School Desegregation

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School Desegregation

• Jennifer Satola
• Mark Soeder

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Brown v. Board of Education 1954

• Linda Brown, age 7, from Topeka, Kansas
• Traveled by foot bus 21 blocks to her all-black
  elementary school
• Had to walk through a train yard
• There was an all-white school 7 blocks away
• Her father sued after the principal of the white
  school wouldnt allow her to attend
• 200 plaintiffs from three states the District
  of Columbia were represented in the case
• Thurgood Marshall, chief legal counsel for the
  NAACP, represented the plaintiffs

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Supreme Court Decision
We come to the question presented Does
segregation of public schools solely on the basis
of race, even though the physical facilities and
other tangible factors may be equal, deprive
the children of the minority group of equal
educational opportunities? We believe that it
does. To separate them from others of similar
age and qualifications solely because of their
race generates a feeling of inferiority as to
their status in the community that may affect
their hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to
be undone. We conclude that in the field of
public education the doctrine of separate but
equal has no place. Separate educational
facilities are inherently unequal. -Earl Warren
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Reactions
Congressmen provide conflicting viewpoints on
school desegregation
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Map of School Desegregation 1964

• The decision did not bring public school
  segregation to an immediate end.
• In 1955, the Supreme Court issued a second
  ruling, calling for the integration of schools
  with all deliberate speed.
• In 1964, less than 11 of African American
  students in 17 southern states and DC were
  attending integrated schools.

Thurgood Marshall discusses how long he thinks
integration will take place.
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Little Rock Crisis 1957

• In 1957, 75 African American students filled out
  applications to enter Central High School in
  Little Rock, Arkansas.
• The Board of Education narrowed the number to 9,
  all of whom had strong educational backgrounds.
• The 9 students, who were known as the Little Rock
  Nine, met much community resistance as they tried
  to enter the school.

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For a moment, all I could hear was the shuffling
or their feet. Then, someone shouted. Here she
comes. Get ready The crowd moved in closer
and then began to follow me, calling me names. I
still wasnt afraid. Just a bit nervous. Then
my knees started to shake all of a sudden and I
wondered whether I could make it to the center
entrance a block away. It was the longest block
I ever walked in my life. - Elizabeth Eckford
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Eisenhower Responds
In that city, under the leadership of demagogic
extremists, disorderly mobs have deliberately
prevented the carrying out of proper orders from
a federal court. Local authorities have not
eliminated that violent opposition and, under the
law, I yesterday issued a proclamation calling
upon the mob to disperse. This morning the mob
again gathered in front of the Central High
School of Little Rock, obviously for the purpose
of again preventing the carrying out of the
courts order relating to the admission of Negro
children to that school. President Eisenhower
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And then the whole school was ringed with
paratroopers and helicopters hovering around. We
marched up the steps in this circle of soldiers
with bayonets drawn. And walking up the steps
that day was probably one of the biggest feelings
Ive ever had. I figured Id finally cracked
it. Ernest Green
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Segregation in Cleveland Public Schools
Cleveland Public Schools remained segregated long
after Brown v. Board of Education. Pictured here
is Central High School, an all-black school.
Just a few blocks away was East Tech, a
predominantly all-white school.
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Reed v. Rhodes (1976)
In 1976, Federal Judge Frank Battisti issued the
Reed v. Rhodes decision. The Court found
evidence of over 200 separate incidents of racial
segregation in the Cleveland Public Schools. In
finding for the plaintiffs, the Court rejected
the school board's defense of "neighborhood
schools." The Court eventually ordered a
desegregation plan that consisted of educational
programs to correct the effects of segregation,
integration of teachers and professional staffs,
safety and security measures, and, most
controversially, student reassignment to promote
desegregation.
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Reactions to the Decision
Cleveland Teachers Union representative James
Omeara explains why people are resisting busing.
Student Mark Nakon decribes his expectations for
desegregation.
Those against the busing decision wait at Burke
Lakefront Airport for the arrival of Jimmy Carter
on September 8, 1976.
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Reactions to the Decision
Members of C.O.R.K. (Citizens Opposed to
Rearranging Kids) protest along the
Detroit-Superior Bridge prior to the start of the
school year in 1979.
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Map Showing Desegregation
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Busing Begins
Parents rode with their children as they were
transported to Nathaniel Hawthorne School. These
students previously attended Moses Cleaveland
School.
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The Welcoming Committee at John Marshall High
School were on hand to greet the 1,398 black high
school students who were bused from JFK.
Meanwhile, Marshall bused 817 white students to
attend JFK. Marshall went from being 90 white
to 63.9 black. JFK went from being all black to
61.4 black.
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These four students are from the Waverly
Elementary School on Clevelands West Sided.
Newspapers reported that when schools opened in
September 1979, the desegregation was peaceful.
No problems were reported, although attendance
rates were lower than usual for the first day of
school. District-wide, attendance was at 77.
In the past, the average for the first day of
school was 85.