Local Leaders Call For Change On Anniversary Of 'Brown Vs. Board Of Education'
NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Newark mayor-elect Ras Baraka says not much has changed since Brown v. Board of Education.
Local Leaders Call For Change On Anniversary Of 'Brown Vs. Board Of Education' Decision
"The reality is that we are still in the same place 60 years later that we were in 1954," Baraka said.
He said that schools in Newark, Essex County, and New Jersey have remained segregated, WCBS 880's Jim Smith reported.
Local Leaders Call For Change On Anniversary Of 'Brown Vs. Board Of Education' Decision
"We often times talk about segregation by race, but there's also a deeper segregation that goes on in schools and it's a segregation by wealth and resources, and more importantly curriculum," he added.
Baraka rallied with parents, community groups, and the teacher's union in calling for a comprehensive reform package and a return to local control over schools.
Saturday marked the 60th anniversary of the decision that banned racial segregation in public schools, but Michael Meyers, executive director of the New York Civil Rights Coalition told 1010 WINS reporter Derricke Dennis that city schools are more segregated than ever.
"Our public officials have functionally repealed the Brown v. Board of Education philosophy. That is integration," Meyers said.
One parent said that it is all about breaking the cycle.
"Their children become educated and they can afford the nice neighborhoods where all the great teachers are," Marguerite Pratt said.
Organizers of a rally on the Lower East Side said that they wanted a plan from the city to address the issue.
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