George,

There have been two distinguishing events in the history of Charlottesville schools.

In 1955, a group of black parents presented the School Board with a petition requesting that the city comply with Brown v. Board of Education (1954) and end racial school segregation in Charlottesville.

The board denied this request and refused to racially integrate the city's schools. Black parents, represented by the NAACP, were forced to sue the School Board in federal court. Although the black plaintiffs prevailed, Charlottesville closed two of its schools in the late 1950s rather than follow the federal order to desegregate.

Secondly, on Nov. 8, 2005, city residents voted overwhelmingly in a referendum to change from a council-appointed School Board to an elected board. Republican Councilor Rob Schilling led the drive to put an elected board on the ballot without wholehearted support from the four Democratic councilors.

I am black and 78 years old. My wife and I were part of the federal lawsuit filed against the city School Board.

Whe our two daughters were attending city schools, I wished to serve on the School Board and desired to campaign for City Council; however, there were no opportunities for blacks to be involved in city government. This began to change when the late Raymond L. Bell was appointed to the School Board in 1965 and Charles Barbour was elected to City Council in 1970. Blacks in Charlottesville still have a long way to go, though, to achieve adequate representation.

City Council's School Board appointments have been discussed in secret and seem to have unfairly favored councilors' "friends." Historically, appointed School Board members have not served black students well. Electing board members at large will lead to similar elite favoritism because only the politically well-connected will be able to run and win a citywide campaign.

Councilors should seek Department of Justice approval for mixed-ward School Board elections. This will ensure that both black and white residents have a fair chance of electing board members representing their specific interests, as well as those of the city as a whole.

Eugene Williams (January 4, 2006)