Alabama legally mandated segregated public schools long before the Supreme Court struck down “separate but equal.” After Brown, Alabama didn’t have a choice about the law, which the state could no longer enforce, but it remained on the books. Its presence was a moot point, but was an ugly reminder of the state’s racist policies.
To their credit, many state officials, including Republican Gov. Bob Riley, are ready to remove the law from the books as an acknowledgement of the state’s mistake.
Gov. Bob Riley and others concerned about the state’s image are urging voters to approve a constitutional amendment on Nov. 2 to strike the long-unenforceable language from the state constitution. They say such laws are a painful reminder of the South’s divisive past, and make Alabama look bad when it comes to drawing in new businesses.
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“This is a no-brainer. For that kind of language to still be in the constitution is disgraceful, and we certainly need for it to be removed,” said Ken Guin, the Legislature’s House majority leader.
Alas, everyone is not on board. Who, in the 21st century, could oppose a move to repeal a racial segregation law? As my friend D.D. noted, it’s a familiar figure in Alabama politics whose name you might recognize.
But the amendment ballot has opponents, including former Chief Justice Roy Moore, who is suspicious of possible hidden agenda: a huge tax increase.
“This is the most deceptive piece of legislation I have ever seen and it is simply a fraud on the people of Alabama,” said Moore, best known for his refusal to remove his Ten Commandments monument from the state judicial building.
That’s right; everyone’s favorite theocrat is back — and he’s standing behind Alabama’s Jim Crow laws.
Granted, Moore is rarely coherent, but this one’s strange, even for him.
When the current proposal got to the Legislature, Guin and fellow Democratic Rep. James Buskey expanded it to add a third provision. They proposed taking out part of a constitutional amendment that Alabama voters added in 1956 in an attempt to get around the Brown decision.
Guin said all they did was follow up on a 1993 decision by a state judge who struck down that portion of the 1956 constitutional amendment.
The ruling came in state’s “equity funding” case, where the judge ruled that Alabama’s schools weren’t adequately or equitably funded and that the state must make dramatic improvements.
That’s it. From this, Moore’s afraid that removing segregation provisions from the state constitution would lead to more education funding and, naturally, higher takes. No serious person who’s looked at the law believes Moore is right, but then again, no serious person could believe Moore is ever right about almost anything.
The rest of the state is still concerned about how it would look to the world if Alabama’s voters rejected the initiative.
Bobby Segall, a Montgomery attorney who handles many education court cases, said the state’s image is on the line on Election Day. In the past, industrial recruiters for some states have used old laws from competing states to portray the competition negatively.
“It makes the state look horrible if it doesn’t pass,” he said.
Hmm, supporting Jim Crow laws in 2004 by popular demand would make Alabama look bad? You think?