Dr. Paige Remarks to Thomas M. Cooley Law School

Originally Published:
January 16, 2006

Source:
Thomas M. Cooley Law School

2006 MLK Equal Access to Justice Day
Lansing, Michigan

It is a privilege to be at the Thomas Cooley Law School today. I can not think of a more appropriate place for me to be as we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday than here with all of you. And so, I am truly grateful to President (Don) LeDuc, the faculty and the student body of Cooley for inviting me to share this day with you to reflect upon the many accomplishments and the remaining challenges in our country?s long and dignified struggle for racial equality and social justice.

Dr. Paige at the lectern at Thomas M. Cooley Law SchoolCooley Law School embodies a new era of integration: the integration of what used to be called "mainstream America" into the multi-cultural society that we have become over the past half century.

For too long the law of our great land failed to recognize and uphold the inalienable rights of all its citizens. But in 1954, with its landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision, the Supreme Court shattered the legal justification for segregation in our education system and affirmed the inherent dignity of all Americans.

Fifty-one years after that watershed moment in American history, on the day our nation celebrates the life and achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, we find ourselves at an institution that truly epitomizes the ultimate purpose of the court's ruling: the creation of tolerance and an appreciation of diversity in our society. Over those five decades, we have seen barriers dismantled and opportunities presented that were not imaginable when I went to school.

Many of those opportunities would not have been possible were it not for the actions of one woman on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Last year, the nation mourned the passing of a truly admirable and courageous American and esteemed Michigan resident, Rosa Parks. It is fitting that we also think of her today and all that she has meant in our long struggle to make a better country for everyone. Rosa Parks dedicated her time and energy - through the Rosa Parks Institute she founded - to encouraging youth to achieve their highest potential and to making Michigan a better place for all.

It has taken our nation too many decades to get to where we are today, principally because injustices were so deeply rooted. But, thanks to the sacrifices and perseverance of Mrs. Parks, Dr. King, and thousands if not millions of other silent warriors over the past years, we are making progress.

Though there is still much work to be done, today the doors of opportunity have been opened to a new generation of students who in the past would likely have been denied the chance to realize their full potential. In fact, the success of Cooley Law School is testament to how far we have come. With its deep-rooted commitment to diversity and equality of opportunity, Cooley has been an unwavering champion of minority achievement in the legal profession.

Indeed, we have made enormous progress in the integration of African Americans and other minorities into the social and economic fabric of the nation. But the job is far from done, for the process will not be complete until we ensure that we create a society where all of our children, regardless of background, are given the opportunity they so rightly deserve.

It is in this spirit that I was honored to accept the invitation to be here today in order to personally salute the significant contribution that Cooley is making in our country.

Dr. Paige talks with students and faculty at Cooley Law SchoolThere is no question that Cooley is one of the leading law schools in the United States. But what truly sets this school apart from all the others is the exceptional diversity of its student body - not just in terms of racial diversity, but in terms of diversity of backgrounds - from its embrace of single parents to the large number of first generation lawyers.

Cooley is opening the profession to all walks of life and - in doing so - is a splendid beacon for the strengthening and perpetuation of the true meaning of the American dream. You should all be proud to be a part of this prestigious institution.

Over the past several years, Cooley has broken all records for the largest incoming freshman classes among law schools in the U.S. In 2005, the incoming class was 1,000 strong. In addition, minority groups represent a total of twenty seven percent of the student population. It is quite an achievement to be able to boast the greatest diversity of students of any law school in the nation.

This is no accident.

The school has made a commitment to providing a legal education to people from all walks of life by relying on a straightforward and objective admissions process. As President LeDuc put it: "Cooley has always used an inclusive, rather than exclusive approach to admitting students to law school. Every student at Cooley can feel proud that they were admitted under the same criteria and standards."

Cooley is a breath of fresh air across the American educational landscape in that you are the epitome of anti-elitism. By offering day, evening and weekend classes - in two, three, four, and five year programs - this institution has committed itself to providing people from all walks of life with the opportunity to earn a quality legal education in a flexible learning environment. The innovative spirit of Cooley has allowed doors to be opened to students in Rochester, Grand Rapids and Lansing, which clearly provides greater opportunity for thousands of aspiring law students from all backgrounds to pursue their dreams.

Even if there are those in other institutions who choose to hold on to antiquated notions of an unacceptable elitism, I am confident that Cooley is on the right track and that your innovative approach will become more the norm than the exception in the years to come.

Educators throughout America would do well to learn from Cooley's example of equality of opportunity in education. Like a lighthouse overlooking a stormy sea, Cooley can guide us toward where we, as a nation, can go. For you - the students, faculty, and administrators of Cooley - are a living example of Martin Luther King's dream that all of us should have the opportunity to reach for our highest potential.

Sadly, however, millions of children in this country do not yet share in this dream.

The Supreme Court's "Brown v. Board of Education" decision opened the schoolhouse door. But, after 50 years, we still have a lot of work to do.

During oral arguments, Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter asked Thurgood Marshall what his definition of ?equal? was. And Marshall replied, "Equal means getting the same thing, at the same time and in the same place." The message of Brown v. Board was: separate schools are inherently unequal.

When the Brown decision was handed down by the Supreme Court in 1954, I was in college at Jackson State, near my home town in Mississippi. The Brown decision had an immediate and powerful impact. But as you may know, the Supreme Court added that phrase, "with all deliberate speed." And while the Supreme Court can change the law in one ruling, it cannot change people's hearts overnight. In my experience, those changes come slowly.

We have seen that, over the years, slowly and steadily, the Brown decision laid the foundation for tremendous changes in our society. Many of us in this room are a living example of that. No one in the state of Mississippi in the early 1950s would have expected that a young African American teenager from outside Jackson would become a member of the President's Cabinet.

But while Brown opened the schoolhouse doors to all -- it did not guarantee quality education for all.

There has been much discussion recently of internal segregation in our schools and a process of re-segregation between schools - an educational divide. My own belief is that there remains a de facto system of segregation in our nation's schools - a segregation between those that are receiving a quality education and those who are not. That is exactly what the No Child Left Behind Act aims to erase.

No Child Left Behind is a bipartisan law that raises the bar for all students -- no matter their race or income level. It challenges what President Bush has called the "soft bigotry of low expectations." Its goal is simple: to ensure that all students - not just some - are able to read and do math at grade level. It is also critical to the future ability of our nation to compete effectively in an increasingly complex global economy.

Just how critical is it? This nation's knowledge and skills gap will only create more barriers in the future if not addressed. The nation's Business Roundtable warns that virtually every major respected organization representing businesses, research and education, as well as government science and statistics agencies and commissions, has extensively documented the critical situation in U.S. science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The indicators range from measurable declines in U.S. innovation compared to soaring numbers of students in Asia majoring in these fields, to U.S. students' lagging interest and measured performance in math and science. Even more daunting, the Business Higher Education Forum has noted that the shortage of workers with some college-level skills could reach more than 12 million by 2020. U.S. companies report that four out of every 10 applicants tested for basic skills lacked the necessary reading, writing, and math skills to do the jobs they sought. While these are challenges for our nation, I believe educational opportunity and achievement for all Americans is the solution.

No Child Left Behind has contemporary parallels to Brown v. Board of Education. Its passage by a bipartisan majority in Congress in 2001 recognized a well-documented, if silent, problem - the two-tiered education system that existed in the past. It was a system that allowed a fortunate few students to receive a world-class education in some schools with high standards and high expectations, while condemning others, often poor or minority students, to a second class opportunity.

For example, by the time they reach 12th grade, only one in six African American children and one in five Hispanics can read at grade level. Math scores are even worse: only 3 percent of African Americans and 4 percent of Hispanics are performing at the proficient level.

There were - and still are - millions of students mired in mediocrity, denied a quality education. For various reasons, they have been passed on and passed out. Students in poorly performing schools may have had good teachers, excellent administrators, or even plentiful resources-or not. Many students do not read at their grade level; some are years behind; some cannot read at all. There are similar problems in mathematics.

There is another bit of data that you should know. A few years ago it was reported that SAT scores had improved for American children on average; but if you dug beneath the surface, you found that scores had remained flat for African Americans. And, scores of Hispanic American students had declined over previous years. Every indication from every measurement tells us that we are confronting a deeply divided, disparate education system and that the playing field for all of our children needs to be leveled. All while our nation continues to invest billions upon billions of dollars more in our education system.

In my view, such division was wrong in 1954, and it is wrong today. It is immoral. It is unjust. Education is about knowledge and the opportunities that knowledge brings.

The "old ways" will no longer be tolerated. This great country must demand equity, justice, and inclusion.

No Child Left Behind is a powerful, sweeping law. It is the logical step after Brown v. Board of Education, which ended segregation, and the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which promised an equitable society.

The ancient Greeks used to say, "Education is freedom." Yes, it is. And No Child Left Behind is about freedom and equality and justice.

The law mandates radical changes in our education system, and anytime you try to change the status quo there are those who will resist. The resistance to Brown was massive and sustained over generations. As it turned out, those who fought against Brown were on the wrong side of history, and so it is that those who fight against No Child Left Behind will one day also be proven to be wrong.

The inescapable fact is that, as a nation, we need to provide all children in America -- every single one -- with a quality education. It doesn't matter where the school is located, whether it's majority-minority, or its history. Once children embark on their educational journey, they all need to be given the attention they deserve and they need to be held to high standards. The schools, too, need to be held to high standards.

But No Child Left Behind does not speak to some of the kids -- those who are already receiving good educations. The goal of the law is to educate all children. This isn't just a goal of pious sentimentality; it has significant social and economic impact on us as a nation.

The United States has long been the dominant force in the world's economy, but the power structure could shift for one simple reason - other nations are creating societies that are better educated than ever before.

Our nation will continue its global economic leadership if we address the education shortfalls that exist here. We must educate all of our children in a way that prepares them to compete in international arenas.

If improvements are made in our educational system, American students will be competitive with students in other countries, assuring future generations of opportunity, fewer levels of poverty, and fewer disparities in health status.

Without comprehensive education reform and without a concerted national effort to accelerate universal student achievement, we risk that only the well-educated will have the necessary skills, insight, and imagination to succeed in the future.

You may be wondering how the tenets and goals of No Child Left Behind are applicable to you, a law student, a faculty member, or a college administrator. In fact, the principles and provisions are very applicable to Cooley Law School.

As a professional school, you depend on the pipeline of college students who want to pursue a legal education. Those students have succeeded as undergraduates because they were successful in their studies at the elementary and secondary level. Make no mistake. In order for Cooley to continue its fine tradition and to become a true exemplar for the evolution of higher education in the future, it must continue to grow its comprehensive legal education program.

Cooley Law School has graduated over 10,000 students since its founding in 1972. That would not have been possible if those students did not have a quality education in their early years. Yet today, millions of children are losing their opportunity because the educational foundation they stand on is beginning to crumble.

And so, while resistance to any major changes in the ways we educate our children is to be expected, it cannot be tolerated lest it destroy our will to make further progress toward the goal of achieving equal opportunity in education for all students and ensuring that education in America is truly inclusive.

We must have a vision that pictures our schools as successful, inclusive, fair, and equitable. We must work for harmony, common ground and for meaningful, lasting reform.

It need not take generations to finally achieve equality of opportunity in education. We do not have the luxury of waiting for "incremental change" in our education system while watching generation after generation of American children lose out. Fifty years after Brown, we can create the kind of fair and inclusive education that the students here at Cooley receive. We must build a foundation of fairness, hope, and decency. We must make our schools equitable in order to make our society and culture equitable and in order to ensure the future economic well being of our country.

In his speech on the National Mall, Dr. King spoke of the future. He said African Americans and those fighting for equality must never be satisfied and will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream."

Today, we honor that man. We honor him for courage and his conviction to do what was right. Along with Rosa Parks, we honor him for his refusal to tolerate that which was not just.

But I believe that if we stopped there, that if we reserve our adoration for a man, then we would have failed Dr. King. Simply to honor an individual for his work - no matter how noble - would be to betray that for which he toiled. It is not just the man Martin Luther King that we honor today. It is his ideals, his belief, his dreams that we honor. We should honor today his undying belief that all children in this country can and should have the opportunities and freedoms that every other child has. We should rekindle the flame of opportunity that was sparked over 50 years ago.

As members of the Cooley community, you have lived that opportunity. Through your participation in this fine institution, you have benefited from the toils of those who have come before you. You are the direct heirs of the efforts of Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, and countless others who have made the sacrifices needed to improve our society. They fought for their ideals, their principles, their convictions.

In the spirit of celebration this day - when we celebrate the life and accomplishments of Dr. King - I call upon you to join me in the never ending fight for these ideals. Join me in the belief that all children of this nation should have the opportunity to learn. Join me in using your skills to insure that each child is afforded the greatest opportunity to succeed. As Thurgood Marshall said in his remarks before the Supreme Court in Brown, there is no way to repay a child whose education has been stolen from them.

When I was growing up, African American leaders used to say, "Education is the way out." And it was the road to emancipation. Now I would say to you, education is not only the "way out", it is the "way forward." A poor education robs a child of the future ?-steals the imagination, dreams, hope, pride and potential. A poor education steals life, replacing it with a shadow.

We have come far, but we have much work to do. On this day of celebration, let us commit ourselves to breathe new life into Dr. King's dream.

Thank you.

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