AJC Leads School Integration Brief Filed with Supreme Court
October 10, 2006? New York ? The American Jewish Committee today filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the efforts of public school districts to ensure that their student bodies remain integrated. The cases, Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education and Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No.1, are challenges to the school assignment plans adopted voluntarily by Louisville and Seattle as a way to ensure public school integration in the face of segregated housing patterns. "More than fifty years after the landmark Brown v. Board decision, it remains important to speak out when school systems are trying to do the right thing," said Jeffrey Sinensky, AJC?s general counsel. "Diversity not only provides all students with a richer educational experience, but also prepares them for participation in our pluralistic democracy." AJC coordinated the filing of an interfaith brief that addressed, from the perspective of religious communities, the importance of diversity and integration in public education. "As religious organizations, we have seen the strength of the United States in assimilating people of many different religious backgrounds into a cohesive American society," states the brief. "We believe that integrated public schools are our foremost asset in educating our children to become full participants in our increasingly diverse country." AJC was joined on the brief by a number of faith communities, organizations and individuals, including the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, Father Robert Drinan, the Sikh Coalition and the United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries. AJC has long actively advocated for integration in American education. For example, AJC sponsored the study demonstrating the psychological impact of prejudice and discrimination upon children cited by the Supreme Court in its landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision. AJC also filed an amicus brief with the Court in 2003 in support of the University of Michigan?s efforts to achieve diversity in its student bodies.
Ari M. Gordon Program Associate, Intergroup Affairs The American Jewish Committee 165 E56th St. New York, NY 10022 (212) 751-4000 x266