
          Interchange: In This Issue
          By Chaney, Betty NorwoodBetty Norwood Chaney
          Vol. 1, No. 8, 1979, p. 2
          
          May 17, markes the 25th anniversary of Brown
v. Borad of Education decision by the Supreme Court. While not
devoting the contents of this issue entirely to eductation, Southern Changes, like so many other publications
this month, reserves some space for reflecting upon the state of
deucation 25 years after the historic decision. 
          In "Soapbox" this month, Dillard professor Monte Piliawsky
appraises the South to measure how much progress has been made since
1954. He finds the paradox of the "New South" to be most dramatically
exhibited in the area of public education. "School integration," he
says, "has generally meant that White parents have pulled their
children outof the public schools, leaving to Black (and some poor
White) children school systems which invariably are underfunded. The
remaining White chldren often are divided from Blacks by controversial
tracking systems."
          Although the picture he paints is rather dismal, he nevertheless
concludes that public education is still the "best hope for the 'New
South' to provide an enlightened citizenry and to creat national
unity. (The commentary  carried here is part of the the introduction
to a much larger unpublished work by Piliawsky entitled Exit 13 about the closed socielty at the University
of Southern Mississippi.)
          "Profiles in Change" from John Egerton's School
Desegregation: A Report Card from the South looks at schools
around the Southland after desegregation. Together theseprofiles
present a very descriptive picture-- one not greatly changed since
1975- of integration in Southern public schools.
          Some schools have had more success with desegregation than
others. There are those like Lillian M. Brinkley in Norfolk who feels
"all of us someday-- we may bein our graves-- will realize it has been
for the benefit of everybody." But then there are others like
Rev. Joseph N. Green, also of Norfolk who says, "We've desegregated
the schools, but I do not feel we've integrated the
schools... integration means people are working together harmoniously
and cooperatively. I don't think this has really come about. That
which separated us in the past to a great extent is still
present."
          In some instances standardized test scores, a requisite for
measuring progress, indicate a drop for all races since
desegregation. Now another fator entering the picture is minimum
competency testing, a practice that is inforce in practically every
Southern state, and has probably become the hottest and most
controvercial issue over the last year. Many feel that the tests, a
basis for awarding high school diplomas, will disproportionately
affect the poor and minorities.
          In this issue, Alace Lovelace reports on yet another situation
involving testing that is causing considerable controversy. It is the
Georgia desegregation plan for higher education which calls, among a
number of other things, for entrance and exit tests to be administered
to college students. Many students and some faculty see this plan as a
ploy for decreasin the number of Black students who are able to enter
and graduate from college. Demonstrations and violence have erupted
around this plan while others find it "totally acceptable."
          Two other controversial issues involving schools are also repoted
on in this issue. They are the prayer in public schools debate, by
Steve Suitts, in our Southern Politics department and the school
breakfast program, by Judy Curie, in the Health Care department.
          In addition, we also carry in this issue "The Triana Fish Story" by
Thomas Noland about the small, poor Alabama community whose residents
were found to have extraordinary levels of DDT in their bodies.
          Wayne Greenhaw reports on another situation in Alabama involving
the poor. It is about their legal struggle with the Alabama Power
Company who is seeking the largest rate increase in the state's
history.
          The appointment of G. Duke Beasley as the first administrator of
the Georgia Office of Fair Employment Practices caused something of a
stur last summer (See the September issue of Southern Changes, Vol. 1 No. 1), but nothing
compared to the uproar created by the release of his first annual
report recently. Ginny Looney brings us up-to-date on the
administrator's appointment and the report called a "complete and
utter wste of taxpayer's money" by one legislator.
          As we enter the second quarter after the Brown decision, it is clear from the levels of
debate surrounding education on all fronts that we are probably still
another quarter of a century away from solving them. This is not to say
that some progress has not been made. "Profiles in Change" attest to
that fact, but the burden placed upon education in this country is a
heavy one-- one we've only begun to bear.
        