Title and Author:
Charles Lawrence- "One More River to Cross" - Recognizing the Real Injury in Brown: A Prerequisite to Shaping New Remedies

Author's Argument:

Lawrence argues that basically the Court failed to recognize the real nature of segregation in Brown. He says that all we are doing is taking steps, but in reality if something huge is not done to change all that has been going on for years, then our nation will never be one.

Quotes:

"Each step foward was just that, a step. There would always be "one more river to cross".
This quote was the first thing that stuck in my head that I just had to write down. This was the perfect way to start because it caught my attention. This makes me think back to high school. Learning about the Civil Rights and how things are going to change and black history month and all that jazz. I just remember everything blacks faught for not being enough. Blacks have made some of the most honorable, memorable and moving speeches and movements ever in history and it seems like although they made a great impact, it was not enough to change the world. They kept fighting and keep fighting to this day....just one more river to cross.....but how many "one more rivers" will there have to be?

Jim Crow laws- ""public symbols and constant reminder" of the inferior position of blacks."

"The Court said: "to separate [negro children] from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community in ways unlikely ever to be undone."
Separating children because of their race is a terrible thing to do. This can result in many different ways of handling such separation. Some kids can end up disgusted with their race and color because they feel like white is superior and in order to get anywhere in life you need to be white. This can cause depression in children of color because they may not get the proper education or best materials to work with. Their school may be far from home resulting in that child dropping out due to lack of money to bus them to school. This feeling may or may not change over time and blacks may hold grudges against whites for making them feel inferior.

"The Court then went on to quote the federal district court in Kansas the found "a sense of inferiority" engendered by segregated schools "has a tendency to [retard] the educational and mental development of negro children."


"In Keyes v. School District No.1 the Court found that there must be evidence that the racial imbalance in the schools was brought about by discriminatory actions of state authorities."

"They argue that blacks should not be granted so-called "preferential" treatment at the expense of whites who have played no part in denying them their rights."
This quote seriously made me laugh. For whites to say that they did not deny blacks from their rights is a joke. If whites didn't deny them do you think there would be separate schools, neighborhoods, restaraunts, buses etc.? And if blacks were granted equal rights it wouldn't be preferentail treatment. So what this is saying is that whites get preferential treatment and don't want to share their rights and wealth with people who are just as worthy as they are to have it.


Questions, Comments:
This piece was alright. I mean it was very long, but the content was incredible. I learned more about cases that I hadn't even heard of before. This piece really got me thinking about life and the struggle that so many have gone through that I will never have to experience. I guess its just one of those white privileges that are not asked for....the ability to not have to fight for rights and equality.....oh that Peggy McIntosh.....