Religious leaders talk possible legal action against the Wake school board

By Miracle King, News 14 Carolina

RALEIGH — Outside a closed door meeting with fellow clergy and attorneys at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh, N.C. NAACP President Rev. Dr. William Barber, a representative from the North Carolina Council of Churches and fellow Wake school board protest arrestees talked future tactics on how they plan to take on the changing policies of the board.

“To spend some time in prayer to look at where we are,” said Barber. “To look at September and beyond with considering next steps in terms of mass meetings, next steps in terms of a clergy summit and even going to review some of the litigation issues.”

Attorneys are reviewing two key issues: the school board protest arrests and whether or not the dismantling of the diversity policy is an attempt to segregate Wake County Schools.

“Our own state constitution says you cannot engage in things that will create negatives for students cause our state constitution says every child has a right to a sound-base equality education,” said Barber. “So we’re looking at the federal constitution, we’re looking at title 6 of the civil rights laws, we’re looking at the state constitution.”

But no basis for litigation exists, says the Wake County School Board Chair Ron Margiotta. He spearheaded the plan to end the socioeconomic busing of students, but it won’t be implemented for months to come.

“They’re premature,” said Margiotta. “It’s early. We haven’t moved towards anything and all we’ve done is established some policies as how we’re going to reassign students in this county.”

County clergy fear they’re on the brink of change for the worst.

“To suggest in a global society that we ought to create more isolation, rather than more togetherness, is extremely dangerous and then to be playing an ideological card and engage in demagoguery causing people to be fearful splitting communities, that’s just not what we should do,” said Barber.