School integration in the United States

School integration in the United States is the process of racial desegregation in American public and private schools. Racial segregation in schools and other public facilities existed throughout most of American history, and was most prevalent in the American South. While officially, school integration began in the mid-20th century and was a watershed in the Civil Rights Movement, some locations around America were in fact integrated before this point, the first ever school being Lowell High School in Massachusetts, which has accepted students of all race since its inception. The earliest known African American student, Caroline Van Vronker, attended the school in 1843. The integration of all American schools was a catalyst for much of the civil rights action and racial violence that occurred in the United States during the latter half of the 20th century.

History

After the Civil War, the first legislation providing rights to African-Americans was passed. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, also known as the Reconstruction Amendments, which were passed between 1865 and 1870, abolished slavery, guaranteed citizenship and protection under the law, and prohibited racial discrimination in voting, respectively. In addition, the Civil Rights Act of 1875 prohibited discrimination in public accommodations, which was, however, reneged 8 years later by the Supreme Court which deemed segregation constitutional.This was supported by the "separate but equal" doctrine determined in Plessy vs. Ferguson in 1896, enforcing the Jim Crow Laws requiring separate accommodations for blacks and whites along with other discrimination allowances and segregation requirements.

This institutionalized discrimination led to the creation of black schools. They were underfunded and ill-equipped but with the help of philanthropists such as Julius Rosenwald and black leaders such as Booker T. Washington, black schools began to gain repute and became respectable institutions. Throughout the first half of the 20th century there were several efforts to combat school segregation, but few were successful. However, in a unanimous 1954 decision in the Brown v. Board of Education case, the Supreme Court ruled segregation in public schools unconstitutional. This was a turning point in the Civil Rights Movement, which celebrated few victories prior to the ruling but now had the necessary momentum to begin a greater fight for racial equality in the American South. Despite the federal ruling, integration was met with significant opposition. In 1955, Time (magazine) reviewed the status of desegregation efforts in the 17 southern and border states, grading them from "A" to "F" as follows: "A"-Missouri; "A-minus"-West Virginia; "B-plus"-Kentucky, Oklahoma; "B-minus"-Maryland; "C-plus"-Arkansas, Texas; "C"-Delaware, Tennessee, "C-minus"-North Carolina; "D-plus"-Virginia; "D"-Florida; "F"- Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina.

A policy of "massive resistance" was declared by Virginia Senator Harry F. Byrd and led to the closing of nine schools in four counties in Virginia between 1958 and 1959. Despite this, federal powers enforced school integration. This was most evident in 1957 when federal troops were ordered by President Eisenhower to protect nine black students, about to attend Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, from a mob of angry white students and civilians.

By the 1960s and 70s, the Civil Rights Movement had gained significant support. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited segregation and discrimination based on race in public facilities, including schools, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibited racial discrimination in voting affairs. In 1971 the Supreme Court approved a system of busing black students to white schools despite racially segregated neighborhoods and limited radii of school districts. By 1988 school integration reached an all-time high with nearly 45% of black students attending previously all-white schools. Today, black students are free to attend any school that accepts them, regardless of the school's racial demographic.

See also

• The New Orleans School Crisis of 1960
• List of African American pioneers in desegregation of higher education