11:12 a.m., April 6, 2009----Choosing Equality: Essays and Narratives on the Desegregation Experience, edited by Leland Ware, Louis L. Redding Professor of Law and Public Policy at the University of Delaware, and Robert Hayman, professor of law at Widener University, is an overview of desegregation since Brown v. Board of Education, focusing on Delaware as a microcosm reflecting the national scene and also looking at events across the country.

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A compilation of essays on desegregation by scholars, lawyers, activists and others with an introduction by U.S. Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., a UD alumnus, the book is an outcome of the Redding Symposium marking the 50th anniversary of Brown vs. the Board of Education.

The landmark Supreme Court decision in 1954 brought about desegregation in the nation's schools.

Designed for educators, sociologists, historians and as a textbook for students, Choosing Equality, published by the Pennsylvania State University Press, has received kudos from reviewers.

Mark Tushnet, William Nelson Cromwell professor of Law at Harvard Law School, wrote, “This splendid collection” provides a “well-rounded understanding of the experience of desegregation in Delaware and, as important, around the nation.”

Kevin D. Brown of the Maurer School of Law at Indiana University said the book is a “'must-read' for anyone trying to understand the implications of the Brown decision for American society.”

Paul Diamond, author of Beyond Busing, said of Choosing Equality, “Its unique local perspective offers an important lens for better understanding the national issues.”

Reginald Leamon Robinson of Howard University's School of Law calls Choosing Equality a “truly important book.”

According to the editors in the introduction, the 50th anniversary “presented an occasion to revisit the case and the verdict was decidedly mixed.”

Although Choosing Equality represents a variety of viewpoints about desegregation, in general, it is an affirmation of progress in spite of problems. As the authors write, “... we believe the promise of Brown was-and remains-realizable.”

One of these current issues, Ware said, is residential segregation due to neighborhood schools and housing patterns and another is the achievement gap between white and African American students. “But,” Ware added, “I grew up in segregated schools in Atlanta and there has been great progress, and I am hopeful things will improve,” citing the election of President Barack Obama as a step forward.

The book begins with a historic overview of black history in the state of Delaware from colonial times to 1950 by Hayman. Ware wrote a chapter on desegregation during the past 50 years in Delaware, including the events leading to Brown and the era of “massive resistance,” which followed.

Ware wrote, “Conditions for African Americans in Delaware have improved considerably since 1954 when Brown was decided, but educational equity has not been achieved.”

The book includes interviews and reminiscences about leading figures involved in the desegregation movement, including, Louis Redding, Thurgood Marshall, Judge Murray M. Schwartz and others.

The book also is a forum for opinions, such as articles written by New Castle County councilman, community activist and UD graduate Jea Street, who wrote, “Overall, I view the last 30 years with disappointment ... but we will keep pushing until we achieve our goal of equal educational opportunities.”

The book examines a compendium of racial equality court cases that have affected American society from Plessy v. Ferguon, which preceded Brown and mandated equal facilities for blacks and whites, to Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District, in 2006-07, which instituted “color blindness” in making school assignments even though the goal was diversity.

In the last chapter Ware and Hayman disagree with the Parents Involved decision and write, “Judicially imposed inequality is a painful reality...[but] Brown still lives ... Desegregation is not over yet. We can still choose equality.”

A graduate of Fisk University, Ware received his J.D. from Boston College School of Law and joined the UD faculty in 2000 after serving as a professor in St. Louis University of Law. He is the co-author of Brown v. Board of Education: Caste, Culture and the Constitution, which received the Langum Prize for Legal History in 2004, and Thurgood Marshall: Freedom's Defender.

Article by Sue Moncure