Federal Officials to Investigate Wayne County Schools
Friday, February 05 2010
by Dave DeWitt
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The U.S. Department of Justice will investigate Wayne County Schools. The state NAACP had asked for the investigation, saying the district in eastern North Carolina discriminates against African-American students.
The Department of Justice will coordinate the investigation through its Office of Civil Rights. The NAACP filed the complaint over how students are assigned in Wayne County. The county is roughly 50-50 black-white, but one attendance zone in the district is 99.6 percent black and about 90 percent low income.
Reverend William Barber is president of the state's NAACP. "This intervention by the U.S. Department of Justice will give added strength to this new fusion movement that is developing in Wayne County and across this state," says Barber.
The NAACP hopes that the DOJ's involvement will influence other federal entities in Wayne County, like the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.
