[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 22 (Tuesday, February 6, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E272]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL BOARD HAS FIRST BLACK MAJORITY

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                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 6, 2007

  Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to enter into the 
Congressional Record an article in the New York Times announcing a 
majority African American School Board in Little Rock, AR. This is the 
first time since Federal troops enforced integration in 1957 that 
African Americans have earned a majority on the Little Rock School 
Board. As pronounced in the article, it is good to see that people are 
looking for a change.
  The events that took place in Little Rock still stand as a testament 
to the spirit of resiliency abiding deeply within the African American 
community. Similarly, the decision to integrate in 1957 echoes our 
countries commitment to ultimately ensuring equality among all of our 
Nation's sons and daughters. In the same way that 1957 remains such a 
pivotal year in our Nation's history, I hope that these more recent 
events continue to shape future generations--moving away from things as 
usual, as the article states, toward viewing issues of importance from 
the perspectives of the people directly affected rather than by 
socially engineered categories like race, gender, and class.
  Central to the article are the issues faced by students, skin color 
notwithstanding. It is important to understand that what this article 
highlights is not simply the need to recognize the gains made by 
African Americans in winning the majority of seats on the school board 
but rather the changes in minds and hearts necessary to move to a space 
where people are voted for because of their desire to preserve and 
protect the interest of the people they serve.
  I applaud the efforts of Little Rock School Board members as well as 
members of the community.

                [From the New York Times, Oct. 13, 2006]

           Little Rock School Board Has First Black Majority

                       (By the Associated Press)

       Little Rock, AR.--For the first time since federal troops 
     enforced public school integration here by escorting a group 
     of black students into Central High School 49 years ago, the 
     Little Rock school board has a black majority.
       Dianne Curry won a runoff election on Tuesday, meaning four 
     of the Little Rock School District's seven board members are 
     black. Ms. Curry defeated Tom Brock, who had been appointed 
     to fill an unexpired term in February.
       The district, which has 26,000 students, has been mostly 
     black for years, but until now has never had a black majority 
     on the school board.
       Until 1957, Little Rock had operated separate schools for 
     blacks and whites. Despite an order from the United States 
     Supreme Court, Gov. Orval E. Faubus sought to prevent nine 
     black students from entering Central High, but President 
     Dwight D. Eisenhower sent in the 101st Airborne to enforce 
     the court's order.
       Federal courts have monitored the desegregation effort 
     since 1965.
       Sixty-eight percent of the district's students are black, 
     24 percent are white, and Hispanics and Asians make up most 
     of the remaining 8 percent. The population of Little Rock is 
     mostly white, and there are many predominantly white private 
     schools in the area.
       The school district has sought to free itself from federal 
     monitoring, but a judge maintained partial control after 
     ruling two years ago that the district was not adequately 
     appraising how well its academic programs helped black 
     students.
       Superintendent Roy Brooks is black, as is Robert Daugherty, 
     the board's president.
       ``I think people are looking for a change,'' Mr. Daugherty 
     said. ``They're tired of things as usual, business as usual. 
     They want people who are more in tune with the community, and 
     I think that's what you see now.''
       Skip Rutherford, dean of the Clinton School of Public 
     Service and a former board president, said that a black 
     majority on the board was ``probably long overdue.''
       Students will still come first, said Mr. Rutherford, who is 
     white.
       ``I think the board members are going to vote much more on 
     the content of their character than the color of their 
     skin,'' he said. ``Most people when they get on the school 
     board tend to view issues not by color but by what's best for 
     the students.''

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