Supreme Court Decision to Strike Down Voluntary School Integration Plans

Statement of Darryl R. Matthews, Sr.
General President, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

Baltimore, MD (BlackNews.com) - The decision by the Supreme Court was as disappointing as it was a wake up call. It is truly unfortunate that the Supreme Court has rewritten the meaning of the Equal Protection clause of the United States Constitution to protect those acts that it was written to protect against. But the Court did our country a favor by awakening a sleeping giant; a giant who will channel its energy of disappointment into energy of action. Action to raise the level of quality education in our communities and the level of our expectations of those we educate. We can no longer accept or expect mediocrity. We must not only expect excellence, but also demand it. This is not an easy task but it is worthwhile.

The hue and cry of many civil rights pundits and citizens has been that the decision could set this country back to its pre-1954 separate but equal ways; that we, as African Americans, have been diminished by this decision because it does not allow states to use race as a factor in determining who sits next to white children in a classroom.

But I ask the question, do Black children need to sit next to white children to learn? Do we need an integrated classroom to elevate our collective intelligentsia to compete, as a people, in the now global economy? What we need is a collective effort to raise the level of education in our communities such that court ordered integration becomes a relic of a by-gone era. For 100 years the Brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., have been at the forefront of efforts to improve educational opportunities and to ensure equal opportunity for all of America's citizens, As it is reflected in our current mission statement: "Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. develops leaders, promotes brotherhood and academic excellence, while providing leadership and advocacy for our communities" - we will continue to fight for the rights of children in this nation.

Founded on December 4, 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. has continued to supply voice and vision to the struggle of African Americans and people of color around the world. The Fraternity has long stood at the forefront of the African-American community's fight for civil rights, through Alpha men such as Adam Clayton Powell Jr., Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Andrew Young, and Darryl R. Matthews, Sr. among others that include members of the 110th Congress including: Emanuel Cleaver, II, Danny K. Davis (IL), Chaka Fattah (PA), Al Green (TX), Gregory Meeks (NY), Gregory Meeks (NY), David Scott (GA), Robert C. Scott (VA). The fraternity through its college and alumni chapters serves the community through nearly a thousand chapters in the United States, Europe and the Caribbean.