Mark Dann

June 2004

Pro bono attorney, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Age: 30
Role model: His mother, who helped launch a boycott of a restaurant in Tennessee that refused service to her black friend.
Inspired by: The financial sacrifices his parents made so that he could attend good schools.
Passionate about: Making sure all students have equal opportunity in schools.

In the mid-1980s, when Mark Dann was 13, his parents lost their jobs and their home in Syracuse, New York, during an economic downturn. The couple considered moving to the South, where the cost of living was lower and jobs were more readily available. But at a time when many school systems were trimming budgets, the couple feared losing the high-quality public education they felt Dann was receiving. The family decided to tighten their belts and live more frugally so that their son could continue to receive the kind of education they valued so much. For Dann, his parent’s decision to sacrifice their lifestyle rather than compromise on the quality of his schooling was memorable: "It showed me that they valued my education over all else."

Today, he is a lawyer for the Education Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. A nonprofit organization formed at the request of President John F. Kennedy, it handles lawsuits to desegregate classrooms, provide equal facilities and materials, end discriminatory disciplinary practices, and more. Many of the nation’s schools lack necessary resources and adequately trained teachers, especially schools that have high percentages of minority students. Dann tries cases that challenge such educational disparities among schools—the kind of inequalities that kept his family on a tight budget in Syracuse. The Education Project also addresses issues of educational discrimination, such as academic tracking that assigns students to certain levels of classes in ways that often seem based more on race than ability, and school disciplinary policies in which minority students typically are targeted more often and receive harsher punishments.

"No other group is in greater need of protection than children, many of whom are not even aware of the discrimination they face."

Dann has also been involved in equity issues in higher education. He helped draft briefs in support of the University of Michigan law school’s use of race as one factor in its admissions policy. The Supreme Court upheld the policy in a ruling in June 2003.

Thinking of his family’s sacrifice, he says, "I hope to use my career to ensure that other parents are not faced with similar…choices."

What made you choose education as the focus of your work in civil rights?
Dann: No other group is in greater need of protection than children, many of whom are not even aware of the discrimination they face. Also, my parents instilled in me a strong respect for the power of education, and I enjoyed working with and teaching children while I was in college.

In the 50 years since Brown v. Board of Education, schools have remained one of the most fundamental institutions of government, and they continue to play a central role in people’s fight for equality. The fight for equal educational opportunities not only paved the way for litigation in fields such as housing, voting rights, and employment, but it continues to bring to light contemporary issues, such as the role diversity plays in our society, which was addressed in the recent University of Michigan race-conscious admissions case.

The nation will mark the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education this year. How far do you think we have come?
Dann: School systems are different than they were 50 years ago in that today’s discrimination is more multifaceted, more subtle, and more systemic. White mobs no longer block African American students from entering the schoolhouse doors, and for this reason, many people prefer to believe discrimination is a thing of the past. However, the fact remains that today’s schools have actually become more racially segregated than in years past and that racial isolation not only exists between schools but between classes within those schools as well.