The founding of the United States as a constitutional republic was nation-building. Restoring unity in the aftermath of the Civil War was nation-building. Achieving Brown v. Board of Education and the goal of equal educational opportunity for all children was nation-building. The articles in this Issue, inspired by the April 2009 conference, “Looking to the Future: Legal and Policy Options for Racially Integrated Education in the South and the Nation,” hosted by the UNC School of Law, discuss the ongoing nation-building task of implementing Brown’s goal of high-quality, integrated public schools.
