By Mike Appleton, Guest Blogger
“We pledge ourselves to use all lawful means to bring about a reversal of this decision which is contrary to the Constitution and to prevent the use of force in its implementation.
-The Southern Manifesto, Cong. Rec., 84th Cong. 2d Session, Vol. 102, part 4 (March 12, 1956)
‘This was an activist court that you saw today. Anytime the Supreme Court renders something constitutional that is clearly unconstitutional, that undermines the credibility of the Supreme Court. I do believe the court’s credibility was undermined severely today.”
-Michele Bachmann (R. Minn.), June 26 2012
Most people are familiar with the opinion in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, et al., 349 U.S. 483 (1954), in which a unanimous Supreme Court summarily outlawed public school segregation by tersely declaring, “Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.” 349 U.S. at 495. But many people do not know that Brown involved a consolidation of cases from four states. The “et al.” in the style refers to decisions on similar facts in Delaware, South Carolina and Virginia. And the response of Virginia to the ruling in Brown provides an interesting comparison with the actions leading to the current government shutdown.
In 1951 the population of Prince Edward County, Virginia was approximately 15,000, more than half of whom were African-American. The county maintained two high schools to accommodate 386 black students and 346 white students. Robert R. Moton High School lacked adequate science facilities and offered a more restricted curriculum than the high school reserved for white students. It had no gym, showers or dressing rooms, no cafeteria and no restrooms for teachers. Students at Moton High were even required to ride in older school buses.
Suit was filed in federal district court challenging the Virginia constitutional and statutory provisions mandating segregated public schools. Although the trial court agreed that the school board had failed to provide a substantially equal education for African-American students, it declined to invalidate the Virginia laws, concluding that segregation was not based “upon prejudice, on caprice, nor upon any other measureless foundation,” but reflected “ways of life in Virginia” which “has for generations been a part of the mores of the people.” Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County, 103 F. Supp. 337, 339 (E.D. Va. 1952). Instead, the court ordered the school board to proceed with the completion of existing plans to upgrade the curriculum, physical plant and buses at Moton High School. When the plaintiffs took an appeal from the decision, the Democratic machine that had for many years controlled Virginia politics under the firm hand of Sen. Harry Byrd had little reason to believe that “ways of life” that had prevailed since the end of the Reconstruction era would soon be declared illegal.
When the Brown decision was announced, the reaction in Virginia was shock, disbelief and anger. Reflecting the prevailing attitudes, the Richmond News Leader railed against “the encroachment of the Federal government, through judicial legislation, upon the reserved powers of the States.” The Virginia legislature adopted a resolution of “interposition” asserting its right to “interpose” between unconstitutional federal mandates and local authorities under principles of state sovereignty. And Sen. Byrd organized a campaign of opposition that came to be known as “Massive Resistance.”
In August of 1954 a commission was appointed to formulate a plan to preserve segregated schools. Late in 1955, it presented its recommendations, including eliminating mandatory school attendance, empowering local school boards to assign students to schools and creating special tuition grants to enable white students to attend private schools. Enabling legislation was quickly adopted and “segregation academies” began forming around the state. Subsequent legislation went even further by prohibiting state funding of schools that chose to integrate.
In March of 1956, 19 senators and 77 house members from 11 southern states signed what is popularly known as “The Southern Manifesto,” in which they declared, “Even though we constitute a minority in the present Congress, we have full faith that a majority of the American people believe in the dual system of government which has enabled us to achieve our greatness and will in time demand that the reserved rights of the States and of the people be made secure against judicial usurpation.”
Throughout this period the Prince Edward County schools remained segregated, but when various court rulings invalidated Virginia’s various attempts to avoid integration, the school board took its final stand. It refused to authorize funds to operate any schools in the district, and all public schools in the county were simply closed, and remained closed from 1959 to 1964.
There are striking similarities between Sen. Byrd’s failed plan of Massive Resistance and Republican efforts to prevent implementation of the Affordable Care Act. There was widespread confidence among conservatives that the Supreme Court would declare the Act unconstitutional. When that did not occur, legislators such as Michele Bachmann, quoted above, attempted to deny the legitimacy of the Court’s ruling. Brent Bozell went further, denouncing Chief Justice Roberts as “a traitor to his own philosophy,” hearkening back to the days when southern roadsides were replete with billboards demanding the impeachment of Chief Justice Earl Warren.
The House of Representatives has taken over 40 votes to repeal the ACA, quixotic efforts pursued for reasons known only to John Boehner and his colleagues. And in accordance with the Virginia legislative model, the House has attempted to starve the ACA by eliminating it from funding bills. Following the failure of these efforts, Republicans have elected to pursue the path ultimately taken by the school board of Prince Edward County and have shut down the government.
Even the strategy followed by Republicans is largely a southern effort. Approximately 60% of the Tea Party Caucus is from the South. Nineteen of the 32 Republican members of the House who have been instrumental in orchestrating the shutdown are from southern states. It is hardly surprising therefore, that the current impasse is characterized by the time-honored southern belief in nullification theory as a proper antidote to disfavored decisions by a congressional majority.
In reflecting upon the experience of Virginia many years later, former Gov. Linwood Holton noted, “Massive resistance … served mostly to exacerbate emotions arrayed in a lost cause.” Republicans would do well to ponder the wisdom in that observation.
This is a quite simple matter between OS and myself. It can be ended w/ a simple yes or no. Any chiming in makes it about the chimer grinding an ax. A yes or no will end it. I wanted it ended. This thread is more than long enough already.
david, I always considered myself honored to teach ANY kid. Thanks.
Tony C.,
There we go … Gene said it better than I when referring to what should be taught in the K-5:
“Consider history as a data set. Is there no benefit to be gained from teaching a lower resolution data set to younger children provided that any major bias that might be created by simplification is accounted for and countered?”
Children must be prepared for the onslaught of civics in the 8th grade in order to begin to understand their responsibility as participants in a democracy.
Bron: I don’t think Darwin imagined anything at the cellular level remotely like DNA. But clearly he imagined some sort of traits that passed intact but could occasionally change; he was quite familiar with the idea of breeding for specific traits, and “natural selection” is derived from “breeder selection” for specific traits. Like larger eggs or beefier cows, smaller dogs with pointier snouts. And he was familiar with using breeding to preserve and enhance accidental or emergent traits, such as a head crest on a dove, that was not an intent of the breeder but noticed, then bred for exaggeration in length and prominence.
In his shoes with his level of technology, I suppose I might have considered specific traits could be represented by a soup of individual cells somehow, from each parent, that were sometimes made more prominent or less prominent or incorrectly reproduced. That wouldn’t be accurate but it wouldn’t be too far off the mark, not terribly different from individual genes being mixed and matched.
Tony,
It’s an interesting point, but I think mileage may vary according to the child. Those capable of advanced study should not be held back. For example, what would you do as a teacher faced with a 3-4th grade student who refused to read “The Weekly Reader” because it was “stupid” and was instead reading things like “Starship Troopers” and “Broca’s Brain” with a high degree of retention and understanding? Deny them advanced reading in literature and science or encourage it? However, I point to something you haven’t addressed: data resolution. Consider history as a data set. Is there no benefit to be gained from teaching a lower resolution data set to younger children provided that any major bias that might be created by simplification is accounted for and countered?
Blouise says: And yet it is K-4 that the myth teaching begins.
And should not. K-4 is an impressionable age, they cannot be expected to understand crime, laws, deception, etc.
We agree they should not be taught a falsehood about George Washington. What he did, what he said, that he was “the father of our country,” particularly when their understanding of “father” is probably akin to absolute dictator (and he wasn’t, really, Jefferson, Franklin and other principle thinkers that crafted the DOI and / or Constitution provided the DNA of our country, Washington, as a general, was more of the father of Independence). Why in the world do they need to know anything about George Washington? What purpose can memorizing such bits of trivia possibly serve? It is propaganda, pure and simple.
Washington is only important in the context of understanding the origins of the country winning independence and starting and implementing a framework for law, and his political choices that still resonate or changed the direction of the country during his time in office. That is not material for K-4, in my opinion.
Nothing at all is harmed by holding our tongue, unless asked. Saying nothing is not lying, no myth telling or truth telling AT ALL. History should not be a subject for K-5, there are plenty of other developmentally beneficial classes that can take its place. It is a complete waste of time, and feats of meaningless memorization by kids that have not even properly been taught how to memorize. (So there is one candidate for a new class to replace History!) It is premature, because they are premature. Around the sixth grade they can understand laws and systems of individuals (in terms of teams and rules of games), and probably they can roughly relate to compromise and negotiation and human motivations. That would be a time to introduce the basics of governance, laws, and eventually revolution, native American genocide and other such truths.
Blouise, I gave my substantive take @ 9:12a. It’s more philosophical about what you folks are discussing. Again, blame the Jesuits if it isn’t the response you want.
A large part of the job of a naturalist is to watch how various creatures react to their environment and other creatures in it.
Blouise, It’s between me and OS. He made a comment in the dead of night[12:25a] that I believe was directed @ me. I answered and he responded as a detective wannabe, it’s all there. I will not have my character attacked w/o responding. I will not be called a liar anymore. Basta!
Tic Toc, OS. Were you referring to me in the middle of the night comment. Simple yes or no. I will take you @ your word and I will say no more. A simple yes or no.
OS, Tic Toc Tic Toc.
nick,
Honest to god, man … I don’t know what you are talking about anymore.
I start to read your post thinking you, a qualified history teacher, will have something to say about the matter and find challenges to man up instead.
Oh well, never mind, I leave you to it.
I tell you what OS. I’ll give you an opportunity to set the record straight. I did this one other time when you intimated something untrue about me. You failed to man up that time. Hopefully you will this time. And OS, I’ll take you @ your word. Were you referring to me as one of those mystery teachers here?
Tony C.,
And yet it is K-4 that the myth teaching begins. Having helped several kids and grandkids with their studies I can opine that text books have improved in their presentation of the facts but much more needs to be done.
I will disagree with your stance that nothing regarding the matter should be taught in K-5 as long as you understand that I am not pretending to an expertise I don’t possess.
Eighth grade is usually the point children are introduced to “civics” and certain facts must be well understood before they tackle that heady subject (and it is usually the last time they do have that opportunity to study civics). So I support the process that begins in K-5 as long as it does not involve presenting myth as truth.
George Washington did not chop down a cherry tree for chopping down a fruit tree was often punished, like horse stealing, with death. Of course the myth grew out of the need to impress children with the honesty of our first President and back in the day it was well understood that chopping down a cherry tree resulted in a death sentence so yes, indeed, our first President was THAT honest and THAT brave even as a child and you, dear children, should be too.
The Boston Tea Party was not conducted by a bunch of forward thinking patriots but by a combination of Boston street gangs assembled by that firecracker, Sam Adams. He riled them up then lost control of them. But Sam, being a canny sort, immediately spun their actions that night as not an act of a lawless mob, but, instead, a principled protest driven by unfair taxes to the point of desperation. (kind of reminds you of modern day events, doesn’t it?)
etc., etc., etc
Bron,
Cool, but you are a smart guy and understand metaphor. As for Kenda, a most interesting and complex man.
Now, back to the salt mines. I have 17 new hire reports to get out before the mail runs at five. I hate report writing, but they have this bad habit of not wanting to pay me until they get the results.
OS;
I loved that show, Lt. Kenda is what I picture a good detective would be.
But you didnt see Nick’s eyes, so you dont know. Also it is hard to tell sometimes who is responding to whom, and it is sometimes inferred by others rightly or wrongly.
This is a very interesting, and telling, comment:
*********************************
As a matter of fact, I named no names at all. None. Interesting. As Det. Lt. Joe Kenda says, “When their pupils go to pinpoints, you know you have them; and now they know you know. Big moment.”
OS,
Some people can’t stand, or understand that this bloc isn’t ALL about them.
tony c:
“Darwin initiated a science, and had zero idea of DNA or how it works, and he admits he is making educated guesses about how trait inheritance works based on natural selection of changes.”
It is very interesting to see his thinking. He knows DNA exists, not in the literal sense, it is really bugging him. He was pretty close or so it seemed to me but then I could have been projecting our understanding of DNA into his thought process.
DavidM says: they have to have some way to negate what happens when students actually read Darwin’s Origin of the Species instead of just listen to what they are taught by their teachers about it.
No they don’t, this betrays an absolutist authoritarian mindset, some fear that children will accept Darwin as a demigod that is an oracle of truth in everything he writes. I’ve read Darwin cover to cover (more than once) and it is clear if the read Origin of the Species they will see a scientist at work and thinking on the page, not a dogmatic assertion without evidence of infallibility in stating exactly how things are (as we find in the Bible and other religious texts).
We do not need excuses to refute Darwin on science, or claim he was mistaken. We do not want to prevent children from reading Darwin in the raw, in fact I’d encourage that. Science makes progress and improves understanding and accuracy. Darwin initiated a science, and had zero idea of DNA or how it works, and he admits he is making educated guesses about how trait inheritance works based on natural selection of changes.
DavidM says: The truth is that there is a genetic difference between blacks and whites.
No, the truth is there are correlated heritable genetic differences in people that cause them to vary in physical appearance. Your way of stating it simplifies things too much because it implies these genetic differences apply to more than the verifiable appearance differences; and has in fact been heavily used to speculate about genetic differences in UNverifiable components of personhood, such as intelligence, morality, responsibility, or even legal personhood itself.
DavidM says: As time goes forward, however, the races intermix even more, and it becomes much less useful to talk about human races because their genetics become more mixed.
Good, because it was never really useful to talk about human races and their genetics at all; false correlations based on appearance are better discarded. There are genetic differences between all people, every person has hundreds of mutations that make them unique. To the extent that certain genetic variants are highly correlated with risks of certain diseases, or ARE the cause of certain diseases, ancestry should certainly be taken into account. But ancestry is not RACE, and is not skin color or other aspects of appearance, and as has been shown time and again appearances can be deceiving and should not be relied upon.
DavidM:
How are blacks genetically different from whites? The differences are superficial as far as I can know. Hair color, eye color, skin color. And that is dependent on a few genes for expression of pigmentation.
As far as I know, other than a few adaptations all humans have based on their environment, we all came out of Africa and populated the world.
Cultural differences are only due to climate and environment we ended up in. And so is pigmentation if you can believe Darwin.
Are you suggesting there are significan genetic differences between blacks, whites, asians, etc.?
If so, that is very interesting.
DavidM,
“Not sure I appreciate the cross-posting from another thread. By the way, I posted that yesterday morning, not today as you said.”
Your appreciation is not my concern. By the way, look at the dates of my post, then yours; do you notice a pattern?
“With the political win of Evolution by Natural Selection in our government educational system, they have to have some way to negate what happens when students actually read Darwin’s Origin of the Species instead of just listen to what they are taught by their teachers about it.”
But you have no theocratic agenda to grind, not at all.
“As time goes forward, however, the races intermix even more, and it becomes much less useful to talk about human races because their genetics become more mixed.”
How terrible.