From left: Tenea McDonald and Simone Williams, lawyers at McDonald & Williams law firm; LaBecky Roe, retired New York police officer; Tamala Bullard, associate director of human resources, Davidson College; N.C. House Rep. Becky Carney; Rep. Carla Cunningham.

March 27, 2018

They’ve represented clients, enforced the law, made the law, complied with the law.

But it was the day after the death of Linda Brown, whose father was the Brown in Brown v. Board, the landmark school desegregation case. So many of the commentaries and questions on this day dealt with the legacy, and the unfinished business, surrounding school desegregation, inequities in access to quality schools, and the racial separation that marks life in Charlotte-Mecklenburg.

Not a single one of the panelists is on the school board. Not a single member of the school board was in the room. But perhaps the panelists’ stories will strike a nerve, and begin the community conversation that never happened decades ago, but might begin now.

In the video below, the presentations begin at minute 9:50. The Q&A begins at minute 27:10.