Trump administration officials are asserting their intent to abolish court-ordered school desegregation measures; concerned parents argue for their continued implementation.
Swapping School Slates: Ferriday Gets a Raw Deal Compared to Vidalia
FERRIDAY, La. — Right off the bat, the differences are clear. Ferriday High School's walls bear the scars of time, fortified with barbed wire. Just a few miles away, Vidalia High School gleams like a gem, boasting a new library, and a crisp blue "V" adorning the orange brick.
Ferriday High is 90% Black. Vidalia High is 62% white.
For Black families, the stark contrast between the schools hints at a backhanded message — "we're not meant to have the finer things," says Brian Davis, a father in Ferriday. "It's almost like our kids don't deserve it," he adds somberly.
These schools belong to Concordia Parish, a region ordered to desegregate 60 years ago, and is still under a court-ordered plan today. Yet, there's a growing push to let go of decades-old orders, which some view as outdated.
In a dramatic reversal, the Justice Department declared its intention to wind down court-ordered desegregation plans dating back to the Civil Rights Movement. Starting in April, they lifted a 1960s order in Louisiana's Plaquemines Parish. Harmeet Dhillon, head of the department's civil rights division, hinted that more orders would "bite the dust."
This move comes under pressure from Republican Gov. Jeff Landry and his attorney general, who advocate for the elimination of all remaining orders in Louisiana. They label the orders as burdensome relics of a time when Black students were barred from certain schools.
The orders, initially intended to be temporary, can be dissolved if a school system can prove they've completely eradicated segregation. However, that goal remains elusive, with glaring racial imbalances lingering in many districts.
Civil rights groups argue that the orders are vital tools to address the lingering effects of forced segregation — including disparities in student discipline, academic programs, and teacher hiring. Take Concordia, for instance, where the decades-old order was instrumental in thwarting a charter school from favoring white students during admissions.
"Concordia is one where it's old, but a lot is happening there," explained Deuel Ross, deputy director of litigation for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. "It's true for a lot of these cases. They're not just sitting silently."
A Contentious Question: Integration or Not?
Last year, before Trump assumed office, Concordia Parish rejected a Justice Department plan that would have ended its case if the district combined several majority white and majority Black elementary and middle schools.
At a town hall meeting, Vidalia residents fiercely opposed the plan, wondering aloud if it would disrupt students' lives, exposing their children to drugs, and violence. An official from the Louisiana attorney general's office echoed their sentiments and suggested the new administration might change course on older orders.
Accepting the plan would have been a "death sentence" for the district, said Paul Nelson, a former Concordia superintendent. He believes that white families would have fled to private schools or other districts. Nelson, who supports the removal of the court order, insists, "It's time to move on."
At Ferriday High, athletic coach Derrick Davis backed the idea of melding Ferriday and Vidalia schools. He argues that the district's disparities are revealed whenever his teams visit schools with newer sports facilities.
"If we all merged, we can all get what we need," he said.
However, merging schools without a focus on racial harmony draws criticism. Marcus Martin, Ferriday's school resource officer, points out that such changes could be a culture shock for some.
The district's current superintendent and school board did not respond to requests for comment.
Federal Orders: Leverage Against Racial Discrimination
Concordia is one of over 120 districts across the South that remain under desegregation orders dating from the 1960s and '70s, with about a dozen in Louisiana. Shaheena Simons, who previously led the Justice Department section that oversees school desegregation cases, dismissed the notion that the orders are relics. "Segregation and inequality persist in our schools, and they persist in districts that are still under desegregation orders," she stated.
With court orders in place, families facing discrimination can contact the Justice Department or seek relief from the court directly. Otherwise, the only alternative is a lawsuit, which many families cannot afford, Simons explained.
In Concordia, the order was crucial in the battle for Delta Charter School. A judge mandated that the school's student body reflected the district's racial demographics. However, during its first year, Delta was only 15% Black. After a legal challenge, Delta was ordered to prioritize Black students. Today, about 40% of its students are Black.
Desegregation orders have come into play in other recent cases in Louisiana. One resulted in a directive to address disproportionately high discipline rates for Black students, and another instigated the relocation of a predominantly Black elementary school from a site near a chemical plant.
The Justice Department: Ending Some Desegregation Orders Easily
The Trump administration was able to close the Plaquemines case with minimal resistance because the original plaintiffs were no longer involved. Concordia and a number of other districts find themselves in the same situation, making them vulnerable to quick dismissals.
Concordia's case goes back to 1965. At the time, the region was deeply segregated and home to a violent offshoot of the Ku Klux Klan. When Black families in Ferriday sued for access to all-white schools, the federal government intervened. As Concordia integrated its schools, white families left Ferriday. Today, the district's schools mimic the demographics of their surrounding areas.
At a December town hall, Vidalia resident Ronnie Blackwell voiced his doubts about federal intervention, stating, "The federal government has probably destroyed more communities and school systems than it ever helped." Under its court order, Concordia allows students in majority Black schools to transfer to majority white schools, submits reports on teacher demographics, and student discipline.
Pending a court decision, Concordia is set to argue that the judge should dismiss the order. Meanwhile, amid a wave of resignations in the federal government, most of the Justice Department lawyers assigned to the case have left.
Without court supervision, Brian Davis, a Ferriday father, sees little hope for improvement. "A lot of parents over here in Ferriday, they're stuck here because they're trapped in a system that doesn't work for them and their children," he said, adding, "You'll find schools like Ferriday — the term to me is, they're slipping into darkness."
Binkley and Lurye write for the Associated Press.
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- The government's stance on court-ordered desegregation plans is contentious, with the Justice Department planning to wind down these orders, a move criticized by civil rights groups.
- In Los Angeles, politics and education intertwine as the city grapples with the implementation of a racial profiling law, with uncertainty surrounding how the change in the civil rights division might impact ongoing lawsuits.
- The sports landscape in Los Angeles continues to evolve, with the victory of the Rams in the general news setting the stage for excitement in education-and-self-development programs across the city.
- In Concordia Parish, Louisiana, the question of integration looms large, as the district grapples with the potential dissolution of a decades-old court-ordered desegregation plan.
- Culture and justice collide in California, as the state's discipline law aims to address racial disparities in school settings, a move embraced by some and met with resistance by others, particularly in light of the Trump administration's stance on such matters.
- The courtroom witnesses a significant case in Temecula, where the ban on critical race theory in schools has been halted by an appeals court, raising questions about academic freedom and the role of law in shaping educational culture.
