United States

Judge Lets White Alabama Town Secede From School District Despite ‘Race' Being a Factor

An Alabama federal judge has allowed a predominately white town to secede from the racially mixed county school district and start its own system — despite the fact that "race was the motivating factor," NBC News reported.

"History teaches that communities, left to their own devices, re-segregate fairly quickly," Judge Madeline Haikala wrote in her 190-page ruling.

Gardendale, a suburb of Birmingham, is 88 percent white. It is located in Jefferson County, which had a population of 658,000 that is roughly 53 percent white and 42 percent black.

Monique Lin-Luse, a lawyer with the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund who represented black families opposed to the split, might appeal the decision.

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