This special school board meeting is bigger than busing. It is white supremacy in action.

"The paradox of education is precisely this - that as one begins to become conscious one begins to examine the society in which he is being educated."― James Baldwin

JCPS Board Members Chris Kolb, Linda Duncan and Joe Marshall invoked a board rule allowing them to call a special meeting on April 10—four days ahead of the already scheduled meeting—to vote on a new transportation plan. This meeting will not allow public comment and will take place one day before the public is scheduled to perform a Racial Equity Analysis Protocol (REAP) on a series of transportation proposals by the district. The Louisville Urban League and other community organizations, parents, and students were invited by district staff to participate.

This intentional move to exclude the public and undermine the perspectives of the parents and students most impacted by these decisions is white supremacy in action. These board members have decided they and district leaders know what's best for Black, brown, and low-income families without their input or active participation. They can't wait a mere twenty-four hours for the results of the community REAP. They cannot wait four days to hear the voices of the community after they have been given a chance to digest whatever new proposal(s) comes forth. White supremacy says that the best answers aren't found in the "other" but reside with the norm.

JCPS proposed busing plan is racist. Why vote on it in a special meeting when the audit shows us a better way?

Ahead of the previous board meeting, the League sent each board member a letter with recommendations and things to consider ahead of their potential vote. These were ideas my team and I researched and pulled together from data from across the country and our own lived experiences. After all, we are who we serve.

I heard back from only two members: Dr. Shull, who felt the district should look at several items critically, and Ms. Duncan, who was gracious but dismissed every idea as implausible. The night of the meeting, I was pleased to hear the auditor echo many of our recommendations for consideration. I don't share this to pat my team on the back but to highlight the power of diverse community voices. We can do hard things if we are willing to try new things and listen to different people.

I don't know what plan these members intend to vote on (I'm not sure they do either), and today, I don't care. In their rush to exclude people under a false sense of urgency, everyone gets hurt. This is bigger than busing. Today is about process. Today is about representation.

Just a few months ago, I stood with the district and others around the state fighting for DEI against bigoted forces in Frankfort. I don't regret it, and I'd do it again because I believe in every letter. Every word. Diversity. Equity. Inclusion. And I believe those things should be everywhere, not just in the classroom, but in how we make decisions. I thought the board and the district did, too.

Collectively, we do not know what today's meeting will bring, but we do know that we will not forget how they have behaved and attempted to disregard our voices. We will show up today for the meeting. Maybe that will matter, or perhaps it won't make a difference. But what will matter is how we show up the next day, the next, and at every given opportunity after that. Be it at the board meeting, the school building, or the ballot box.

Lyndon Pryor is the President and CEO of the Louisville Urban League, a historic civil rights organization in Louisville, Kentucky, and an affiliate of the National Urban League. 

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Special meeting on JCPS busing, excludes public input, hurts everyone.