City leaders celebrate Brown decision

Bloomington held a public forum Monday to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which declared the "separate but equal" clause upheld under the 1896 case Plessy v. Ferguson unconstitutional and thus ended years of legal segregation in the United States. Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan offered the afternoon as an open forum for panelists and community members to reflect on the decision and to look forward to the future.\nRepresentatives from IU, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the city's Martin Luther King Jr., Commission spoke at the event. Each was invited to share their experiences and feelings toward the Brown decision. \nFrank Motley, associate vice chancellor for academic support and diversity, said that while the 1954 decision "finally did the right thing" for blacks, the decision has not had the impact desired.\n"The heart and mind of the nation has not turned as it should," Motley said. \nHe said while the nation's leaders changed their minds legally on that day, he believes the mindset of the nation remained.\n"We must require our leaders to lead morally as well as legally," Motley said.\nBeverly Calender-Anderson, chair of the Martin Luther King Jr. Commission and director of intercultural initiatives for Girl Scouts of Tulip Trace Council, called the decision "a dream deferred" -- an allusion to black author Langston Hughes' famed poem. \n"We desegregated the schools, but I don't think we ever integrated," Calender-Anderson said.\nMost panelists agreed that while the nation is legally desegregated, segregation still exists and can be seen in the economic separation between blacks and whites nationwide. This "de facto" segregation is what panelists and audience members hope to address in the coming years.\nWhile nearly all the panelists were critical of the Brown decision and its effects, many offered advice to the audience and the mayor on improving the situation.\nCalender-Anderson called for more educational programs for both teachers and students. Gloria Gibson, associate vice chancellor for multicultural affairs, urged audience members to act as mentors to those around them, young and old.\nHowever, Larry Brown, the first vice president of the local NAACP, offered different advice.\n"Thirty or 40 hours of diversity classes aren't the answer," Brown said. "You need to look in your heart and treat each person as a person. If we do this, then Brown can benefit everyone."\nAfter the panelists spoke, attendees were invited to the microphone to offer stories and feelings relating to Brown.\nSuzanne Faulk, a Bloomington resident and mother of three, stepped up to the microphone and challenged the school board and the mayor to make greater strides in hiring more black teachers.\nFaulk and other parents who spoke cited incidents of racism that their children encountered while in the Monroe County school system. Faulk related the story of her daughter, who was made to feel unwelcome in the gifted and talented program. \nAniko Bahr, director of the office of multicultural education and services for the Monroe County Community Schools, spoke in defense of the school system.\n"Hearing these incidents, I have to admit, I am ashamed," she said. "All I can say is that we're working on it."\nBahr cited numerous projects currently in the works for the school system, including diversity training for the faculty and students. Bahr also said the Bloomington school system, in conjunction with IU's human resources department, is working on diversifying the staff. \nBahr also urged parents and community members to report incidents of racism in the schools.\n"The only way we can solve this is if people tell me," she said. "It's my job."\nKruzan closed the forum with a message of hope.\n"A proclamation is just a piece of paper," Kruzan said. "It's only as good as its implementation. We've heard a lot of sobering things here today, and we've heard a lot of hopeful things. Let's hope that in the future, we can tip the balance from sobering to hopeful."\n-- Contact staff writer Lauren Morrill at lmorrill@indiana.edu.