Something Must Be Done About Prince Edward County

Do you believe that the level of racism in the US today is less than it was at the time of the school closings in Prince Edward County? Why or why not? What evidence or examples can you give to support your opinion?

The Brown case in 1954 found that separate facilities for blacks and whites violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution. An earlier Supreme Court case, Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) was often used to justify segregation. How did Plessy interpret the Equal Protection Clause differently to uphold segregation?

For readers who grew up in the US, study the history of school integration in your hometown. When did the schools become integrated and what were the circumstances surrounding that change? Did it happen peacefully or not? What challenges or controversies did the community face?

In 2004, Prince Edward County provided scholarships and job training to former students who were denied an education when the schools closed. And Farmville Herald editor Ken Woodley encourages “the general assembly to also make the money available to the children and grandchildren of those locked out of school” (249). This proposal can be compared to those calling for nationwide reparations for slave descendants. Find and read the article “The Case for Reparations” by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Based on this article, are you in favor of reparations? Use evidence to support your argument.

Green writes about how exposure to people of different races and ethnicities has transformed her views on race. Describe a time in your own life when you experienced something that caused you to change your views about people. Explain what happened and how your viewpoint was changed.

Situate the events described in this book in the context of the civil rights movement. In what ways did this case affect later developments in the 1960s in which blacks gained greater rights and more equality with whites?

De facto segregation exists in American schools today—often because of socio-economic disparities among neighborhoods. Community leaders have tried various methods to integrate schools, from busing to vouchers. Research the various methods, their successes and failures, and choose one to argue for. Use evidence to present your case for why your chosen method represents the best course of action.

The Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) directly overturned a previous precedent in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). Find another instance of when the Supreme Court overturned a precedent. What were the circumstances of each case? What legal arguments did the Court make in each to decide them the way it did? In your view, was the overturning an instance of forward progress? Why or why not?