Editorial
April 17, 2003
Alabama needs a new constitution,
but as the work toward eventually getting one proceeds, there is more
than a little value in ridding the current document of blatantly racist
provisions.
Alabama needs a new constitution, but as the work toward
eventually getting one proceeds, there is more than a little value
in ridding the current document of blatantly racist provisions. A
measure to remove two particularly ugly portions of the 1901 Constitution
has been introduced in the Legislature and should be passed.
Senate Bill 442 is a proposed constitutional amendment
that removes references to segregated schools and the poll tax. Both
have long since been struck down by the courts and no longer have
the force of law, but their very presence in the state's organic body
of law is indefensible.
The measure amends Section 256 of the constitution, which
establishes a system of public education in the state. It strikes
these offensive words: "Separate schools shall be provided for
white and colored children, and no child of either race shall be permitted
to attend a school of the other race."
That is a relic of an unjust time. Removing it from the
constitution is well worth doing.
The measure also removes another provision aimed at preserving
segregation. It strikes the following: "To avoid confusion and
disorder and to promote effective and economical planning for education,
the legislature may authorize the parents or guardians of minors who
desire that such minors shall attend schools provided for their own
race, to make election to that end, such election to be effective
for such period and to such extent as the legislature may provide."
This proposed amendment also removes the constitutional
provisions related to the poll tax, which was in its day a gross affront
to democracy. The idea of having to pay a specific tax in order to
cast a ballot is repugnant. For decades, the poll tax effectively
disenfranchised thousands of Alabamians.
In 2000, voters ratified an amendment to remove the constitution's
prohibition against interracial marriage. This proposed amendment
is another useful step in striking racist provisions from the state
constitution. It's no substitute for comprehensive constitutional
reform, but it is worth doing while that greater effort is pursued.
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