Law Commons^™

Race-Conscious Student Assignment Plans After Parents Involved: Bringing State Action Principles To Bear On The De Jure/De Facto Distinction, Michael Wells

Scholarly Works

In Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1, a sharply divided Supreme Court struck down two race-conscious school assignment plans aimed at achieving greater racial integration of the public schools. Taking Parents Involved as a starting point, this Article looks ahead to the future of litigation over student assignment plans. By striking down the Seattle and Louisville plans, the decision may "require hundreds of school districts to rethink race-based policies that they use voluntarily to desegregate schools." At the very least, the 5-4 ruling almost certainly did not put an end to race-conscious integration plans or …

The Right To The City, Ngai Pindell

Scholarly Works

The identity and character of cities in America have been profoundly influenced by race. In the past, laws mandating the segregation of African American and white urban residents through racially discriminatory housing and lending policies created racial geographic boundaries within cities and between cities and suburbs. The impact of this racial segregation in cities can be seen in the creation and persistence of an urban African American underclass in some cities as well as many urban neighborhoods marked by racial homogeneity and economic underinvestment.

The racial climate in the United States in more recent years has been decidedly different. Overt …