. This article contends that by placing greater emphasis on applicants’ lived experiences of race, and other forms of disadvantage, admissions officers can more accurately assess merit, improve services to disadvantaged communities, and achieve the pedagogical benefits of diversity. It demonstrates the lived experience approach’s compliance with SFFA and other leading precedent and situates the lived experience approach within a well-established tradition permitting the consideration of racialized experience in contexts from K-12 admissions and redistricting to criminal investigations and reparations. Although compliance with current legal interpretations is important in the near term, lived experience’s greatest promise lies in advancing the true purpose of the Reconstruction Amendments—actively dismantling racial inequities and actualizing a multiracial democracy.