In 1896, Plessy v. Ferguson established “separate but equal”.
In 1954, Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka decision was passed and declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students are unconstitutional.
In 2009, David and Charles Koch fund organizations (such as the Tea Party) that are pro-privatization and against large public schools. The Wake County School Board began to implement a neighborhood school plan that would re-segregate schools. The Koch brothers founded Americans for Prosperity (2004) and utilized hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Wake County School Board Elections. This jeopardizes the diversity policy.
Wake county uses a system of integration based on income. You can’t talk about class without discussing race. Under this program, no more than 40 percent of any school’s students could receive free lunches (mostly minority students). The NAACP has filed a complaint and argued that this plan is unconstitutional.
In October (2011), Wake County elections will decide if the schools will become re-segregated.
Is this unconstitutional and is it fair to make the connection of race and class?
Take a look at this short clip:
My Double Consciousness 