Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger issued the following statement in response to the Supreme Court’s decision today to limit the use of voluntary school desegregation plans in Parents Involved in Community Schools Inc. v. Seattle School District and Meredith v. Jefferson County ( Ky.) Board of Education:
“It may be too early to tell whether these two decisions represent the first act of a national tragedy of withdrawal from the historic and unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education. The goal of racial integration inaugurated by Brown has been among the noblest of America’s ambitions. The need for steadfast commitment to achieving this goal has been reinforced by numerous decisions of the Court over the past half century. The two narrowly decided cases today seem, sadly, to represent a new course and a significant impairment of the commitment of Brown.”