A Tale of Two Browns: Constitutional Equality and Unequal Education

Abstract

Derrick Bell (2004) begins his recent book on Brown v. Board of Education by recounting graduation day at Yale University in May 2002, when his long-standing mentor and friend, Judge Robert L. Carter, received an honorary degree. During the ceremony, Yale's president reminded the audience of Judge Carter's long and distinguished career as a federal judge, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) civil rights attorney, and partner in a large law firm. "When, though," Bell writes, "Yale University president Richard Levin announced that Judge Carter was an important member of the legal team that planned and argued the landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education . . . the audience leaped to its feet and, with great enthusiasm, applauded and cheered." As he stood and joined the applause, Bell wondered to himself: "How could a decision that promised so much and, by its terms, accomplished so little, have gained so hallowed a place . . . that its mere mention . . . sparked a contained but very real demonstration" (pp. 1-2).Derrick Bell is not alone in wondering why Brown commands such "awe and respect" in a nation where racial and ethnic groups remain separate and unequal in its public schools. Indeed, the ethnic disparities in academic achievement, the resegregation of public schools, and the