Race Distinctions in American LawStephenson, Gilbert Thomas
History
Race Distinctions in American Law
Stephenson, Gilbert Thomas
African Americans -- Politics and government; Law -- United States -- History; United States -- Race relations
amended in 1880[421] by the omission of the word “white” and by
repealing the sections providing for Negro and Indian schools. On the
strength of this amendment, a Negro, upon being refused admission to the
white schools, brought suit,[422] and it was held that, as the law
stood, colored children had equal rights with white children to
admission to any public school, even though separate schools were
maintained. The court said: “The whole policy of the legislative
department of the government upon this matter is easily gathered from
the course of legislation shown therein; and there can be no doubt but
that it was never intended that, as a matter of classification of
pupils, the right to establish separate schools for children of African
descent, and thereby to exclude them from white schools ... should be
given to such boards [of education].” It was earlier, in 1872, that the
provision for separate schools for Mongolians was made. The law of
California seems now to be that Negro children may attend the same
schools as whites, but Japanese, Chinese, and Korean children must go to
separate schools if the board of education sees fit to provide them.
The legislature of Delaware,[423] in 1881, appropriated two thousand
four hundred dollars annually for the education of colored children. In
1889 three colored schools[424] were incorporated and placed in control
of boards of trustees elected by the voters of the district. These
incorporated schools[425] as such were abolished in 1893, and after that
they were placed under the supervision of the regular county
superintendent just as the other public schools. The same State,[426] in
1898, provided for the establishment of separate kindergartens. Thus,
Delaware is as strict as the Southern States in requiring separate
schools for the races.
Although the Illinois statutes[427] clearly state that any school
officer who excludes from a public school any child on account of color
shall be fined from five dollars to one hundred dollars for each
offence, and prohibits school directors and officers from excluding,
directly or indirectly, children on account of color, still the numerous
cases which have arisen involving the point show that the school
officers have not always been in thorough agreement with the law.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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