With More Deliberate Speed: Achieving Equity and Excellence in Education – Realizing the Full Potential of Brown v. Board of Education

Citation

Jean‐Marie, G. (2007), "With More Deliberate Speed: Achieving Equity and Excellence in Education – Realizing the Full Potential of Brown v. Board of Education", Journal of Educational Administration, Vol. 45 No. 6, pp. 788-791. https://doi.org/10.1108/09578230710829955

Over 50 years since the landmark ruling of Brown v. Board of Education, the quest for equal educational is not yet realized. Despite reform efforts, the achievement gap between the “haves” and “have nots” continues to widen. Many US schools are re‐segregated, providing a separate and unequal education for minorities and the poor. With More Deliberate Speed invites readers to examine the significance of Brown over 50 years later and warns that “things will be much the same 50 years from now unless some critical things change” (p. 6). There is much more to do to fully realize the civil rights victories of Brown because “we still have not achieved educational excellence and equity for those that Brown was meant to impact “ (p. 4). Generally, this book engages readers to envision the possibilities as we look to the future.

1 Engaging the public about Brown: National Society for the Study of Education

As a tradition, the National Society for the Study of Education yearbook's (NSSE) mission is to capture the perspectives of scholars about racial and ethnic issues in education. With a particular focus on literacy, this volume situates Brown at the center of the perspectives examined. The authors contend that Brown was aimed at ‘making a difference in education’ and it was supposed to influence the literate lives of a large number of poor, marginalized, and historically underserved students. The conversations in this book by nine eminent scholars in the fields of history, linguistic, sociology, anthropology, language policy, and educational reform seek to answer the following question: How does and how should one look at the equity question from different perspectives as it relates to education, excellence, and literacy? As part of this dialogue, a responding scholar provides a commentary which expands the eminent scholar's discussion.

2 The past, present and future: 50 years since Brown and its impact

With More Deliberate Speed is divided into four parts. In part one, the authors present historical perspectives on Brown. Anderson, in “A tale of two Browns”, examines the place and meaning of Brown in the larger struggle for individual and racial equality and provides an understanding on how the implementation of and resistance to Brown impacted the struggle for equal education. Anderson states that “only a tale of two Browns captures both its time‐honored place in America's longstanding pursuit of formal equality under the law and its unfulfilled promises of substantive equality in American public education” (p. 16). Readers are reminded of Brown's victory (i.e. redeeming the equality principle of the Declaration of Independence) but also of what it failed to achieve (i.e. educational equality). Williamson, in “A tale of two movements”, responds to Anderson's challenge to examine the complex role of Brown in the nation's memory and history. Being critical of the “feel good” version of Brown, she juxtaposes historiographical tales of Brown and the black freedom struggle appearing in scholarly literature and high school textbooks to help readers understand the significance of what is unexamined. Gordon and Bridgall, in “The affirmative development of academic ability”, pose a challenge to scholars and researchers – “to assert and defend excellence and equity in education as a civil right and a civil liberty” (p. 68). With the charge for children advocacy, they propose a program of affirmative development rather than affirmative action. Lee's response to Gordon and Bridgall, “In pursuit of social justice”, closes the section with a further examination of the implications of Brown for institution building and conceptualizing our demands for social justice in education.

In part two, the authors consider the national implications of Brown. Baugh, in the “Linguistic considerations pertaining to Brown v. Board”, focuses on the neglected linguistic dimensions of the Brown ruling and the growing linguistic diversity of Black America. Extending Baugh's argument, Ball and Alim, in “Preparation, pedagogy, policy, and power”, draw connection of the linguistic neglect of Brown to “the Martin Luther King Black English case” by presenting an agenda for equal language rights through change in policy, pedagogy, and teacher preparation. Personalizing this discourse as parents themselves with children and their children with children, they speak with an urgency of what needs to happen now. Raising several issues, they conclude with the challenge that remains: “If we are to realize the full potential of Brown, we must continue to disrupt the institutional status quo by aggressively pursuing these action points as we strive to support schools in their efforts to become sensitive and responsive to the needs of diverse student populations” (p. 121).

Broadening the discourse of the neglected linguistic dimensions of Brown, Gifford and Valdes in “The linguistic isolation of Hispanic students in California's public schools” address the educational challenges of linguistic isolation for Latino students in California. They provide a historical overview of Spanish in California, trace the evolving hostility toward Spanish and Spanish‐speaking immigrants, and describe the challenges of achieving equity for Latino students segregated by language. Jimenez, in “A response to ‘The linguistic isolation of Hispanic students in California's public schools’”, responds by examining the long and complex relationship of Mexico and the USA. He argues that earlier notions of segregation should take into consideration the multiplicity of populations, geographies, and differences within groups. Further, Gutierrez and Jaramillo broaden the national implications of Brown in “Looking for educational equity” by arguing that there is “a need for race‐conscious practices that go beyond the limitations of legal remedies and their monitoring apparatus […] [and] that equal access is a necessary but insufficient condition to restructure the very policies and practices that create the inequities in the first place” (p. 174). They deconstruct the “sameness as fairness” principle that is often promulgated by neoconservatives and have an impact on educational policies and practices.

The conversation initiated by Gutierrez and Jaramillo in the preceding chapter is extended to teacher education by Majors and Ansari in “A multivoiced response to the call for an equity‐based framework”. They emphasize the need for an equity‐based framework as a curriculum design principle to be used in university classrooms. This is attainable by first creating a safe classroom environment where pre‐service teachers through dialogue can begin to unpack assumptions about race, increase their awareness, and engage in transformative conversations. The authors conclude that such a framework “when practice in a classroom as a site of critical resistance can provide robust learning practices that are simultaneously race‐conscious and equity‐oriented, but [recognize] there are challenges for teaching and learning” (p. 206).

In part three, the authors provide comparative reflections on Brown. In “The ties that bind”, Jansen discusses the parallels and differences of the historical trajectories of oppression and struggle between the USA and South Africa. He critically examines the lessons each country has to offer with the hope that they would inspire action and instruct thought in the ongoing struggle for equal educational opportunities. Sehoole, in “The ties that bind”, responds by highlighting some strengths and weaknesses with respect to educational policy and law in these two countries. Alexander, in “Brown v. Board of Education”, looks at the deeper implications for the shaping of social identities and cohesion of the society inherent in the implementation of a South African Affirmative action strategy, and argues against the promotion of racial identities. In response, Hendricks argues that activism must move beyond what she labels an “evidential vacuum” (p. 275) to truly confront segregation in South African schools. She considers the extent of integration and access in post‐apartheid schools, as education has the potential not only to reproduce the status quo, but also to interrupt its smooth reproduction.

Finally in part four, the authors look forward to the future and discuss the pressing challenges that lie ahead. Ladson‐Billings begins with a discussion on “The ‘meaning’ of Brown … for now”. She draws from critical race theory to interrogate the Brown decisions (1954 and 1955) and considers their implications for education today. Postulating three typologies, Ladson‐Billings responds to the question of whether or not Brown could be decided in the same manner today as it was decided in 1954. O'Connor, in “The premise of black inferiority”, responds with a focus on mainstream America's reliance on the “black pathology” or “acting white” perspective to excuse a widespread unwillingness to address racial inequities. The promise of Brown according to O'Connor has been compromised because academic, popular and professional interest in black pathology undermines any efforts to adequately examine black underachievement. King, in “If justice is our objective”, discusses the “miseducation” of black children and argues for a culturally relevant curriculum to foster true democratic education for all students. She offers the praxis of “critical studyin” (p. 338) to demonstrate the traditions of black thought and ways of being, normally negated by ideological distortion and denial of black humanity, available to support human freedom. Fisher, in “Building a literocracy”, responds to King by revisiting young men and women whose voluntary writing and visual literacy practices helped teachers, teacher educators, and literacy researchers rethink the “funds of knowledge” urban youth bring to classroom communities. With an epilogue, Hakuta concludes in “The implications of Brown v. Board of Education in an increasingly diverse society” by looking back on the impact of Brown and ahead to upcoming challenges, writing from a perspective profoundly influenced by these landmark rulings.

3 Fueling the debate on Brown v. Board over 50 years later … hope abounds

If Arnetha Ball (Ed.) had premised that With More Deliberate Speed would fuel the current debate on Brown over 50 years later, then she has accomplished that purpose in this book. Revisiting the question, “What needs to happen before the passage of another 50 years in order for us to fully realize the potential of Brown v. Board of Education?”, the authors from multiple disciplinary perspectives engaged readers on a range of issues that have emerged since the 1954 ruling. As a generational benefactor of Brown – late 1970s immigrant, English as a second language learner, and a product of urban schools, this book deepened my understanding of the historic significance and aftermath of Brown. It successfully frames the critical challenges students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds experience in the USA and South African schools. It inspires hope in the quest to achieve excellence and equity for all students. This book will appeal to a broad audience of readers (i.e. school leaders, policymakers, teachers, teacher educators, and educational researchers) who are interested in fulfilling the legacy of Brown.