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This story was printed from The Daily Mississippian.
Site URL: http://thedmonline.com.
Courtesy Indiana University
Alvin Chambliss
Ayers attorney positive about case
by Martin Bartlett
DM Senior Staff Reporter
October 06, 2004
Mississippi’s landmark college desegregation case could take momentous steps within the next two weeks.
The U.S. Supreme Court has scheduled a conference on Oct. 15 to decide whether to hear an appeal in the Ayers case.
Alvin Chambliss Jr. represents private plaintiffs who want to continue the lawsuit on their own and opt out of a proposed settlement reached in 2002.
Earlier this year, Chambliss told The Daily Mississippian that he considers the 2002 settlement “anti-black.” The original settlement reached in 2002 in federal court in Oxford was for $503 million. In January 2004, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans denied the appeal.
The case originated in 1975 when Ayers sued the state, accusing Mississippi of neglecting its black universities for decades. Plaintiffs successfully demanded more money be put into the historically black institutions to end discrimination.
Chambliss, who now teaches at Indiana University-Bloomington, said his crusade isn’t about money.
“I am fighting for the survival of unborn generations of people to have an education,” he said. “It is not about more money. If I had to rank the priorities, mission and governance take priority over funding.”
Historically black colleges and universities, he said, provide education to students who often don’t have the same advantages as their white counterparts. Nevertheless, he said, those students deserve as good an education as they can get.
“My goal is not to make Jackson State equal with Ole Miss,” he said. “All schools are not equal. Some students ought to be at the University of Mississippi – it’s the No. 1 school in the state – on the other hand, that doesn’t mean that students from failing schools shouldn’t have access to education.
Chambliss said he does not necessarily want more money than is provided in the $503 million settlement. What he does want is more access to college, more financial aid for black students and more freedom for black colleges to develop their own programs separate from the College Board.
Chambliss, said Tuesday he is optimistic that the Supreme Court will agree to hear the Ayers case. He also said he’s confident of victory if the court chooses to hear the case.
In 1992, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed and ordered remedies.
U.S. District Judge Neal Biggers Jr. signed the settlement of the case in February 2002, a month after the Mississippi Legislature pledged to fulfill its requirements. Biggers sits on the Federal Bench in Oxford.
Andy Mullins, Ole Miss executive assistant to the chancellor, told The Daily Mississippian in January that if Chambliss and his clients chose not to pursue an appeal, it might have meant more money for Ole Miss.
He said once the case gets its final resolution the legislature may have to come up with money to fund the settlement.
Site URL: http://thedmonline.com.
Courtesy Indiana University
Alvin Chambliss
Ayers attorney positive about case
by Martin Bartlett
DM Senior Staff Reporter
October 06, 2004
Mississippi’s landmark college desegregation case could take momentous steps within the next two weeks.
The U.S. Supreme Court has scheduled a conference on Oct. 15 to decide whether to hear an appeal in the Ayers case.
Alvin Chambliss Jr. represents private plaintiffs who want to continue the lawsuit on their own and opt out of a proposed settlement reached in 2002.
Earlier this year, Chambliss told The Daily Mississippian that he considers the 2002 settlement “anti-black.” The original settlement reached in 2002 in federal court in Oxford was for $503 million. In January 2004, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans denied the appeal.
The case originated in 1975 when Ayers sued the state, accusing Mississippi of neglecting its black universities for decades. Plaintiffs successfully demanded more money be put into the historically black institutions to end discrimination.
Chambliss, who now teaches at Indiana University-Bloomington, said his crusade isn’t about money.
“I am fighting for the survival of unborn generations of people to have an education,” he said. “It is not about more money. If I had to rank the priorities, mission and governance take priority over funding.”
Historically black colleges and universities, he said, provide education to students who often don’t have the same advantages as their white counterparts. Nevertheless, he said, those students deserve as good an education as they can get.
“My goal is not to make Jackson State equal with Ole Miss,” he said. “All schools are not equal. Some students ought to be at the University of Mississippi – it’s the No. 1 school in the state – on the other hand, that doesn’t mean that students from failing schools shouldn’t have access to education.
Chambliss said he does not necessarily want more money than is provided in the $503 million settlement. What he does want is more access to college, more financial aid for black students and more freedom for black colleges to develop their own programs separate from the College Board.
Chambliss, said Tuesday he is optimistic that the Supreme Court will agree to hear the Ayers case. He also said he’s confident of victory if the court chooses to hear the case.
In 1992, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed and ordered remedies.
U.S. District Judge Neal Biggers Jr. signed the settlement of the case in February 2002, a month after the Mississippi Legislature pledged to fulfill its requirements. Biggers sits on the Federal Bench in Oxford.
Andy Mullins, Ole Miss executive assistant to the chancellor, told The Daily Mississippian in January that if Chambliss and his clients chose not to pursue an appeal, it might have meant more money for Ole Miss.
He said once the case gets its final resolution the legislature may have to come up with money to fund the settlement.
