A Blast From the Past

Perhaps yet again in a climate of complete contempt for the Constitution and the rule of law in the savagely unprincipled Bush America, Omaha, Nebraska has chosen to defy the mandate of one of the most settled principles in American jurisprudence, explained in what some would call a "super-precedent" Brown v. Board of Education (audio clip available here) that the so-called "separate, but equal" legal fiction was unconsitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution. Yet Omaha opportunistically following the lead of a foolish African American State Senator has chosen to divide its school district along racial lines: Black, White and Latino. The simplistic argument of this legislator, Ernie Chambers , is that schools in Omaha have always been segregated in fact and therefore the needs of minority and poor children should be attended to by those most familiar with them. But the racial impropriety of this line of argument is clear: is Mr. Chambers suggesting that African American teachers are more qualified to teach African American students? Are Latino teachers more able to attend to the needs of Latino students? As appealing and arguably intuitive this line of thinking is, it is a clear violation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Mr. Chambers misses the point: when one then takes the counter argument that White students would then be best taught by White teachers that allows for rampant discrimination across the country. And the absurdity of the idea that somehow redistricting by racial lines will provide for equality of resources is highlighted by the fact that property taxes are the means by which resources will be distributed to the school districts. This means that unless the African American and Latino per capita property values are equal or exceed that of the Whites, they will be continually shortchanged in the exchange.

And now with a federal Supreme Court now filled with Right wing activists Antonin Scalia, Samuel Alito, and "Uncle" Clarence Thomas (and newly appointed Chief Justice John Roberts, who despite a pretty activist record, is by far both the smartest and sanest of this crop), the Omaha and Nebraska authorities perhaps thought that they are going to be at the forefront of a rollback of Constitutional protections for minorities. It will be quite interesting as this case undergoes federal judicial scrutiny to see what the position of the "Justice" Department will be. Weazl will bet the farm that Alberto Gonzalez would defend Nebraska and Omaha's position. And having an African American fool to support this position is especially convenient to deflect charges of racism.

Just another nail in the coffin of the memory of the type of justices the Supreme Court used to attract, and another rude awakening of what the Supreme Court has now become.

Mr. Chambers' concerns about the undereducation of African Americans may be legitimate, but his remedies are not. The idea of segregated schools offering more viable educational opportunities for African Americans is about as viable solution as proposing slavery as a remedy for massive African American unemployment, homelessness and incarceration levels. Both remedies are Constitutionally impermissible. For those concerned with improving the quality of life for African Americans and Latinos in the United States, remedies lie in creative, forward looking solutions for the life in the 21rst century, not nostalgic revisionist solutions that never worked even during the times of their adoption.

Yet given the perfect record of failed policies and misdirection of the nation, don't be surprised if such measures not only pass Constitutional scrutiny, but are adopted by even more cities and states.

Such is life in Bush's reconstructed and regressive America.