Agenda - 05-18-2004-7a - Laserfiche WebLink

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ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: May 18, 2004 Action Agend Item No. _ SUBJECT: Final Report on Human Services Issues Forum 2003: Fifty Years after Brown v. Board of Education DEPARTMENT: County Manager PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Linda Tuday & Rosetta Wash, Co- Final Report Chairs, Human Services Advisory Commission Gwen Harvey, Assistant County Manager, ext 2307 TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough Chapel Hill Durham Mebane 732-8181 968-4501 688-7331 336-227-2031 PURPOSE: To present the Final Report of Human Services Issues Forum 2003, Fifty Years after Brown v, Board of Education: How African Americans in Orange County are Faring in Education, Health, and Economic Opportunity, BACKGROUND: It has been ahalf-century since the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) took up the cause of a little black girl attending fifth grade at the public schools of Topeka, Kansas. On May 17, 1954, Chief Justice Earl Warren read the decision of the unanimous U.S. Supreme Court striking down the "separate but equal" doctrine of Plessy v, Ferguson, ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, and required the desegregation of schools across the land, The decision was a turning paint in schools desegregation and the beginning of significant social change. In September 2003, the Human Services Advisory Commission (HSAC) of the Board of County Commissioners convened the fourteenth annual Human Services Issues Forum at the Friday Center in Chapel Hill. Its chosen theme was "Fifty Years after Brown v. Board of Education: How African-Americans in Orange County are Faring in Education, Health Care, and Economic Opportunity", It was designed as a day for looking back at the legacy, hope, and continued importance of this ground breaking legislation and its place in transforming the social and economic landscape of America, Approximately one hundred and fifty persons came together in the spirit of scholarly data sharing, thoughtful debate, and earnest discussion.