Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg 45 Years Later

For decades Charlotte-Mecklenburg's public schools were promoted as a model for the nation because they used busing to prevent school segregation. But a 1999 lawsuit reversed what the 1971 Supreme Court ruling had accomplished. Forty-five years later, race is no longer used in student assignment and Charlotte's public schools are among the most segregated by race and income in the state. Julian Wright, an attorney at Robinson Bradshaw in Charlotte, served as chair of the Charlotte Mecklenburg School’s Equity Committee and journalist Adam Rhew wrote a comprehensive look back Charlotte’s changing schools for an article jointly published by Scalawag magazine and the nonprofit group, EdNC. Host Frank Stasio speaks with Rhew and Wright about the community debate over public education in Charlotte. Tomorrow night at 6p there will be a community conversation about Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s student assignment review at the Levine Museum of the New South in Charlotte. It’s co-hosted by Scalawag magazine and EdNC, among others.