Postcard: Savannah

摘要

As America's first black presi-dent settles into the Oval Office, it seems an odd time for Georgia to be up in arms over school integration again. In 1961, when a federal court ordered the University of Georgia to admit two black students, 1,000 white rioters hurled firecrackers, bricks and racial epithets through dorm windows. But 1961 this is not: today a white Republican is leading the charge, and black students and lawmakers are fighting for the status quo. With Georgia facing a $ 2 billion budget shortfall, Seth Harp, chairman of the state senate's higher-education committee, has proposed merging historically black public universities with mostly white schools nearby to cut administrative costs. Among other drawbacks, critics say, the move could mean fewer scholarships, larger classes and teacher layoffs. But race is the thorniest issue by far. "We've made tremendous progress in Georgia," says Harp. "I just think it's the right time to get rid of this vestige of legal segregation."