A Prophesy for Effective Schooling in an Uncaring World

Abstract

In his Keynote Address, Professor Derrick A. Bell, Jr. recalled his prediction that the desegregation mandates of the Brown v. Board of Educa-tion decisions, though well-intended, would fail to provide black children with the equal education to which they were entitled. In similar fashion, he predicts in this article that, though the intentions of advocates for an adequate education for all students are commendable, such a goal does not appear feasible given the underlying racial barriers that continue to mar-ginalize the black community. With this prediction, however, Bell acknowledges that the initiatives of those demanding an adequate education for all students will undoubtedly beneªt some students, and that these initiatives must proceed regardless of the opposition they face.