Article XIV, Section 256: “Separate schools shall be provided for white and colored children, and no child of either race shall be permitted to attend a school of the other race.”
Article IV, Section 102: “The Legislature shall never pass any law to authorize or legalize any marriage between any white person and a Negro, or descendant of a Negro.”
The above is taken from the Constitution of the state of Alabama. On November 2, voters in Alabama had a choice to amend their constitution to repeal Jim Crow era language requiring separate schools for “white and colored children,” references to poll taxes that were used to disenfranchise African-Americans in the past, and to remove a passage stating that Alabama did not guarantee a right to a public education. By a margin of 1,850 votes, or 0.13 percent, Alabama decided not to amend their constitution.
Unbelievable! How could this happen? A very effective fear campaign based on the fear of tax hikes and federal control over schools. Chief opponent John Giles, President of the Alabama Christian Coalition argued that guaranteeing a public education would lead to higher taxes in the nation’s least tax state. Opponents also used the fear of judicial control over public schools to remind voters of the turmoil the state went through after Brown v. Board of Education, where federal courts ordered the state to open the doors of its public schools to African-American students. However, many of the state’s newspapers and legal experts all said that this was highly unlikely.
Like the campaigns of many conservatives this year, fear was used to cloud real issues. The reality is that 73% of black students in Alabama public schools are below basic competency levels in math. An achievement gap between white and black students is widening.
A recount is scheduled to begin on Monday. It’s a pity that one is needed.
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