GOVERNOR CELEBRATES 60 YEARS
OF SCHOOL DESEGREGATION IN NEW JERSEY

PRINCETON - Governor Jon S. Corzine today celebrated the 60^th anniversary of New Jersey's landmark school desegregation policy by joining nearly 400 high school students at Princeton University for a retrospective look at integration in the state's public schools.

In 1947, New Jersey became the first state in the nation to constitutionally require public school desegregation, seven years before the watershed Brown v. Board of Education decision by the United States Supreme Court.

"With one historic gesture, New Jersey set in motion America's quest to provide equal and excellent education to every child in America - a battle we are, in fact, still fighting today," said Governor Corzine. "It was and still is a mandate that represents extraordinary courage, leadership and vision.

"We set an example and sent a message to every other state in the nation that the first step toward equality among all racial groups begins in the classroom. We should be equally proud that since 1948, we have taken steps to ensure that all New Jersey students receive an excellent and integrated education to help them achieve their dreams."

In 1948, the Princeton school district became a national model with its plan to integrate two local elementary schools, the Nassau Street School and the Witherspoon School for Colored Children. The Princeton Plan, as it was known, centralized the town's elementary schools, bringing all kindergarten to fifth grade students to the Nassau School and all sixth, seventh and eight grade students to the Witherspoon School.

"One reason we must come together at events such as this is to remind ourselves of how far we have come but how much we still have to do," said Education Commissioner Lucille E. Davy. "We can celebrate our progress, but if we do not individually take responsibility for our own civic involvement and constantly press to assure that our freedoms apply to all people, our progress can soon erode. If we let that happen, it will be very difficult to revive."

Former Witherspoon School student Shirley Satterfield participated in today's forum with student panelists, Professor Angel L. Harris, Princeton University and Dr. Penelope Lattimer, Assistant Director of Rutgers University Institute for Improving Student Achievement. Professor Bernard K. Freamon, Seton Hall University Law School and Giles R. Wright, Director of Afro-American Programs, New Jersey Historical Commission also provided remarks.

Student from thirteen high schools from across the state were in attendance, including: Atlantic City High School, Atlantic City; Ewing High School, Ewing; Hamilton West High School, Hamilton; Lawrence High School, Lawrenceville; LEAP Academy, Camden; Montclair High School Montclair; Piscataway High School, Piscataway; Princeton Community House; Princeton High School, Princeton; Rosa Parks High School, Paterson, Science High School, Newark; Trenton Central High School, Trenton; University High School of the Humanities, Newark.

"New Jersey is proud of our unique and dynamic role in many of the most significant chapters in American history, and nowhere is this more evident than as a trailblazing force in the civil rights movement," said Secretary of State Nina Mitchell Wells. "The integration of New Jersey's public schools stands as a cornerstone event, and represented a critical starting point for the larger social progress of the decades that followed. Today's celebration is more than a remembrance of a single, momentous occasion, but a reminder that the ideals of social justice, equity and fairness are timeless."

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Photos from Governor Corzine's public events are available in the Governor's Newsroom section on the State of New Jersey web page.