Current:Home > InvestBiden marks Brown v. Board of Education anniversary amid signs of erosion in Black voter support-InfoLens
Biden marks Brown v. Board of Education anniversary amid signs of erosion in Black voter support
View Date:2024-12-23 11:02:29
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden marked this week’s 70th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that struck down institutionalized racial segregation in public schools by welcoming plaintiffs and family members in the landmark case to the White House.
The Oval Office visit Thursday to commemorate the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision to desegregate schools comes with Biden stepping up efforts to highlight his administration’s commitment to racial equity.
The president courted Black voters in Atlanta and Milwaukee this week with a pair of Black radio interviews in which he promoted his record on jobs, health care and infrastructure and attacked Republican Donald Trump. And the president on Sunday is set to deliver the commencement address at Morehouse College, the historically Black college in Atlanta, and speak at an NAACP gala in Detroit.
During Thursday’s visit by litigants and their families, the conversation was largely focused on honoring the plaintiffs and the ongoing battle to bolster education in Black communities, according to the participants.
Biden faces a difficult reelection battle in November and is looking to repeat his 2020 success with Black voters, a key bloc in helping him beat Trump. But the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research’s polling from throughout Biden’s time in office reveals a widespread sense of disappointment with his performance as president, even among some of his most stalwart supporters, including Black adults.
“I don’t accept the premise that there’s any erosion of Black support” for Biden, said NAACP President Derrick Johnson, who took part in the Oval Office visit. “This election is not about candidate A vs. candidate B. It’s about whether we have a functioning democracy or something less than that.”
Among those who took part in the meeting were John Stokes, a Brown plaintiff, and Cheryl Brown Henderson, whose father, Oliver Brown, was the lead plaintiff in the Brown case.
The Brown decision struck down an 1896 decision that institutionalized racial segregation with so-called “separate but equal” schools for Black and white students, by ruling that such accommodations were anything but equal.
Brown Henderson said one of the meeting participants called on the president to make May 17, the day the decision was delivered, an annual federal holiday. She said Biden also recognized the courage of the litigants.
“He recognized that back in the fifties and the forties, when Jim Crow was still running rampant, that the folks that you see here were taking a risk when they signed on to be part of this case,” she said. “Any time you pushed back on Jim Crow and segregation, you know, your life, your livelihood, your homes, you were taking a risk. He thanked them for taking that risk.”
The announcement last month that Biden had accepted an invitation to deliver the Morehouse graduation address triggered peaceful student protests and calls for the university administration to cancel over Biden’s handling of the war between Israel and Hamas.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Biden in recent days dispatched senior adviser Stephen Benjamin to meet with Morehouse students and faculty.
veryGood! (98445)
Related
- Satellite images and documents indicate China working on nuclear propulsion for new aircraft carrier
- Authorities investigate a house fire that killed three family members in northern Maine
- Wildfire in mountainous Central Oahu moves away from towns as Hawaii firefighters continue battle
- Trial testimony reveals gambling giant Bally’s paid $60 million to take over Trump’s NYC golf course
- Jenn Tran's Ex Devin Strader Throws Shade At Her DWTS Partner Sasha Farber Amid Romance Rumors
- Key Swiss rail tunnel damaged by derailment won’t fully reopen until next September
- Portland, Oregon, teachers strike over class sizes, pay and resources
- Jimmy Buffett swings from fun to reflective on last album, 'Equal Strain on All Parts'
- Oprah Winfrey denies being paid $1M for Kamala Harris rally: 'I was not paid a dime'
- `Worse than people can imagine’: Medicaid `unwinding’ breeds chaos in states
Ranking
- Opinion: Chris Wallace leaves CNN to go 'where the action' is. Why it matters
- Dolly Parton Reveals Why She Turned Down Super Bowl Halftime Show Many Times
- Police in Bangladesh disperse garment workers protesting since the weekend to demand better wages
- Sam Bankman-Fried is found guilty of all charges and could face decades in prison
- Tom Brady Shares How He's Preparing for Son Jack to Be a Stud
- California jury awards $332 million to man who blamed his cancer on use of Monsanto weedkiller
- The FBI is investigating a Texas sheriff’s office, a woman interviewed by agents says
- Martin Scorsese’s Daughter Francesca Shares Insight Into His Bond With Timothée Chalamet
Recommendation
-
Nevada Democrats keep legislative control but fall short of veto-proof supermajority
-
'Yellowstone' final episodes moved to Nov. 2024; Paramount announces two spinoff series
-
Predictions for NASCAR Cup Series finale: Odds favor Larson, Byron, Blaney, Bell
-
Actor Robert De Niro’s ex-top assistant cites courtroom outburst as an example of his abusive side
-
Jon Gruden joins Barstool Sports three years after email scandal with NFL
-
Bruce Bochy is only manager in MLB history to win title with team he beat in World Series
-
2 Mississippi men sentenced in a timber scheme that caused investors to lose millions of dollars
-
Large brawl at Los Angeles high school leaves 2 students with stab wounds; 3 detained