[Col.Writ. 12/9/04] Copyright 2004 Mumia Abu-Jamal
Hidden in the steamy land of Alabama, voters were poised to begin the 21st century by voting to repeal a part of the state's constitution that dated back to the 1954 *Brown vs. Board of Education* case. Shortly after *Brown* was decided, ordering desegregation in the nation's public schools, political leaders in Alabama moved to enact new amendments to the Constitution, which starkly opposed the Supreme Court decision. The Amendments read as follows:
Separate schools shall be provided for white and colored children, and *no child of either race shall be permitted to attend a school of the other race*.
To avoid confusion and disorder and to promote effective and economical planning for education, the legislature may authorize the parents or guardians of minors, who desire that such minors shall attend schools provided for their own race, to make election to that end, such election to be effective for such period and to such extent as the legislature may provide.
But nothing in this Constitution shall be construed as creating or recognizing any right to education or training at public expense, nor as limiting the authority and duty of the legislature in furthering or providing for education, to require conditions or procedures deemed necessary to the preservation of peace and order.
The voters were asked to repeal this obviously unconstitutional and indeed, racist language from Alabama's state constitution, by voting for Amendment 2. According to Alabaman press reports, 1.38 million votes were cast either for, or against Amendment 2, and the opponents, led by former state Supreme Court Chief Justice, Roy Moore, won the day, by 1,850 votes.
more...
Hidden in the steamy land of Alabama, voters were poised to begin the 21st century by voting to repeal a part of the state's constitution that dated back to the 1954 *Brown vs. Board of Education* case. Shortly after *Brown* was decided, ordering desegregation in the nation's public schools, political leaders in Alabama moved to enact new amendments to the Constitution, which starkly opposed the Supreme Court decision. The Amendments read as follows:
Separate schools shall be provided for white and colored children, and *no child of either race shall be permitted to attend a school of the other race*.
To avoid confusion and disorder and to promote effective and economical planning for education, the legislature may authorize the parents or guardians of minors, who desire that such minors shall attend schools provided for their own race, to make election to that end, such election to be effective for such period and to such extent as the legislature may provide.
But nothing in this Constitution shall be construed as creating or recognizing any right to education or training at public expense, nor as limiting the authority and duty of the legislature in furthering or providing for education, to require conditions or procedures deemed necessary to the preservation of peace and order.
The voters were asked to repeal this obviously unconstitutional and indeed, racist language from Alabama's state constitution, by voting for Amendment 2. According to Alabaman press reports, 1.38 million votes were cast either for, or against Amendment 2, and the opponents, led by former state Supreme Court Chief Justice, Roy Moore, won the day, by 1,850 votes.
more...
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