Correction Appended
The Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies held an
event marking the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board
of Education decision and honoring former Supreme Court Justice
Thurgood Marshall on Wednesday night.
The Bunche Center celebrates its 15th year of highlighting the
achievements and continuing struggles of the black community and is
one of the leading research centers of its kind in the United
Center.
Professors, professionals working in the civil rights field,
UCLA students and members of the community were in attendance,
showing their support for the ongoing problems minorities face.
“Ethnic institutes are critical to established cultural
awareness for African Americans and instrumental in bridging all
divisions of Southern California,” said state Sen. Richard
Alarcón (D-San Fernando Valley).
Kimberlé Crenshaw, a law professor at UCLA and Columbia
University and an expert in race and law, was one of the featured
speakers.
The Brown v. Board of Education decision was a “landmark
in Supreme Court history,” said Juan Williams, a National
Public Radio correspondent and author of “Thurgood Marshall:
American Revolutionary,” as he reflected on Marshall’s
devotion to fighting for basic human rights.
Marshall made history by overturning the 1892 Plessy v. Ferguson
Supreme Court case, which previously upheld the “separate but
equal” doctrine. The Supreme Court ruled in 1954 that racial
segregation in public schools violated the 14th Amendment, making
Marshall an instrumental figure in African American and American
history.
Other speakers addressed current budget cuts and decreases in
minority admissions to University of California schools which stand
as a reminder to the work that still must be done.
“It is very important that people understand the
contribution people of color have made to this society and quest
for equality,” said Nadine Bermudec, a student in the
Graduate School of Education and Information Studies.
Acceptance rates for black students decreased nearly 20 percent
between 1997 and 2002.
“The university is in a crisis,” said Anica McKesey,
the president of the Undergraduate Students Association Council,
referring to the fact that out of 9,000 admitted students this year
only 199 were of African American descent.
Alacron said, “We should rethink cuts in outreach
fund-raising and ethnic institutions.”
Speakers also noted the decreasing numbers of African American
students in the UC and California State University system have been
caused by impacts of Proposition 209, which called for the ban of
the use of affirmative action in state institutions, not allowing
race or ethnicity to be considered in hiring or university
admissions.
According to a research report done by the Bunche Center, the UC
system saw a noticeable drop in enrollment following the
implementation of Proposition 209 in 1998. Between 1997 and 1998,
African American freshman enrollment dropped by 24 percent.
Despite educational setbacks in the past decade, members of the
black community say they remain dedicated to pursuing justice for
minorities.
“We live in interesting times, and many of the issues
addressed by the Brown v. Board of Education case 50 years ago
continue to vex our society,” said Darnell Hunt, director of
the Bunche Center.
Correction: April 30, 2004.
In “Brown decision remembered”, the photo caption
misidentified State Sen. Richard Alarcón as Juan Williams.
Also, graduate student Nadine Bermudez’s name was
misspelled.