Extensions of Remarks

1316 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS January 30, 1985 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS LIMITING SUPREME COURT Furthermore, the actions of the poses that elementary schools only adopt a JURISDICTION ON BUSING courts show a strong commitment to modified "neighborhood" school system to forced busing despite overwhelming try to end the flight of white children from HON. PHIUP M. CRANE public opposition, and its record of Norfolk's schools. failure to promote better integrated SOME SIGNIFICANT LESSONS OF ILLINOIS schools, improved racial relations, or Charlotte's history in this issue offers IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES better education. Discrimination some significant lessons. should be combated, but court-ordered When President Reagan visited Charlotte Wednesday, January 30, 1985 during his reelection campaign, he called • Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, recently I busing should be curbed. Busing has court-ordered busing a "social experiment introduced legislation, H.R. 81, to limit brought a flight of students from that nobody wants" and one which had the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court urban schools, and problems for a "failed." and district courts regarding the ques public school system already under The response by the local establishment criticism for not meeting the educa was swift. The Charlotte Observer, the tion of forced busing. tion needs of American students. area's largest paper, fired an editorial salvo, The U.S. Supreme Court handed "White flight" continues to be an later reprinted in the Washington Post, en down a significant decision in Brown issue in the public school system as titled "You Were Wrong, Mr. President." It against Board of Education in 1954 whites continue to abandon this stated that Charlotte's "proudest achieve which declared public school racial system and enroll in private schools. ment is its fuly integrated public school segregation unconstitutional. It was The reason why this trend continues system . born out of a bitter controversy" almost another decade before the Su and declared that Charlotte's school system should not be attributed to racism, but "has blossomed into one of the nation's preme Court began insisting on serious rather to the fact that the quality of finest. Supporters of forced busing to implementation. This decision was an our educational system has declined. achieve racial balance have for years proud outstanding example of judicial activ To help rectify the declining quality ly cited Charlotte as an example of where ism, the Court going beyond legisla of education, busing expenditures re busing worked. But how necessary was tion to impose its view of what good sulting from transportation costs busing in Charlotte and what is the bottom social policy should be. should be redistributed in the form of line when its costs and benefits are balanced My legislation, if passed, will make teacher salaries and basic programs to against each other? an exception to the U.S. Constitution. I believe that the relative success of the improve the education that our chil busing experiment in Charlotte stems from In brief, article Ill, section 2, clause 2 dren receive. the positive racial attitudes held by citizens declares that the Supreme Court shall In summary, busing creates a nega of Charlotte rather than from the practice have appellate jurisdiction in law and tive precedent. It reorders the consti of forced busing itself. Many residents here fact but with such exceptions and reg tutional powers of two of the three have always been uncomfortable with segre ulations which Congress might make. branches of Government. It is Con gation. In the early 1960s, most civic leaders The actual citing states: gress' inaction that allows this situa pushed for voluntary, gradual integration In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other tion to exist. To further familiarize when confronted with the problem of how public Ministers and Consuls, and those in to end the system of segregated schools. my colleagues with the current busing Before the decision requiring forced busing, which a State shall be Party, the Supreme problem I would like to share the fol Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all Charlotte was slowly but surely integrating. other Cases before mentioned, the Supreme lowing article by Mr. Ralph McMullan Around 1965 the community eradicated Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, which appeared in the Wall Street the practice of assigning black students to both as to Law and Fact, with such Excep Journal on January 21, 1985. After all-black schools, called "union schools." It tions, and under such Regulations as the reading this article and examining my was replaced by a system making pupil as Congress shall make. legislation, I urge your support of H.R. signment dependent on geographical loca tion supplemented by a freedom-of-choice Using this exception, my bill will 81: option. Under this scheme all students could amend chapter 81 of title 28 of the THAT BUSING SUCCESS STORY transfer to any school they wanted if they United States Code. A legislative <By Ralph McMullan) could furnish their own transportation and remedy is necessary because the Fed Charlotte, N.C., was one of the first cities space in the school was available. eral courts have departed from their in the country to undergo forced busing. By 1969, there were only eight schools out traditional role as impersonal inter Today, it is often held up as a shining exam of 106 in the system that were not integrat ple of how busing can succeed in accom ed in some manner. Out of a total of more preters of the law and have become plishing desegregation without lowering the than 20,000 black students, the number at active participants in both legislation quality of education. tending integrated schools had increased and administration. In doing so, they But now, the school-busing issue that so from a few dozen in 1964 to nearly 10,000 in have become part of the bureaucracy divided my native city and others in the 1969. This system satisfied the then federal rather than an independent part of early 1970s is back in the news as the district court judge for Charlotte, Braxton . the Government mediating between Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals prepares to Craven, when legal action was first filed other branches. rule soon on the case of Riddick vs. School against the school board. Because of the I believe that our Founding Fathers Board of Norfolk, Va. In an attempt to es steps already taken, no federal remedies tablish a voluntary system of integration fa were prescribed. inserted this exception clause in the vored by both blacks and whites, Norfolk is However, this didn't satisfy Julius Cham Constitution to insure that the will of working to avoid many of the pitfalls inher bers, a local civil-rights attorney, who had the majority shall prevail under our ent in a mandatory system such as Char pressed for further judicial relief in 1968. system of government. The issue in lotte's. The rest is history. James McMillan, the this particular case is one of freedom, This issue involved is almost certain to new federal court judge, required forced the right to be free from arbitrary, reach the Supreme Court: Can a school busing to achieve racial balance in Char Government-mandated busing of one's system under a court-ordered busing plan lotte-Mecklenburg schools in the fall of children whether he is black or wheth decide on its own to cut back on busing now 1970. The Supreme Court unanimously that it has satisfied the courts that it has upheld his decision. er he is white. Mandated, forced desegregated? A group of Norfolk residents Opposition mounted to the order. Most busing for racial purposes denies citi has filed suit to prevent the partial disman community leaders did not support forced zens the opportunity to go to the tling of the forced school-busing plan in busing. Many whites fought it because they school in their local school districts. effect there. Instead, the school board pro- felt educational standards would decline e This "bullet" symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by the Member on the floor. January 30, 1985 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS 1317 with the chaos forced busing would cause. schools. The school board has had to adjust the entire DeMatha team was en Many blacks also opposed it because they the assignment plan 11 times. This need to shrined in the Basketball Hall of realized a greater percentage of blacks than rework the plan has occurred because par Fame in Springfield, MA. whites had to be bused to meet the required ents are reluctant to send their children to racial quotas. Violence and riots erupted, schools they consider inferior. Jay Robin Four of the starting five on the De causing academic test scores to sag. Even son, the present school superintendent, be Matha team were from the District of the Charlotte Observer reported, "The anti lieves that although racism may be a factor, Columbia and one was from Maryland. busing furor create<d> a highly charged at concern for a child's education is the major All four from the District of Columbia mosphere. Racial tension within the reason. He says, "The one thing about went on to become All-American in schools became a fact of life in Charlotte." pupil-assignment plans that has never college and are successful profession This grim condition continued until at least worked in sending children from more afflu als today. They are: Bob Whitmore, 1975. ent neighborhoods into lower income or de After the initial struggle to overthrow prived communities in the lower grades." Notre Dame University, lawyer; Ber court-ordered busing, a sense of futility set This constant reshuffling has weakened nard Williams, LaSalle University, in.

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