50 years ago, Brown v. Board of Education held out hope that by desegregating public schools all children, Black or White, would benefit from a unified system of quality primary and secondary education. For Long Island public schools in racially separate and unequal neighborhoods, this legacy can be challenging to uphold.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education and begin to address public school inequities on Long Island, ERASE Racism and 15 Long Island universities and colleges collaborated to develop a series of conferences, films series, presentations and discussions. The events kicked off on Monday, March 29, 2004, when 600 Long Islanders participated in a conference to discuss and develop new tools to address segregation and inequities in Long Island’s public schools.

ERASE Racism coordinated the March 29th Conference with:

• Adelphi University
• Briarcliffe College
• Dowling College
• Farmingdale State University of New York
• Hofstra University
• Long Island Community Foundation
• Long Island University
• Molloy College
• Nassau Community College
• New York Institute of Technology
• The State University of New York at Old Westbury
• St John’s University
• St Joseph’s College
• Stony Brook University
• Suffolk Community College
• Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center

Brown v. Board of Education : The Unfinished Agenda was made possible by generous contributions from:

• ERASE Racism
• Lilo and Gerard Leeds Fund
• Krasnoff Family Fund
• Washington Mutual
• JP Morgan Chase
• Newsday
• Citibank
• L’Abbate, Balkan, Colavita & Contini, L.L.P.
• Hofstra University
• Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center
• Adelphi University
• St Joseph’s College
• Briarcliffe College
• Long Island University
• St John’s University
• Stony Brook University
• Dowling College
• Molloy College

Facts…
Did you know?

(1) Racially integrated schools provide significant benefits to students and communities

(2) Racially isolated schools have harmful educational implication for students, and

(3) Race-conscious policies are necessary to maintain racial integration in schools.” Amicus Br. of 553 Social Scientists asAmici Curiae in Support of Respondents, Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No.1,U.S. Nos. 05-908 & 05-915 (2006).