Posted on 05/17/2004 11:35:56 AM PDT by Brilliant
TOPEKA, Kan. - Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said Monday the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision declaring school segregation unconstitutional comes amid too many instances of inequality in the nation and too many forces seeking to divide Americans.
Kerry, joining a host of civil rights leaders at a ceremony marking the 1954 Brown v. Topeka Board of Education case, said schools remain underfunded and divided by income, the health care system has too many disparities by race, and one-third of black children live in poverty.
"Today, more than ever, we need to renew our commitment to one America," Kerry said on the steps of the Kansas Statehouse with hundreds of schoolchildren as a backdrop.
"We should not delude ourselves into thinking for an instant that because Brown represents the law we have achieved our goal, that the work of Brown is done when there are those who still seek, in different ways, to see it undone — to roll back affirmative action, to restrict equal rights, to undermine the promise of our Constitution," he said.
Black Topeka parents who wanted to send their children to nearby whites-only schools launched the case. At the time the Supreme Court handed down the decision, fewer than 4 percent of black Americans had college degrees, a number that has risen to 20 percent. The number of black lawyers and judges has jumped from 2,800 to more than 50,000, Kerry said.
"We have to defend the progress that has been made, but we also have to move the cause forward," he said.
Kerry took indirect jabs at President Bush, who was arriving in Topeka later Monday for a similar ceremony.
"Brown began to tear down the walls of inequality," Kerry said. "The next great challenge is to put up a ladder of opportunity for all."
Kerry routinely charges on the stump that Bush has drained money for schools, leaving those in blighted areas struggling. While racial segregation may be ended, he said, millions of children get a second-class education because they are poor.
"We have certainly not met the promise of Brown when, in too many parts of our country, our school systems are not separate but equal, but separate and unequal," Kerry said.
Bush spokesman Steve Schmidt noted that the president was marking the day as well and faulted Kerry for "introducing partisan invective into this historic anniversary."
Kerry's campaign was far more direct in its criticism of the president, releasing background documents accusing Bush of appointing "radical right-wing judges" and charging that "the Justice Department's civil rights division has been effectively closed."
While the president has used his No Child Left Behind law as a centerpiece of his domestic social agenda, Kerry scoffed at that, arguing that this year alone Bush's budget is $9.4 billion short of financing the measure.
"You cannot promise no child left behind and then pursue policies that leave millions of children behind," he said. "Because that promise is a promissory note to all of America's families that must be paid in full."
Joining Kerry were Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius; Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus; civil rights leader Jesse Jackson; and Wade Henderson, head of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.
Before heading to Kansas, Kerry courted Teamsters union leaders in Las Vegas, Nev., by arguing that Bush has turned his back on the American worker by allowing other countries to break trade deals. As president, he said, he would put in place a "commonsense" effort to strengthen the negotiation and enforcement of such agreements.
"When I am president, we will never turn a blind eye to clear trade violations when American jobs are on the line," Kerry told several thousand cheering delegates to a Teamsters convention. He said, however, that he would push for trade agreements. "I'm not a protectionist," he said. "I don't think that most people who are reasonable expect that."
Teamsters president James Hoffa conceded that Kerry has voted for trade deals that labor opposed, but he said he is convinced Kerry has seen the error of his ways.
One way Kerry could energize labor would be to tap Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt, who enjoys strong union support, as his running mate, Hoffa said.
"I told him to put Dick Gephardt in as the vice president," Hoffa told reporters.
Hah! Excellent idea, and far cheaper.
FMCDH
Yeah, they support Gephardt so strongly they endorsed Dean in the primaries.
Not a chance, They even went as far as hiding Mrs. Ketchup's income in tax deferred schemes.
Ummmm.... if Joe is tearing down the wall, and Fred is putting up a ladder against that wall, can anybody see a crash coming?
Will wonders never cease - what "convinced" him?
We have county and city schools here in Memphis/Shelby Co. The city schools with the exception of a few STINK, 58 are on the failure list of state take over. The county schools have 1 or 2. The Memphis school system gets the MOST state money of any system in the state. They spend $1,000 more per pupil than the county schools. Drop out rate is about 50% in city schools, don't know what the county is. Memphis spends DOUBLE per foot to build a same size school as the county does...gotta have PRETTY schools. They are always screaming for MORE money. Yet keep producing inferior products.
Now that would be a first for liberals, "Do as I do - not do as I say!"
Teddy (hic) Kennedy WROTE the NCLB legislation which contained an 11% increase is ED spending. NEA and teachers for the most part are DEMORATS.
Yo Ketchupman, for a man who makes a lot of money and is married to an extremely wealthy woman that wants the White House so bad that she drools, give more of your money to charity. Let's see: your charity donations for a decade amount to little over $3,000. Hmn, if you're so concerned about people's income, easily remedied: give your money to the poor.
Let's see, Carter, Clinton, and Kerrey sent their kids to private schools. George W. Bush and Dick Cheney sent their children to public schools. Who are the racists and elitists? I hate leftists!
I hope Kerry calls for busing AND an increase in taxing. Just that,alone,would cause a Bush landslide.
Leno has the best line about Kerry....he could deliver the SOTU AND the rebuttal....too bad Bush can never use it, becuase, even though a joke, it "implies" a President Kerry
You hit the nail on the head.
I've been complaining for years about the nonsense that schools spend their money on,but to no avail.
The three R's did it for generations of public school attendees and that's really all that is needed now.No sports,no health education,no arts,no nothin' but the basics. All the other stuff could be after school with fees charged.
Ahh, but High School football is sacred in Texas, and in much of the south.
Don't we have the best funded public school system in the world? We pay so much on average to educate each child, hmmm... where is it all going?
sKerry can afford private school, he doesn't care. f@#$ing windbag.
A lot of Fed funds go to the state DOE, which waste a lot of money... a lot of our schools are in debt because they spend wildly on things that aren't needed, and then the state takes millions of education dollars for "research" and new programs to double and triple check up on teachers. In Ohio this year they launched a program where a state employee visits every first year teacher TWICE for an evaluation. Meanwhile, each district has always taken care of that, giving first year teachers mentors and evaluations from school officials. Does this mean that we can not take care of ourselves, and must always pay a government official to do so?????
I was in an inner city school last year (most kids from section 8!). Our parents didn't care on average, we had 20 families in our PTA. Most kids didn't have pencils because cigarettes and beer were more important to their parents. No one ever read to them or worked with them after school, that is why they were failing. Everytime government tries to fix schools, they get worse.
Hey, parents in poor districts can get their kids out of school and homeschool anytime they see fit...
True.
I don't know much about football, but isn't artifical turf much more likely to cause damange to those playing on it?
I sense that Kerry is more likely to move the "income" rather that moving the students.....
We can hope it's buses - I've always feared it'd be trains next time!
"One way Kerry could energize labor would be to tap Missour Rep. Dick Gephardt, who enjoys strong union support, as his running mate, Hoffa said."
Why won't Kerry name his VP?
1)Nobody WANTS the job.
2)It would take away from the arrogant skerry's camera time
3)Nobody wants to answer for mr. flipper's flops
4)Nobody WANTS the job.
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