Segregation &

Desegregation in Public
Schools
Leigha Taylor, Lauren Potts, Sadie Mancilla,& Alyssa Soto
 Introduction:

● Segregation in public schools

was a major problem
● The Civil Rights Movement was
started
● Slavery ended but racism didn’t
● Principal source of school
segregation is the persistence of
residential segregation
● In 1849, segregated schools were
allowed under the Constitution of
Massachusetts (Roberts v. City of
Boston)
 Background Information:
Desegregation
Segregation
● The effort to desegregate public
schools across the United States was a
● Segregation is the practice of requiring
major goal of the Civil Rights
separate housing, education and other
Movement.
services for people of color.
● After 50-Year Legal Struggle,
● Board of Education of Topeka declared
Mississippi School District Ordered To
segregation in public schools.
Desegregate. Public school students in
● “In 1849, the Massachusetts Supreme
Cleveland, Miss., ride the bus on their
Court ruled that segregated schools were
way home following classes in May 2015.
allowed under the Constitution of
Exactly 62 years ago, on May 17, 1954,
Massachusetts”
the U.S. Supreme Court declared that
segregated schools were
unconstitutional.
Overview of Segregation:
How did it start?
- The first step towards making segregation was the black codes. Black codes were
laws passed that controlled most things of african american lives. These laws were
passed in the south in 1865. Some things that were controlled were where they
could work and where they could live.
What Supreme Court precedents allowed it?:

In 1896, the supreme court ruled in Plessy V. Ferguson. Racially segregated public facilities
were legal. In the Plessy case, the supreme court decided “separate but equal”, and that
stood for the next six decades. By doing so, “separate but equal” did not necessarily
violate the Fourteenth Amendment, according to Plessy. The Fourteenth Amendment
guarantees equal protection under the law to all people. With Plessy’s case allowing
segregation everybody had equal protection but were separated.

Disagreement

Brown v. Board of Education, 1954 is when ending segregation started. Brown disagreed
that Black children were not equal to the white schools at all. Brown also stated
“segregation violated the so-called “equal protection clause” of the 14th Amendment.”
Conditions:

In 1951 a group of black students protested due to an assignment they were given.
Confronting the school board, it took a protest of 720 students (no adults present)
refusing school for a week for the board to give in.
What were they fighting for?
The difference between black and white schools In April of 1950 32.6% of Blacks had less
than 5 Years of elementary school, 13.7 high school completion or higher, and 2.2% 4 years
or more of college. While whites had 8.9%, 36.4%, 6.6%.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN8mXkScxvg
The Difference:
 How and Why De Jure Segregation Came to an End:

What is De Jure segregation?

Racial segregation follows two forms. De jure segregation mandated the separation of races by law, and was the form imposed
by slave codes before the Civil War and by Black Codes and Jim Crow laws following the war. De jure segregation was outlawed
by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968.[11] In specific areas, however,
segregation was barred earlier by the Warren Court in decisions such as the Brown v. Board of Education decision that
overturned school segregation in the United States. De facto segregation, or segregation "in fact", is that which exists without
sanction of the law. De facto segregation continues today in areas such as residential segregation and school segregation
because of both contemporary behavior and the historical legacy of de jure segregation.[12]De
jure segregation is the
legally allowed or enforced separation of groups of people. The Latin phrase “de jure” literally means
“according to the law.” The Jim Crow Laws separated Black people from White people courts typically
end cases of de jure segregation

How it came to an end:

Conclusion:

While the work of Oliver Brown, Homer Plessy, and many other black leaders made a difference

throughout the times, in terms of segregation and desegregation only little was changed after

their fight. While being completely segregated was removed in 1954, being integrated will still

continue until 1964, but this didn’t stop the treatment blacks received.However while

desegregation was a win for the black community, it opened a door into another fight.
Pictures:
Sources:

● https://www.loc.gov/collections/civil-rights-history-project/articles-and-essays/school-segregation-and-integrati
on/
● https://www.ncpedia.org/adkin-high-school-walkout-1951%C2%A0
● https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/segregation-united-states#:~:text=The%20first%20steps%20towa
rd%20official,they%20could%20work%20and%20live.
The End