A policy designed 30 years ago and implemented in a Missisippi school to achieve racial equality is now gone with the wind after Brandy Springer, Mother of four mixed-race children who also attended the school, challenged a system of student elections, where race determined whether a candidate could run for some class positions, including class president.
Springer's 12-year-old daughter was initially told that she couldn't run for class reporter, because she wasn't the right race. The school-election guidelines were sent home with each child, indicating that only white students were allowed to run for class president this year. In alternating years, the positions would be reversed so blacks could run for president and whites could hold other positions, district officials said. See the actual memo above.
Springer contacted an advocacy group for mixed-race families and the NAACP (who is always so on top of things) called for a Justice Department investigation.
By last Friday afternoon, Superintendent Russell Taylor posted a statement on the school's website, saying the policy had been in place for 30 years, dating back to a time when school districts across Mississippi came under close scrutiny from the U.S. Justice Department over desegregation:
"It is the belief of the current administration that these procedures were implemented to help ensure minority representation and involvement in the student body," the statement said. "It is our hope and desire that these practices and procedures are no longer needed."
Even if the policy is an attempt to ensure black and white participation, Springer said diversity is no longer a black and white issue, with a growing number of mixed-race children, Hispanics and other ethnicities attending school together.
The school district stated last Friday that, "Beginning immediately, student elections at Nettleton School District will no longer have a classification of ethnicity. It is our intent that each student has equal opportunity to seek election for any student office."
Although well-intentioned, it is pretty shocking that such a policy has gone on so long unquestioned. There's just something a little different about those folks in the South.
Good riddance to that silly obsolete policy; however, I must say that in five years, we'll probably hear complaints that no students of color have been elected for school office positions.