April 18, 2006

NAACP Opposes Plan to Resegregate Omaha Public Schools
Civil rights organization that spearheaded legal defeat of school segregation more than 50 years ago will consider legal steps to derail Omaha plan

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which spearheaded the fight to have public school segregation declared illegal by the U.S. Supreme Court more than 50 years ago, strongly condemns a plan that will result in the resegregation of Omaha public schools.

The Nebraska legislature voted last week to divide the Omaha school system into three districts --one mostly black, one predominately white and one largely Hispanic. Gov. Dave Heineman signed the measure into law.

NAACP President & CEO Bruce S. Gordon said: “We strongly oppose the Nebraska law that divides the Omaha public schools along racial lines. The Supreme Court ruled 52 years ago that separate but equal schools result in inequality and poor education for minority children. We will use every advocacy tool, including legal, at our disposal to fight this unconstitutional law." 

In 1976, a court ordered the 45,000-student Omaha school system desegregated. The city ran a mandatory busing program from 1976 to 1999. “To think that in 2006, after all that has been done to desegregate schools, a state legislative body would pass, and a governor sign into law, a bill that intentionally segregates students based on their race or ethnicity is unconscionable," Gordon said.

Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization.  Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.