Jesse Block
11/5/04
Dr. Gagnon
History 3090
From Our Nation to Our Neighborhoods
The Integration of Gwinnett County Schools
In 1954 and 1955 when Brown v. Board of Education was decided, most school systems in the South failed to implement any immediate or substantial changes in an effort to provide an equal educational opportunity for all students. Brown v. Board of Education I of 1954 mandates the integration of public schools, and it goes on to say that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional.[1] However, Brown v. Board of Education II states that desegregation did not need to occur immediately and without caution, but rather, that school boards should strive to eliminate segregation as quickly as possible. Almost instantly, there was considerable opposition to desegregation in Southern states.[2] As a result of the Supreme Court’s involvement into an issue that many Southerners felt was a matter of state’s rights, the nation responded with growing discourse and mounting tension between blacks and whites. The people of Gwinnett County felt no differently. However, Gwinnetians saw themselves removed from the issues. Although Gwinnett never experienced noteworthy violence or hard-fought resistance, it does seem that the county, in fact, hindered true desegregation in the Atlanta Area. When integration was implemented, many white Atlantans fled to what is now considered Metro Atlanta. As Jim Crow laws were overturned and desegregation began, the laws that separated the races were replaced with a common desire for social separation. This de facto segregation allowed for delay of real integration in Georgia that we are only now beginning to surmount.
During the era of desegregation, the problems seen in Georgia schools were only a small piece of what was occurring nationally. After school systems failed to administer the Supreme Court’s rulings in the Brown v. Board of Education cases, activist groups across the nation once again incited a relentless battle in the courts for full integration. In 1965 and 1966, three of the most important desegregation cases were decided. The Singleton v. Jackson Municipal I and II and U.S. v. Jefferson County cases ruled that schools must not only desegregate, but must also actively integrate.[3] This meant that school systems had bring to an end to the restriction of black students from white schools and were forced to ensure that blacks were able to do so safely. Two years later, in Green v. Board of Education the courts ruled that local school boards must implement “affirmative integration.”[4] For the first time, the judicial system stepped in and forced school boards to set a quota for the amount of blacks in each public educational institution. In 1969, courts ordered integration in all schools and set February 1970 as the deadline, but when integration did not occur by this date, it was extended.[5] The power of the Supreme Court to integrate state schools was slowed by resistance from school systems as well as the unwillingness of the national government to use whatever means necessary to force complete integration. The weakness of government policies and judicial rulings created an unlimited time frame for true integration and set the stage for controversy, chaos, and conflict.
In order to prompt integration in traditionally white communities, a policy known as busing was implemented.[6] Virginia’s District Court ruled in the case Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education of 1970 that busing would be used to force a 9 to 38 percent ratio of black to white students. But later, the Supreme Court seemed to waiver when it ruled the set percentage simply a goal and not a quota set in stone. However, busing was continued. By busing black students into white schools, integration enforcement officials could be sure that black students would attend the white schools. Parents and students alike were enraged by the fact that students were being removed from the schools they wanted to attend and forced to go to schools they did not want to go to and with people they did not want to go with. Busing was so controversial because the policy took people from their homes into a completely hostile environment.
From
the mid 1950’s, Georgia and the Atlanta Area experienced turmoil in the process
of desegregation. In July of 1955, at a
Georgia Board of Education meeting, officials decided to implement a policy
that required teachers to sign a pledge stating that they would not teach in
any integrated classes or schools. If
they did, the teachers would lose their teaching license and two years of
salary. The Georgia Board of
Education stated,
“Any teacher licensed to teach in the public schools of
the State of Georgia who supports, encourages, condones, or agrees to teach in
a mixed grade shall have his or her license and salary automatically forfeited,
and the same shall not be renewed for a period of two years from the date of
forfeit,”[7]
In addition, if they were forced to teach an integrated class by a supervisor and refused, they would receive full salary. It went on to say,
“Any teacher duly licensed under the rules and regulations of this Board who is required to teach in mixed grades in the public schools of this State by any superior authority, and who declines to teach such mixed grades shall receive his or her full salary for his or her contract with the local unit,”[8]
By passing this pledge that punished teachers for obeying the law, Georgia School Board officials were able to prevent the Brown v. Board of Education decision from taking effect. Despite this, six years later, nine black students integrated four high schools in Atlanta. In the same year, setting a precedent for Georgia’s universities, Georgia Tech admitted three black students.[9] However, these small numbers did not mean real integration had occurred. The majority of schools were still segregated. Token integration had officially begun. In 1964, only four of 197 school districts had desegregated. In these four districts, only 177 black students made up a mere 0.047% of all black students in the state.[10] Although this small step toward integration occurred, racial tensions were reaching an all time high, and in 1966, Atlanta experienced a race riot that stirred blacks and whites alike. Started after a black man, suspected of car theft, was shot by a white police officer, violence erupted.[11] Frustrations built up over time, outraged African Americans, and they flooded the streets of Atlanta crying out for justice. Between September sixth and eleventh, as a result of violence, one person died, 35 people were injured, and 138 people were arrested. Later, the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee members were indicted for inciting a riot.[12] Following the violence in 1966, the 1970s brought a renewed desire for civil litigation. In 1972, the American Civil Liberties Union brought a suit against nine Atlanta metro area school boards including Gwinnett.[13] The school systems had yet to form desegregation plans let alone implement anything other than token integration of a handful of black students. In 1973, the suit was settled with an agreement to use busing to facilitate a 30% quota for black students in all schools and the black to white faculty ratio reflecting this same percentage.[14] Most counties found ways around this. However it was a step toward implementing a plan.
The history of the Gwinnett County School System has been one of quiet but persistent segregation. Until the late 1930’s, Gwinnett schools were held in churches and other small public buildings with Blacks and Whites attending different buildings.[15] During the 1940’s, Gwinnett consolidated into four regional high schools.[16] In 1945, Hooper-Renwick, the only black high school in the county was formed.[17] After Brown v. Board of Education many school districts rushed to erect comparable facilities for black students.[18] Gwinnett seemed indifferent to the changes going on around them and, the 1955 school budget contained gross discrepancies in the amount of funding for the white schools in Gwinnett County compared with the amount allotted for Hooper-Renwick. Each of the high schools was given over $100,000 for new buildings, but for classroom equipment, Hooper-Renwick was given only $8858 a mere forty four percent of what was given to each of the other schools.[19] Gwinnett, like other districts, defended segregation with the idea of separate but equal facilities; under funding proves facilities were nowhere near equal. Gwinnett history paints a vivid picture of inequality for black students. However, very little information is known about the actual date of complete integration in Gwinnett County. Most historians believe that desegregation began in the late 1960’s to early 1970’s. Gwinnett’s first black football player, Calvin Snow, was a freshman at Norcross High School in1970.[20] This proves that small strides were being made to not only provide academic equality, but overall equality for Blacks that had integrated.
The idea of integration was buried by rapid population growth and the emotion of Vietnam. Gwinnett area newspapers were local tabloids that gave little national news to readers. Most editorials were devoted to criticisms of the Vietnam War. Major sections of small newspapers were dedicated to wedding announcements, church happenings, and high school sports. The newspapers suggest that all Gwinnetians cared about was who was having tea with whom. Gwinnett looked at desegregation as a problem that they were not experiencing firsthand. Editorials about segregation were simply critiques of other systems in Georgia and never direct commentary on Gwinnett’s own integration events or policies. Often, news of issues from around the country was reported as if Gwinnett was separated from the problems of a changing society. In August of 1971, President Nixon called for busing to aid in integration. The Lt. Governor of Georgia, Lester Maddox, was asking for parents to resist the policy, but The Gwinnett Daily News did not find this front page news worthy. The information was buried in a small story surrounded by advertisements and a substantial story about a recent tropical depression.[21] If editors had chosen to attack the issue of segregation, the process would have been expedited and streamlined by voicing an idea of importance that readers would adopt as their own. The newspaper editor’s choice, to look past national government’s domestic policy of anti-segregation that would directly affect them, and to focus their attention, along with the County’s, on a foreign policy that would not impact most of the county in any way, delayed desegregation and integration for generations to come.
Gwinnett County has helped to delay integration in the Atlanta Area in multiple aspects. When white families in Fulton and DeKalb counties were faced with the possibility of forced integration, many chose to relocate to counties outside of the Perimeter. As middle-class black families moved into traditionally white neighborhoods, white families would sell their homes as quickly as they could to whoever would buy them. As a result property values fell sharply throughout the 1950’s, 60’s, and 70’s. Most whites sought refuge in the northeastern suburb of Gwinnett County. With its miniscule black population, many middle and upper class white families saw the opportunity to move as an excellent alternative to integrated schools. This phenomenon, known as “White Flight”, has allowed for a continued segregation in Georgia that has affected the school systems in Fulton and DeKalb counties by lowering funding to schools through lost property tax. It has also left these schools with the least prepared students in the area. White Flight indirectly slowed desegregation in Gwinnett due to the increased number of white families moving to the area. In the 1960 census, Gwinnett County had a population of 43,541. After ten years, the population had grown 66.2% to 72, 349, and in 1980 Gwinnett had a population of 166,815 a growth of over 130% in just ten years.[22] In contrast, Fulton and Dekalb counties experienced extremely stifled growth rates with some years of substantial decline. Fulton’s population was over 556,000 in 1960; ten years later the population had only grown 8.8% to 605,210 and during the 1970’s decreased 2.5% to 589,904.[23] DeKalb also showed a severe decline in growth rate. With a population of 256,782 in 1960’s DeKalb grew by 61.8%, but in the next decade, growth dropped to only 16.3%.[24] Changes in population size and content explain the condition that schools are in now. Census data in 2000 shows a current ratio of 35.8% white to 54.2% black for DeKalb, 48.1% white to 44.6% black for Fulton, and 72.7% white to 13.3% black for Gwinnett.[25] Until the racial demographics of these counties become more equally distributed, true integration will never take place in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area.
As Gwinnett received most of the white families from other counties, property values gradually increased such that many black families were unable to afford the cost of living in the area. Gwinnett’s extreme growth during the 1960’s and 70’s muted and slowed many aspects of integration. Desegregation in Gwinnett, has shifted from two major racial groups to include Hispanics as well as Blacks and Whites. Some of Gwinnett’s schools are very diverse, while others are almost as white as they were in the 60’s. Local government has collaborated zoning plans with attendance districts, and has slowed countywide integration. U.S. Highway 29 splits the county in to two different sub-regions. Black and Hispanic families inhabit lower priced housing that are multifamily and located in areas north and west of U.S. Highway 29. South and east of U.S. 29 there are large areas of low density and rural single family housing that most black families cannot afford. U.S. 29 is also used to split many of the schools attendance districts. Officials have used zoning ordinances to protect some schools from integration while others have burdened more than their fair share. Lilburn is a prime example of Gwinnett’s attitudes and policies. With three high schools and Highway 29 running through downtown, Lilburn can be observed as a microcosm of Gwinnett. Berkmar and Meadowcreek high schools are both located north of Lilburn and feature some of the highest rates of diversity in the county. In April 2004, Berkmar High School had 24.6% white students, 34.1% black students, and 25% Hispanic students.[26] In the same year, Meadowcreek High School had 12.5% white 32% black and 34.2% Hispanic. In contrast, Parkview, from the proverbial “other side of the tracks”, has over a 67.3% white student body with a 10.5% black and 5.4% Hispanic minority.[27] Berkmar and Meadowcreek are both regarded as problem schools. Beliefs that minority students are troubled students are only solidified by the problems seen at two of the most diverse schools in the county. Attitudes at Parkview, are that it is one of the last “good” schools in southern Gwinnett County. Further de facto segregation is encouraged by Parkview’s lack of diversity, paired with a long standing belief that it is not only one of the best schools in the county, but the state and nation as well.
The Gwinnett County Public School System has long been regarded as one of the best school systems in the nation. Segregation cannot be eliminated until it has been fully acknowledged that it did and still does exist in some form. Once all of the old beliefs of white supremacy have been eradicated, integration will occur in full. Information from between 1950 and 1975 must become freely passed, and there must be a desire to grow closer to equality in the future. By waiting until a majority of attitudes have changed, Gwinnett is poised to become one of the few school districts in the nation to be truly integrated!
Some Interesting Links:
1. Gwinnett County Public Schools
3. Racial Desegregation in Public Education in the United States
[1] Mary Ellen Leahy, “School Desegregation and Prejudice in the United States,” [on-line]; available from http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1988/1/88.01.03.x.html accesses 20 October 2004.
[2] Jennifer Collins, interview by author, phone, Lawrenceville, GA., 20 October 2004.
[3] Leahy.
[4] Leahy.
[5] Leahy.
[6] Leahy.
[7] Noellene Moore, I Saw a Tear (Mercer Press Services, 1978) 6.
[8] Moore, 6.
[9]“A Short History of Atlanta 1961-1986,” [on-line]; available from http://www.city-directory.com/Overview/history/history7.htm; internet; accessed 3 September 2004.
[10] Moore, 9.
[11] “A Short History of Atlanta 1961-1986”.
[12] “A Short History of Atlanta 1961-1986”.
[13] “A Short History of Atlanta 1961-1986”.
[14] “A Short History of Atlanta 1961-1986”.
[15] Colins, interview.
[16] Colins, interview.
[17] Colins, interview.
[18]Moore, 5.
[19]J.C. Flanigan, “History of Gwinnett County, Georgia,” (Moreno Press, 1975) 393.
[20] “Good Backs to Lead Norcross,” Lawrenceville (GA) The Gwinnett Daily News, 25 August 1972, 18
[21]“Maddox Asking Non-Compliance,” Lawrenceville (GA) The Gwinnett Daily News, 17 August 1971, 6
[22] “Population for Georgia Counties 1960 to 2000,” [on-line]; available from http://www.cviog.uga.edu/gainfo/censusposter/countypop.pdf; internet; accessed 1 November 2004.
[23] “Population for Georgia Counties 1960 to 2000,”.
[24] “Population for Georgia Counties 1960 to 2000,”.
[25]“Georgia Quickfacts,” [on-line]; available from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/13000.html; internet; accessed 3 September 2004.
[26]Jeselyn Block, Interview by author, phone, 3 November 2004.
[27] Block, Interview.