A national expert on poverty, race and education will headline a Thursday forum on desegregation and student assignment in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
The UNC Charlotte College of Education and the Levine Museum of the New South are hosting “The Grandchildren of Brown: The Long Legacy of School Desegregation” on Thursday. The event, which requires an RSVP (go to http://oeo.uncc.edu/grandchildrenofbrown), starts with a 5 p.m. reception at the UNCC Center City campus, 320 E. Ninth St.
Rucker Johnson, an economics professor at University of California-Berkeley and nationally known speaker on poverty and inequality, will headline a program on the aftermath of the Brown vs. Board of Education case, which led to CMS desegregation in the 1970s.
Johnson’s talk starts at 6 p.m. and will be followed by a panel discussion on issues related to the CMS school board’s ongoing review of student assignment.
Many district schools have become “resegregated,” with very few white students in high-poverty urban schools. Board members say they’re seeking a way to increase diversity and break up concentrations of poverty.
Panelists include Dr. Opelia Garmon-Brown, co-chair of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Opportunity Task Force; Julian Wright, a lawyer who chaired the now-defunct CMS Equity Committee; Rosie Molinary, advocate for CMS Latina students; and Ivan Lowe of York Technical College, co-founder of a mentoring program for black males. Bill Anderson of the College of Education will facilitate.
