School Desegregation

Richard T.Schaefer

doi:10.4135/9781412963879

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School Desegregation

Edited by:
Richard T. Schaefer
In:Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Society
Chapter DOI:https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412963879.n501
Subject:Race & Ethnicity

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Desegregation, although difficult to define, is commonly referred to as the elimination of the separation of individuals by virtue of their race or ethnicity. This term is commonly used in reference to public schools in the United States that have, either through social measures or legal requirements, eliminated practices that perpetuate educating students of different racial or ethic groups in different schools and classrooms. Historically, the desegregation of schools referred to Black and White students. However, the increasing racial and ethnic diversity in the United States is a graphic reminder that desegregation should be understood as involving many different peoples of color both vis-à-vis each other and vis-à-vis Whites.

In a fully desegregated school district, the racial/ethnic composition of all school buildings and all classes within each building would generally approximate that of the district. Historically, desegregation at the building level has been difficult to achieve even in the presence of court orders requiring it. Moreover, desegregation at the building level has frequently been accompanied by relatively high levels of segregation across academic tracks and classrooms within buildings. This entry looks at the history of school desegregation and the reverse tide that has been growing since the 1980s.

History

School segregation, which has a long and often contentious history in the United States and especially in the South, was sanctioned by the 1896 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson. The Plessy ruling allowed separate public facilities for Blacks as long as they were equal to those for Whites; this decision supported the state-mandated segregation that characterized public education in the South for the next half century. State-mandated segregation is generally called de jure segregation whereas de facto segregation refers to segregation that arises from other sources such as housing and other social patterns not explicitly enforced by law.

In the half century after Plessy, the separate but equal doctrine provoked a range of political and legal challenges, culminating in the unanimous 1954 Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board Education. The Brown decision stated that segregated education was inherently unequal and thus a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause. The Court ordered the elimination of segregated schooling but failed to designate specific ways that desegregation efforts should proceed; the next 10 years saw little progress in desegregating schools.

Promoting Desegregation

The situation changed dramatically in the 1960s as the Civil Rights Movement transformed many aspects of the political landscape and, among other things, resulted in the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The act outlawed discrimination in public accommodations, in employment, and in programs receiving federal aid. The act also enabled the U.S. Department of Justice to initiate school desegregation lawsuits. This legislation was followed by the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which provided for unprecedented levels of federal aid to local school districts. These two acts thus provided the federal government with an effective mix of carrots and sticks for getting local school districts to desegregate.

Adding to the impetus for desegregation was a flurry of court cases, most notably the Green et al. v. County School Board (1968) and Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education (1971) cases. In Green, the Court ruled that it was not enough for school districts to eliminate laws that required a dual, segregated system; they must take affirmative steps to actively desegregate public schools. The Green[Page 1205]decision directed that segregation must be removed “root and branch” and identified six areas that needed to be desegregated: student assignment, facilities, transportation, staff, faculties, and extracurricular activities These six criteria became known as the Green factors and have frequently been used by courts to determine the extent of segregation or desegregation.