this article in edweek lays out the vouchers and civil rights issue pretty clearly.

the article quotes voucher proponent and black alliance for educational options head howard fuller as saying:

"While integration is still the ultimate goal, the reality for most black students in inner-city America is that they’re not going to be in integrated schools," Fuller says. "So the question is, how are they going to be educated?"

i think this is exactly the point. for many african americans, racial integration is not the issue. class integration isn't even the issue. americans have become complacent with the idea that there are going to be white, middle class, suburban schools and minority, poor, inner-city schools, and that is never going to change. and because of that reality we need to get as many kids out of the minority, poor, inner city schools as we can. they're "trapped" in those schools, the same way that black people were enslaved to whites, and they need to be "emancipated."

but why have we accepted this "reality" as an unchanging law of nature? because we don't see the social and economic forces that have created this "reality" as something we can change.

but the beauty - and the challenge - is that we can change it. we can, without enormous cost, make sure that all kids regardless of income have adequate dental and eye care before they attempt to sit in class all day and learn. we can make sure they have health insurance so they don't miss so many days of school. we can change zoning regulations so that housing can be more integrated, leading to more integrated schools. we can improve access to suburban job markets for inner city parents. we can actively raise the quality of life of poor kids and "emancipate" them from the fate in which we - at least mentally - have trapped them.

but we choose not to do these things.

instead, people are calling for vouchers, which will undoubtedly get the kids with the most parental resources among those who are eligible out of the system. but what about the kids whose parents work multiple jobs because their wages aren't enough to support a family, and who don't have time to attend a voucher information session? what about the kids who are so ill-prepared for school that they aren't accepted into any voucher school? what happens to those kids? and what teachers will want to teach them?

how can you say you say you're interested in the welfare of the poor and support vouchers?