Yahoo! News - Alabama to Vote on Segregation Language
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Fifty years after the U.S. Supreme Court decision outlawing school segregation, an Alabama law mandating racially separate classrooms is still on the books.

Gov. Bob Riley and others concerned about the state's image are urging voters to approve a constitutional amendment on Nov. 2 to strike the long-unenforceable language from the state constitution. They say such laws are a painful reminder of the South's divisive past, and make Alabama look bad when it comes to drawing in new businesses.

But the amendment ballot has opponents, including former Chief Justice Roy Moore, who is suspicious of possible hidden agenda: a huge tax increase.

Gabriel J. Chin, a University of Arizona law professor who helped write a recent study on Jim Crow laws, said many Southern states besides Alabama still have unenforceable segregation-era laws on the books, and referendums on erasing them are not always a sure thing.

"Some people still support segregation. They won't say it in public, but they will say it in the voting place," he said.

Four years ago, Alabama repealed a ban on interracial marriage, but 40 percent of the state voted in favor of the ban.

Four years ago? Wow. I guess I didn't realize how deep bigotry still runs in this country. I'm getting quite the lesson in that now.