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Urban School Failure and Disproportionality in a Post-Brown Era: Benign Neglect of the Constitutional Rights of Students of Color

Wanda J. Blanchett, Vincent Mumford, and Floyd BeachumView all authors and affiliations

Volume 26, Issue 2

https://doi.org/10.1177/07419325050260020201

Abstract
References

Abstract

The decision in the Brown v. Board of Education (1954) case was one of the most significant events in American history in general and specifically in the educational system. Brown is so highly regarded because it held promise of placing America on the path toward equitable treatment of all of its citizens and laid the foundation for the civil rights and disabilities rights movements. Fifty years after Brown, however, it is very clear that many of the promises of Brown have not been fulfilled with regard to students of color living in urban settings, students who live in poverty, and students with disabilities. This article will discuss (a) the state of urban schools in the post-Brown era, (b) special education in the post-Brown era, (c) disproportionality and resegregation of African American students, (d) the double jeopardy of disproportionality and urban school failure, (e) the reasons why Brown is not working from the perspectives of urban community leaders, and (f) recommendations for fufilling the promises of Brown.

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1.

1. The community leaders' perspectives represented in this article were collected through the support of a research grant from the Helen Bader Foundation, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This article does not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of this funding agency, and no official endorsement by the agency should be inferred.

2.

2. The first author (Dr. Blanchett) would like to thank her graduate assistant for this project, Mr. Eric Trausch, the project advisory panel, focus group facilitators, and focus group participants.

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