The Baldy Center Blog Post 45. 
Blog Author: Hannah Montgomery, Program and Operations Administrator, The Center for K-12 Black History & Racial Literacy Education

Blog Title: Our Tomorrow, A Reason to Hope — Reflections on the  70^th Anniversary of Brown v. BOE community forum

Standing in the Senior Center at the William-Emslie Family YMCA in early November 2024, the sun was going down outside the sweeping windows as people began to slowly trickle inside, bringing a curious energy through the door as they took in the space. Our panelists arrived one by one, most of them meeting for the first time, happy to make introductions and assuage each other’s nerves before their big moment in front of the crowd – after all, they were about to sit in a seat of vulnerability to talk about their experiences integrating Buffalo schools.

Curiosity turned to excitement as attendees began recognizing each other – alumni, coworkers, friends calling out to each other to say, “hey, how are you? I know, this week has been hard.” 

And it had been a hard week. Many walked into the event feeling the weight of the election results that had been announced the day before – disappointment, anger, hurt, confusion heavy on the shoulders of those attending an event determined to celebrate and commemorate one of the most renowned achievements in the history of civil rights, Brown versus the Board of Education (BOE). The timing of it all felt a bit poignant and more than little painful.

But as the room began to fill, the line for the buffet lengthened, the smell of fresh fried chicken wafting through the room, a sense of community and togetherness fell over the crowd. Seats were taken and laughter bubbled amidst conversation as people gathered around tables, enjoying a meal together while they caught up with each other. Some chatted with old acquaintances. Some made new connections. All took photos and enjoyed discussing with each other as we waited for Buffalo’s poet-laureate to take the stage. 

Jillian Hanesworth performed two pieces of poetry that she wrote for our event, setting the atmosphere of celebration, honoring the fight of the Buffalo citizens and lawmakers who helped make Brown v. BOE successful and who have made strides within our city for equity and inclusion, while stressing the importance of knowing where we came from to inform where we are going.  (Poems linked below)

As Jillian said in her remarks following her poems, “If you’re in this room, it’s because you care. That’s the starting line. If you’re here today, it’s because you understand that we have so far to go. So, in the spirit of those who gave us something to celebrate, we have to remember that we also have something to fight for. We have to fight for our tomorrow, we have to make sure that we are giving our youth a reason to hope.”

It was what the crowd needed to hear, as we sat feeling lighter now from the conversation, the poetry raising goosebumps along our arms. From the power and the hope that Jillian praised which came before us and for the power and hope that will come from us and after us. 

Her moving piece set the scene well for our four panelists to take the stage. Nanette D. Massey, Mario Workman, Donette Ruffin, and Kathy Franklin Adams were kind enough to join us in a panel moderated by Dr. Anthony White and summarized by Dr. Marcus Watson. These four were former teachers, administrators, and students, who all experienced the aftermath of Brown v. BOE within our own city. The good, the bad, and the ugly. The powerful truths of the court case coming to life within them and their stories – stories that they have known and shared within their private lives, but never to a room of friends, advocates, learners, and freedom fighters determined to understand Brown v. Board beyond what is taught in the classroom. 

Our panelists are four of a whole generation of changers who participated in a pivotal moment within our city’s history but who have been without a platform to speak more broadly until now, when it is possible that a platform to speak historical truths is needed more than ever. As Critical Race Theory (CRT) is threatened within the school system of the US, it was a privilege and honor to hear our panelists describe their experiences. 

In many ways, Brown v. BOE is applauded for the right reasons – that it was a step towards equality, that it offered opportunities to teachers and students that would not have been available prior to the law passing, that in order for society to be successful, society had to be integrated. Our panelists were able to give us a greater sense of the nuance behind Brown v. BOE as they relived their experiences with us, as the common idea that Brown v. BOE was all good neglects to acknowledge that everything created with good intention will inevitably also have negative fallout. 

Buffalo may have been known as a model for successful integration and a coveted bussing program utilizing magnet schools, but those sweeping statements of national praise could not describe the way it felt to be a boy younger than 10 years-old being called the 'n-word' by a grown adult. 

Those statements cannot describe being forced out of your beloved school, away from your students who value your expertise as much as they value that you look like them. 

Generalizations cannot describe being punched by a teacher for “reading too well and asking too many questions,” and it cannot describe your own mother finding you a bit too “uppity” once you began interacting with white children and feeling confident that nothing was off-limits to you.

Statements blandly painting a canvas of unequivocal praise can’t truly capture the successes either – the positive relationships made with principals and staff embracing integration, the friendships that formed under less-than-ideal circumstances but that have lasted a lifetime, the children who grew up strong and determined because they experienced the frontlines of integration. 

These are some of the personal moments that our panelists were able to speak on – personal moments that they deserve to have heard and honored. 

When Brown v. BOE is taught, it is taught as a simple success story. To truly understand it, it must be put into perspective that it is more than just a law that passed 70 years ago – it was a moment that shaped the experiences of individuals who have feelings like any other, who then had to carry on in the circumstances that were created, no matter how good or bad those circumstances were, no matter that the intention behind it all was good, but flawed. 

Our duty is to educate and be educated on the whole truth of history, even when the history is hard, and to acknowledge the hard that we have come from and use that knowledge as power to face the hard that is still yet to come. 

As Jillian Hanesworth thanked the crowd and our panelists, she said, “I stand on your shoulders, I stand on your fight.” These panelists were not part of Brown v. BOE winning in the Supreme Court – they didn’t stand on trial, attend protests, get arrested at sit-ins. But they are no less important than those that did, as they traded their 60-second walk to school for an hour and a half bus ride across town with no say in the matter. It would be no exaggeration to say that these are some of the Ruby Bridges of our city – teachers, students, administrators who paved the way for the future of Buffalo, and who the future of our city, still struggling with integration and equity within the school system, stands upon.

We were lucky that these panelists were able to grace us with their time and vulnerability to speak on their personal histories, as those histories are the foundation of Buffalo’s history, the history of the entire US, and the ground we stand on as we exit the stage of mourning from the past few weeks and prepare to fight, and win, another day.
 

Poetry by Jillian Hanesworth 

• Untitled, poem (1) by Jillian Hanesworth
• Untitled, poem (2) by Jillian Hanesworth

Related links:

•  The Center for K-12 Black History & Racial Literacy Education
• Panel Discussion on YouTube
• Learn more about the community forum marking the 70th Anniversary of Brown v BOE

Hannah Montgomery is the program and operations administrator for The Center for K-12 Black History & Racial Literacy Education.