The mandatory desegregation of public schools in the United States started with the Supreme Court ruling in the 1954 case Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka. The court ruled that segregating black children from white in public schools was a violation of the 14th amendment. In 1955 the court ruled that desegregation of public schools should be accomplished with “deliberate speed”. Unfortunately this was not what happened. Desegregation of public schools was a long and drawn out process especially in the American south. Massive resistance took place across the region. One such notable resistance happened in Arkansas when the governor sent the state’s national guard to Central High School in Little Rock to block the entry of nine black students who were newly admitted to the school. President Eisenhower then countered by sending in U.S. troops to protect the nine students. Another extreme case of resistance occurred in Virginia where Prince Edward County got rid of its public school system, which left education to private schools that excluded black children. The Clarke County school district did not experience any massive boycotts by white students nor was the National Guard brought in to deny entry to black students but it did find its own way to stop desegregation in its public schools until August 31, 1970. Although the school system took its time in desegregating, it was fortunate enough not to experience some of the problems that other schools faced. 1
During 1971, the Associated Press ran a couple of articles about the process of desegregation in Southern schools. One of these articles printed in May of 1971 focused on the status of desegregation. According to the AP, 18.4% of black students in the south still attended all-black schools. Although school districts were violating the law this statistic was a big improvement from the previous school year, which had 68% of black students still attending all-black schools. At the time most federal officials believed complete school desegregation could only be eliminated by busing. To help integration along, lower courts in the south ruled that busing was a legal means of desegregation. Also helping to integrate school districts was the federal governments threat to cut off education funds to schools that did not desegregate. 2
The issue of integration was not just about joining black and white students in the same schools but also about joining black and white teachers and administrators. During the first couple of years of integration some black teachers complained that the school systems were not fully obeying the law as far as black to white teacher ratios goes. There were some claims that black teachers were fired without cause or demoted to the position of teacher’s aide in some predominately white schools. It would appear that these demotions and firings were made because it was thought that black teachers were not good enough to teach white children. 3
As of the 1970-1971 school year eighty-one school districts in Georgia had gotten rid of dual schools because of federal court orders. The state also saw many unsuccessful boycotts staged by white parents who did not want their children going to school with black children. In a couple of schools in Savannah, fights broke out between black and white students. But for the most part school officials around the state said that tension between the students was dying down over time. 4
At the end of October in 1971, the Associated Press published another article about school desegregation this time finding out how school busing was going for most of the south. The article reported that many boycotts and demonstrations by white parents had ended and that they had either returned their children to school or placed them in private school. According to civil rights lawyer Julius Chambers, this removal of white students by their parents led to a sort of “resegregation” of schools. In the AP article, a spokesman for white parents of five Northern Charlotte schools said that parents were removing their children because they were the ones baring a greater burden of busing than black students. Also in Nashville during this time five thousand white students were pulled out of school by their parents. But as far as school busing went, Dr. Chris Folk, the assistant superintendent of Charlotte at the time, believed that the main problem was with equipment. Many of the buses were too old and not able to transport students from all over the county. When school districts first started busing many needed money badly for new buses and new drivers. In Nashville, the average bus ride for students was about forty-five minutes. The longest bus trip took about ninety minutes. At this time the Nashville Metro Council said it would not provide any more transportation funds that would be used to carry out desegregation the county. Many other school districts in the south felt the same way. President Nixon also declared that no federal emergency desegregation funds could be used to buy buses for local districts. These financial hardships were a good way to help slow down the progress of integration. 5
What are sometimes not mentioned about desegregation are the opinions of black parents. Most of who thought it was to their advantage for their children to be bused to more modern public schools. Dr. Erwin Mitchell, a black professor at Meharry Medical College, said that most black parents were accepting of busing as a “necessary evil to get a great education”. Black parents understood that their institutions were not really living up to the ideology of “separate but equal”. In the rare case that the black school was newer than the white school, the white school was usually the building that was integrated. This was done to avoid sending white students into black neighborhoods. Another problem with busing was that many teachers felt overwhelmed by the fact that their class sizes were much larger and that they felt like the students’ learning levels within a class were too varied. It is unclear as to why teachers thought the latter complaint was true. Either it is an indication of their opinions about black students not being as smart as white students or testament to the fact that many black students received second rate educations while in segregated schools. 6
Prior to and during the integration of the Clarke County school district, the Athens Banner-Herald editorial board wrote many articles about their stance on desegregation. The interesting thing to notice when reading the editorials is the focus on consolidating the schools to provide a better education not necessarily for equality purposes. In 1968, more than two years before integration, the editorial board wrote about the advantages of consolidating school systems in both Clarke County and Georgia. The editorial claimed that school consolidation would help Georgia high schoolers because smaller schools cannot afford all the equipment or personnel needed to keep their students competitive, which would enable them to get into college. Dr. Jack P. Nix, the former state school superintendent of Georgia, noted that students at smaller schools often got lower scores on their SATs. He thought consolidation and reorganization were needed to make school districts better. The Athens newspaper’s editorial board knew it would be an unpopular decision and sympathesized with the leaders who had to make it but still believed changes needed to be made. They suggested replacing two hundred school systems in Georgia with about forty systems. The editorial board never specifically mentioned equality between races as a reason to consolidate. Maybe they did not believe in it or maybe they did not want to upset their readers. 7
A little less than two years later, the Athens Banner-Herald editorial board wrote another article about school integration. This one dealing with the upcoming governor’s race in Georgia. In this editorial they felt that integration should not be the number one topic in the governor’s race. They did concede that Georgians should be concerned with integration and how it can improve children’s education but not how to stop the process from taking place. The editorial suggested that candidates in the governor’s race should not lead the public to believe law was not law or that past injustices should or could be continued. Here the Athens newspaper’s editorial board does seem to take a stance on injustices committed by whites although it was only briefly mentioned. It was probably easier for them to speak out on segregation now that it was no longer legally allowed in the south. The rest of the editorial went on to say that the candidates for governor should face the issue of integration head on and not ignore the issue or suggest that they will fight against it. Integration they thought should be an issue that the candidates might have different ideas on how best to achieve it. They believed Georgians were best educated if candidates “lead not mislead”. 8
A couple of days before the first day of the integrated school year the editorial board wrote that they believed that the 1970-1971 school year could be the best one ever. They were optimistic that things would go smoothly if students, parents, and others could put aside their differences for the sake of better education. They recognized that some troublemakers might cause some disturbances but that the majority of people wanted to work together for the benefit of all. 9
The day after the beginning of the 1970-1971 school year, the Athens Banner-Herald ran a front-page story about how the first day of integrated schools went. In the article they reported that the day went smoothly and only the typical first day of school mishaps took place such as buses running late. Dr. Charles McDaniel, the Clarke County school superintendent at the time, called it a good day and said there were not disciplinary difficulties. The schools were free of racial tension. Of course it is hard to know if this was the truth or just the superintendent sugarcoating the truth. The article also had reports from all the principals in the district saying that it was a smooth first day as far as racial tensions go. 10
A little over a year after integration in the Clarke County school district, there was an incident reported on the front page of the Athens Banner-Herald that took place at Clarke Central High School. According to the article during a school assembly announcing candidates for student government, several black students started chanting and yelling when they realized no black students had qualified for school elections. The principal at the time, Don Hight, told the students they could either be quiet or leave. Many chose to leave and continued to chant in the hall. The incident resulted in a broken window and the shoving of several white students. The principal himself was even confronted by the disgruntled crowd. According to one eye witness the principal was assaulted by the group but managed to get in a few hits himself. Other black students eventually broke up the fight. Afterwards Hight told the school board that racial attitudes at Clarke Central were better than ever. It is hard to say whether this was just an isolated incident or what was going on between students on a daily basis. It is possible that the local newspapers were selective in what they printed. More than likely smaller incidents took place between students that either went unnoticed by school administration or was ignored. Another possibility is that students were careful to hide racial tension while at school. 11
Despite the long delays in desegregating, by the 1970s the south was the country’s most integrated area. The country did still experience some setbacks in desegregation though. In the early 1970s, through lawsuits and the efforts of local governments, desegregation slowed down. Many local governments tried their best to rid their counties of busing. Often times they did this by denying schools money. President Nixon also tried to get rid busing because he thought it was a good way to get some of the southern vote. Especially because he knew Alabama’s governor, George Wallace, was planning to run for president. Because of these politicians, the fight to end both voluntary and mandatory desegregation went on well into the 1980s. As predicted by many progressive thinkers many positive things have come out of integration. The improvement of scores on reading tests by black children between the ages of thirteen and seventeen is incredible. The gap in scores between white and black students has decreased dramatically over the last twenty years. Unfortunately there is a current struggle for desegregation in the country’s universities and colleges. In 1998, only 12% of black students starting college at public institutions were going to attend a traditionally white school. The majority of black college students attend predominately black colleges. Many historically white colleges are trying to find ways to reach out to more black students. Their burden is made harder by the fact that affirmative action has been ruled in many states an unacceptable way to admit students. They must now find ways to convince black students that everyone can benefit from integration.
1. “School Desegregation and Equal Educational Opportunity.”, civilrights.org, http://www.civilrights.org/research_center/civilrights101/desegregation.html. (November 2, 2004).
2. Associated Press. “South’s Desegregation: Status ’71.”, Athens Banner-Herald, May 30, 1971, Section 1, 9.
3. Associated Press. “South’s Desegregation: Status ’71.”, Athens Banner-Herald, May 30, 1971, Section 1, 9.
4. Associated Press. “South’s Desegregation: Status ’71.”, Athens Banner-Herald, May 30, 1971, Section 1, 9.
5. William L. Chaze. “Southern School Busing: How’s it Gone?”, Athens Banner-Herald, October 31, 1971, Section 1, 18.
6. William L. Chaze. “Southern School Busing: How’s it Gone?”, Athens Banner-Herald, October 31, 1971, Section 1, 18.
7. Our Opinions. “School Consolidation Need is Increasing in Georgia.”, Athens Banner-Herald, May 17, 1968, Section 1, 4.
8. Our Opinions. “Candidates Should Lead, not Mislead on Integration.”, Athens Banner-Herald, February 9, 1970, Section 1, 4.
9. Our Opinions. “Upcoming School Year Can Be Best Ever.”, Athens Banner-Herald, August 28, 1970, Section 1, 4.
10. Mike Christensen. “Opening of Schools Goes Well in Clarke: Enrollments Still Below Projections.”, Athens Banner-Herald, September 1, 1970, Section 1, 1.
11. Joe Taylor. “Incident at School Probed.”, Athens Banner-Herald, October 15, 1971, Section 1, 1.