Spring 2014: Pursing the Dreams of Brown and the Civil Rights Act: A Living History of the Fight for Educational Equality
In this historic symposium, the Michigan State Law Review worked in conjunction with the Michigan State University College of Education and the University of Missouri-Kansas City to present scholars reflections on Brown v. Board of Education and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Hosted by Michigan State University College of Law Professors Kristi Bowman and Nicholas Mercuro, the event was part of the university-wide commemoration of the sixtieth anniversary of Brown and the fiftieth anniversary of the Civil Rights Act. The symposium took place on April 10-11, 2014.
Read Volume 2014’s Spring 2014 Symposium Articles here.
Schedule of Events
Thursday, April 10, 2014
9:00 a.m. Welcoming Remarks
Joan W. Howarth, Dean, Michigan State University College of Law
Donald Heller, Dean, Michigan State University College of Education
Kristi Bowman, Professor, Michigan State University College of Law
9:30 a.m. Mendez v. Westminster (1946)
Moderator: Kristi Bowman, Professor, Michigan State University College of Law
The Honorable Federick Aguirre, Judge, Superior Court of Orange County
Gonzalo Mendez, Litigant
Sylvia Mendez, Litigant
Sandra Robbie, Mendez archivist
Philippa Strum, Senior Scholar, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
11:00 a.m. Break
11:15 a.m. Brown v. Board of Education (1954), Part I: Litigants and Attorneys
Moderator: Steven Brown, WGTV Public Radio Executive Producer
George Brookover, Partner, Brookover, Carr & Schaberg
Son of expert witness in Brown
Patricia Edwards, Distinguished Professor, Michigan State University, Department of Teacher Education
One of the students to integrate public schools in Albany, Georgia
Jack Greenberg, Alphonse Fletcher, Jr. Professor of Law, Columbia Law School
Member of the NAACP's legal team in Brown and the companion cases
Cheryl Brown Henderson, Founding President, Brown Foundation
Daughter of Oliver Brown
Leola Montgomery
Wife of Oliver Brown and mother of Cheryl Brown Henderson
12:45 p.m. Lunch
1:45 p.m. Brown v. Board of Education (1954), Part II: Scholarly Perspectives
Moderator: Danielle Holley Walker, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Law, University of South Carolina School of Law
Charles Hamilton Houston, Jr., Historian and Lecturer
Son of Charles Hamilton Houston
Vanessa Siddle Walker, Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Educational Studies, Emory University, Division of Educational Studies
Darrell Jackson, Assistant Professor, University of Wyoming College of Law
3:15 p.m. Break
3:30 p.m. The Education Provisions in the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Moderator: Atiba Ellis, Associate Professor, West Virginia University College of Law
Allison Brown, President, Allison Brown Consulting
Former attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Education Opportunities Section
Ken Ferguson, Associate Professor, UMKC School of Law
Robert L. Green, Retired Dean, Michigan State University College of Urban Development
Southern Christian Leadership Conference Education Director 1965-1966
Howard Glickstein, Professor, Touro Law Center
Attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice during the 1960s
The Honorable Nathaniel Jones, Retired Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Kenneth Teasdale, Retired Chairman, Armstrong Teasdale
Key legislative staffer involved in drafting the Civil Rights Act
8:00 p.m. Keynote Address
Welcome: Kristi Bowman, Professor, Michigan State University College of Law
Introduction: David Thronson, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Law, Michigan State University College of Law
Gary Orfield, Professor of Education, Law, Political Science and Urban Policy, UCLA Graduate School of Education; Co-director, The Civil Rights Project at UCLA
Friday, April 11, 2014
9:30 a.m. Milliken v. Bradley (1974)
Moderator: Joyce Baugh, Professor, Central Michigan University, Department of Political Science
Derek Black, Professor, University of South Carolina School of Law
Charles Clotfelter, Z. Smith Reynolds Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Economics and Law, Duke Sanford School of Public Policy
The Honorable Nathaniel Jones, Retired Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
General Counsel for the NAACP during Milliken
Thomas M.J. Hathaway, Of Counsel, Clark Hill
Counsel for the school board in Milliken
Ray Litt, Litigant
Mark Litt, Litigant
John Runyan, Managing Director, Sachs Waldman
Former law clerk to Judge Roth
11:00 a.m. Break
11:15 a.m. Missouri v. Jenkins (1995)
Moderator: Daniel Weddle, Clinical Professor of Law and Director of Academic Support, UMKC School of Law
Arthur Benson, Arthur Benson & Associates
James Bothwick, Of Counsel, Husch Blackwell
Counsel in Jenkins
John Munich, Partner, Stinson Leonard Street
Counsel in Jenkins
Gregory Goheen, Shareholder, McAnany, Van Cleave & Phillips
Counsel in a parallel case in Kansas City, Kansas
Basil L. North, Jr., Partner, Basil L. North, Jr. & Associates
Counsel in Jenkins
Burnele Powell, Miles and Ann Loadholt Professor of Law, University of South Carolina School of Law
Wendy Parker, Professor, Wake Forest School of Law
12:45 p.m. Lunch
1:45 p.m. Parents Involved v. Seattle (2007) & Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education (companion case)
Moderator: Darrell Jackson, Assistant Professor, University of Wyoming College of Law
John Borkowski, Partner, Hogan Lovells
Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean, University of California Irvine School of Law
Michael Dumas, Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership, NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development
Teddy B. Gordon, Attorney at Law
Counsel in Meredith
Byron Leet, Partner, Wyatt Tarrant & Combs
Counsel in Meredith
Julie Nelson, Former Director, Seattle Office for Civil Rights
Daniel Ritter, Retired Partner, Davis Wright Tremaine
Counsel in Parents Involved
Danielle Holley Walker, Dean, Howard University
3:15 p.m. Break
3:30 p.m. Looking to the Future
Moderator: Kimberly Jenkins Robinson, Professor, University of Richmond School of Law
John Borkowski, Partner, Hogan Lovells
Maurice Dyson, Associate Professor, Thomas Jefferson School of Law
Erica Frankenberg, Assistant Professor, Pennsylvania State University College of Education
David Hinojosa, Regional Counsel San Antonio Office, MALDEF
Dennis Parker, Director, ACLU Racial Justice Program
Benjamin Superfine, Associate Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Education
5:00 p.m. Concluding Remarks