Who Shall be Educated? Governmental Policy Influences on Educational Opportunity

Abstract

Many years ago, the amazing literary giant and social critic James Baldwin was never more profound when he noted that “Color is not a human or a personal reality in America, it is a political reality” (Baldwin, 1963, p. 139). If we ever had any doubts about the currency of Baldwin's commentary, we have only to remember the remarks by Senator Trent Lott (R-Mississippi) and his subsequent resignation as Senate Majority leader, in the U.S. Congress. Lott was under criticism for his remarks at a party celebrating the 100th birthday of Senator Strom Thurmond (R-South Carolina), who ran unsuccessfully for president in 1948 on a segregationist platform. At the birthday celebration, Lott said the nation would have been better off had Thurmond won that election. The damages in Senator Lott's comments are not simply that they are offensive as a characterization of our national past. The damage is that his words imply an intention or acceptance of racial segregation as the continuing reality of America's future. Lott's remarks are but reflective of the Southern Manifesto or the Nixonian strategy, often called the ‘bubba factor.’ The strategy was to reclaim the south by appealing to the fears of southern white men. This blatant Confederate viewpoint was furthered and joined by conservative scholars and activists who developed the counterattack programs to dismantle the civil rights agenda and social programs, aimed at equalizing educational opportunity. The code word was “reverse discrimination.”

Citation

Camp Yeakey, C. (2005), "Who Shall be Educated? Governmental Policy Influences on Educational Opportunity", Allen, W.R., Bonous-Hammarth, M., Teranishi, R.T. and Dano, O.C. (Ed.) Higher Education in a Global Society: Achieving Diversity, Equity and Excellence (Advances in Education in Diverse Communities, Vol. 5), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 349-367. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1479-358X(05)05017-5