Post date: Jun 21, 2011 2:11:29 PM

Group claims discrimination vs. Maryland's black colleges

Arguments heard on whether federal lawsuit can go forward

May 11, 2011|By Tricia Bishop, The Baltimore Sun

Maryland's four historically black colleges and universities are more segregated today than in decades past because of discriminatory practices and policies maintained by the state's Higher Education Commission, lawyers told a federal court judge Wednesday.

"The result is [that the four colleges] fall farther and farther behind," said John Greenbaum, a civil rights attorney representing an advocacy group that sued the commission.

The lawsuit, originally filed in 2006 and since amended four times, contends that the state underfunds black schools, particularly in capital improvement projects, and allows unnecessary duplication of programs by surrounding institutions.

But attorneys for the commission say there's no proof that disparities, if any, are intentional or even the result of policies that have roots in segregation.

"Because they cannot meet that burden [after] lengthy years of litigation, they fail," said Assistant Attorney General Campbell Killifer, who represents the Maryland Higher Education Commission. He concluded that U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake should therefore "dismiss the case entirely."