Join us Wednesday, October 30 for a very special and timely Charlotte Crucial Conversation:

The future of school integration in North Carolina

PLEASE NOTE: Due to an unforeseen conflict that will necessitate his traveling to Baton Rouge, La., Rev. William Barber II (who was originally scheduled to speak) has regretfully informed Policy Watch that he will not be able to attend Wednesday’s event, although he will offer a taped message for attendees. Happily, N.C. NAACP President T. Anthony Spearman, a veteran civil rights leader, has agreed to speak on segregation’s deleterious impact in Barber’s stead.

We apologize for any inconvenience or disappointment this might cause, but the conversation in Charlotte remains an urgent one, and we’ve convened an outstanding panel that will provide a broad, thoughtful analysis of segregation’s enduring threat to justice in North Carolina.

The revised list of speakers now includes:

Rev. T. Anthony Spearman, President of the N.C. NAACP, is a former Greensboro pastor whose advocacy on a host of social justice issues led to him being one of North Carolina’s original “Moral Monday” protesters.

Mary McCray, chair of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education.

Justin Perry, chair of OneMeck, which has advocated for school desegregation.

Pam Grundy, author of “Color and Character: West Charlotte High and the American Struggle Over Educational Equality.”

Mark Dorosin, co-director of the N.C. regional office of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, is a longtime civil rights attorney whose work in North Carolina has made him a leader on racial disparities in education, as well as housing discrimination and environmental justice.

It's been nearly a half-century since the United States Supreme Court issued its landmark unanimous ruling in the case of Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, in which it affirmed U.S. District Court Judge James McMillan's ruling that directed CMS to affirmatively integrate its public schools. 

Since that time, of course, the combination of subsequent court rulings, new state laws and new local policies have served to undermine and erode the promise of Swann. Today, tragically, genuine racial integration in North Carolina's public schools remains an unrealized dream throughout most of the state.

The situation is especially acute in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, which, according to a 2018 report by veteran education policy researcher Kris Nordstrom on the North Carolina Justice Center, has become “by far the most racially segregated district in the state.”

So, is the battle over? If not, what's next in the effort to combat school re-segregation?

Join us on Wednesday, October 30 at Charlotte's Friendship Missionary Baptist Church as we examine these and other timely questions with a distinguished panel of experts.

Seats are sure to go fast – don’t miss this very special event!