In what could prove to be the culmination of a lawsuit stretching back to 2006, a federal judge has decided to appoint a third party to address segregation imposed upon Maryland’s public historically Black universities.
Yes, they are Historically “Black” Colleges and Universities, but Maryland’s four public HBCUs sued the state for violation of the Civil Rights Act and the Constitution’s equal protection clause. At the heart of the suit was whether the state had effectively caused segregation at its HBCU by allowing traditionally White universities to duplicate historically Black institutions’ program – preventing the historically Black universities from drawing a diverse set of students with successful programs.
The lawsuit was originally filed in 2006 and it took until 2013 for the court to rule unnecessary program duplication in the state’s higher education system has effects of segregation that the state could not justify. The parties subsequently went through mediation but could not agree on a path forward, and they submitted competing proposals to remedy the situation in 2015.
The case continued in court until Judge Catherine C. Blake’s ruling. She ordered the appointment of a “special master” who will create a remedial plan and monitor its implementation under court supervision. The plan is to create a new set of unique or high-demand programs that build on the strength of Maryland’s four public historically black institutions. It will also include a yet-to-be-determined amount of funding for marketing, student recruitment, financial aid and other initiatives over the next decade.
“She’s putting an end to program duplication going forward, and so that’s a win,” said David Wilson, president of Morgan State University, a public historically black institution in Baltimore. “I think it’s a win for the state, I think it’s a win for Morgan and it’s a win for taxpayers, because you don’t necessarily have to now pay two or three times over for programs that were being offered at Morgan.”
The court’s order requires Maryland to end the segregation-era policy, said the lawyer leading the case against the state, Michael D. Jones, in a statement.
“The most important area of inferiority was to deny the Black schools exclusive, unique, well-funded programs,” said Jones, a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP. “With this order, Judge Blake brings that era to a close.”
“We are especially pleased that the judge’s order requires the development of several new and unique high-demand programs at each HBI and that those programs are to be funded by the state rather than the HBIs,” said David Burton, president of the Coalition for Equity and Excellence in Maryland Higher Education. “That was one of our primary objectives in bringing this lawsuit.”
The case, the judge wrote, is not about particular institutions. It is about students’ constitutional right to attend any public college or university without having to accept racial segregation. Maryland’s traditionally white institutions meet that requirement, the judge found. Its historically Black institutions don’t, so a remedial plan needs to encourage students who are not Black to attend historically Black institutions.
While on the very surface, the case may have been about segregation, you didn’t have to dig deep to see the case was actually about inequality in funding. AS always, keep your eyes on the money!!