More Blacks Expelled Than White Students

Black students are expelled more often than whites in Decatur, Ill., school officials acknowledged in a federal hearing over the punishments given six black students for a brawl at a football game. A lawsuit filed by the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow/PUSH Coalition says school district officials violated the civil rights of the students because they did not receive a fair hearing before they were expelled. School board President Jackie Goetter testified that in four years, 82% of the expelled students were black. The district’s student population is about 46% black.