Read Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissent over the Supreme Court’s majority opinion on affirmative action in college admissions, in which she asserts that it will not bring a quicker end to racism.
Jackson Dissent by George L. Cook III on Scribd
Thursday, June 29, 2023
Judge Rules That a Class-Action Lawsuit Filed Againts the state of Florida by Florida A&M University Students May Proceed
In September 2022, six students at historically Black Florida A&M University in Tallahassee filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the state of Florida. A federal judge recently ruled that the litigation can move forward. The suit claims that the state is discriminating against African Americans because Florida A&M receives less funding per student than the University of Florida.
The plaintiffs call for the state to commit to equity in its support of historically Black colleges and universities. They seek injunctive relief under various laws, including Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits racial discrimination in federally funded programs.
According to the complaint, the University of Florida receives a larger state appropriation per student than FAMU – over 33 years, from 1987 to 2020, that shortfall amounted to approximately $1.3 billion. Moreover, the complaint alleges that the state supports programming and courses of study at Florida State University, a traditionally White university also located in Tallahassee, that unnecessarily duplicates programming at FAMU, which steers prospective students toward Florida State.
Founded more than 130 years ago, Florida A&M University is “still playing catch-up in the state of Florida, which we feel has acted with an astonishing lack of good faith, despite decades of directives from the federal government that all students in the state receive equal educational opportunities,” said Josh Dubin, the attorney representing the plaintiffs. “This deliberate indifference toward HBCUs is not unique to Florida, but FAMU is where we’re joining the fight to ensure the education is fair for everyone.”
Dr. Tony D. Hawkins Appointed President of Broome Community College
Tony D. Hawkins was named president of Broome Community College in Binghamton, a campus of the State University of New York System. He will take office on July 1.
Broome Community College enrolls just over 4,700 students, according to the most recent data available from the U.S. Department of Education. African Americans make up 10 percent of the student body.
Dr. Hawkins has served for the past eight years as the provost and executive vice president of academic affairs, continuing education, and workforce development at Frederick Community College in Maryland. Prior to this role, he was the college-wide dean of humanities at Montgomery College in Maryland with oversight of a division that included course offerings in history, political science, world languages, philosophy, American Sign Language, and women’s and gender studies, along with two learning centers. Earlier in his career, Dr. Hawkins was associate professor of speech communication and theater at Prince George’s Community College in Maryland.
Dr. Hawkins earned a bachelor’s degree from Towson University in Maryland. He holds a master’s degree from the University of Georgia and a Ph.D. in educational leadership from New York University.
Brookings Institution Announces Dr. Cecilia Rouse as President
The Brookings Institution announced that Cecilia Rouse has been named its next president, following approval by its Board of Trustees. Rouse’s appointment will be effective in January 2024, when she will succeed Amy Liu, who has served as interim president since July 2022 and will remain in this role until January.
Rouse will join Brookings from Princeton University, where she is the Katzman-Ernst Professor in Economics and Education. Rouse served in the White House as the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers from 2021 to 2023 and was the first Black economist to hold this position in the Council’s 77-year history. Previously, Rouse served as the Dean of the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. She also served as a Member of the Council of Economic Advisers from 2009 to 2011 and worked as a Special Assistant to the President from 1998 to 1999.
“We are delighted that Dr. Rouse will join the Brookings Institution as its ninth president since its founding in 1916. Dr. Rouse has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to public policy and education through her many years of dedicated public service and rigorous scholarship,” said Glenn Hutchins and Suzanne Nora Johnson, co-chairs of the Brookings Board of Trustees. “She is the right leader for Brookings. Her leadership and managerial experiences have always shown a commitment to rigor, balance and inclusivity, which are hallmarks of Brookings’s research and values. We would also especially like to thank Amy Liu for serving as our interim president this past year to ensure the continued excellence of Brookings’s work.”
“Dr. Rouse joins Brookings as the ideal president for Brookings at this dynamic moment, after a thorough and comprehensive search by the Board of Trustees. Brookings’s research and evidence-based analyses are critical to solving domestic and global challenges and shaping better policy outcomes for all,” said Kenneth M. Jacobs, co-chair of the Board Search Committee.
“Cecilia is that rare triple threat: an outstanding scholar, a strong institutional leader, and a policy adviser at the highest levels,” said Ben Bernanke, Brookings distinguished senior fellow and former Federal Reserve Chair. “Those strengths make her a great fit for Brookings."
Based in Washington, D.C., and reporting to the Board of Trustees, Rouse will oversee all aspects of Brookings to ensure its unwavering ability to produce the highest-quality research and policy recommendations.
“I am thrilled to be joining the Brookings Institution as its next president,” said Dr. Rouse. “Brookings has for more than a century been central to global policy leadership and is world-renowned for the quality of its experts and research. A free exchange of ideas among a diversity of thought is foundational to strong research. We live in an era of profound challenges, from the climate crisis and societal polarization, to economic insecurity, to the unknown bounds of our technology. Brookings will continue to ask the best questions and seek answers that work.”
The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization whose mission is to provide in-depth, nonpartisan research to improve policy and governance at local, national, and global levels.
At the core of Brookings’s mission is the quality, independence, and impact of its research. Brookings is dedicated to finding bold, pragmatic solutions for today’s challenges through open-minded inquiry, supporting diverse perspectives, and holding itself to the highest standards of scholastic rigor. Because of this, Brookings has been at the forefront of public policy for more than a century.
MLB TO STAGE NEGRO LEAGUES TRIBUTE GAME AT RICKWOOD FIELD NEXT JUNE HONORING WILLIE MAYS
Major League Baseball will stage a Negro Leagues tribute game at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, on June 20, 2024, between the San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals.
The 10,800-seat stadium, opened in 1910, is the oldest professional ballpark in the U.S. and a National Historic Site. The stadium was home to the Birmingham Black Barons from 1924-60.
“It’s an honor. Any time I get to represent my culture like that, especially on the MLB level, it’s always a joy,” said Cardinals rookie Jordan Walker, who is Black. “All I got to do is stay healthy and ready and I want to play in that game, for sure.”
The game will honor Hall of Famer Willie Mays, an Alabama native who began his professional career with the team in 1948.
“Willie played there, oldest ballpark in the nation,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. “Really incredible opportunity for our organization. Really excited about it.”
MLB said Tuesday it is staging the game around the Juneteenth holiday, which commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in Texas in 1865. There also will be a Double-A game at the ballpark between the Birmingham Barons and Montgomery Biscuits of the Southern League on June 18.
St. Louis will be the home team for the June 20 game, scheduled to start shortly after 7 p.m. EDT and to be televised nationally on Fox. Period uniforms will be used relating to the Negro Leagues history of San Francisco and St. Louis.
“The legacy of the Negro Leagues and its greatest living player, Willie Mays, is one of excellence and perseverance,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “We look forward to sharing the stories of the Negro Leagues throughout this event next year.”
MLB will work with the City of Birmingham and Friends of Rickwood to renovate the ballpark, the home of the minor league Barons from 1910-1961, 1964-65, 1981-87. The Barons have played since 2013 at Regions Field, about 3 miles away, and shift one game annually to Rickwood in a tribute to the team’s history.
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