Charlotte-Mecklenburg's school board could some day face a lawsuit on behalf of black children, who by the board's own admission, have been failed.
That's the implication of the Charlotte NAACP's statement to reporters at a press conference Wednesday.
Chapter president Dwayne Collins said he greeted with
skepticism Monday's "end to busing as we know it" statement from school board chair Arthur Griffin.
Griffin, flanked by dozens of business and community leaders, led
a demonstration of support for Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools, which was ordered by U.S. District Court Judge James McMillan in 1969 to desegregate by using crosstown busing if necessary.
That order could be ended by an impending ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Robert Potter in an anti-busing lawsuit brought by white parents.
The school board, in defending itself against the white plaintiffs, presented testimony and evidence showing that black children have the worst-kept school buildings, the most
inexperienced teachers and a lack of adequate supplies.
That, the school board said, explains much of the lag in achievement levels between white
children and black children in Charlotte-Mecklenburg at a time when that gap has been shrinking across the state of North Carolina and much of the nation.
Monday, Griffin, who is seeking re-election in this fall's election, said "busing as we know it will end."
The show of support for public education included promises to build and maintain inner city
schools and to equalize education in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. A cross-section of the community including those on both sides of the busing debate attended.
But some black parents, who have heard many promises before, where a bit surprised by Griffin's statements, wondering what to make of the apparent capitulation to white parents and anti-busing forces.
Some anti-busing advocates, who have made much this summer of the board's $3.1 million in legal fees from the lawsuit, said Monday's gathering meant the school board was not planning to challenge Potter's ruling.
Ironically, the board could find itself spending more money to fight a lawsuit by black parents, if the NAACP sues the school board.
Collins seemed to speak for many black parents when he said, "Over the last 30 years the black community has been getting the short end of the stick with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system.
"How do you expect us to accept doing away with busing, when for the last 30 years your hands have been bloody," Collins said of those who gathered Monday. "Before busing can be
done away with, sustainable equity must be instituted."
Collins said equity includes "proper maintenance of old schools already within the inner city,
construction of new schools within the inner city and also upgraded resources within inner city schools."
"These particular things can't be done just for a season," Collins said. "They must be done for a lifetime. There must be a consistent pattern of equity within the inner city. Sustainable equity
must come first, then possibly, doing away with busing in its present form."
Collins said national NAACP officials, including board member Lenny Spring, a Charlotte
banking executive, are watching the Charlotte-Mecklenburg system closely and have said a lawsuit may be necessary if Potter's ruling and subsequent board actions continue to harm black students.
"We are considering a lawsuit," Collins said. "The NAACP will involve themselves legally, if things are not done as they should be. A lawsuit will be looked at as an option if equity is not
done and busing is done away with."
