Chargé Eddins Commemorates International Roma Day with Op-ed on Integration in SME$

Can Separate ever be Equal?

Here in Slovakia and around the world, International Roma Day is being marked by celebrations of Roma culture and history, as well as by discussions – among Roma and non-Roma alike – of how best to address the challenges facing Roma communities.

From what I have seen since I arrived in Slovakia last August, considerable thought and much effort is being devoted by both the governmental and non-governmental sectors to improve housing, education, and health care for Slovak Roma.

The Roma language was codified by the Slovak Government in a moving ceremony that gave a glimpse into both the pride and the struggles of a people whose rich culture has not always been valued or held up as something to nurture and preserve.

I applaud the many steps being taken. And I urge all who are committed to fostering tolerance and equality of opportunity to continue their efforts. I know it is not easy, nor do all agree on how best to achieve these goals.

But recently I came across a story in the press that underscores one important aspect of the challenges Roma face. The headline read: “European Court hears case of alleged Roma segregation in Croatian Schools.”

This is not the first time the European Court of Human Rights has addressed this question. In a 2007 case from the Czech Republic, the Court ruled that channeling Roma into so-called special schools constituted a pernicious form of racial segregation.

When I first read about the European Court’s decision, it reminded me of another landmark court case dealing with segregation – Brown v. Board of Education. Except Brown took place not in Europe, but in the United States.

The case was brought in the 1950s by Oliver Brown, who sued on behalf of his seven-year-old daughter. She was forced to attend an all-black school miles from her home when a whites-only school was much closer. This suit was the culmination of years of effort on the part of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to overturn the “separate but equal” principle then prevailing.

The “separate but equal” concept was based on an 1896 court decision and had become enshrined in numerous U.S. laws. It held that so long as black Americans were given supposedly “equal” facilities – mainly schools, but also encompassing cultural, sporting and recreational venues, as well as access to public transportation – they could still be separated from white society. But the segregated facilities proved far from equal.

For years the NAACP worked to overturn “separate but equal”; it developed legal precedents, cited convincing social-science findings on the negative effects of segregation, and presented clear evidence of the marked inferiority of the segregated schools that African Americans were forced to attend.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of Mr. Brown on May 17, 1954, stating that school desegregation violated the fundamental rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. The following year, it ordered desegregation through the nation, and over the coming years our Courts and our Congress struck down the remaining “separate but equal” arrangements.

When my primary school in the southern state of Mississippi began to integrate in the 1960s, many of my classmates transferred to private, all-white schools. Fortunately, my parents decided to keep me in the newly integrated school, where I soon learned to appreciate and value diversity.

Whether the decisions of the European Court will eventually have an impact like that of Brown v. Board of Education in the United States, remains to be seen.

But, here in Slovakia, I hope those who dedicate themselves to the creation of a more just society will conclude that the notion of separate but equal is ultimately a fallacy. Separation is inherently unequal. Only an integrated society can begin to create the equality of opportunity we all seek.

In the United States, our transition continues. It has often been tense and painful. We have witnessed the tragic personal sacrifice of honorable men like Martin Luther King, Jr.

But now we have an African-American president. Do you believe a Slovak Roma boy or girl born today could be elected president of Slovakia? As the election of President Obama has shown us, when children are given equal opportunities and the motivation to dream, anything is possible.