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LAWRENCE -- Deborah Dandridge, librarian and archivist at the University of Kansas, is one of five Kansans named to the 21-member Brown v. Board of Education 50th Anniversary Commission, announced by U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige and U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft.
Dandridge, a field archivist for the African American Collections and the Kansas Collection at the KU Libraries, was selected for the commission by the Brown Foundation for Educational Equity, Excellence and Research. The commission will work with the Department of Education and the Brown Foundation to plan and coordinate public education activities to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision, May 17, 2004.
In deciding the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal," effectively denying the legal basis for segregation in public schools.
"Deborah Dandridge is recognized as a leader in preserving the history and heritage of African Americans in Kansas," said Stella Bentley, dean of libraries at KU. "Her appointment to this national commission acknowledges her many contributions and brings distinction to KU."
Other Kansans joining Dandridge on the commission include Cheryl Brown Henderson, president of the Brown Foundation; Steven Adams, superintendent of the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site in Topeka; Jesse Milan, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People of Kansas; and Daniel D. Holt, director of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Library.
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