Bridging Divides
An academic exploration of desegregation busing, a pivotal strategy in the American civil rights movement, examining its history, legal basis, societal impact, and controversies.
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Understanding Desegregation Busing
The Objective
Desegregation busing, also referred to as integrated busing or sometimes pejoratively as forced busing, was a policy implemented in the United States to diversify the racial composition of public schools. This involved transporting students to schools located further from their residences, typically to schools with less homogeneous student populations.[1]
Legal Foundation
While the landmark 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education declared state-mandated segregation in public schools unconstitutional, many schools remained racially homogeneous due to de facto segregation. To address this, the 1971 Supreme Court ruling in Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education affirmed that federal courts could utilize busing as a mechanism to achieve racial balance and integration.[2]
Societal Response
The implementation of busing policies encountered significant opposition from various segments of both white and Black communities. This resistance contributed to phenomena such as "white flight," where white families relocated to suburban areas, potentially diminishing the policy's intended effectiveness and leading to increased racial concentration in urban school districts.[3][4][5]
Historical Trajectory
Pre-World War II Era
Prior to World War II, racial segregation in American public schools was widespread. Southern states enforced de jure segregation through Jim Crow laws, while Northern and border states often exhibited de facto segregation due to residential patterns and population demographics. In 1940, major Northern cities like Detroit and Chicago were over 90% white, with Black populations concentrated in urban ghettos, partly due to restrictive housing covenants.[citation needed]
Post-War Shifts
The Second Great Migration saw millions of African Americans move from the rural South to urban centers in the North and West, seeking better opportunities and filling labor demands. This demographic shift, coupled with post-war suburbanization that predominantly attracted white families, exacerbated racial residential and, consequently, school segregation in major cities.[citation needed]
Landmark Legal Decisions
The Supreme Court's 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education declared separate educational facilities inherently unequal. However, the Court's 1955 ruling in Brown II mandated desegregation "with all deliberate speed," leading to varied implementation and resistance. Subsequent rulings like Green v. County School Board (1968) demanded immediate desegregation "root and branch," while Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg (1971) explicitly authorized busing as a tool to achieve racial balance, effectively ending de jure segregation in the South but failing to address de facto segregation.[7]
Judicial Interpretations and Limits
Inter-District Limits
The 1974 Supreme Court case Milliken v. Bradley imposed significant limitations on busing. The Court ruled that inter-district busing plans were unconstitutional unless intentional segregation policies could be proven across suburban districts. This decision effectively allowed de facto segregation to persist in Northern suburbs and confined desegregation efforts primarily within municipal boundaries.[7]
Easing Supervision
In the 1990s and early 2000s, the Rehnquist Court began to relax judicial oversight. Decisions in cases from Oklahoma City (1991), DeKalb County (1992), and Kansas City (1995) allowed federal judges to reduce supervision once legally mandated segregation was deemed eliminated "to the extent practicable," paving the way for school districts to exit court-ordered desegregation.[12]
Race-Conscious Assignments
The 2007 Roberts Court ruling in Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 (PICS) prohibited the use of racial classifications in student assignment plans aimed at maintaining racial balance. The Court held that such race-conscious policies violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, a decision criticized for potentially hindering efforts to prevent resegregation.[13]
Underlying Factors and Movements
The Coleman Report
The influential 1966 "Equality of Educational Opportunity" report, commonly known as the Coleman Report, highlighted that while per-pupil funding differences were not strongly correlated with educational outcomes, Black students from disadvantaged backgrounds benefited significantly from learning in racially integrated classrooms. This finding provided a sociological rationale for busing as a means to achieve educational equity.[14][15]
Civil Rights Movement
The broader Civil Rights Movement provided critical momentum for school desegregation efforts. Legislative victories, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Civil Rights Act of 1968, empowered the federal government to enforce desegregation and combat discrimination in public accommodations and housing, indirectly supporting school integration initiatives.[7]
Legislative Debates
During the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, opponents argued that the bill could mandate busing to achieve racial quotas. Proponents countered that the legislation did not authorize such measures, though subsequent interpretations by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare suggested busing might be required to meet mathematical ratios of students by race.[5]
Sociological Dimensions
Interracial Contact
Sociological studies, including analyses of busing programs, indicated that while busing aimed to foster integration, its impact on race relations within schools was complex. Some research suggested that forced integration could sometimes lead to heightened racial identity and strained interactions between students of different races compared to non-integrated settings.[5]
Academic Outcomes
Research on the academic consequences of busing has yielded mixed results. Some studies found no significant improvement in academic achievement for Black students participating in court-ordered busing programs. Economists have also noted that higher concentrations of Black students in schools can adversely affect the achievement levels of Black students, particularly high-achieving ones.[5][37][38]
Flawed Premise Argument
Economist Thomas Sowell argued that the premise underlying school busing was flawed, suggesting that de facto segregation did not inherently lead to poorer educational outcomes for Black students. He posited that efforts to impose desegregation policies based on race could, in fact, contradict the principles of equality championed by the Brown decision.[34]
Public and Political Reactions
Opposition and Policy Shifts
Public opinion polls from the 1970s indicated significant opposition to busing, particularly among white respondents, although majorities favored alternative desegregation methods like redrawing district lines. Political candidates opposing busing were often elected, and Congress repeatedly voted to end court-mandated busing, reflecting a shift in public and political sentiment.[5]
White Flight and Private Schools
The implementation of busing policies is widely believed to have accelerated "white flight," leading middle-class white families to move to suburbs or enroll their children in private and parochial schools. This phenomenon contributed to the increasing racial segregation of many urban school districts.[5]
Perceived Hypocrisy
Critics often pointed to instances where politicians and judges advocating for busing sent their own children to private schools. This perceived hypocrisy fueled public distrust and opposition to the busing mandates.[5]
Consequences and Outcomes
Integration and Re-segregation
While busing integrated school-age minorities with the broader community, the Milliken v. Bradley decision limited its scope. In many areas, busing led to significant declines in white enrollment in public schools, with a concurrent rise in private school attendance. This contributed to re-segregation, as demographic shifts and suburban growth altered school populations.[35][36]
Declining Diversity
Research indicates that the peak of school desegregation occurred around 1988, followed by a trend of increasing segregation. Factors contributing to this include changing residential patterns, population growth in the South and Southwest, and the decline of older industrial cities. By the mid-2000s, the proportion of Black students attending majority-white schools had fallen to levels not seen since 1968.[59]
Legal Reversals
The Supreme Court's decision in Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 (2007) marked a significant shift, prohibiting race-conscious student assignment plans. Civil rights advocates argue this ruling, along with earlier decisions easing judicial supervision, has accelerated re-segregation by restricting the tools available to address school segregation.[25]
Case Studies Across the Nation
Boston, Massachusetts
The Racial Imbalance Act of 1965 led to court-ordered busing in Boston, sparking significant racial violence and opposition, particularly from white ethnic neighborhoods. Despite the turmoil, the city's busing program continued, though it contributed to white flight and the establishment of private schools.[39]
Charlotte, North Carolina
Following the Swann v. Mecklenburg decision in 1971, Charlotte implemented busing. While initially successful in demonstrating peaceful integration, subsequent court decisions and demographic shifts have led to increased segregation, with Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools reportedly as segregated in 2019 as they were before the Brown v. Board decision.[41][42]
Los Angeles, California
A lawsuit filed in 1963 resulted in a drastic mandatory student reassignment plan in Los Angeles. However, a 1979 California constitutional amendment (Proposition 1) and a subsequent Supreme Court decision in 1982 affirmed that mandatory busing was not permissible under the Equal Protection Clause.[45][46]
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville's "Nashville Plan," initiated in 1957, involved gradual integration. When this proved insufficient, forced busing was mandated in 1971. The plan faced mixed reactions, with many whites opposing it and some Black parents lamenting the closure of neighborhood schools. "White flight" and the rise of private schools continued to impact racial balance.[49]
Wilmington, Delaware
Following Belton v. Gebhart (later incorporated into Brown v. Board), Wilmington's school districts were reorganized. A 1976 court order mandated metropolitan-wide busing to achieve racial balance. While subsequent plans aimed for racial balance within districts, the practice of busing continued until 2001, and Delaware now has high rates of students attending private, magnet, or charter schools.[56]
Indianapolis, Indiana
A 1971 court ruling found Indianapolis Public Schools guilty of de jure segregation, leading to inter-district busing of Black students to neighboring townships starting in 1973. This practice continued until 1998, when an agreement was reached to phase out the program.[58]
The Trend of Resegregation
Post-1988 Decline
The desegregation of U.S. public schools reached its peak in 1988. Since then, demographic shifts, including suburban growth and increased immigration, have contributed to a notable increase in school segregation. As of 2005, the proportion of Black students in majority-white schools was lower than at any point since 1968.[59]
Omaha's Debate
In Omaha, Nebraska, a state senator proposed creating school districts based on current racial demographics, arguing for community control. Opponents criticized the proposal as "state-sponsored segregation," highlighting the ongoing tension between integration efforts and desires for local control.[60][61]
Teacher Migration and Conservative Views
In predominantly Black schools, white teachers have been observed leaving for schools closer to home or those with higher performance metrics, exacerbating teacher shortages. Education conservatives argue that racial separation is primarily a result of residential demographics, not court decisions, and that race-conscious policies violate the spirit of Brown.[62][28]
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References
References
- Yeung, R., & Nguyen-Hoang, P. (2020). Itรขยยs the journey, not the destination: the effect of school travel mode on student achievement. Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability, 13(2), 170รขยย186.
- Austin, W., Heutel, G., & Kreisman, D. (2019). School bus emissions, student health and academic performance. Economics of Education Review, 70, 109รขยย126.
- Kiviat, Barbara J. (2000) "The Social Side of Schooling", Johns Hopkins Magazine, April 2000. Retrieved 30 December 2008.
- Matthew, Ronan, A History of the Las Vegas School Desegregation Case: Kelly et al. v. Clark County School District (Las Vegas: UNLV, 1998), pp. 28, 33, 94.
- Richard A. Pride and J. David Woodard, The Burden of Busing: The Politics of Desegregation in Nashville, Tennessee, University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville: 1985.
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