The second forum event focused on remembering the historic Brown v. Board of Education decision titled “A Forum on the Future of Public Education: Finishing the Unfinished Business of Brown v. Board of Education.” This forum was held on May 17, 2024 (the precise date the decision was handed down 70 years ago in 1954). This event was organized in concert with the Office of the Chancellor, as this forum was the first installment of the university-wide series that commemorates the Brown decision during 2024.
As discussed at the forum, the Brown decision impacted the nation, not only southern school districts. The historical decision impacted northern cities such as Chicago and small university towns such as Champaign. Indeed, the implications of racial desegregation and the struggle to provide equitable public education to all children is still felt today. The May 17 forum sought to broaden the conversation and engage people further with questions of race and education policy.
The keynote speaker was Dr. Evelyn Underwood, a reverend and local civil rights leader in Champaign. She spoke about the progress for quality education in central Illinois and her experiences as an educator and activist. Born in Mississippi, Dr. Underwood came to Champaign as a child and eventually earned her Ph.D. in education from the University of Illinois in 2000. Dr. Underwood helped form the Ministerial Alliance of ChampaignâUrbana and Vicinity, the local NAACP, N.C.N.W., and the Champaign County Urban League. She was the first Black school board member elected to serve on the Urbana School District #116 Board of Education, where she served for 12 years. Dr. Underwood was also a leading figure in the “consent degree” that sought to eliminate disparities in the quality of education among Black students, students of color, and white students in Champaign public schools.
Panelists included education historians Dr. James Anderson, professor emeritus at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Dr. Dionne Danns, professor of educational history at the University of Illinois Chicago; and constitutional scholar Dr. Jason Mazzone, professor of law at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
In addressing the history and implications of the Brown decision, panelists addressed three essential points. The first was how the history of education in Chicago and northern university towns such as Champaign challenge notions of “northern freedom,” or the misconception that northern states are historically bastions of freedom, as these towns harbor the same racist pasts and institutional policies grounded in racism that are popularly observed in “red” states.
Next, the panel noted that a conservative Supreme Court has challenged the fundamental principles of affirmative action. Also state legislatures in Florida, Texas, Indiana, and other states are banning diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and the teaching of critical race theory or other “progressive teaching/curriculum.” Panelists highlighted the importance of political struggles at the local level during times in which the Supreme Court has all but discounted race as an admissions criterion.
One of the concluding points focused on “finishing the unfinished legacy of Brown” in a divisive political climate and a conservative Supreme Court. Panelists emphasized the role of shaping policy at the local level with local school boards. They also drew attention to the funding disparities tacitly approved by the court in the Rodriguez v. San Antonio (1974) decision that allowed states, not the federal government, to determine funding formulas for public education.
