Judge Allows White Alabama Town to Return to Segregation

[hand2handking]

[h1]Judge Allows White Alabama Town to Return to Segregation[/h1]
Michael Harriot Friday 1:39pm

A judge told a mostly white suburb near one of the blackest cities in the country that—after reviewing all of the facts—she believed the town’s request to separate itself was motivated by race. She stressed that the move could encourage feelings of racial inferiority among the district’s black students. The judge chastised the white citizens for trying to minimize school desegregation laws. Then, with a pound of her gavel, she allowed them to do it anyway.

Just north of Birmingham, Ala., sits the tiny suburb of Gardendale. While Birmingham’s 74 percent black population ranks it as America’s fourth-blackest city, Gardendale’s population is 88 percent white. Gardendale’s median family income is more than double that of Birmingham, too, giving the small town a lucrative tax base. In recent years, most of Birmingham’s affluent suburbs have left the struggling Jefferson County Schools’ system to form smaller districts, but until now, a judge had never examined the racial reasons and implications as closely, according to a report by the Washington Post. 

U.S. District Judge Madeline Haikala heard the case of Jefferson County Board of Education v. Gardendale City Board of Education and issued an extensive, wide-ranging ruling Wednesday. The case was not overly complex and was mostly black vs. white. The white residents of Gardendale wanted to break away from the county’s schools, creating a new district that reflected the demographics of the city. The parents of black students in Gardendale’s schools said the white parents just wanted to get rid of the schools’ black students.

In her 190-page ruling, Haikala admitted that Gardendale City’s motivations were based on race and inequality. She pointed to a Facebook group with thinly veiled racist messages and wrote about flyers that listed “some of the best” white schools that had already left Jefferson County Schools alongside a list of “bad” racially mixed schools, with a white child asking, “Which one will you choose?” The report noted that the flyers delivered an “unambiguous message of inferiority.” The ruling reprimanded the parents for their continued reference to “Smithfield kids” (a reference to a mostly black section of Jefferson County whose children attend Gardendale schools) in a degrading manner.

The ruling extensively referenced desegregation cases and how they impacted her ruling. The judge explicitly admitted that race seemed to be Gardendale’s primary motivation, finding such to be worse than some of the desegregations of the civil rights era, writing:

Given these findings, the Court would be within its discretion if it were simply to deny Gardendale’s motion to separate. Were it not for a number of practical considerations, the Court would do just that. As was the case in Stout II, though, some of the circumstances surrounding Gardendale’s attempt to separate are deplorable ...

Deplorable. But even though she saw that Gardendale’s motives were based on the idea that the school district’s black students were inferior; even though she noted that it would set back the county’s desegregation efforts to make schools equal; and even though it would negatively impact the black students who already attend Gardendale schools, she allowed Gardendale to move forward anyway.

“It’s hard to square,” said Monique Lin-Luse, an NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund lawyer who represented black parents.

No one could figure it out. However, the Gardendale parents were ecstatic.

“We know that the community is anxious and ready to achieve its goal of a locally led public school system. We are, too,” said Chris Segroves, the new board’s president.

There are no quotes from the black students who will all have to attend new schools, knowing it is only because of the color of their skin.

http://www.theroot.com/judge-allows-white-alabama-town-to-return-to-segregatio-1794753097

thoughts? 

 

 

[sthebest]

What a major step back for civil rights

 

[SlunderKingpin]

Can't see this judgement standing for long. It will get overturned. Bad look no matter what happens. Judge is a POS. :x

 

[6 Rings G.O.A.T.]

 

[wavycrocket]

 

[rodrigofresh]

Wow

 

[wavycrocket]

This isn't THAT surprising.

I mean, a gerogia school just had its first INTERGRATED prom in 2014.....

http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/04/living/integrated-prom-wilcox-county-georgia/

This type of segregation has been going on for a long time across the country. They just be drawing up counties and white flihgting for 50 years now.

 

[hand2handking]

true indeed but this is like in the books

it also sets a precedent

 

[toast1985]

I see a scary correlation between Republicans push for federal deregulation and archaic social practices such as this.

 

[rolaholic]

I see a scary correlation between Republicans push for federal deregulation and archaic social practices such as this.

It's no coincidence, they know damn well what they're doing...

 

[leavemeglazzies]

 

[sreggie101]

It's Alabama tho...not sure if I should be shocked or...?

 

[hand2handking]

can i just say how much i wish ppl would just shut the **** up about how theyre not surprised or shocked by ****?

like how does that **** contribute to a convo?

damn that **** is so ******* annoying 

like an eyebrow aint gon raise till ya black *** is in chains on a cotton field 

 

 

[TURBO UNO]

Racist judge in Alabama must be upset that some of her favorite monuments are coming down in Louisiana

How in the fuuuh does a bird brain like her get into these positions of power? I wouldn't give her a mop job.

 

[Bad Moon Rison]

 Alabama take this L!

 

[rolaholic]

Wildest part of the story is how she even acknowledged the racism yet still went through with it...

 

[cosmiccoffee9]

you can never legislate away a commitment to hostility. I expect to see more of this in the coming years.

I see a scary correlation between Republicans push for federal deregulation and archaic social practices such as this.

 
can i just say how much i wish ppl would just shut the **** up about how theyre not surprised or shocked by ****?

like how does that **** contribute to a convo?

damn that **** is so ******* annoying 

like an eyebrow aint gon raise till ya black *** is in chains on a cotton field 

 

fair contention about the uselessness of idle jaded commentary, which is why I hope those who are watching these moves unfold in a predictable fashion are also taking steps to minimize their impact on their lives.

 

[trelvis tha thrilla]

can i just say how much i wish ppl would just shut the **** up about how theyre not surprised or shocked by ****?

like how does that **** contribute to a convo?

damn that **** is so ******* annoying 

like an eyebrow aint gon raise till ya black *** is in chains on a cotton field >:  

Because this added so much to the conversation....

 

[Mr.Guy]

Racist Whites gone racist white...

 

[hand2handking]

 

can i just say how much i wish ppl would just shut the **** up about how theyre not surprised or shocked by ****?

like how does that **** contribute to a convo?

damn that **** is so ******* annoying 

like an eyebrow aint gon raise till ya black *** is in chains on a cotton field 

 

Because this added so much to the conversation....

damn man can you not see the point?

acting like you above it all, like the **** cant affect you

ppl acting like they got observational powers we all dont got

hell nobody's surprised by the **** but damn can mf's get mad? 

like i say it aint gon be shocking till its time for picking again

 

[Master Zik]

This is funny given you end all of OPs in your thread with "Thoughts? " and not just state your opinion to add to the convo

 

[frshstunna]

Not suprised by this bs, this been happening with schools as soon as segregation 1st ended

 

[AEA18]

Lawyers for the Gardendale Board emphasized that the statements were not made by board members, Haikala wrote. "But no member of the Gardendale Board has said anything, at least not publicly. No member of the board has disavowed the belittling language of exclusion used by separation organizers and supporters," she states.

Haikala ended her opinion with a history lesson.

"History teaches that communities, left to their own devices, re-segregate fairly quickly, in some cases sending the very messages of inferiority that the Supreme Court attempted to address in Brown (the landmark 1954 U.S. Supreme Court school desegregation case)," Haikala wrote. "The families of students who for years have boarded buses to attend schools outside of their neighborhoods must be consulted and must be part of the conversation about the best way to move forward.

"In doing the complicated work of dissolving a desegregation order, a court must ensure that the dying embers of de jure segregation aren't once again fanned into flames.

http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2017/04/gardendale_will_get_to_form_it.html

 

[RIP sleazyy]

true indeed but this is like in the books

it also sets a precedent

I see a scary correlation between Republicans push for federal deregulation and archaic social practices such as this.

Both of these. Pay attention.

"States' rights"

 

[MalcolmNewton]

I'm at the point, let them.

If they don't want to be associated with black folks them let them. We spend too much time trying to cupcake with white supremacists instead of building our own communities.

- We get mad when they don't let us in their towns

- We get mad when they don't let us in their bars/clubs

Economics = Lets have our own stuff

Need to resurrect Malcolm.