In 1966, a program was created known as a "Project Concern" consisting of a two-year experimental plan. This plan stood for a guide to desegregate schools and eliminate any racial imbalance within Hartford, Connecticut Today this program is known as Open Choice (https://commons.trincoll.edu/cssp/2016/04/20/the-women-behind-project-concern/).
Teflon, co-host of Sculpted Visions podcast was a product of "Project Concern” for about a year and half during his grade school years in Hartford, CT.
To commemorate the Supreme Court decision on Brown v. The Board of Education, in this episode of the Sculpted Vision podcast, Education: Separated but Equal?”, Teflon and Just One discuss their unique experiences and perspectives growing up in underserved communities while attending schools in more privileged areas. Additionally, our guest D. Curry, an education and learning professional, shares his insights and unique personal experiences of working in two different school systems in the Hartford, CT area.
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka was a landmark 1954 Supreme Court in which the justices ruled unanimously that racial segregation of children in public schools was unconstitutional (https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/brown-v-board-of-education-of-topeka). Furthermore, Brown v. Board of Education was one of the cornerstones of the civil rights movement, and helped establish the precedent that “separate-but-equal” education and other services were not, in fact, equal at all. The final ruling came in May 17, 1954 where chief justice Earl Warren, stated "in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place,” as segregated schools are “inherently unequal.” As a result, the Court ruled that the plaintiffs were being “deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the 14th Amendment" ((https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/brown-v-board-of-education-of-topeka).
This case was groundbreaking and monumental and set the precedent for several other cases including the 1989 Sheff v. O'Neill lawsuit. This lawsuit consisted of 18 young children from the Hartford, Connecticut metropolitan area, acting through their parents, commenced a civil action in the Hartford Superior Court (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheff_v._O%27Neill). Furthermore, the lead plaintiff was fourth-grader Milo Sheff. The suit named the State of Connecticut, constitutionally elected officials, including Gov. William A. O'Neill, and others from various state commissions and agencies as defendants. The plaintiffs alleged significant constitutional violations under applicable sections of the State constitution which they believe constituted a denial of their fundamental rights to an education and rights to equal protection under the law. The reason for the case was that the resources the state spent on schools in areas with majority black/Latino populations were lower than those spent on schools in areas mainly inhabited by white people (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheff_v._O%27Neill).
