Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1993

Abstract

In United States v. Fordice, the United States Supreme Court revisited the awesome task of eliminating race from educational policy. Fordice ostensibly involved the duty of a state to remedy past discrimination in its formerly segregated system of higher education. Mississippi argued that it need only cease further discrimination, while private petitioners and the United States argued that the state must also undertake remedial measures beyond simply ending present discriminatory practices. The Court's rejection of Mississippi's approach and its adherence to the Brown v. Board of Education demand to eliminate race as a factor in educational opportunity uncovered the hidden and much more complex issue: that is, whether the continued existence of publicly supported black colleges is justifiable after nearly forty years of jurisprudence specifically oriented to the elimination of one-race educational institutions. Fordice represents merely an opening salvo with regard to that issue. The still uncertain resolution, however, may very well determine whether black colleges will continue to exist after the post-Brown struggle between racial discrimination and educational opportunity.

Download

Share

COinS