The Desegregation Movement in American Education

Introduction

Slavery and segregation are among the most shameful chapters of American history. They left a legacy of racial tension and inequality for subsequent generations to confront and correct. The landmark Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) established that "states could no longer maintain or establish laws allowing separate schools for black and white students," marking "the beginning of the end of state-sponsored segregation" (Georgetown.edu, 2018). However, it was not until ten years later that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 officially ended segregation. Even then, the desegregation movement unfolded slowly and painfully, and its effects continue to be felt to this day. This paper examines the many facets and issues connected to the desegregation movement.

De Facto vs. De Jure Segregation

De facto segregation was a term used during racial integration efforts in schools during the 1960s to describe circumstances where legislation no longer supported segregation, but where school segregation continued nonetheless (Law.cornell.edu, n.d.).

As some experts explain, de facto segregation generally occurs as a result of patterns in residential decisions. The literal translation of "de facto" is essentially "in practice," which highlights a key aspect of this term: segregation that persisted because of the behavior of white people, not because of the law. "Even though the legal aspect of segregation had ended after Brown v. Board of Education, de facto segregation was still practiced by many bitter southerners. An example of de facto segregation could be seen in the 'White Flight' — a mass migration of white citizens following the integration of schools. Parents of white children enrolled their students in private schools and/or moved to the suburbs" (Lesniak, 2016). Thus, while segregation was no longer a legal issue, white citizens in parts of America — particularly the South — were determined to maintain racial separation and preserve their racist beliefs and practices. Some historians view such behavior as evidence of the limitations of legislation as a tool for social change.

De jure segregation, by contrast, refers to segregation that is supported by law, as "de jure" translates to "by or according to law." Some of the most unjust laws in American history were those that enforced segregation, collectively known as Jim Crow Laws. Jim Crow laws were extensive and ensured that segregation permeated all facets of American life, establishing separation in barbershops, amateur baseball leagues, hospitals, schools, libraries, and even in burial practices. Consider this Alabama statute: "It shall be unlawful to conduct a restaurant or other place for the serving of food in the city, at which white and colored people are served in the same room, unless such white and colored persons are effectually separated by a solid partition extending from the floor upward to a distance of seven feet or higher, and unless a separate entrance from the street is provided for each compartment." This piece of legislation offers a stark look at how detailed and all-encompassing pro-segregation laws were, and how deliberately they were designed to create total separation between Black and white Americans — regardless of the harm inflicted on Black communities. De jure segregation ensured that Black people would continue to struggle for economic stability, shackled by a new form of subjugation sanctioned by society and the state.

Brown v. Board of Education

One of the most significant decisions of the Civil Rights era was the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education (1954). Originating in Topeka, Kansas — where segregation was a way of life — the case began because Linda Brown and her sister were required to walk through a dangerous railroad switchyard to reach the bus that carried them to their all-Black elementary school, even though a school for white students was much closer to their home. Linda Brown and her family believed that segregation in public schools violated the Fourteenth Amendment. The federal district court initially ruled that "segregation in public education was harmful to Black children, but because all-Black schools and all-white schools had similar buildings, transportation, curricula, and teachers, the segregation was legal" (Landmarkcases.org, n.d.). The Browns appealed to the Supreme Court, which ultimately ruled that "separate but equal" facilities were inherently unequal and were in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment.

A particularly compelling piece of evidence in this ruling was the research conducted by psychologists Kenneth Clark and Mamie Clark, who designed an experiment with Black school-aged children. The children were presented with two dolls that were identical in every way except for skin color and were asked which doll was "good," which was "bad," and which doll looked most like them. The experiment "showed that the majority of Black children preferred the white dolls to the Black dolls, the children saying the Black dolls were 'bad' and that the white dolls looked most like them. To the Clarks, these tests provided solid proof that enforced segregation stamped African American children with a badge of inferiority that would last the rest of their lives" (nps.gov, 2018). This evidence was so compelling because it illustrated the profound humanity at stake in segregation debates and demonstrated the destructive impact segregation had on children — who are ultimately innocent.

Conclusion

The desegregation movement was slow and difficult and continues in many ways to this very day. Desegregation confronted an enormous legacy of ugliness and injustice and sought compelling and effective ways to dismantle it, despite the enormous resistance it faced and the inherent challenges involved in translating legal mandates into lived equality.

References

Cornish, A. (2016, October 6). Why busing didn't end school segregation. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/10/06/496411024/why-busing-didnt-end-school-segregation

Georgetown.edu. (2018, February 20). Guides: A brief history of civil rights in the United States: Desegregation. Retrieved from

Landmarkcases.org. (n.d.). Brown v. Board of Education. Retrieved from

Law.cornell.edu. (n.d.). De facto segregation. Retrieved from https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/de_facto_segregation

Lesniak, A. (2016, March 7). De jure segregation and de facto segregation. Retrieved from https://prezi.com/upi6pcopw3xa/de-jure-segregation-and-de-facto-segregation/

Nps.gov. (2015, April 10). Kenneth and Mamie Clark doll — Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service). Retrieved from