WestConn To Host Desegregation Panel Discussion

DANBURY — Fifty years after a historic Supreme Court decision declared “separate but equal” public school segregation unconstitutional, Western Connecticut State University will host an event to explore the issue.

“Brown v Topeka Board of Education: Looking Back After Fifty Years” will be from 6:30 to 8 pm on Thursday, May 13, in the Student Center Theater on the WestConn midtown campus, 181 White Street. The event will be free and open to the public.

This panel presentation will commemorate the landmark May 1954 Supreme Court ruling that set the stage for integration between whites and blacks in public schools and throughout American society.

“This is one of the most important decisions of the 20th Century,” said Dr Burton Peretti, an associate professor of history at WestConn and one of the scheduled speakers. “It’s a decision that still has an impact on us today and that people still are debating.”

In addition to Dr Peretti, the panel will feature Dr Kevin Gutzman, an assistant professor of history at WestConn; Don Schels, a Danbury High School teacher; and Dr Leslie Lindenauer, an assistant professor of history at the University of Hartford.

For more information, call Dr Peretti at 837-8309 or the WestConn Office of Public Relations at 837-8486.