Desegregation:
An ERIC/ChESS Sample

Carrie Kulczak

Reprinted from the OAH Magazine of History
15 (Winter 2001). ISSN 0882-228X
Copyright (c) 2001, Organization of American Historians

The listings below are drawn from the ERIC database and include both teaching materials and general background information on the topic. The key to obtaining the full text of the materials cited below is the unique ERIC number assigned to each item in the database. Journal articles, denoted by "EJ" numbers (for example, EJ549890) can be copied at most academic libraries, borrowed through interlibrary loan, or purchased from article reprint services such as UnCover, UMI, and ISI. Research reports, conference papers, and other materials besides journal articles are denoted by "ED" numbers (for example, ED398110); paper or microfiche copies of most of these documents can be purchased from the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS), 7420 Fullerton Road, Suite 110, Springfield, VA 22153-2852; (800) 443-3742; (703) 440-1400; <edrs@inet.ed.gov>; <http://edrs.com>; or copied from an ERIC microfiche collection, available at many libraries.

ERIC/ChESS welcomes requests for general information or sample database searches on topics within the social studies, social sciences, and music and art education. Contact ERIC/ChESS by telephone at (800) 266-3815 or (812) 855-3838, or by e-mail at <ericso@indiana.edu>.

Adams, David Wallace. Education for Extinction: American Indians and the Boarding School Experience, 1875-1928. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1995. Available from: University Press of Kansas, 2501 W. 15th Street, Lawrence, KS 66049 ($34.95). Document Not Available from EDRS. ED409136. This book examines how government boarding schools were used to acculturate American Indian youth to "American" ways of thinking and living from 1875 to 1928. Adams focuses on policy formulation and how reformers and government officials came to look upon education as a central feature of the new Indian policy. A detailed analysis explains how educational policy was translated into institutional practice, describing the entire process whereby Indian agents, school superintendents, teachers, and staff went about the business of "civilizing" Indian youth. Finally, the book describes the educational experiences of Indian students, how Indian students responded to acculturation efforts, and what happened when they returned to their reservation homes.

Child, Brenda. "Runaway Boys, Resistant Girls: Rebellion at Flandreau and Haskell, 1900-1940." Journal of American Indian Education 35 (Spring 1996): 49-57. EJ543432. Rebellion was a common feature of life at federal Indian boarding schools between 1900 and 1940. Letters written by students and family members reveal reasons why students ran away; different forms of rebellion; the strong emotional history of the boarding school experience; the anguish and worry of parents; and the humor, resilience, and resourcefulness of students.

Contreras, Reynaldo A., and Leonard A. Valverde. "The Impact of Brown on the Education of Latinos." Journal of Negro Education 63 (Summer 1994): 470-81. EJ498491. The article describes the effort made to improve the educational experience of Latinos incident to Brown v. Board of Education as well as the legal history of Latino desegregation. It focuses on bilingual education as a remedy for educational inequity and on the rise of multicultural education, the latest instructional approach to emerge in the evolution of desegregation.

Cooper, Michael L. Indian School: Teaching the White Man's Way. Wilmington, MA: Clarion Books, 1999. Available from: Clarion Books, Houghton Mifflin Company, 181 Ballardvale Street, Wilmington, MA 01887; (800) 225-3362 ($15). Document Not Available from EDRS. ED434782. This book for young people examines the history, purpose, and daily routine of government-operated boarding schools for American Indians and tells the personal stories of several young students, often in their own words. Cooper covers such topics as the first Indian children's journey to the Carlisle School in 1879, how the Carlisle School became the model for Indian education, how Indian students were forced to dress and look like whites, the closing of many of the boarding schools, and the introduction of Indian history and culture into the curriculum. There are nine chapters in all with references, a bibliography, photographs, and an index.

Fife, Brian L. Desegregation in American Schools: Comparative Intervention Strategies. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 1992. Available from: Praeger Publishers, Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc., 88 Post Road West, Box 5007, Westport, CT 06881 ($39.95). Document Not Available from EDRS. ED348428. This book presents the findings of a study of school desegregation strategies conducted in order to examine which of the various approaches to school desegregation most effectively reduces the level of segregation in public schools. The book includes one figure and twelve tables, along with references.

Gill, Robert Lewis. "Brown II vs Board of Education of Topeka: Its Human Advances and Human Tragedies, 1955-1980." Negro Educational Review 32 (January 1981): 15-55. EJ243344. Gill discusses numerous issues related to school desegregation and the Brown decision, including: 1) psychological arguments used to bolster the case for Brown; 2) student and community attitudes toward busing; 3) effects of busing; 4) regional differences in compliance with school desegregation; and 5) court litigation and public controversies over desegregation.

Graglia, Lino A. "The Triumph and Defeat of the Nondiscrimination Principle." Society 33 (March-April 1996): 7-10. EJ523976. Graglia discusses the various Supreme Court decisions that have addressed school desegregation, particularly focusing on Brown v. Board of Education. The author argues that these decisions ultimately have not benefitted public schools.

Hyde, Alison A. "School Desegregation: The Role of the Courts and Means of Achievement." NASSP Bulletin 78 (November 1994): 29-37. EJ492854. This article examines the courts' role in desegregating American schools in the forty years after Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas and discusses reasons why desegregation is still a desirable goal for public schools. Having recognized its limited power to end segregation during the 1970s, the U.S. Supreme Court is gradually relinquishing control of desegregation policy to local school systems.

Orfield, Gary, and Susan E. Eaton. Dismantling Desegregation. The Quiet Reversal of Brown v. Board of Education. New York: The New Press, 1996. Available from: The New Press, 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110 ($30). Document Not Available from EDRS. ED410363. The United States is quick to celebrate the Brown v. Board of Education decision, but there is an insidious trend toward resegregation in the public schools. For the first time since 1954, school segregation is actually increasing for African American students. In several rarely discussed decisions, the Supreme Court has opened the door for the abandonment of desegregation plans. This quiet reversal of the landmark decision is discussed in profiles of school districts that have begun to dismantle desegregation.

Orfield, Gary, and Diane Glass. Asian Students and Multiethnic Desegregation. Harvard Project on School Desegregation, October 1994. EDRS Price: MF01/PC02 Plus Postage. ED410345. Asian students are the most successful racial group in American schools, and this success has led to the stereotype of the “model minority.” However, the question of Asian students and school segregation is seldom examined, largely because of the traditional academic success of Asian students. This study compares the level of racial segregation Asian students face in comparison with other minority groups. The authors argue that the best approach to desegregation is to analyze each of the Asian subgroups separately.

Orfield, Gary, and Franklin Monfort. Status of School Desegregation: The Next Generation. Alexandria, VA: National School Boards Association Council of Urban Boards of Education, March 1992. EDRS Price: MF01/PC03 Plus Postage. ED415291. This report looks at the impact of the recent growth of Hispanic and Asian populations and how they are being affected by school segregation, desegregation, and resegregation. Twenty years of data on the seventeen states that enforced mandatory segregation until 1954 show that the school desegregation accomplishments of the 1960s and the early 1970s were neither fragile nor transient. There is no evidence that the problem of school segregation will go away, however, and a new definition of segregation will probably be needed as racial composition and suburban desegregation change.

Weiler, Jeanne. Recent Changes in School Desegregation. ERIC/CUE Digest Number 133. April 1998. Available from: ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education, Institute for Urban and Minority Education, Teachers College, Box 40, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027 (free). EDRS Price: MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. ED419029. This digest discusses some of the major trends and changes taking place in school desegregation in the 1990s. One of the most prominent trends is the increasing number of court cases that release school districts from court supervision of their desegregation efforts. A second important trend is increased attention to educational access and the academic performance of minority children. Several pivotal Supreme Court cases during the 1990s spelled out procedures for court approval of the dismantling of school desegregation plans.

Wells, Amy Stuart. Hispanic Education in America: Separate and Unequal. ERIC/CUE Digest No. 59. 1989. Available from: ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education, Teachers College, Box 40, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027. EDRS Price: MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. ED316616. Despite the 1973 Supreme Court decision Keyes v. Denver School District, Hispanic students are more segregated today than they were twenty years ago. Hispanic parents and leaders have not insisted on integration, as have many blacks, because they believe that Hispanic children are better served in a predominantly Hispanic school with extensive bilingual services. The following trends indicate a need for desegregation: 1) many students in predominantly Hispanic schools are not receiving the bilingual education to which they are entitled under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; 2) Hispanics have the highest dropout rate of any minority group; and 3) few Hispanic students are prepared for college in the same way that white and Asian students are. A list of nine references is appended.

Wilson, Margaret Bush. "Brown v. Board of Education: A Pictorial History of Public School Desegregation." Update on Law-Related Education 18 (Spring 1994): 32-38. EJ490085. Wilson examines the U.S. Supreme Court Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision and its impact on education and national history. The article includes sixteen photographs representing various aspects of the history of public school desegregation.

Fauver, Bill, and Jim Ruderman. Stride Toward Freedom: The Aftermath of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. A Unit of Study for Grades 9-12. Los Angeles: National Center for History in the Schools, 1991. Available from: National Center for History in the Schools, 10880 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 761, Los Angeles, CA 90024-4108. EDRS Price: MF01/PC02 Plus Postage. ED373017. This unit focuses on the school integration case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka and its immediate aftermath. The Supreme Court's 1954 decision was a catalyst for civil rights activism along a broad front over the ensuing decades. The teacher background section provides an overview of the entire unit and historical information and context necessary to link the Brown case to the larger historical narrative of school desegregation, racial relationships, and civil rights. The unit consists of two lessons: 1) the case of Linda Brown; and 2) the Brown case and its impact on the civil rights movement. Primary and secondary documents are included.

Roach, Carol A. "Famous Kansas Child." Update on Law-Related Education 14 (Winter 1990): 45-47. EJ409549. Roach presents the story of Linda Brown and the Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education for a classroom activity on segregation and discrimination. The article stimulates discussion and critical thinking, and provides a historical understanding of the Fourteenth Amendment and the segregation issue.

Carrie Kulczak is the Coordinator of the Current Index to Journals in Education for the ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social Science Education (ERIC/ChESS) at Indiana University in Bloomington. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Education from Indiana University.