Conference marks desegregation ruling’s anniversary

The 50-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision ending segregation in public schools will be marked by a Feb. 4-6 conference at UW–Madison.

Sponsored by the university’s departments of Educational Policy Studies and Curriculum and Instruction, the conference will focus on the high court’s ruling in Brown v. Board of Education. The court’s decision, handed down on May 17, 1954, marked the end of the “separate but equal” doctrine and was a catalyst to expanding what became the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

The conference, which will include lectures and panel discussions, is free and open to the public. Prior registration is not required.

The conference kicks off on Wednesday, Feb. 4, with a lecture by Gary Orfield, Harvard University professor of education and social policy, titled “From Brown to Now: What We Learned, What We Gained and Why We are Losing It, the Lessons of Multiracial America.” Orfield, who has written widely on school desegregation, will lecture at 7 p.m. in 2120 Grainger Hall, 975 University Ave.

On Thursday, Feb. 5, Charles V. Willie, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, will lecture on “Brown v. Board of Education: A Restoration of Equity in Public Education.” Willie, who has served as a consultant, expert witness or court-appointed master in more than a dozen desegregation cases, will speak at 7 p.m. in 2120 Grainger Hall.

Panel discussions exploring the impacts of the ruling will be held during the conference’s final two days. Faculty members from UW–Madison and Marquette University will discuss the implications of the decision in 4151 Grainger Hall.

The first panel will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 5, and focus on “Where Have We Been? Historical Perspectives on Race and Equal Educational Opportunity.” At 1:30 p.m., the second panel will discuss “Where Are We Now? The Challenges of Race and Equal Educational Opportunity Today.”

The final panel, at 9 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 6, examines “Where Should We Go From Here? Paths to Equal Educational Opportunity in the Future,” and will include Howard Fuller, professor in the Institute for the Transformation of Learning at Marquette University and former superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools.

On Friday at noon, the conference will conclude with a brown-bag lunch and a discussion with the speakers at Union South, 227 N. Randall. The room number will be posted at the entrances.

Funding for the conference has been provided by the UW Anonymous Donors Fund, the University Lecturers Committee and the School of Education dean’s office.

For more information and a complete schedule of events, visit http://www.education.wisc.edu/eps/news/ or contact Gail Geib at (608) 265-5956 or ggeib@education.wisc.edu.