Plaintiffs alleged that Alabama A&M University and Alabama State University, both historically Black institutions, suffered from a lack of programs and facilities and few White students. Meanwhile, there were not enough Black students, faculty and administrators at the predominantly White schools.
According to Knight, when the case’s mandates fully end as expected in 2014, A&M and ASU each will have received more than $200 million for such things as new academic programs, endowment trusts, diversity scholarships, new buildings and improvements.
Murphy oversaw two of the three major higher education trials in the suit and issued far-reaching rulings in 1991 and 1995. The case had appeared headed for another major trial, but the plaintiffs and the traditionally White universities began working on agreements to avoid one.
Later, a surplus in the state education budget made money available to help meet A&M’s request for additional building and repair funds, as well as the plaintiffs’ request for a meaningful need-based scholarship program.
The expected end of the case won’t end the plaintiffs’ claim that Alabama’s property tax system is a barrier to higher education for many Black and low-income students. Murphy rejected their claim that the system doesn’t generate enough revenue to be effective, and it is now before the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
— Associated Press
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