'Desegregation made a difference — but not enough of one'

A woman explains desegregation to her daughter in 1954

A woman explains desegregation to her daughter on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954

(Image credit: UPI/Bettmann via Getty Images)

published 11 June 2024

'70 years after Brown, integrating US schools remains a challenge'

Patti Waldmeir at the Financial Times

Many towns "tried really hard at integration," but "large racial achievement gaps persist, students of color still face implicit bias and the burden of bussing still falls mostly on Black people," says Patti Waldmeir. It is "naive to think merely sitting kids of different races side by side would solve the problems." So even seven decades after Brown v. Board of Education, the "idyll of fairytale equality" in education does "not exist in today's America."

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President Joe Biden "was supposed to restore the United States to a position of global leadership," because Donald Trump "barely pretends to offer ... leadership on the world stage," says Stephen Wertheim. But "precisely because most U.S. officials do, it is all the more striking where American power stands today." Never since the end of the Cold War "has the United States looked less like a leader of the world and more like the head of a faction."

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's (R-Ga.) comparison of Jesus Christ to Donald Trump "makes perfect sense if you ignore all biblical teachings and hold your breath for 10 to 15 minutes," says Rex Huppke. There is no "biblical story of Jesus being convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up an affair with an adult-parchment star," and Greene's "newfound messiah is a felonious stupidity magnet. And that's the God's honest truth."

Voters in Europe sent a "message to the EU's political class: a nationalist and populist shift is happening across the continent," says Ryan Girdusky. News organizations "made it seem as if fascism had once again reared its ugly head over Europe after eight decades of liberal peace and prosperity," but "so-called 'far right' resurrection is really just the mainstreaming of widespread and rising anger as ordinary voters focus on issues that establishment parties in Europe have refused to touch."

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Justin Klawans has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022. He began his career covering local news before joining Newsweek as a breaking news reporter, where he wrote about politics, national and global affairs, business, crime, sports, film, television and other news. Justin has also freelanced for outlets including Collider and United Press International.