Students deserve best we can give

During the five years I practiced law in South Carolina, working with a firm that represents public schools and colleges, I was privileged to do some work for Clarendon County School District No. 1, where the historic Briggs v. Elliot desegregation case originated. I also had occasion to represent several rural districts whose student enrollment was predominantly African-American because white residents have, since the 1960s, pulled their children from public schools and enrolled them in private "deseg academies," named for Confederate Army leaders.

These experiences had a profound impact on my personal and professional attitudes about equity in public education. I realized although Brown v. Board of Education (which marked its 55th anniversary on May 17) resulted in a sea of change for many aspects of American society, its mandate to end unequal education for children of color is far from being realized. Images of crumbling U.S. school facilities (many of which were featured in the 2006 documentary film "Corridor of Shame"), together with the sounds of protesting white taxpayers who would rather file frivolous lawsuits and open charter schools than support the legitimate outcome of countywide bond elections, were seared into my mind and underscored my pre-existing passion for racial justice to such an extent it drives nearly everything I do.

In fact, one of the primary factors that motivated me to take on the legal, political and financial challenges inherent in the creation of the new Canyons School District was the rare opportunity to bring people together to address the facilities and student achievement inequities that exist for children who attend public schools in Midvale city. This oft-overlooked community, brimming with a vibrant ethnic diversity not found in any other community east of I-15, is a wonderful microcosm of what the world outside Utah has already become and what demographics are projected to become across our state in the near future.