LAWRENCE — Sometimes, big government is good. A Kansas University professor is writing a book that tracks the role of strong central governments in the U.S. civil rights movement and Mexico pulling itself together after the Mexican Revolution. Ruben Flores said a strong central government and presidency allowed Mexico to integrate 50 different cultures and build a national system of public schools. Early-day civil rights activists in the U.S. looked at Mexico as a model for integration before World War II, he said. A strong central government helped support the U.S. court system’s rulings against the deep-rooted system of Jim Crow segregation, he said.
