The Notion of Progress

Gloria Ladson-Billings’, “Landing on the Wrong Note: The Price We Paid for Brown” could stand a gentlier title. This excellent article provides the history, pluses and minuses of Brown I and Brown II. And through all of the discussion about this ruling the bottom line is that it did result in a failure. But that doesn’t mean it did not foster a lot of other positive socio and political changes. Therefore, all though she contends that the progress has regressed, I contend that time and changes have nullified the intended results. Thus her poignant ending that although we have “landed on the wrong note, (in light of re-segregation and the costs that were paid by individuals and groups), doesn’t signal the end of the music” is quite apropos; although I may have called it dancing to a different drummer.

The paper truly brought back some memories when she mentioned Leroi Jones (Amiri Baraka), now a renowned poet, once considered a revolutionary. I personally heard and met with Mr. Jones in 1967 when I, as president of my college’s social committee, arranged for him to speak at our campus. This was quite a to-do since my class only had 8 African Americans graduate in 1968. During his presentation, he pointed to me, sitting in the front row, and said “and you need to stop straightening your hair and looking like someone your not.” There is a picture of us in my yearbook which I would post were it not for the fact that it is packed away, since I am moving. Anyway, I did let my hair grow natural and when I conducted my student teaching, at a school that had several African-American teachers, I was ostracized in the teachers lounge and told to go straighten my hair. Go figure. I dare say that I would not have been at that college, nor at the school where I did my student teaching (80% white), if it had not been for Brown…which probably means I would not be writing this Blog. Yes changes must occur, but thanks be to the efforts of diversity and multiculturalism, students and teachers do not have to “look-a-like.”