32 Mississippi school districts still under federal desegregation orders
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/federal-government-orders-desegregation-32-mississippi-school-district-rcna87296
32 Mississippi school districts still under federal desegregation orders
The desegregation orders fit into a broader body of civil rights work that is examining jails, police departments and hate crimes in the state, according to the Justice Department.
June 1, 2023, 6:12 PM EDT / Updated June 1, 2023, 10:38 PM EDT / Source: Associated Press
By Associated Press
LEXINGTON, Miss. There are 32 school districts in Mississippi still under federal desegregation orders, the U.S. Department of Justices Civil Rights Divisions assistant attorney general said Thursday.
Enforcing the open desegregation orders fit into a broader body of civil rights work launched in Mississippi that is examining jails, police departments and hate crimes in the state, according to Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the U.S. Department of Justices Civil Rights Division. Referring to the U.S. Supreme Court decision that outlawed segregation of public schools across the country, she said the Justice Department is ensuring school districts provide Black students in Mississippi with equal access to education programs.
In our ongoing efforts to fulfill the promise of Brown vs. Board of Education, we currently have 32 open cases with school districts here in Mississippi, Clarke said. And in each of those cases, we are working to ensure that these districts comply with desegregation orders from courts.
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Mississippi has the highest percentage of Black residents of any state. It has been home, as have other states, to legal fights over desegregation. In 2017, a Mississippi Delta school district agreed to merge two high schools after nearly 50 years of litigation in which the district sought to maintain historically Black and white schools.
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