One hundred days after the death of Michael Brown Jr., the State of Missouri by executive order established a commission to conduct “a thorough, wide-ranging and unflinching study of the social and economic conditions that impede progress, equality and safety in the St. Louis region.”
This Ferguson Commission also was charged with issuing a report containing policy recommendations after undertaking a study of subjects that include disparities in education, economic opportunity, health care, housing, transportation, child care, business ownership, and family and community stability.
Any “thorough, wide-ranging and unflinching study” of the social and economic conditions of African Americans in the St. Louis region must also ascertain whether the state has systematically engaged in policies and practices that established and perpetuated a racially segregated system that continually fosters the social and economic conditions impeding progress and equality for people of color.
The Ferguson Commission’s report must include an analysis of the harm caused by de jure segregation and suggest remedies. This examination is strategically critical because “a state’s duty is not discharged until it eradicates policies and practices traceable to its prior de jure dual system that continues to foster segregation,” as the U S Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Fordice.
Free blacks in Missouri were stringently regulated by law. In 1817, the territorial government of Missouri prohibited by law free blacks from traveling. In spite of the 14th Amendment, well into the 20th century “Sundown Towns” systematically excluded blacks from some communities in Missouri after dark, a practice that subversively continues in Missouri even today.
The 15-year history of the state attorney general’s Vehicle Stops Report shows that racial bias perpetuates a de jure system of modern day “sundowners” where excessive vehicle stops and aggressive policing impede blacks and discourage them from traversing their communities.
The origins of education in Missouri dates back to 1774, with its first school being established in St. Louis, and later the state’s first high school was established in St. Louis in 1853. In 1847 the state passed legislation forbidding blacks, slave nor free, to be educated. After the Civil War, the Missouri Constitution of 1865 stated in Article XI Section 3: “Separate free public schools shall be established for the education of children of African descent.” Even today one could argue that Missouri has continued to operate a segregated system of education and continues to take actions to perpetuate such a segregated system.
Compare the state’s unequal funding for its Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and their mainstream counterparts. The state fails to bring Lincoln and Harris-Stowe State universities into funding parity with mainstream institutions. As with segregated schools, the education of African Americans remains undervalued and underfunded.
The Ferguson Commission’s education discussion must relate to whether existing student segregation could be attributable either to private decision-making or to the original constitutional violation and subsequent action by the state. Its analysis should reflect that student segregation is in part the result of residential segregation. As a result, it is necessary to inquire into the basis of residential segregation.
Racial discrimination by state authorities existed in the enforcement of racially restrictive covenants. Prior actions by governmental authorities have obviously impacted the amount of residential segregation that exists in the United States today. Residential segregation is also, in part, a product of the operation of a dual school system. Supreme Court Chief Justice Burger noted people gravitate toward school facilities. Just as schools are located in response to the needs of people, the location of schools may also influence residential patterns.
When values that state and local governments wish to advance – with respect to policing, education and housing – are inconsistent with values enshrined in the Constitution, the state and local values must give way. In the context of de jure segregation, whether African Americans are harmed is irrelevant. The Equal Protection Clause rests upon the value of racial equality, and state or local governments cannot attempt to instill a contrary belief.
Adolphus Pruitt is president of the St. Louis City Chapter of the NAACP.
