Segregation Forever

As I've mentioned before, I'm working on the footnotes for my next book, neck deep in all sorts of documents—such as the Alabama Constitution of 1901, which is the one currently in effect, whose Section 256 reads as follows:

Duty of legislature to establish and maintain public school system; apportionment of public school fund; separate schools for white and colored children.

The legislature shall establish, organize, and maintain a liberal system of public schools throughout the state for the benefit of the children thereof between the ages of seven and twenty-one years. The public school fund shall be apportioned to the several counties in proportion to the number of school children of school age therein, and shall be so apportioned to the schools in the districts or townships in the counties as to provide, as nearly as practicable, school terms of equal duration in such school districts or townships. Separate schools shall be provided for white and colored children, and no child of either race shall be permitted to attend a school of the other race.

As best I can tell, a constitutional requirement of "separate schools for white and colored children" is still in effect in the Yellowhammer State, though I'd be glad to be corrected if I'm wrong.

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