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Monday, March 31, 2008

Thinking Piece #7: Lawrence Reading

Charles Lawrence: “One more River to Cross”—Recognizing the Real Injury in Brown: A Prerequisite to shaping New Remedies

Premise:

• Supreme Court
• Recognize
• Segregation
• Race
• Blacks
• Struggle
• Difference
• Life Expectancy
• Mistaken
• Misunderstood
• Law

Authors Argument:

Charles Lawrence argues that, “Supreme Court’s reasoning in striking down an interdistrict desegregation order in Detroit was flawed in that it misunderstood the true nature of the institution of segregation” (0053). Meaning that the Supreme Court’s order completely missed the real meaning of segregation acts that are still taking place in today’s society.

Evidence:

1.“Segregated housing and zoning practices are equally effective means of labeling blacks as inferior” (0056). This quote proves that Lawrence was using how just by separating the blacks from the other people of color is still labeling blacks. It does not matter if they are being separated due to the house they live in or the region they grew up in, they are still segregated.

2.“…The Supreme Court’s distinction between Northern and Southern cases of desegregation is not really a matter of state action at all: it is simply a matter of timing” (0057).Lawrence is proving that no mater how the court’s explain themselves on their segregated actions they seem to always blame it on the cases desegregation (unification) when all it has to do with the states timing.

3.“This means that it is not only appropriate but necessary for courts to look beyond the school system both to determine whether black school children’s constitutional right to equal education has been violated and in formulating remedies to address those violations” (0059). Lawrence once again brings up an important method that will be very useful for the court’s to grasp the full understanding of the way blacks are segregated. This method in particular proves that if a child is talked to outside of his/her school surrounding then the court’s will truly observe that black children’s constitutional rights and equal education is not equal at all.

Questions/Comments/Points to Share:

As you all probably realized this article was VERY hard to read. I am not sure I fully understood all of his points but I did however keep reading a rereading all of his material and got what ever I could out of it. It involved many different cases and lawyer terms that I am not familiar with, therefore, I felt as though I really did not connect with Lawrence’s article as much as I wanted.

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