A Seven-Step Blueprint to Create a 5-Year Indianapolis Plan to Fulfill the Promise of Brown​
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Step #1: Chronicle and summarize the most important events that have occurred in your local community since the 1954 Brown decision.
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Step #2: Ten questions to ask concerning the impact of the landmark Brown decision in your local community
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Step #3: Identify your 5 most important local priorities for Black education on which your community will focus during the next 5 years.
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Step #4: Making your priority list operational
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Step #5: Building the public will
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Step #6: Identifying the action steps, goals, and timelines for producing results on your first-year plans
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Step #7: Completing your 5-year Plan for Meeting the Promise of Brown
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Step #1: Chronicle and summarize the most important events that have occurred in your local community since the 1954 Brown decision.
The advances made in African American education since 1954 were uniquely different in each Black community based on the political, economic, and racial history of that community. Just as each person becomes a distinctive individual, every community has its own separate history and consequently faces markedly different obstacles today. Therefore, local priorities may be different, which will be reflected by the sequential order in which they will be addressed.
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Example: the Indiana Council on Educating Students of Color produced a brochure on the local history of Black education in Indianapolis, entitled “Courage: The Black Indianapolis Struggle for Educational Equity.”
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Although generating a comparable document is not required, understanding the local history of Black education in your community will be helpful in developing a community plan that will advance education for African American students.
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Both before and after the Brown decision, myriad historical events affected Black education. Local challenges were often driven by national events that impacted Black Americans at the local level. A timeline of those events can be found at the following URL. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/media/4321/download?inline&file=Spencer_Brown_Timeline_PAPER.pdf
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Step #2: Ten questions to ask concerning the impact of the landmark Brown decision in your local community
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There is near unanimous agreement that the high expectations in Black America for improvements in African American education following the Brown decision did not materialize, which leads us to the following questions:
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The “racial integration” of American schools was interpreted as the primary goal of the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, but it did not produce the presumed educational outcomes. a.What might have been a more achievable goal or a more valuable focus of Black efforts following this 1954 Supreme Court decision? b.What should our goal(s) for African American education be today? (A more equitable distribution of resources?)
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Have there been efforts within the last decade to de-segregate your local schools or has racial segregation in your schools been largely accepted as an unavoidable characteristic of public education?
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If racial integration of schools took place in your regional/local schools, what were the academic achievement outcomes for Black students? a.What formal efforts were made to racially integrate your schools?b. Did traditional disparities in academic outcomes continue?c. Did new inequalities surface? d. If schools in your community were desegregated in the 1960’s or later, then how, when, and why did they become our re-segregated?
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The national call for “school desegregation” in America took place 70 years ago. However, are there more schools or fewer schools in your region/local community that remain racially and/or economically segregated? Why?
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Data shows that Black student achievement generally improved during the early years of school desegregation. Why have we seen a decline in Black student achievement in more recent years?
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What trends have you seen locally in Black education over the last 70 years indicating that improvements have been made in the quality of education received by Black students today? Where have we seen tangible, measurable, or encouraging progress been made in fulfilling the promise of Brown in the United States?
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Motivation is sometimes cited as the key factor suppressing Black student achievement (particularly in secondary education -- middle and high school). What can be done to increase student motivation and student engagement that would deliver higher achievement outcomes for African American students?
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Are there new legislative initiatives that may be needed in Indiana that would bring us closer towards fulfilling the promise of Brown?
a. How do we improve the quality of the educators of Black children?
b. What professional development topics would benefit those teachers?
c. How can teachers currently in the classroom (“seasoned” or “experienced” educators) be retrained to better meet the educational needs of their Black students? If they cannot be retrained, how can they best be reassigned or repurposed in ways that will benefit their schools or school districts?
d. How can Black communities work with the local colleges of education to better prepare prospective teachers on instructional strategies that have proven to be effective in teaching/reaching Black students? -
Achievement outcomes for Black students are correlative with the quality of teachers in classrooms where Black children are taught.
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1What are the most prevalent systemic barriers (social, economic, political, etc.) working against advancements in Black education in your local community or region?
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*The eight research papers below will assist you in answering the above questions. Brown research papers with (1) a hyperlink to each paper, or (2) a QR code linked to each paper.
1.Reclaiming the Promise of Brown: The Integration of Desegregation & School Funding ReformRucker C. Johnson, University of California, Berkeley and National Bureau of Economic ResearchAry Amerikaner, Brown’s Promise
2.Facing the Rising Sun: Black Teachers’ Positive Impact Post-Brown Travis J. Bristol, University of California, BerkeleyDesiree Carver-Thomas, Learning Policy Institute
3.Brown at 70: Progress, Pushback, and Policies that MatterLinda Darling-Hammond, Stanford University, Graduate School of EducationSean Darling-Hammond, University of California, Los Angeles
4.But What About the Teachers? The Forgotten Narratives of Black Teachers in the Midst of BrownGloria Ladson-Billings, University of Wisconsin-Madison
5.The Complex Braid of Brown: How Conceptualizations and Initiatives Within the African American Community of Research, Practice and Activism Have Influenced the Advance of Knowledge and Practice in EducationCarol D. Lee, Northwestern University
6.Brown v. Board of Education and the Democratic Purposes of Public EducationKent McGuire, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
7.Where Do We Go From Here? Assessing the Limits and Possibilities of Education for Black People in the U.S., 70 Years after BrownJoaquín M. S. Noguera, Loyola Marymount UniversityPedro A. Noguera, University of Southern California
8.The Dream of Integration & the Politics of Resegregation: The Continuing Battle over the Legacy of Brown v. Board of Education Gary Orfield, University of California, Los Angeles
Each publication will provide you and your community with a wealth of research data, information, and references detailing the historical and contemporary challenges facing Black education. The papers also include suggestions for surmounting many of the hurdles confronting African American students, Black families, and our community. ​
​Step #3: Identify your 5 most important local priorities for Black education on which your community will focus during the next 5 years.
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a. Plan an initial meeting of local stakeholders (educators, administrators, community leaders, local businesses, school board members, Black Student Unions or similar organizations, representatives from higher education, etc.) who have a track record of supporting black education or who are genuinely interested in Black educational progress that will benefit your local community.
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b. Develop a list of your local challenges, which will help in identifying your local priorities for Black education.
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c. There are 5 major areas of focus where you may look for quantitative and/or qualitative improvements in African American education by 2029 (the 75th anniversary of the Brown decision). They include the following:
i. The Desegregation/integration of schools
ii. Black Student Achievement
iii. Curriculum and Instruction
iv. Social Issues Impacting Education Funding and Resources
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d. To assist you in the process of ranking your top five priorities, the document below may be useful to you and your stakeholders.
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Ranking the Five Most Critical Challenges Facing African American Education
Step #4: Making your priority list operational
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Your rationale: Provide three or more detailed explanations for selecting the #1 priority for your school district or community?
2. While addressing your first-year priority, what other subtopics will you plan to address?
3. What current data/information, articles, case studies, historical information, journal publications, or other resources will you use in developing your 5-year plan? These resources will help establish the sequence of steps necessary to address the identified challenges related to priority #1.
4. Is there a school district nearby (or within your state) with a comparable demographic composition and challenges that was able to make quantifiable or meaningful progress towards improving education for African American students?
a. What did they do differently?
b. What made them successful?
c. What special resources were required to produce their outcome?
d. How can your school district replicate their success?
e. Is there a contact person in that school district or community who can serve in an advisory capacity to assist your community?
f. What evidence-based solutions are available to address the identified challenges?
​Step #5: Building the public will
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Are there local researchers or institutions (universities, foundations, non-profit organizations, etc.) that can provide additional information or guidance? Who might we contact for additional information or guidance (recognized experts)?
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Are there local, regional, or statewide organizations that could serve as partners and/or help to secure funding to improve Black education locally?
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Who in your community has already demonstrated a genuine interest and/or investment in advancing Black education? Can they become partners in your efforts?
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Who in your local community/region would you consider reliable allies in support of African American education? Who else in the state would be supportive?
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Are there local school-business partnerships, educational organizations, Black sororities/fraternities, or educational stakeholders (businesses, companies, corporations, etc.) already operating in the community who we can depend on to support our 5-year plan to improve African American education?​​
​​Step #6: Identifying the action steps, goals, and timelines for producing results on your first-year plans ​​​
​Step #7 - Completing your 5-year Plan for Meeting the Promise of Brown
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We invite input from you, your colleagues, and your educational stakeholders concerning what you believe should be the essential elements of a 5-year Indiana Plan to Fulfill the Promise of Brown. Please submit your ideas to the following email address IndianaCouncilESC@gmail.com. A compilation and summary of the submitted information will be posted on the Indiana Council On Educating Students of Color website at www.icesoc.org
Over the next five years (2024-2029), we will continue to invite your input on what we must do to “move the needle” significantly for African American education, and we will share the progress made in various communities. Important information will be posted and updated regularly on the www.ICESOC.org website.
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We will organize a “Meeting the Promise of Brown Leadership Committee.” The charge of this committee will be to guide the development of a comprehensive Indiana Plan to Meet the Promise of Brown. Leaders from statewide educational groups that will be invited to participate include the following:
• The Indiana Department of Education
• The Divine 9
• ISTA
• Indianapolis Urban League
• IND. NAACP
• Indiana Black Superintendents
•Indianapolis sponsors (The Eli Lilly Endowment, IAAQLI),
• a representative from the five most impacted school districts in Indianapolis
• ICESC partner Charter Schools
• ICOEE
• NCOEE
• Indianapolis Phi Delta Kappa Chapter
• Would you and/or your school district be interested in joining this group?
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A primary goal of our organizations (ICESC, The Divine 9 and NCOEE) is to develop a website where we will collect, store, and disseminate information related to fulfilling the promise of Brown. Information will be arranged under each of the 5 priority categories, which will include the respective subcategories. Individuals with expertise within these areas will be identified as resources who can be invaluable in addressing regional/community issues affecting Black education. As each community or school district makes progress towards meeting the promise of Brown, we will post “their story.” It is essential that we share good news and progress as it develops, so the successes can be replicated wherever possible throughout the state and the nation.
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Does your community, school district or planning committee need additional information, support, or resources from ICOEE, ICESC, or NCOEE to provide you with assistance?
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What specific information, data or resources does your local group need to move forward in completing the seven steps of your 5-year Plan for Meeting the Promise of Brown?
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