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Post-Brown Aftermath
Integrating public schools did not come easily. Even with a Supreme Court ruling essentially ordering schools to integrate, the national compliance, especially in the South, was divided. School districts fought the ruling and more court cases were required to secure integration.
Segregation and the "Separate but Equal" Doctrine
Making the Case to Integrate Public Schools
Post-Brown Aftermath
1957 Arkansas fights back
One of the most infamous centers of
resistance is Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Governor Orval Faubus calls out the National Guard to prevent
black students from entering the school. President Eisenhower
sends troops to Little Rock to ensure that the students, known
as the Little Rock Nine, are able to attend school safely.
1958 Cooper v. Aaron
When Governor Faubus closes all public high
schools in the state in order to prevent integration, his
decision is declared unconstitutional and the schools are
integrated the following school year.
1959 Schools close rather than integrate
Prince Edward County, Virginia, refuses to
fund integrated schools. The schools remain closed until 1964,
leaving many students without an education.
1961 Holmes v. Danner
Admission to the University of Georgia is
granted to two black students.
1962 Meredith v. Fair
James Meredith is denied admission to the
University of Mississippi because of his race. The situation
escalates to the point that President Kennedy sends federal
troops to protect Meredith at the school.
1964 Going beyond Brown
The Civil Rights Act is passed, prohibiting
segregation in public accommodations and discrimination in
education and employment.
1965 Making integration work
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act
makes federal funding available for school programs to ensure
equality. Today, this law embraces Title I funding, research,
professional development, limited-English-proficient children,
migratory children, children with disabilities, Native American
children, neglected or delinquent children, and young children
in need of reading assistance. It has been reauthorized several
times, most recently as No Child Left Behind.
1968 Green v. County School Board of New
Kent County, Virginia
The Supreme Court rules that "freedom
of choice" plans are ineffective and do not produce actual desegregation.
1968 Integrating other minorities
The Bilingual Education Act allows students
who are English language learners to participate in bilingual
education programs. Federal assistance is available to train
educators to provide bilingual instruction.
1968 Setting standards for integration.
The Supreme Court develops criteria for
determining if school districts have met their desegregation
obligations.
1969 Alexander v. Holmes
The Supreme Court orders the immediate
dissolution of segregated school systems.
1971 Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board
of Education
The Supreme Court accepts busing, school
closings, and faculty and student reassignments as appropriate
means of desegregating public schools.
1972 Congress funds integration
Congress passes the Emergency School Aid
Act to provide funds to eliminate isolation of minority groups
Wright v. Council of the City of Emporia
and United States v. Scotland Neck City Board of Education
The Supreme Court refuses to allow public
schools to avoid desegregation by creating new, all-white,
splinter districts.
1973 Norwood v. Harrison
The Supreme Court rules that states cannot
provide free textbooks to segregated private schools.
Keyes v. School District No. 1, Denver
The Supreme Court establishes rules for
governing desegregation cases outside the South.