segregation in education essay

National Museum of African American History & Culture

• Plan Your Visit
• Group Visits
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Accessibility Options
• Sweet Home Café
• Museum Store
• Museum Maps
• Our Mobile App
• Search the Collection
• Initiatives
• Museum Centers
• Publications
• Digital Resource Guide
• The Searchable Museum
• Exhibitions
• Freedmen's Bureau Search Portal
• Early Childhood
• Talking About Race
• Digital Learning
• Strategic Partnerships
• Ways to Give
• Internships & Fellowships
• Today at the Museum
• Upcoming Events
• Ongoing Tours & Activities
• Past Events
• Host an Event at NMAAHC
• About the Museum
• The Building
• Meet Our Curators
• Founding Donors
• Corporate Leadership Councils
• NMAAHC Annual Reports

The Struggle Against Segregated Education

Outfit worn by Carlotta Walls to Little Rock Central High School, 1957.

The road to desegregated education in the United States was a long and difficult one, and stands as a testament to the remarkable power, tenacity, and moral clarity of great African American trailblazers who refused to settle for the inherent injustice of “separate but equal.” 

Following the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation, Black Americans fought to realize their rights as guaranteed by the so-called Reconstruction Amendments. These three constitutional amendments—the 13th, 14th, and 15th—abolished slavery (except as a punishment for crime); established the principles of “birthright citizenship” and “equal justice under the law”; and ensured a citizen’s right to vote regardless of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” As many states sought to re-establish “white supremacy” in the 1870s, African Americans were disenfranchised and stripped of their newly won civil rights. They often sought justice in the court system, sometimes taking their cases all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. 

Issued on May 18, 1896, the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Plessy v. Ferguson case created the “separate but equal” doctrine, declaring that racial segregation was constitutional and did not violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. This landmark decision provided the constitutional basis for legalizing racial segregation. In what became known as the Jim Crow era, a collection of state and local statutes quickly followed, the impact of which was painfully felt in every aspect of African American life, including by Black children in the classroom.  

Plessy v. Ferguson allowed Black children to be segregated into overcrowded and unsafe school buildings that were often inaccessible by public transportation, forcing students to walk long distances year-round. Classrooms were poorly resourced, without enough desks for every child, and the few books students had were tattered hand-me-downs from white schools. Black teachers were paid only a fraction of the salary of their white counterparts. 

African Americans across the country understood the profound impact of segregated and inferior educational practices on Black students. Led by the NAACP’s Charles Hamilton Houston, the NAACP began mounting a legal challenge to “separate but equal” in the 1940s. Known as the “man who killed Jim Crow,” Houston trained several attorneys, including Thurgood Marshall, to serve as counsel for African Americans fighting many areas where segregation was practiced, including education, transportation, and housing. 

Offering Education, 2003 bronze sculpture by Elizabeth Catlett. Gift from the Unit Owners Association of the Offices at Terrell Place, a Condominium, Beacon Capital Partners, LLC and AARP. Conservation for these sculptures received Federal support from the Collections Care Initiative Fund, administered by the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative and the National Collections Program. © 2020 Catlett Mora Family Trust/Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY 

In 1951, the NAACP identified a promising educational case and plaintiff in Oliver Brown, whose daughter was refused enrollment at the elementary school closest to their home in Topeka, Kansas, and instead was forced to ride a bus to a segregated Black school further away. 

The Browns joined together with other Black families in Topeka and filed a class-action lawsuit against the Topeka Board of Education, alleging that its segregation policy was unconstitutional. When a federal court ruled against the families on the basis of Plessy v. Ferguson, the Browns—now represented by NAACP chief counsel Marshall—appealed directly to the Supreme Court. 

In the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case of 1954, Marshall, Houston, and other prominent Black attorneys argued that segregation was inherently unequal and unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment. They also built their case around the groundbreaking work of a husband-and-wife team of psychologists, Drs. Kenneth B. and Mamie Clark. 

The Clarks, who each received their bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Howard University, were the first African Americans to obtain doctoral degrees in psychology from Columbia University. In 1946, they opened the Northside Center for Child Development, the first full-time child guidance center offering psychological and casework services to families in Harlem. There they also continued Mamie’s studies on self-identification in Black children, the subject of her master’s thesis, and began conducting experiments to examine the psychological effects of segregation on Black children. 

In the Clarks’ now famous experiments, children were presented with two Black dolls and two white dolls and asked to identify which dolls looked like them and which were “good” or “bad.” The studies revealed that Black children preferred the white dolls, identifying them as “nice” while identifying the Black dolls as “bad.” 

School Boycott, “No More Segregated Education”, print of 1964 photograph by Frank Espada.

The findings of the Clarks’ studies played a major role in the NAACP’s arguments in Brown v. Board. The Clarks were called as expert witnesses and testified that segregation damaged the psychological development of African American children and caused them to internalize racism. 

Swayed by the Clarks’ research and the arguments advanced by Marshall and the Browns’ other attorneys, the Supreme Court unanimously overturned Plessy v. Ferguson and ordered that school segregation should be dismantled “with all deliberate speed.” 

As for the courageous men and women at the center of this case, Charles Hamilton Houston passed away before the Brown v. Board case was decided. His words, however, spurred on the efforts of the legal team: “We must remain on the alert and push the struggle farther with all our might.” Later, Thurgood Marshall became the first African American Supreme Court Justice.  

Kenneth and Mamie Clark continued to make significant contributions to the field of psychology and to the social justice movement of their time. Their research would later influence the scholarship of the late Dr. Audrey Smedley, a trailblazing social anthropologist—and one of the Museum’s earliest Charter Members. Dr. Smedley’s pioneering book, Race in North America: Origins and Evolution of a Worldview, traces popularized concepts of race for more than 300 years to show that race is not a product of science, as the Plessy court believed, but in fact a social construct. 

The long reach of the social construct identified by Dr. Smedley remains visible in the systemic issues that plague education to this day. While the Brown case established the legal requirement for desegregating schools, that goal remains out of reach in many communities. In 1968, about 77 percent of Black students and 55 percent of Latino students attended public schools that were more than half minority. In 2010, more than 40 years later, 74 percent of Black students and 80 percent of Latino students continue to attend public schools dominated by minority populations. The legal mandate of Brown v. Board may be clear but factors such as income inequality and discriminatory housing patterns continue to perpetuate not only de facto educational segregation, but continuing disparities in the quality of education offered to children. 

Baby dolls used by Northside Center for Child Development, 1968.

 Baby dolls used by Northside Center for Child Development, 1968.

Gallery Modal

The National Museum of African American History and Culture shares these and other stories of the heroes who helped overturn legalized segregation in our effort to advance social justice and racial equity. The groundbreaking work of the Clarks and other Civil Rights leaders informs many of the Museum’s powerful resources, including our acclaimed Talking About Race initiative. In our collections you can view some of the Black and white dolls the Clarks used in their experiments at the Northside Center for Child Development in the 1960s, similar to those presented in the 1954 Brown v. Board arguments. On the Museum’s first floor, you also can see Elizabeth Catlett’s 2003 bronze statue Offering Education, created to honor African American educator and activist Mary Church Terrell (1863–1954), who championed desegregation, African American civil rights, and women’s suffrage in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. And in the Museum’s Segregation Gallery, you can view the outfit worn by Carlotta Walls LaNier during the "Little Rock Crisis" of 1957 at Little Rock Central High School.  

To learn more about the struggle against segregated education—or if you are interested in exploring other powerful but lesser-known stories in African American history—please visit our online Searchable Museum today. This groundbreaking—and 2022 CIO 100 Award-winning—initiative by the Museum brings innovative, immersive digital experiences and evocative content directly into the homes of Members like you.  

Subtitle here for the credits modal.

Top of page

Collection Civil Rights History Project

School segregation and integration.

The massive effort to desegregate public schools across the United States was a major goal of the Civil Rights Movement. Since the 1930s, lawyers from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) had strategized to bring local lawsuits to court, arguing that separate was not equal and that every child, regardless of race, deserved a first-class education. These lawsuits were combined into the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case that outlawed segregation in schools in 1954. But the vast majority of segregated schools were not integrated until many years later. Many interviewees of the Civil Rights History Project recount a long, painful struggle that scarred many students, teachers, and parents.

Three years before Brown v. Board in November 1951, students in a civics class at the segregated black Adkin High School in Kinston, North Carolina, discussed what features an ideal school should have for a class assignment. When they realized that the local white high school indeed had everything they had imagined, the seeds were planted for a student-led protest. Without the assistance from any adults, these students confronted the local school board about the blatant inequality of local schools. When the board ignored their request for more funding, the students met by themselves to plan what to do next. In a group interview with these former students , John Dudley remembers, “So, that week, leading to Monday, we strategized. And we had everybody on board, 720 students. We told them not to tell your parents or your teacher what’s going on. And do you believe to this day, 2013, nobody has ever told me that an adult knew what was going on. Kids.” They decided on a coded phrase that was read during morning announcements. Every student in the school walked out, picked up placards that had been made in advance, and marched downtown to protest. The students refused to go back to school for a week, and eighteen months later, Adkin High School was renovated and given a brand-new gymnasium. It would remain segregated until 1970, however.

Desegregation was not always a battle in every community in the South. Lawrence Guyot , who later became a leader in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, grew up in Pass Christian, a city on the Mississippi Gulf Coast that was influenced by the strong labor unions in the shipyard industry and the Catholic Church. He explains how the Catholic schools were desegregated there: “The Catholic Church in 1957 or '58 made a decision that they were going to desegregate the schools.  They did it this way.  The announcement was we have two programs.  We have excommunication and we have integration.  Make your choice by Friday.  Now there was violence going on in Louisiana.  Nothing happened on the Gulf Coast.  I learned firsthand that institutions can really have an impact on social policy.” 

In an interview about his mother, civil rights activist Gayle Jenkins, Willie “Chuck” Jenkins describes how she demanded that he would be the plaintiff in a school desegregation suit, Jenkins v. Bogalusa School Board in Louisiana. He became the first African American student to attend the white Bogalusa Junior High School in 1967 and remembers how he had one foot in each world, but was increasingly alienated from both: “And I caught a lot of slack, like, from the black community, because they used to say, ‘Oh, you think you’re something because you’re going to the white school.’  They didn’t know I was catching holy hell at the white school.  I had no friends, you know.  So, it was just always a conflict.” But in the end, he thinks it was worth it. He states, “But it was hard, but you know what?  If I had it to do all over again, I would do it exactly the same way.  Because it was a cause that was well worth the outcome, even though I feel like people in Bogalusa are still not as accepting as they could be.” The high school continued to have a separate white prom and a black prom until very recently. But his mother, Gayle Jenkins, would serve on the Bogalusa School Board for twenty-seven years.

Julia Matilda Burns describes her experiences as a teacher, parent, and school board member in Holmes County, Mississippi. Her husband was an active civil rights worker and her job as a teacher was threatened when she associated with members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). When her son and other African American children attempted to integrate a school in Tchula in 1965, it was burned down twice. The local white community started their own private white academy, a common plan to evade integration across the South. She continued to teach in a public school and discusses the difficulties rural African American children and young adults face in getting an equal education today.

While Brown v. Board of Education and many other legal cases broke down the official barriers for African Americans to gain an equal education, achieving this ideal has never been easy or simple. The debate continues today among policy makers, educators, and parents about how to close the achievement gap between minority and white children. Ruby Sales , a former Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) member who later became the founder and director of the nonprofit organization Spirt House, points out that few people look to the past for answers to our current problems in education: “…We have been dealing with the counter-culture of education, and what might we learn from that counter-culture during segregation that would enable black students not to be victims in public schools today. And one of the things that disturbed me so tremendously – and this is about narrative again: these southern black teachers created outstanding students and leaders. And many of them still exist. And no one has bothered to ask them, “How did you do it? What might we learn from you? What were your strategies? How did you deal with complicated situations? How did you invigorate young people to believe that they could make a difference even when the white world said that they couldn’t?”

Classroom Segregation: History and Current Impact on Student Education

The history of classroom segregation in the US reflects the nation’s continuing legacy of racism and systemic racial inequality. As recently as the 1950s, racial segregation in schools was the law of the land. More than six decades after the Supreme Court ruled that law unconstitutional, many schools are still heavily segregated and substantial disparities in school funding along racial lines remain.

As educational leaders search for ways to close achievement gaps and innovate solutions to manage inequitable school funding, they must also confront an ever-growing issue: the resegregation of US schools. Unfortunately, as in the past, the conditions of many schools today continue to separate the haves from the have-nots and further root marginalized groups in positions of disadvantage.

Leaders in education continue to seek ways to ensure that students across all race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic background, have equitable access to quality education. This requires addressing the role classroom segregation plays in exacerbating disparities and developing teaching approaches that offset the negative impact of segregation in schools.

A Brief History of Classroom Segregation

As early as the 1930s, members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) were looking for strategies to desegregate schools through lawsuits targeting the legal doctrine of “separate but equal.” However, not until Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 did the US Supreme Court unanimously outlaw state-sanctioned school segregation, ruling it unconstitutional.

From their inception, schools serving students of color received significantly less funding than schools serving white students and faced overcrowding, inadequate supplies, and insufficiently paid teachers.

Such disparities resulted in gaps in the educational opportunities available to Black and white communities. In 1950, only 1 in 10 Black adults graduated from high school compared to 4 in 10 white adults. Especially hard hit were people living in states with a history of Jim Crow laws—Black adults in Mississippi, Georgia, and other Southern states having an average of only about five years of schooling.

Resistance to Integration

Once efforts to integrate schools began, campaigns directed by white community leaders and elected officials to resist and defy the Brown v. Board of Education ruling followed. One of the most famous examples occurred in 1957, when Arkansas governor Orval Eugene Faubus called upon the state’s National Guard to block nine newly enrolled Black students from entering Little Rock’s Central High School.

Another defiance of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling took place in Cleveland, Mississippi, where local officials devised schemes to stop desegregation by building schools in locations that kept Black students in all-Black schools, and created “dual residencies” that allowed the school district to continue sending students to particular schools based on their race.

Nonetheless, proponents of integration pressed on, introducing programs and strategies to address the issue. One controversial strategy to end classroom segregation became known as “busing.” These programs sought to close opportunity and achievement gaps and make classrooms more diverse by busing students of color to white schools and busing white students to schools made up of students of color

However, many white parents objected to the programs, in fear they would lose access to the better-resourced schools. Because large numbers moved their children to private schools or their families to suburban areas (a phenomenon known as “white flight”), Black families shouldered a disproportionate burden in busing and other integration efforts. Some Black families and political leaders also objected to busing programs on the grounds that they were too disruptive and failed to address deeper, causal issues such as inequities in the housing market.

Benefits of Desegregation

Despite resistance to busing and other efforts aimed at desegregating schools, integration programs delivered meaningful educational opportunities to generations of Americans by helping to address funding inequities that exist between between schools that are predominantly white and those that are predominantly non-white.

Consider the research of University of California, Berkeley, economist Rucker Johnson, who studied the effects of court-ordered school desegregation on socioeconomic and health outcomes.. He found that high school graduation rates for Black students jumped by almost 15 percent when they attended integrated schools for five years. This attendance also decreased those students’ chances of living in poverty as an adult by 11 percent. Such improvements correlated with greater access to school resources; Johnson’s research found desegregation plans effectively narrowed Black-white gaps in per-pupil school spending and class size.

However, any discussion of the benefits of busing should also acknowledge that the Black students who were bused to previously all-white schools faced immeasurable hardships. Whatever positive outcomes resulted from access to greater resources or exposure to institutions that prepared them for predominantly white postsecondary and professional settings, they were gained in the face of widespread hostility and discrimination from white educators and students alike.

Integrated Schools and Achievement

Research from the National Coalition on School Diversity (NCSD) found integrated schools offer many advantages. The coalition reports that integrated schools on average function at a higher level, with greater parent involvement, less teacher turnover, and more and better quality resources. Students at integrated schools not only achieve at higher levels in math, science, language, and reading, but they also benefit in nonacademic ways. The NCSD, citing research from several scholars, lists the following among outcomes that are associated with attending integrated schools:

• Decreased levels of racial and ethnic prejudice
• Improved ability to navigate multicultural environments
• A break in stereotypes and fears about other races and ethnic groups passed down between generations
• Better overall health and well-being

Resegregation in Today’s Classroom

Despite gains made in the 1970s and ’80s to desegregate schools, a series of court rulings ending mandatory desegregation programs have resulted in growing numbers of segregated schools.

A study from the Civil Rights Project found that the number of schools in which students of color make up 90 percent or more of the student population has tripled since 1988. Today, more than 40 percent of Black and Hispanic students attend schools where 9 out of 10 students are students of color. According to the Civil Rights Project study, “Black students in the South are less likely to attend a school that is majority white than about 50 years ago.” In fact, the study reports, the percentage of Black students attending schools in which white students make up at least 50 percent of the student body dropped from 44 percent in 1989 to 23 percent in 2011.

This return to segregation is a return to the original problem: separate and unequal. More specifically, the problem is not that predominantly Black and Hispanic schools exist, but rather that predominantly Black and Hispanic schools continue to face economic, social, and structural challenges that predominantly white schools do not. Most schools serving majority nonwhite student populations are in low-income areas, and due to funding systems that rely on property taxes to finance education, these schools receive much less money. A report from Edbuild estimates that school districts serving mostly students of color receive $23 billion less than districts serving equal numbers of white students.

A system that relies so heavily on community wealth favors districts that can concentrate resources at the expense of larger populations; average enrollment in white districts is just over 1,500 students, while nonwhite districts serve over 10,000 students, according to Edbuild. Average revenue per student in nonwhite school districts is $2,226 lower than in white school districts.

Effects of Resegregation

Just as desegregation produces positive results for students of color, the shift away from re-integration produces noted declines for them. In the study “Ending to What End? The Impact of the Termination of Court-Desegregation Orders on Residential Segregation and School Dropout Rates,” researcher David D. Liebowitz found that in districts that discontinued integration programs, dropout rates immediately jumped for Black and Hispanic students compared to those districts where programs remained intact.

Strategies to Address Segregation

Much of segregation, whether in schools or neighborhoods, traces back to a history of discriminatory policies. For example, redlining, the practice of denying loans to people of color trying to purchase homes in predominantly white neighborhoods, prevented many families of color from moving into areas with well-funded schools.

Overcoming such legacies has proven a painfully slow process. However, some leaders in education point to solutions that can help address problems of inequity even if they can’t change segregated housing patterns. San Antonio Independent School District’s Diverse by Design program has set into place several initiatives to bolster integration in schools including:

• Addressing transportation needs
• Building schools using a 50-50 enrollment model based on family income
• Redrawing attendance zone lines or eliminating them altogether
• Adding specialized academic programs to encourage enrollment

In addition to these solutions, educators can use classroom strategies to help offset the negative effects of segregation. Founding principal of Maya Angelou Public Charter School in Washington, DC, Nataki Gregory argues that even though public policy and systemic racism have caused segregation, “culturally relevant teaching practices, teacher coaching and strategic use of technology could help us overcome the barriers that our neighborhoods present to desegregation.”

In the article “4 Ways Teachers in Segregated Classrooms Can Desegregate Their Students’ Learning,” Gregory presents ideas to offset the effects of classroom segregation. Some of them include:

• Strategic use of technology : Use the internet and meeting platforms like Zoom in the classroom to connect with schools across the city and country. While teaching students about European colonization of the Americas, for instance, connect with other classrooms to explore the differences and similarities about what’s being taught. Follow up with discussions exploring the different perspectives on the topic and how to discuss ideas with those holding conflicting viewpoints.
• Focus questions and activities on the world : Rather than relying on textbooks to direct activity, drive student engagement by exploring topics relevant beyond the walls of the classroom and investigating issues that students find meaningful.
• Establish a culture of coaching in schools : Teachers need encouragement and feedback to improve their teaching practice. Coaching can offer this, and it can give teachers a chance to discuss their mindsets and discover their own racial biases that might get in the way of activating the potential of all their students.

Transform Education Through Leadership

Tackling challenges like classroom segregation calls for well-prepared leaders. To ensure all students have access to schools where they can grow and thrive, educators must know how to disrupt the status quo with creative solutions to problems and inequities.

American University offers a comprehensive degree program that cultivates skills in system change, personal leadership, social justice and anti-racism, and policy and research. Explore how a Doctorate in Education Policy and Leadership equips aspiring educational leaders to transform American education.

Education Policy Issues in 2020 and Beyond

Data-Driven Decision Making in Education: 11 Tips for Teachers & Administration

Culturally Responsive Teaching Strategies: Importance, Benefits & Tips

AFT, “Jim Crow’s Schools”

The Atlantic , “School Segregation Is Not a Myth”

The Atlantic , “There’s a Generational Shift in the Debate Over Busing”

Chalkbeat, “When School Districts Resegregate, More Black and Hispanic Students Drop Out”

The Civil Rights Project, “Harming Our Common Future: America’s Segregated Schools 65 Years After Brown”

Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis , “Ending to What End? The Impact of the Termination of Court-Desegregation Orders on Residential Segregation and School Dropout Rates”

Education Dive, “Study: School Segregation Persists 65 Years After Brown Decision”

Encyclopedia Britannica , “Little Rock Nine”

Governing, “After Decades-Long Legal Battle, Mississippi School District Ordered to Desegregate”

Library of Congress, School Segregation and Integration

The National Coalition on School Diversity, “School Integration and K-12 Outcomes: An Updated Quick Synthesis of the Social Science Evidence”

Pacific Standard, “Non-White School Districts Get $23 Billion Less Funding Than White Ones”

The 74, “Gregory: 4 Ways Teachers in Segregated Classrooms Can Desegregate Their Students’ Learning”

The 74, “12 Things to Know About School Segregation — and How Integration Helps Students”

The University of Texas at Austin, Texas ScholarWorks, Remarks on Bussing by Shirley Chisholm (Excerpt)

Vox, “The Data Proves That School Segregation Is Getting Worse”

The Washington Post, “What Black Students Who Were Bused Said About Their Experiences”

Request Information

AU Program Helper

This AI chatbot provides automated responses, which may not always be accurate. By continuing with this conversation, you agree that the contents of this chat session may be transcribed and retained. You also consent that this chat session and your interactions, including cookie usage, are subject to our  privacy policy .

The achievement gap in education: Racial segregation versus segregation by poverty

Subscribe to how we rise, what would dr. king say, dick startz dick startz professor of economics - university of california, santa barbara.

January 20, 2020

“In elementary schools, Negroes lag one to three years behind whites, and their segregated schools received substantially less money per student than do the white schools.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, 1967

“[W]hite students score an average of 1.5 to 2 grade levels higher than black students in the average district.” – Reardon, et al., 2019

Dr. Martin Luther King is celebrated today as a civil rights leader and one of the great orators of the 20 th century. He was also a keen commentator on social issues—one who believed in bringing scientific research to bear on such issues. King linked questions of race and class as well. In this light, I want to discuss new research about the impact of segregation on today’s education achievement gaps. Surprisingly, this evidence strongly suggests segregation’s effect on current racial gaps are largely due to segregation by poverty, rather than segregation by race. There is some complexity to this finding that requires some explanation, but first, some reminders of history.

King fought first to eliminate de jure racial school segregation, which at the time was largely a Southern phenomenon. Before and during the civil rights movement, the “equal” part of “separate but equal” was essentially a fraud. As an example, a study by the NAACP that examined Georgia school spending in the 1920s reported per pupil spending of $4.59 for Black students as compared to $36.29 for white students. In the Northern states, racial disparities in school funding were also common. In the 1960s, King wrote :

“Statistical evidence revealed in 1964 that Chicago spent an average of $366 a year per pupil in predominantly white schools and from $450 to $900 a year per pupil for suburban white neighborhoods, but the Negro neighborhoods received only $266 per year per pupil.”

Times have changed. Times have improved. De jure segregation is gone, although schools remain de facto segregated to a large extent. According to a new study by Reardon, Weathers, Fahle, Jang, and Kalogrides on segregation’s effects on racial achievement gaps, segregation reached its peak in 1968, declined through about 1980, and has remained more or less stable since then. In other words, it has been four decades since progress toward more integrated schools flat-lined. There has also been much progress toward equalized spending. This finding comes from a current study on racial spending differences: “Black … total per pupil expenditures exceed White total per pupil expenditures by $229.53.”

However, care is required in interpreting “equal spending” for two reasons. First, we mostly know about spending at the district level and not how the spending is divided up among schools within a district. Second, as Reardon, et al., write , “[H]igh-poverty schools typically have greater financial needs, given their larger shares of students identified as needing special education services and their often larger shares of English Learner students.”

So, as indicated in the opening quotes, while racial achievement gaps have been reduced since the days of King’s campaigns, the remaining gaps are still large. There are many reasons for persistence in the achievement gap, including that the legacy of separate and unequal may cause segregation in the past to have continued effects today. Looking directly at today’s situation—how important is today’s segregation per se ? Black students mostly go to school with other Black students. Black students also mostly go to school with low-income students. Do either of these forms of segregation contribute to the racial achievement gap? The new work by Reardon, et al., “ Is Separate Still Unequal? New Evidence on School Segregation and Racial Academic Achievement Gaps ,” suggests that it is primarily poverty segregation rather than race segregation that accounts for segregation’s effect on the achievement gap.

The authors use a massive dataset that covers achievement in grades 3-8 in about half the school districts in the United States; notably, these districts include 96% of all Black public school students. The outcome variable studied is the Black/white achievement gap on test scores in math and English language achievement. (The results discussed below are for third graders.) The central question studied is the extent to which the achievement gap is explained by four differences in the average experience of Black versus white children measured by exposure to: minority schoolmates; poor schoolmates; minority neighbors; and poor neighbors.

The authors control for the usual measures that help explain the achievement gaps, and then focus on segregation per se . So the authors are telling us how much segregation matters over and above other differences that explain achievement.

The authors’ first result is that differences in exposure to minority schoolmates appears to matter a lot—if taken alone. According to my calculations using the authors’ reported outcomes , a one standard deviation increase in this measure accounts for about 9% of the total achievement gap. If exposure to minority neighbors is accounted for, the effect is even a bit larger, with the effect of schoolmates being about twice as large as the effect of neighbors. In other words, the apparent effects of racial segregation are pretty much what you’d expect.

But the authors point out that schools are also highly segregated by income level, specifically by the fraction of students living in poverty. And measures of racial segregation and “poverty segregation” are highly correlated. (Depending on the exact measures used, the reported correlation coefficients are between 0.82 and 0.93.) Is the apparent effect of race really an effect of poverty? According to the authors’ work, yes.

The authors repeat their analysis including both exposure to minority schoolmates and exposure to poor schoolmates. The effect of exposure to minority schoolmates completely disappears, while a one standard deviation increase in the Black/white gap in exposure to poor schoolmates explains about 10% of the total achievement gap. The evidence, then, is that differences in exposure to poor schoolmates rather than differences in exposure to minority schoolmates are what matters.

Finally, a horse race is run in which all four factors are included. Having minority schoolmates still doesn’t matter and having poor schoolmates still does matter. There is a small effect of exposure to minority neighbors and no effect of exposure to poor neighbors.

In summary, the authors find that the role of segregation in explaining today’s racial achievement gap comes from the fact that Black students are much more likely to go to schools with impoverished classmates, and not from the fact that they go to largely Black schools.

To be clear, this does not mean that poverty is the only thing that matters, and that race is now inconsequential. Notice that about 90% of the racial achievement gap is still unexplained in the authors’ model, meaning there’s still plenty of room for race to be impacting gaps through other policy differences both inside and outside of the classroom. Even more important, integrating by income can significantly reduce achievement gaps—and this will also mean integration by race, due to the strong relationship between the two.

If King were still alive today, would he agree that the consequences of segregation, in part, have more to do with poverty than with race per se ? We can’t know, of course, where King would have come down on the question of race versus income segregation. But there is no doubt that he believed the problems were inextricably linked. (In fact, King linked solving the problems of racism to societal changes that uplifted all people.) Take this quote from a talk King gave in 1967:

“Let us turn first to the evil of racism. There can be no gainsaying of the fact that racism is still alive all over America. … The second evil that I want to deal with is the evil of poverty. Like a monstrous octopus it spreads its nagging prehensile tentacles into cities and hamlets and villages all over our nation. Some 40 million of our brothers and sisters are poverty stricken, unable to gain the basic necessities of life. And so often we allow them to become invisible because our society’s so affluent that we don’t see the poor. Some of them are Mexican Americans. Some of them are Indians. Some are Puerto Ricans. Some are Appalachian whites. The vast majority are Negroes in proportion to their size in the population.”

Note: Most quotes attributed to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. throughout this post are from King’s book, “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community,” originally published in 1967 by Harper & Row.

Related Content

Grover J. “Russ” Whitehurst, Richard V. Reeves, Edward Rodrigue

October 24, 2016

Dick Startz

January 15, 2019

September 10, 2015

K-12 Education

Governance Studies

Brown Center on Education Policy

Race, Prosperity, and Inclusion Initiative

Nicol Turner Lee

August 8, 2024

August 2, 2024

Carol Graham

July 22, 2024

• Future Students
• Current Students
• Faculty/Staff

News and Media

• News & Media Home
• Research Stories
• School’s In
• In the Media

You are here

70 years after brown v. board of education, new research shows rise in school segregation.

As the nation prepares to mark the 70th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education , a new report from researchers at Stanford and USC shows that racial and economic segregation among schools has grown steadily in large school districts over the past three decades — an increase that appears to be driven in part by policies favoring school choice over integration.

Analyzing data from U.S. public schools going back to 1967, the researchers found that segregation between white and Black students has increased by 64 percent since 1988 in the 100 largest districts, and segregation by economic status has increased by about 50 percent since 1991.

The report also provides new evidence about the forces driving recent trends in school segregation, showing that the expansion of charter schools has played a major role.  

The findings were released on May 6 with the launch of the Segregation Explorer , a new interactive website from the Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University. The website provides searchable data on racial and economic school segregation in U.S. states, counties, metropolitan areas, and school districts from 1991 to 2022. 

“School segregation levels are not at pre- Brown levels, but they are high and have been rising steadily since the late 1980s,” said Sean Reardon , the Professor of Poverty and Inequality in Education at Stanford Graduate School of Education and faculty director of the Educational Opportunity Project. “In most large districts, school segregation has increased while residential segregation and racial economic inequality have declined, and our findings indicate that policy choices – not demographic changes – are driving the increase.” 

“There’s a tendency to attribute segregation in schools to segregation in neighborhoods,” said Ann Owens , a professor of sociology and public policy at USC. “But we’re finding that the story is more complicated than that.”

Assessing the rise

In the Brown v. Board decision issued on May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racially segregated public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and established that “separate but equal” schools were not only inherently unequal but unconstitutional. The ruling paved the way for future decisions that led to rapid school desegregation in many school districts in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Though segregation in most school districts is much lower than it was 60 years ago, the researchers found that over the past three decades, both racial and economic segregation in large districts increased. Much of the increase in economic segregation since 1991, measured by segregation between students eligible and ineligible for free lunch, occurred in the last 15 years.

White-Hispanic and white-Asian segregation, while lower on average than white-Black segregation, have both more than doubled in large school districts since the 1980s. 

Racial-economic segregation – specifically the difference in the proportion of free-lunch-eligible students between the average white and Black or Hispanic student’s schools – has increased by 70 percent since 1991. 

School segregation is strongly associated with achievement gaps between racial and ethnic groups, especially the rate at which achievement gaps widen during school, the researchers said.  

“Segregation appears to shape educational outcomes because it concentrates Black and Hispanic students in higher-poverty schools, which results in unequal learning opportunities,” said Reardon, who is also a senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research and a faculty affiliate of the Stanford Accelerator for Learning . 

Policies shaping recent trends 

The recent rise in school segregation appears to be the direct result of educational policy and legal decisions, the researchers said. 

Both residential segregation and racial disparities in income declined between 1990 and 2020 in most large school districts. “Had nothing else changed, that trend would have led to lower school segregation,” said Owens. 

But since 1991, roughly two-thirds of districts that were under court-ordered desegregation have been released from court oversight. Meanwhile, since 1998, the charter sector – a form of expanded school choice – has grown.

Expanding school choice could influence segregation levels in different ways: If families sought schools that were more diverse than the ones available in their neighborhood, it could reduce segregation. But the researchers found that in districts where the charter sector expanded most rapidly in the 2000s and 2010s, segregation grew the most. 

The researchers’ analysis also quantified the extent to which the release from court orders accounted for the rise in school segregation. They found that, together, the release from court oversight and the expansion of choice accounted entirely for the rise in school segregation from 2000 to 2019.

The researchers noted enrollment policies that school districts can implement to mitigate segregation, such as voluntary integration programs, socioeconomic-based student assignment policies, and school choice policies that affirmatively promote integration. 

“School segregation levels are high, troubling, and rising in large districts,” said Reardon. “These findings should sound an alarm for educators and policymakers.”

Additional collaborators on the project include Demetra Kalogrides, Thalia Tom, and Heewon Jang. This research, including the development of the Segregation Explorer data and website, was supported by the Russell Sage Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.   

More Stories

⟵ Go to all Research Stories

Get the Educator

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

Stanford Graduate School of Education

482 Galvez Mall Stanford, CA 94305-3096 Tel: (650) 723-2109

• Contact Admissions
• GSE Leadership
• Site Feedback
• Web Accessibility
• Career Resources
• Faculty Open Positions
• Explore Courses
• Academic Calendar
• Office of the Registrar
• Cubberley Library
• StanfordWho
• StanfordYou

Improving lives through learning

• Stanford Home
• Maps & Directions
• Search Stanford
• Emergency Info
• Terms of Use
• Non-Discrimination
• Accessibility

© Stanford University , Stanford , California 94305 .

How student outcomes were impacted by the desegregation of schools

The Supreme Court decision that overturned the “separate but equal” doctrine in Brown v. Board of Education had a great impact on schools across much of the United States. Even though not every school received the same integration orders, and some did not receive any at all, the desegregation of schools had significant effects on Black students’ outcomes. Those effects, it turns out, varied by region.

Previous studies have attempted to investigate the effect that court-ordered desegregation had on Black students. Yet such studies were often flawed. They were unable to identify when students were exposed to desegregation orders, where the students lived while they attended school, and how the timing of their exposure to integration affected their long-term outcomes. A recent NBER working paper uses a new methodology to address these flaws and provide a better picture of the effects of court-ordered desegregation.

The initial data in this study comprise a set of districts that, in 1968, had at least 15,000 students with 10–90 percent being Black. This created a national sample of 187 medium-to-large districts with racially diverse student populations. The researchers matched each district with its date-of-desegregation order implementation by using data from a 1987 desegregation study as well as from ProPublica and the American Communities Project —each of which contained information on districts’ desegregation plans and court orders. Districts that were in the initial sample but never were under a desegregation order were used, at times, for control purposes. The researchers linked large census and ACS samples to personal identifiers called protected identity keys to determine information about their sample respondents’ counties of birth. All this resulted in 5.1 million individuals, born between 1945 and 1985, who identified as non-Hispanic White or Black. After accounting for repeats and excluding individuals younger than twenty-four or older than fifty-four, the researchers created a new data set to include, for each individual, their birth year, American Community Survey response year, county of birth, race, and sex.

With this sample, they could look at what age students were when they were exposed to court-ordered desegregation, so the researchers could dig more deeply into the amount of exposure students had to court-ordered desegregation. The researchers focused on the indicators of human capital, such as the level of education attained, and indicators of economic self-sufficiency, such as employment and income.

For Black students in the South, analysts found a 15 percent increase in likelihood to complete high school and an increase in one full year of schooling for Black students who spent the most time in desegregated schools. These findings are similar for indicators of economic self-sufficiency, and the effects on economic self-sufficiency impact even more Southern Black students. The researchers hypothesize that the strong effects of desegregation on Black student outcomes in the South may be due to the drastic change that desegregation orders brought to the region.

Although this study is historically focused, it carries important modern-day implications. School segregation is still an issue of public concern in the twenty-first century—79 percent of White students in public schools attend schools where 50 percent of the students are of their same race . In San Francisco, a recent study found that students attending schools that are indirectly segregated based on attendance zones are more likely to take part in risky behaviors. It is clear that more diversified schools have a positive impact on minority students, and it is clear that there is progress to be made. Diverse-by-design charters and other school-choice initiatives may help to break the binds of school zones and help to create opportunities for all students; it is also important to learn from past practices and mistakes to move forward.

SOURCE: Garrett Anstreicher, Jason Fletcher, and Owen Thompson, “ The Long Run Impacts of Court-Ordered Desegregation ,” NBER Working Papers (April 2022).

Julia Wolf, is a former research intern at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, is currently working toward her master's degree in Education Policy at American University.  Before coming to Fordham, she worked remotely for AU as a program assistant, on a local political campaign, and as a research assistant for an AU research-practice partnership. Julia graduated with a bachelor's degree in English from the University of…

Related Content

Ohio Charter News Weekly – 8.9.24

Gadfly Bites 8/9/24—Coming soon to a school district near you: Abacus rentals, delivered via dog cart. But only if you REALLY need one.

Modeling the impacts over time of education funding changes in Mississippi

• Teaching Resources
• Upcoming Events
• On-demand Events

The Persistence of Racial Segregation in American Schools

• Civics & Citizenship
• Social Studies
• facebook sharing
• email sharing

About This Mini-Lesson

This mini-lesson provides two core activities, which give students an overview of school segregation in the United States today and open a discussion about possible responses to school segregation, as well as four extension activities, each of which explores a more specific topic relating to school segregation. Use the activities most relevant to your students or school.

What’s Included

• 2 activities 
• Recommended videos and articles for exploring this topic
• 4 extension activities

Additional Context & Background

On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in the case of  Brown v. Board of Education  that segregating schools based on race violates the US Constitution. Now, more than 60 years later, Jim Crow laws have been repealed, but has the United States lived up to the Supreme Court’s call for integration?

Unfortunately, by many measures,  school segregation is on the rise  in the United States. More than half of students are in districts considered “ racially concentrated ,” which is defined as a district that either has more than 75% white students or non-white students. School segregation is no longer enforced by the explicit prohibition of students of color and white students from attending the same schools, but it is caused by intentional government policies, including discriminatory  housing policies ,  school district mapping , and  school funding allocations .

School segregation is a problem. According to  The Atlantic  article  Why Are American Schools Still Segregated? :

. . . today as in the Brown era, separate schools are unequal. "Schools of concentrated poverty and segregated minority schools are strongly related to an array of factors that limit educational opportunities and outcomes,"  wrote  the authors of a 2012 report by the University of California–Los Angeles's Civil Rights Project. "These include less experienced and less qualified teachers, high levels of teacher turnover, less successful peer groups and inadequate facilities and learning materials." 1

To make it concrete, racially concentrated non-white school districts receive, on average,  $2,226 less in funding per student per year  than predominantly white school districts, which represents a $23 billion funding gap per year throughout the United States.

Yet closing the funding gap is not enough. We will truly achieve integration when all resources in the educational system are distributed equitably and when school policies, curriculum, and pedagogy are designed with the most vulnerable students in mind. True integration benefits all students, from every racial and economic background.

• 1 Eleanor Barkhorn, “ Why Are American Schools Still Segregated? ”, The Atlantic , November 5, 2013.

Save this resource for easy access later.

How does school segregation impact the quality of education students receive?

One of the main criticisms of school segregation is that it creates a system where all students receive a lower quality education, as students of color are more likely to attend schools with fewer resources and all students miss opportunities to learn in diverse classrooms. Ask your students to individually reflect in their journals on the question: What is the purpose of education? Students will return to this question at the end of the activity to consider how segregation impacts learning.

Then, provide students with an overview of school segregation. You can use the summary in the additional context & background of this mini-lesson, or the figures on the EdBuild page 23 Billion to illustrate current disparities. At the bottom of the EdBuild page, you can select your state to learn more about racial disparities in the educational system where you live.

Explain to your students that you will show them the TED video How America’s Public Schools Keep Kids in Poverty , in which a public school teacher gives her perspective on racial segregation in the educational system. Play the video, stopping it at minute 4:25. Ask your students:

• What kind of an education did Kandice Sumner get? Why did she have to ride an hour to school to get this education? What does this say about our educational system?
• Why did Sumner feel guilty about her school experience?

Continue playing the video from minute 4:25 until minute 8:00, and then discuss with your students:

• What are the problems in the educational system that Sumner points out?

Finally, ask students to revisit what they wrote at the beginning of the activity in response to the question: What is the purpose of education? Ask students to now reflect on the questions:

• What changes would you make to your school to improve your education?
• Would you include ideas for desegregation in your improvements? Why or why not?

Related Materials

• Link 23 Billion
• Link How America’s Public Schools Keep Kids in Poverty

What are some solutions to school segregation?

Play the rest of the TED video How America’s Public Schools Keep Kids in Poverty (8:00–13:50). Ask your students:

• What solutions does Sumner describe?
• Do these solutions address the effects of segregation or seek to end segregation? What is the difference?
• Can you think of any other solutions that could help with either the effects of segregation or to end segregation?

To learn more about one desegregation program, read the New York Times article Facing Segregated Schools, Parents Took Integration Into Their Own Hands. It’s Working . Discuss with your students:

• What do you think it will take to end school segregation? Who is responsible for ending school segregation and why?
• Do you think voluntary integration programs are a good solution to segregated schools? Why or why not?
• What challenges could arise if your school district tried to desegregate schools in a similar way?
• What could be the benefits of integration, for students, schools, or communities?
• Link Facing Segregated Schools, Parents Took Integration Into Their Own Hands. It’s Working

Extension Activities

What is happening in your own community?

The Opportunity Atlas , created through Harvard University, gives a detailed map illustrating the incomes of people who grew up in different neighborhoods around the country. Use the map to look up your town and click on different neighborhoods within your town to see how much money people who grew up there now earn as adults. You can adjust the controls to see if people make different incomes based on their family’s economic status while they were growing up, on their race, or on their gender. Discuss with your students:

• What disparities exist in your community?
• Why do you think these disparities exist?
• What role could schools play in reinforcing disparities?

Use the EdBuild page 23 Billion (referenced in Activity 1) to learn more about racial disparities in the educational system where you live. At the bottom of the page, enter your state to access the information.

Find out how much money your school district spends per students and how this funding compares to other districts by using the map in the NPR article Why America's Schools Have A Money Problem

• Link Opportunity Atlas
• Link Why America's Schools Have A Money Problem

A case study: How did a school district in Missouri grapple with school integration?

Ask your students to listen to an episode of the podcast This American Life called The Problem We All Live With - Part 1 (59:00). The podcast begins with an overview of school segregation in the United States and then profiles the school district where Michael Brown, a black teenager who was shot and killed by a white police officer in 2014, went to school. The podcast covers questions around failing schools and the tensions that can arise when schools attempt to integrate. This American Life provides a transcript and a beeped version of the podcast. After students listen to the podcast, discuss:

• How they felt listening to the podcast
• What surprised them in the podcast
• What questions the podcast raised for them
• Link The Problem We All Live With - Part 1

Can segregation exist within a school?

Often when we talk about segregation, we focus on differences between schools or districts rather than within one school. The article The Other Segregation from The Atlantic describes how schools can create internal inequality. Read the article with your students and discuss:

• What did you learn from the article? Was there anything in the article that confirmed something you already knew?
• Is segregation a problem within your school? Does your school track students? Do you see segregation within your school? For example, between honors or AP classes (if your schools has them) and standard level classes?
• What do you think your school could do to create more equality?
• Link The Other Segregation

What do the numbers reveal about segregation today?

Have students learn more about segregation by analyzing two graphs, one that reveals how segregation is increasing and one that explores funding differences between majority white and majority non-white schools.

First, show students the graph Percentage of Black Students in Schools That Are 90 to 100% Minority from the Vox article The Data Proves that School Segregation is Getting Worse . ( Note: “border states” include Oklahoma, Missouri, Kentucky, West Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware ). Ask your students: What does the graph show? Do these trends surprise you? Why or why not? Why could increased segregation be problematic?

Second, share the article The Data Are Damning: How Race Influences School Funding from The Atlantic with your students. Read the first three paragraphs together, and then look at the graph. Ask your students:

• What does the graph show?
• How could the funding gap between schools that are predominantly white and schools that are predominantly non-white contribute to inequality?
• Link The Data Proves that School Segregation is Getting Worse
• Link The Data Are Damning: How Race Influences School Funding

Materials and Downloads

Resources from other organizations, additional resources, related facing history resources & learning opportunities, choices in little rock, you might also be interested in…, 10 questions for the past: the 1963 chicago public schools boycott, can dress codes exclude people, accountability, justice, and healing after derek chauvin's trial, voting rights in the united states, the hope and fragility of democracy in the united states, what happened during the insurrection at the us capitol and why, #iftheygunnedmedown, the impact of identity, the power of images, preparing students for difficult conversations, social media and ferguson, reflecting on george floyd’s death and police violence towards black americans, unlimited access to learning. more added every month..

Facing History & Ourselves is designed for educators who want to help students explore identity, think critically, grow emotionally, act ethically, and participate in civic life. It’s hard work, so we’ve developed some go-to professional learning opportunities to help you along the way.

Exploring ELA Text Selection with Julia Torres

Working for justice, equity and civic agency in our schools: a conversation with clint smith, centering student voices to build community and agency, inspiration, insights, & ways to get involved.

You are using an outdated browser. This website is best viewed in IE 9 and above. You may continue using the site in this browser. However, the site may not display properly and some features may not be supported. For a better experience using this site, we recommend upgrading your version of Internet Explorer or using another browser to view this website.

- Download the latest Internet Explorer - No thanks (close this window)

• Penn GSE Environmental Justice Statement
• Philadelphia Impact
• Global Initiatives
• Diversity & Inclusion
• Catalyst @ Penn GSE
• Penn GSE Leadership
• Program Finder
• Academic Divisions & Programs
• Professional Development & Continuing Education
• Teacher Programs & Certifications
• Undergraduates
• Dual and Joint Degrees
• Faculty Directory
• Research Centers, Projects & Initiatives
• Lectures & Colloquia
• Books & Publications
• Academic Journals
• Application Requirements & Deadlines
• Tuition & Financial Aid
• Campus Visits & Events
• International Students
• Options for Undergraduates
• Non-Degree Studies
• Contact Admissions / Request Information
• Life at Penn GSE
• Penn GSE Career Paths
• Living in Philadelphia
• DE&I Resources for Students
• Student Organizations
• Career & Professional Development
• News Archive
• Events Calendar
• The Educator's Playbook
• Find an Expert
• Race, Equity & Inclusion
• Counseling & Psychology
• Education Innovation & Entrepreneurship
• Education Policy & Analysis
• Higher Education
• Language, Literacy & Culture
• Teaching & Learning
• Support Penn GSE
• Contact Development & Alumni Relations
• Find a Program
• Request Info
• Make a Gift
• Current Students
• Staff & Faculty

Search form

You are here, in telling the story of school segregation, nikole hannah-jones shows how choices increase or decrease integration.

When it comes to school segregation in the 21st century, which children are getting left behind?

That rhetorical question, posed by award-winning investigative New York Times Magazine reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones, quieted a room filled with educational experts, legal scholars, historians, and students at the Steven S. Goldberg and Jolley Bruce Christman Lecture in Education Law, co-sponsored by Penn GSE and Penn Law.

Hannah-Jones, who created the New York Times Magazine 1619 Project , gave a master class that covered present-day school segregation and the choices that led to it. Her research for the 1619 Project has resulted in a thorough uncovering of how every facet of American life has been impacted since the first slaves arrived in 1619—and how the U.S. is still grappling with systemic racism 400 years later.

School segregation and the 1619 Project

“I’ve been obsessed with 1619 since high school, when my teacher recommended Before The Mayflower ,” said Hannah-Jones. “In America, we’re pretty terrible when it comes to history—particularly slavery, anti-black racism, and the role it has played. When it comes to the political, cultural, and social systems in this country, we have damn-near amnesia. We have to go back to the beginning to understand how we got here.”

The biennial Steven S. Goldberg and Jolley Bruce Christman Lecture in Education Law provides a platform for students, alumni, faculty, staff, and the broader community to learn from some of the most pressing issues in the field today and work towards increasing equity and social justice in education.

“Through her powerful reporting on school segregation and the 1619 Project, Nikole pushes us all to rethink our history and the role our choices play in creating the next chapter of the American story," said Penn GSE Dean Pam Grossman. 

In her lecture, Hannah-Jones presented a chronological timeline of slavery in America—and didn’t skimp on the uncomfortable descriptions and brutal imagery that history books often omit. “We were the third to last country in the Americas to end slavery,” she said. “Slavery is deeply entrenched in the fabric of this country.”

Philadelphia's role in sustaining inequality

Philadelphia played a key role in sustaining inequality, Hannah-Jones pointed out. “As Thomas Jefferson was drafting the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, his enslaved brother-in-law was serving him at home—ensuring that Jefferson was comfortable,” she said. “Jefferson blamed England for slavery. He called slavery a great crime. But if you look at the original draft, you will see that there isn’t a section on slavery because the founders didn’t plan on getting rid of it.”

Even today, schools in “blue” northern states are often more segregated than those in the south. Armed with ideals and educational data, Hannah-Jones and her husband were faced with their own difficult choice in Brooklyn when it was time to enroll their daughter in school. To find out what happened, read her 2016 essay Choosing a School for My Daughter in a Segregated City .

Following the presentation, Hannah-Jones chatted with Dr. Rand Quinn, a Penn GSE associate professor whose new book Class Action: Desegregation and Diversity in San Francisco Schools is due out in January 2020 . She challenged the audience to question how Philadelphia public schools are currently functioning. “Look at the racial makeup of your best schools and consider whose children are suffering,” she said. “If you believe in public schools, you have to fight for integration.”  

The message, powerful and provocative, challenged the audience to fight for better education for everyone, not just their own. “The system has been built on a compromise of black children’s education,” she said. “Access to quality education changes lives.”

—   By SJ Punderson

You May Be Interested In

Related stories.

• School desegregation is hard without busing

Related Topics

Faculty expert.

Associate Professor

Related News

Media inquiries.

Penn GSE Communications is here to help reporters connect with the education experts they need.

Kat Stein Executive Director of Penn GSE Communications (215) 898-9642 [email protected]  

Segregation in K-12 Education: Post-Revolutionary War Era (1776-1865)

Segregation in K-12 education has been a persistent issue throughout American history, with its roots tracing back to the Colonial Era. This essay examines the origins of segregation in K-12 education during that time and explores the differential treatment experienced by Native American, African American, and white students. By delving into the historical context and citing relevant sources, we can better understand how educational disparities based on race and ethnicity were established and perpetuated.

The Post-Revolutionary War Era marked a critical period in American history when the foundations of segregation in K-12 education were solidified. This essay delves into the historical context of this era and explores the consolidation of racial disparities in education. By examining the policies, attitudes, and events that shaped educational segregation, we can gain insights into the enduring consequences of this era.

The transition from Colonial to State Control

The Emergence of State Control over Education

With the end of the Revolutionary War, control over education shifted from colonial and religious institutions to state governments. This transition facilitated the consolidation of power in shaping educational policies.

Early State Laws and Segregated Education

Many states enacted laws during this era that explicitly segregated education based on race. For example, Massachusetts passed a law in 1789 requiring the establishment of racially separate schools, perpetuating educational disparities.

Expanding Racial Disparities in Education

Limited Educational Opportunities for African-American Students

African-American students faced severe limitations in accessing formal education. Many southern states enacted laws that explicitly prohibited the teaching of enslaved and free African Americans, perpetuating a cycle of illiteracy and subjugation.

Development of Racially Segregated Schools

The concept of "separate but equal" began to take hold during this era, laying the groundwork for racial segregation in schools. African American students were given underfunded and inferior facilities, resources, and teaching staff, perpetuating educational disparities.

Native American Boarding Schools

The federal government initiated a policy of forced assimilation by establishing Native American boarding schools. These schools sought to eradicate Native American cultures and languages, further marginalizing and erasing Native American identities.

Pioneering African American Educational Institutions

Rise of Independent African American Schools

Despite immense challenges, African-American communities established independent schools to educate their children. Prominent examples include the African Free Schools in New York City and the Institute for Colored Youth (later Cheyney University) in Pennsylvania.

This video offers an in-depth look at schooling for African Americans before and after the Civil War.

African American Educational Advocates

Influential figures such as Frederick Douglass, Maria Stewart, and David Walker emerged as strong advocates for African-American education. Their writings and speeches highlighted the importance of education in empowering marginalized communities.

Formation of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) The establishment of HBCUs, such as Howard University and Fisk University, provided crucial higher education opportunities for African-American students. These institutions played a pivotal role in nurturing intellectual and leadership development within the African-American community (The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education).

The Post-Revolutionary War Era witnessed the consolidation of racial disparities in K-12 education, as state control over education facilitated the enactment of laws and policies that perpetuated segregation. African American students faced limited educational opportunities, while racially segregated schools provided unequal resources and facilities. However, the era also saw the resilience and determination of African-American communities in establishing independent schools and advocating for educational equality. Understanding this historical context is essential for comprehending the long-lasting impact of segregation in education and inspires us to strive for a more equitable and inclusive educational system.

The Reconstruction Era and the Battle for Educational Equality

The Reconstruction Era following the American Civil War was pivotal in the fight for educational equality and dismantling segregation in K-12 education. This essay explores the historical context of the Reconstruction Era and its impact on educational opportunities for African-American students. By analyzing policies, initiatives, and the challenges faced during this period, we can gain insights into the progress made and the setbacks encountered in the pursuit of educational equality.

The Freedmen's Bureau and Educational Initiatives

Establishment of the Freedmen's Bureau

The Freedmen's Bureau, established in 1865, supported educational opportunities for formerly enslaved African Americans. It aimed to assist freed individuals in their transition to freedom and supported schools and teachers.

Creation of Freedmen's Schools

The Freedmen's Bureau established schools across the South, known as Freedmen's Schools, which provided formal education to African-American students. These schools were instrumental in expanding access to education and empowering African-American communities.

This video offers a look at freedman schools during Reconstruction.

Southern Black Codes and Educational Restrictions

Introduction of Southern Black Codes

Southern states implemented Black Codes, which sought to restrict the rights and freedoms of newly freed African Americans. These codes included provisions that limited educational opportunities for African-American students, perpetuating educational disparities.

Challenges Faced by African-American Schools

Despite efforts to establish schools for African-American students, they faced numerous challenges, including insufficient funding, inadequate facilities, and hostility from white supremacist groups. These obstacles hindered the progress of African-American education during Reconstruction.

The Rise and Fall of Integrated Education

Early Attempts at Integrated Education

During Reconstruction , there were brief periods in which integrated education was implemented in some Southern states. African American and white students attended schools together, reflecting the vision of educational equality.

Retreat from Integration

As Reconstruction ended, the retreat from integration gained momentum. The emergence of segregationist ideologies and the rise of Jim Crow laws led to the establishment of racially segregated schools, undoing the progress made during the earlier years of Reconstruction.

Legacy and Lasting Impact

Educational Advancements Despite Challenges

Despite the obstacles and setbacks faced during Reconstruction, African-American communities persevered in their pursuit of education. They established independent schools, churches, and educational institutions that laid the foundation for future advancements in African-American education.

Segregation's Lingering Effects

The legacy of segregation during Reconstruction had lasting effects on educational disparities. African-American students continued to face unequal resources, inadequate facilities, and limited opportunities, perpetuating educational inequalities for generations to come.

The Reconstruction Era represented a critical juncture in the battle for educational equality. While the Freedmen's Bureau and the establishment of Freedmen's Schools provided hope for African-American education, the rise of Black Codes and the retreat from integration hindered progress. Despite these challenges, African-American communities persisted in their quest for education, laying the groundwork for future advancements. Understanding the complexities and struggles of the Reconstruction Era helps us appreciate the ongoing battle for educational equality. It inspires us to continue working towards a more inclusive and equitable educational system.

More Resources

The sources used in this essay include

• "The Irony of Early School Segregation Laws" by Michael B. Katz
• "Education of Blacks in the South, 1860-1935" by James D. Anderson
• "Education for Extinction: American Indians and the Boarding School Experience" by David Wallace Adams
• "The Claims of the Negro, Ethnologically Considered" by Frederick Douglass
• The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education
• "The Freedmen's Bureau and Black Education" by John Hope Franklin
• "Remembering Jim Crow: African Americans Tell About Life in the Segregated South" by William H. Chafe
• "The Education of Blacks in the South, 1860-1935" by James D. Anderson "Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877" by Eric Foner
• "The Strange Career of Jim Crow" by C. Vann Woodward

Questions? Contact us on Facebook. @publicschoolreview

#PostRevolutionaryEra #EarlyAmericanEducation #EducationReforms #IndependentSchools #ReconstructionEra #CivilWarAftermath #EducationalAdvancements #EqualRights

More Articles

• History & Society
• Science & Tech
• Biographies
• Animals & Nature
• Geography & Travel
• Arts & Culture
• Games & Quizzes
• On This Day
• One Good Fact
• New Articles
• Lifestyles & Social Issues
• Philosophy & Religion
• Politics, Law & Government
• World History
• Health & Medicine
• Browse Biographies
• Birds, Reptiles & Other Vertebrates
• Bugs, Mollusks & Other Invertebrates
• Environment
• Fossils & Geologic Time
• Entertainment & Pop Culture
• Sports & Recreation
• Visual Arts
• Demystified
• Image Galleries
• Infographics
• Top Questions
• Britannica Kids
• Saving Earth
• Space Next 50
• Student Center

• What is apartheid?
• When did apartheid start?
• How did apartheid end?
• What is the apartheid era in South African history?

racial segregation

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

• Academia - Racial Segregation and Equality
• National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Racial residential segregation: a fundamental cause of racial disparities in health.
• Frontiers - Segregation and Life Satisfaction
• The Canadian Encyclopedia - Racial Segregation of Black People in Canada
• segregation - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
• segregation - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

racial segregation , the practice of restricting people to certain circumscribed areas of residence or to separate institutions (e.g., schools, churches) and facilities (parks, playgrounds, restaurants, restrooms) on the basis of race or alleged race. Racial segregation provides a means of maintaining the economic advantages and superior social status of the politically dominant group, and in recent times it has been employed primarily by white populations to maintain their ascendancy over other groups by means of legal and social colour bars. Historically, however, various conquerors—among them Asian Mongols , African Bantus , and American Aztecs —practiced discrimination involving the segregation of subject races.

Racial segregation has appeared in all parts of the world where there are multiracial communities , except where racial amalgamation occurred on a large scale as in Hawaii and Brazil . In such countries there has been occasional social discrimination but not legal segregation. In the Southern states of the United States , on the other hand, legal segregation in public facilities was current from the late 19th century into the 1950s. ( See Jim Crow law .) The civil rights movement was initiated by Southern Blacks in the 1950s and ’60s to break the prevailing pattern of racial segregation. This movement spurred passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which contained strong provisions against discrimination and segregation in voting, education, and use of public facilities.

Elsewhere, racial segregation was practiced with the greatest rigour in South Africa , where, under the apartheid system, it was an official government policy from 1950 until the early 1990s.

When Students Self-Segregate

You have / 5 articles left. Sign up for a free account or log in.

I teach -- what is on paper, at least -- a mundane course required of all majors in my department. Few students are excited about being there. I acknowledge that in my opening comments each semester and make it my goal to surpass students’ expectations. My favorite evaluation comment, which I get in some form nearly every term: “I was expecting this class to suck, but it was actually interesting.”

One way that I try to make the class interesting -- or, at least, not suck -- is to allow students to select the topic and partners for their group project. That way, my thinking goes, they are more likely to be engaged with their topic and have a positive group experience.

Of course, the choose-your-own-partner philosophy has its downsides. Friends pick one another rather than going outside their comfort zones. There’s inevitably a please-don’t-let-me-be-the-last-pick-in-PE-class moment when the students who don’t know anyone else scramble to find partners. And once students have formed groups, the room can look like a middle-school dance: women on one side, men on the other. I encourage students to form mixed-gender groups and to select group partners based on shared interests rather than personal preferences, but the pull of familiarity is strong.

I’ve long considered the positive outcomes of open group selection to outweigh such drawbacks. But last semester, I reconsidered for a different reason: racial self-segregation.

On the day when students divided into work groups, I immediately noticed that with a few exceptions, white students were in groups with one another, and black students were in their own groups, as well. Groups formed so quickly that I couldn’t tell which students found each other first and which joined forces out of necessity, given the few remaining openings.

In past semesters these divisions haven’t been so glaring -- perhaps because it’s common for my classes to have so few black students that forming a group of three isn’t even possible. But there I was, on the second day of class, unexpectedly faced with a decision about whether to use this as a teachable moment or to let it pass without comment.

A few facts for context: I am a white man. My university is located in a region with considerable racial tension. Our campus, like many others, has been the site of student protests over lack of diversity and the administration’s handling of race relations. Addressing self-segregation in the classroom -- even in a class like mine that isn’t explicitly about race -- wouldn’t seem out of place at a time when such discussions are encouraged. Pausing to point out group dynamics would, to use a higher education cliché, contribute to a campuswide conversation about race.

On the other hand, drawing attention to group self-segregation could have detrimental effects. Who wants to start off the semester by noting students’ inherent biases? It’s hard to have this conversation without seemingly pointing a finger. Even if students became more aware of their decisions -- a positive outcome, to be sure -- what exactly did I want them to do about it? Re-sort into new, mixed-race groups? Acknowledge the problem and then carry on with their existing groups? After all, I’d just finished telling them to pick whomever they wanted as group partners. Perhaps students, as usual, just picked their friends, who happened to be of the same race (a problem in its own right).

Self-segregation in roommate selection and at cafeteria tables is unfortunately common, but I would never think to intervene in those cases. My decision about whether to do so in this instance came down to this question: Since this happened on my watch, in a classroom setting, did I have a moral obligation to say something?

In that moment, I didn’t have time to process all of these conflicting thoughts. It was noticeable to me and uncomfortable to witness, but did anyone else in that classroom feel the same way? It was hard to tell. I never asked anyone on that day -- or at any other time during the semester. No one brought it up in person, in email or in anonymous course evaluations.

Several months later, I still feel conflicted about what I should have done in that moment. Part of me wishes I had intervened, although I don’t beat myself up too much over my choice: it’s always easier to craft the perfect response in hindsight.

As I will soon prepare for another semester, I’m curious not only what my students thought but also what my colleagues think. How would you handle -- or have you handled -- this in your classroom? What would constitute an appropriate response?

I’d like to know, because I’m sure this won’t be the last time I face this situation. And next time, I want to have thought through my response.

Farewell to the Cultural Center?

In the culture wars, university cultural centers are collateral damage, Jeremy C. Young writes.

Share This Article

More from views.

Career Prep Tip: Provide Resources for Undocumented Learners

Colleges and universities provide personalized support for undocumented students as they prepare for their lives afte

Illinois Bill Introduces Novel Higher Ed Funding Model

If the ambitious legislation passes, future budget appropriations would be based on an adequacy and equity formula, p

• Become a Member
• Sign up for Newsletters
• Learning & Assessment
• Diversity & Equity
• Career Development
• Labor & Unionization
• Shared Governance
• Academic Freedom
• Books & Publishing
• Financial Aid
• Residential Life
• Free Speech
• Physical & Mental Health
• Race & Ethnicity
• Sex & Gender
• Socioeconomics
• Traditional-Age
• Adult & Post-Traditional
• Teaching & Learning
• Artificial Intelligence
• Digital Publishing
• Data Analytics
• Administrative Tech
• Alternative Credentials
• Financial Health
• Cost-Cutting
• Revenue Strategies
• Academic Programs
• Physical Campuses
• Mergers & Collaboration
• Fundraising
• Research Universities
• Regional Public Universities
• Community Colleges
• Private Nonprofit Colleges
• Minority-Serving Institutions
• Religious Colleges
• Women's Colleges
• Specialized Colleges
• For-Profit Colleges
• Executive Leadership
• Trustees & Regents
• State Oversight
• Accreditation
• Politics & Elections
• Supreme Court
• Student Aid Policy
• Science & Research Policy
• State Policy
• Colleges & Localities
• Employee Satisfaction
• Remote & Flexible Work
• Staff Issues
• Study Abroad
• International Students in U.S.
• U.S. Colleges in the World
• Intellectual Affairs
• Seeking a Faculty Job
• Advancing in the Faculty
• Seeking an Administrative Job
• Advancing as an Administrator
• Beyond Transfer
• Call to Action
• Confessions of a Community College Dean
• Higher Ed Gamma
• Higher Ed Policy
• Just Explain It to Me!
• Just Visiting
• Law, Policy—and IT?
• Leadership & StratEDgy
• Leadership in Higher Education
• Learning Innovation
• Online: Trending Now
• Resident Scholar
• University of Venus
• Student Voice
• Academic Life
• Health & Wellness
• The College Experience
• Life After College
• Academic Minute
• Weekly Wisdom
• Reports & Data
• Quick Takes
• Advertising & Marketing
• Consulting Services
• Data & Insights
• Hiring & Jobs
• Event Partnerships

4 /5 Articles remaining this month.

Sign up for a free account or log in.

• Sign Up, It’s FREE

Steven F. Lawson
Department of History, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
National Humanities Center Fellow
©National Humanities Center

Racial segregation was a system derived from the efforts of white Americans to keep African Americans in a subordinate status by denying them equal access to public facilities and ensuring that blacks lived apart from whites. During the era of slavery, , mainly in rural areas. Under these circumstances, segregation did not prove necessary as the boundaries between free citizens and people held in bondage remained clear. Furthermore, Before the Civil War, segregation existed mainly in cities in both the North and the South.blacks and whites lived in close proximity on farms and and geographical isolation made contact between infrequent. However, , experienced segregation in various forms. By the time the Supreme Court ruled in (1857) that African Americans were not U.S. citizens, northern whites had excluded blacks from seats on public transportation and barred their entry, except as servants, from most hotels and restaurants. When allowed into auditoriums and theaters, blacks occupied separate sections; they also attended segregated schools. Most churches, too, were segregated.

Reconstruction after the Civil War posed serious challenges to white supremacy and segregation, especially in the South where most African Americans continued to live. The abolition of slavery in 1865, followed by ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment (1868) extending citizenship and equal protection of the law to African Americans and In the years immediately after the Civil War segregation eased somewhat.the Fifteenth Amendment (1870) barring racial discrimination in voting, threatened to overturn the barriers whites had erected to keep blacks separate and unequal. Yet the possibilities of blacks and public accommodations with whites increased during the period after 1865. Blacks obtained access to streetcars and railroads on an integrated basis. Indeed, many transportation companies favored integration because they did not want to risk losing black business.

African Americans did gain admission to desegregated public accommodations, but racial segregation, or Jim Crow as it became popularly known, remained the custom. (The term Jim Crow originated from the name of a character in an 1832 minstrel show, where whites performed in black face.) Passage by Congress of the Civil Rights Act of 1875, which barred racial discrimination in public accommodations, provides evidence of the continued presence of segregation and the need to rectify it. The law lasted until 1883, when the Supreme Court of the United States declared the statute unconstitutional for regulating what the justices considered private companies, such as streetcars and entertainment facilities. By this time, the interracial Reconstruction governments had fallen in the South and the federal government had retreated from strong enforcement of black civil rights. With white-controlled governments back in power, the situation of southern blacks gradually deteriorated. To maintain solidarity and remove possible political threats, white southerners initiated a series of efforts to reduce further African American citizenship rights and enforce Jim Crow. The Supreme Court’s 1883 ruling in In the 1880s legislation strengthened segregation in the South. By the 1890s it had become entrenched.the Civil Rights Cases spurred states to enact segregation laws. Between 1887 and 1892, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Maryland, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia refused equal access to African Americans on public accommodations and transportation. These laws forced blacks to sit in the back of the bus, on separate cars in trains, and in the balcony at theaters, for example. From this period on, became a rigid legal system separating the races from cradle to grave—including segregated hospital facilities, cemeteries, and everything in between—no longer tolerating any flexibility in the racial interactions that had previously existed.

Why did Jim Crow become entrenched in the 1890s? The third-party Populist uprising of that decade threatened conservative Democratic rule in the South. Many of those blacks who could still vote, and the number was considerable, joined the Populist insurgency. To check this political rebellion and prevent blacks from wielding the balance of power in close elections, southern Democrats appealed to white solidarity to defeat the Populists, whipped up anti-Negro sentiment, disfranchised African Americans, and imposed strict (by law) segregation.

In the North, while legislation combated segregation, African Americans were still kept separate and apart from whites.In contrast with the South, in the late 1880s and early 1890s, Indiana, Nebraska, Ohio, Michigan, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and New York all adopted laws that prohibited racial discrimination in public facilities. Yet blacks encountered segregation in the North as well. Rather than through segregation, most northern whites and blacks lived in separate neighborhoods and attended separate schools largely through segregation. This kind of segregation resulted from the fact that African Americans resided in distinct neighborhoods, stemming from insufficient income as well as a desire to live among their own people, as many ethnic groups did. However, blacks separated themselves not merely as a matter of choice or custom. Instead, realtors and landlords steered blacks away from white neighborhoods and municipal ordinances and judicially enforced racial covenants signed by homeowners kept blacks out of white areas.

In 1896, the federal government sanctioned racial segregation, fashioning the constitutional rationale for keeping the races legally apart. In the case of , the Supreme Court ruled that a Louisiana law providing for “equal but separate” accommodations for “whites” and “coloreds” did not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth was based upon a belief in white supremacy.Amendment. In its decision the majority of the court concluded that civil rights laws could not change racial destiny. “If one race be inferior to the other socially,” the justices explained, “the Constitution of the United cannot put them on the same plane.” This thinking, which accepted the idea that whites were superior to blacks, derived from scientific judgments of the time that light-skinned people had greater intelligence and a higher degree of civilization than darker-skinned groups, opinions that also fueled .

Although the Supreme Court inscribed the doctrine of “separate but equal” into law, in practice this did not happen. Local and state authorities never funded black education equally nor did African Americans have equal access to public accommodations. To make matters worse, In the South segregation prevailed unabated from the 1890s to the 1950s.after the 1890s, nearly all southern blacks lost their right to vote through measures such as , literacy tests, and the white primary. For the next fifty years racial segregation prevailed, reinforced by disfranchisement, official coercion, and vigilante terror. In addition, starting in 1913 with the presidency of Woodrow Wilson, who had close ties to the South, the federal government imposed racial segregation in government offices in Washington, D.C. (a policy that would not be reversed until the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s).

The struggle against Nazi racism in Europe called attention to racism in America.The bedrock of Jim Crow began to crack after World War II. The war had exposed the horrors of Nazi racism; non-white nations in ; and scientists no longer accepted the notion of superior and inferior races. In 1948, President Harry S. Truman issued an executive order desegregating the armed forces, thus reversing a longstanding practice. In 1954, the Supreme Court justices in reversed and decided that legally sanctioned racial segregation was inherently unequal and a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. Nevertheless, the ruling signaled only a first step, and it took another decade and a for African Americans to tear down the racist edifices of segregation in the South.

The challenge is to explain to students the reasons for and the legacy of segregation.Explaining segregation to students is a lot more difficult because of the progress made since the Civil Rights Movement. The symbols of the Jim Crow past—“Whites Only” and “Colored Only” signs—are found mainly in antiques stores, museums, photographs, and documentaries. Now that an African American has been elected president of the United States, segregation seems as outmoded and distant a practice as watching black and white television. Thus, the major challenge is to explain to students the reasons for and the legacy of segregation. This requires a series of questions.

The first question to ask is when did racial segregation begin? The importance of this question helps in gauging the potency and endurance of racism as a feature of American history. If segregation began Students should understand that segregation is embedded deeply in America's past.very early in the nation’s history, this suggests that racism is embedded in the very fabric of American society and culture and is something extremely difficult to eradicate. . Before the Civil War, free Negroes in the North encountered segregation in schools, public accommodations, and the military. In 1849, the Supreme Court of Massachusetts in held that the state could require separate and equal schools for Negroes without violating the right of equality in the Massachusetts Constitution.

Segregation continued to exist after the Civil War and spread to the South once slaves were emancipated. Still, it is one thing to confirm that segregation Students should understand the role the federal government played in establishing and dismantling segregation.persisted following slavery, as evidenced by the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1875, and another to assess its strength. What seems unique about race relations from the 1870s to the early 1890s was its porousness: segregation was not as rigid then as it later became. Moreover, blacks still had the right to vote and could wield influence in public affairs. This changed in the 1890s, and teachers should make clear the decisive role of the federal government in contributing to the establishment of hardcore segregation in the South. Thus, Jim Crow did not come about just through individual acts of prejudice but required government intervention from the North as well as the South. Without the official Students should understand that Jim Crow was not simply a matter of individual acts of prejudice. It required government sanction.approval of the Supreme Court in , the southern states would not have had the constitutional power to enforce Jim Crow. Only when the federal government took action after World War II in what has been called “the Second Reconstruction” did segregation fall, thereby highlighting the critical position Washington, D.C. played in preserving and then dismantling Jim Crow.

Despite complicity from the North, the harshest and most long-lasting forms of segregation occurred in the South. Why were white southerners so adamant in maintaining segregation? Students should comeSegregation was intended to enforce and underscore the subordinate position of blacks in American society. to recognize that segregation was part of the system to subjugate African Americans and affirm their status as inferior people. Southern whites considered this system of vital importance because of the vast majority of African Americans lived in the South in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Separate was never equal nor was it meant to be. Segregation was intended to debase African Americans, strip them of their dignity, reinforce their inequality, and maintain a submissive agricultural labor force. In this way, you can point out to students that the southern United States from the 1890s through the 1960s was similar in many ways to South Africa during its Apartheid Era.

In addition, Jim Crow can be viewed as a system of “disease control.” to prevent them from infecting whites with the social and cultural impurities associated with “inferior” African Americans. White men established segregation to keep black men from having sexual relations with white women. Viewing miscegenation as the ultimate threat to the perpetuation of their superior racial stock, they often resorted to black men for allegedly raping white women. In doing so, white men not only reinforced their but also white women. They sought to maintain the virtue and chastity of their wives and daughters, reinforcing their patriarchal roles as husband, father, and ultimately guardian of their communities. However, it can be debated whether the real issue was sexual purity or power, for many white southern men both during slavery and Jim Crow actively pursued clandestine sexual relations with black women,

Segregation grew out of fear and a desire to control.Nevertheless, this fear of miscegenation, whether real or imagined, reinforced Jim Crow. White southerners were adamant about maintaining school segregation, particularly in the early grades, because they did not want little white girls to socialize with black boys, which might lead to more intimate relations as they turned into teenagers and young adults.

How did African Americans respond to Jim Crow and did they view separation and segregation in the same way? Having students Students should understand the difference between voluntary separation and segregation. compare the two should reveal that for the most part African Americans did not oppose separation so long as it was voluntary. Following the Civil War, blacks formed their own schools, churches, and civic organizations over which they exercised control that provided independence from white authorities, including their former masters. African Americans took great pride in the institutions they built in their communities. Black businessmen accumulated wealth by catering to a Negro clientele in need of banks, insurance companies, health services, barber shops and beauty parlors, entertainment, and funeral homes. African Americans as diverse politically as Booker T. Washington in the 1890s , Marcus Garvey in the 1920s , W.E.B. DuBois in the 1930s advocated that blacks concentrate on promoting self-help within their communities and develop their own economic, Integration weakened some black community institutions. social, and cultural institutions. Ironically, one of the unintended side effects of racial integration in the second half of the twentieth century was the erosion of longstanding black business and educational institutions that served African-Americans during Jim Crow.

Students can then see that in contrast to voluntary separation and self-determination, segregation was coercive and grew out of attempts to maintain black subordination and second-class citizenship. Sanctioned by the government, Jim Crow demeaned African Americans, denied them equal opportunity, and assigned them to the margins of public life. If African Americans overstepped Jim Crow’s boundary lines they were forced back by law and, if necessary, through retributive violence.

How did African Americans challenge segregation and white supremacy ? In other words, when did the Civil Rights Movement begin and Begin your teaching of the Civil Rights Movement with World War II. what did it seek to accomplish? These are questions that historians still debate. My advice is to start before the usual launching point of Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 and begin with World War II, when African Americans began a “ Double V” Campaign —victory against totalitarianism abroad and racism at home. The continued migration of blacks to the North and West gave African Americans increased voting power to help pressure presidents from Harry Truman on to pass civil rights legislation that would aid their family, friends, and neighbors remaining in the South. At the same time, southern black communities organized and mobilized. A new generation of leaders, many of them military veterans or black college graduates , challenged Jim Crow and disfranchisement. Black women have often been ignored as a significant force behind the Civil Rights Movement, with the focus on the men who led the major organizations. However, teachers should emphasize the role of mothers who permitted their children to face the dangers of integrating schools , daughters who readily joined protest demonstrations, domestic servants who walked miles to work to boycott segregated buses , and churchwomen who rallied their congregations behind civil rights.

Finally, what did African Americans strive for in eliminating segregation? Usually integration is wrongly interpreted as an end in itself or an attempt by blacks to Stress that integration was a tactic, not a goal. assimilate into white society. It is most important for students to understand that for blacks integration was a tactic, not a goal. For example, African Americans sought to desegregate education not because they wanted to socialize with white students, but because it provided the best means for obtaining a quality education. Blacks confronted Jim Crow to defeat white supremacy and obtain political power —the kind that could result in jobs, affordable housing, satisfactory health care, and evenhanded treatment by the police and the judicial system. Rather than erasing their pride in being black or expressing a desire to be like whites , African Americans gained an even greater respect for their race through participation in the Civil Rights Movement and their efforts to shatter Jim Crow.

Historians Debate

In 1955, C. Vann Woodward published The Strange Career of Jim Crow . Woodward reflected the optimism following the previous year’s Brown decision by arguing that segregation was not as inherent to southern society as previously believed. He demonstrated that not until the 1890s did southern whites institute the rigid system of Jim Crow that segregated the races in all areas of public life. Woodward pointed out numerous instances during and after Reconstruction when blacks had access to public accommodations. Woodward’s research suggested that segregation might be eradicated through simple changes in public policies, reversing those that had created it in the not-so-distant past.

Woodward’s book spawned a number of other studies both challenging and modifying his thesis. Many of these appeared as the South waged massive resistance to combat the efforts of the Civil Rights Movement in the late 1950s and early 1960s, suggesting the depth of white racism and the difficulty of overcoming it. In North of Slavery (1961), Leon Litwack found that even before the Civil War free northern Negroes encountered segregation in schools and public accommodations, the kind of discrimination they would face in the South after slavery. Accordingly, segregation had a longer pedigree than Woodward had argued, and it transcended the South and operated nationwide. Joel Williamson’s After Slavery: The Negro in South Carolina during Reconstruction, 1861-1877 (1965) examined race relations in the Palmetto State and found Woodward’s interpretation wanting. Williamson concluded that freed blacks encountered segregation soon after emancipation. He asserted that specific laws were not necessary to keep the races apart because segregation was maintained de facto . He discovered that most white South Carolinians did not accept racial equality and intended to adopt segregation as soon as blacks gained their freedom from slavery.

Howard N. Rabinowitz did not focus so much on the timing of segregation as on its form. In Race Relations in the Urban South, 1865-1890 (1978), Rabinowitz argued that racial segregation appeared as a substitute for racial exclusion. Thus, in the post-emancipation South freed blacks gained access for the first time to public facilities such as public transportation and health and welfare services. Accordingly, segregation should not be perceived as a punitive measure but as a means of extending services, albeit separate and unequal, to African Americans.

To summarize, historians generally agree that de facto segregation both preceded and accompanied de jure segregation, but that racial interaction in public spheres was less rigid than it became after the 1890s. Whatever its form, however, Jim Crow was always separate and never equal; it constituted a means for reinforcing black subordination and white supremacy. Whatever the exact beginning of segregation, southern whites shared a broad consensus for preserving it. It required a mass, black-led, Civil Rights Movement, combined with the power and renewed willingness of the national government, to overthrow Jim Crow.

Steven F. Lawson was a Fellow at the National Humanities Center in 1987-88. He holds a Ph.D. in American History from Columbia University and is currently Professor of History at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Dr. Lawson is author of Black Ballots: Voting Rights in the South, 1944-1969 (1976), which won the Phi Alpha Theta prize for best first book; In Pursuit of Power: Southern Blacks and Electoral Politics, 1965-1982 (1985); Civil Rights Crossroads: Nation, Community, and the Black Freedom Struggle (2003) ; and Running for Freedom: Civil Rights and Black Politics in America since 1941 (3 rd ed., 2009).

Illustration credits

To cite this essay: Lawson, Steven F. “Segregation.” Freedom’s Story, TeacherServe©. National Humanities Center. DATE YOU ACCESSED ESSAY. <https://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/freedom/1865-1917/essays/segregation.htm>

NHC Home   |   TeacherServe   |   Divining America   |   Nature Transformed   |   Freedom’s Story About Us   |   Site Guide   |   Contact   |   Search

TeacherServe® Home Page National Humanities Center 7 Alexander Drive, P.O. Box 12256 Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709 Phone: (919) 549-0661 Fax: (919) 990-8535 Copyright © National Humanities Center. All rights reserved. Revised: May 2010 nationalhumanitiescenter.org

Reading Lists +

The review +, segregation compounds the effects of poverty.

7 August 2024

Research by

• Kareem Haggag
• Bryan A. Stuart
• Stereotypes
• Wealth Inequality
• Behavioral Economics

In Northern cities, railroad tracks that defined Black neighborhoods remain boundaries against economic mobility

During the Great Migration of Black people from the South to the North, which began in the early 20th century, railroad tracks that created closed-off areas served as  physical barriers to create segregated neighborhoods in many of the landing spots such as Chicago and Detroit. Research published in 2011 in the American Economic Journal made the case that railroads — one of the great economic leaps forward of the 19th century — continue to provide a framework for segregated cities.

Study author Elizabeth Ananat estimated that today’s neighborhoods that are still defined by a high level of such railroad-tracked segregation cause “cities to have Black populations with worse present-day characteristics, both at the top and the bottom of the education/income distribution.”

Segregation Not a Thing of the Past

A work ing paper by University of Texas at Austin’s Eric Chyn, UCLA Anderson’s Kareem Haggag and the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s Bryan A. Stuart builds on Ananat’s “railroad division index”  to advance a case for how segregation continues to impede intergenerational economic advancement, especially for Black children from poorer families. They link the level of RDI in 121 northern metro areas identified by Ananat with generational income data on parents and their grown children.

Chyn, Haggag and Stuart compare the average income of parents — based on nationwide percentile rank — with the IRS-reported income levels for their adult children (born between 1978 and 1983) at ages 31 to 37. 

By using the RDI as a proxy for the level of segregation, the researchers are able to tease out the extent to which rearing children in a segregated community impacts the upward mobility of the next generation. They find that a child whose parents are extremely poor — the first percentile in pretax income — and whose family home is in an area that is more segregated leads to income rank being 4.5 percentile points lower than if the child had grown up in a less segregated area.

That translates to those children landing in the 22nd percentile for income as adults ($12,666 annual household income) rather than the 27th percentile ($17,500 household income). 

In a back of the envelope estimate, the researchers suggest that if racial segregation disappeared, the Black child who makes it to the 27th percentile for income as an adult would instead make it all the way to the 50th percentile.

When parents are in the 25th income percentile, growing up in the more segregated area causes a 4 percentile point drop in the adult child’s eventual income rank. This negative impact is still evident when the parents’ income is at the 50th and 75th percentile.

The researchers find that white children growing up with lower-income parents also pay a segregation penalty, but less so, or a 3.3 percentile point penalty for growing up in a segregated area and in a home at the 1st percentile of income.

That is a 9 percentile drop from where the white adult child would otherwise land if they hadn’t grown up in a segregated area. By comparison, the percentile decline for the Black child with the same variables is 17%.

More Segregation Means Less Social Mobility

Chyn, Haggag and Stuart extend their study by applying the same RDI sorting to look at key drivers of social mobility: incarceration, teenage pregnancy and educational test levels.

Black boys whose parents’ income level falls at the 1st percentile and who live in an area with above-average segregation have a 29% greater probability of being incarcerated. For white boys growing up in poverty and extreme segregation, their probability of incarceration rises by 22%.

For both Black and white teenage girls, the probability of becoming pregnant rises 22% when their parents are extremely poor and their home is in a more segregated area. 

Test scores were also lower for these groups. The authors cite this as evidence that a decrease in human capital at a young age suggests that “the segregation-induced decline in upward mobility does not arise simply because of worse labor market discrimination or access to jobs,” as some other research has posited.

That educational loss may be, in part, a function of less public funding for more segregated communities. Chyn, Haggag and Stuart find that per capita government spending is 39% lower in metro areas with higher segregation. Education takes the biggest funding hit, followed by public safety and health care spending. 

Moreover, using national survey data of racial attitudes, the authors build on prior research that finds segregation impacts cross-race perceptions. They find that when there is more segregation, there is a significant increase in negative attitudes of non-Black people toward Black people. And perhaps not surprisingly, less support for government support of Black people. 

“Although Black-White racial segregation in the U.S. has declined since 1970, it remains a defining feature of most cities, which suggests policy efforts to reduce its harmful impacts have significant potential for enhancing economic growth and equality,” the authors conclude.

Featured Faculty

Assistant Professor of Behavioral Decision Making

About the Research

Ananat, E.O., (2011). The wrong side (s) of the tracks: The causal effects of racial segregation on urban poverty and inequality . American Economic Journal: Applied Economics , 3 (2), 34-66.

Chyn, E., Haggag, K., Stuart, B.A. (2023). The Effects of Racial Segregation on Intergenerational Mobility: Evidence from Historical Railroad Placement . 

News Coverage / Anderson Research

The Dirty Secret Behind Companies’ Carbon-Emissions Disclosures

Why Remote Work Could Lead to Less Innovation

Suggested Articles

Closely Held Political Beliefs Often Immune to Conflicting Information – Even From Trusted Sources

A Cash-for-Clunkers Program Could Reduce Aviation Emissions

Related articles.

Go Ahead, You Decide How Much Wealth Should Be Redistributed

Can modern decision theory, paired with a half-century-old thought experiment, help make a more just society?

Why So Few Women in STEM Fields: The Role of Middle-School Peer Influence

Notion that boys are innately better at math undermines girls’ self-belief

Americans Want to Help Poor People, but Only the Hard-Working Poor

Biases around race, nation-of-origin and disability are small compared to the preference for helping the diligent

Perceived Gender Equity: How 2016’s Election Widened a Gap

How vote outcomes affect feelings about society

Pardon Our Interruption

As you were browsing something about your browser made us think you were a bot. There are a few reasons this might happen:

• You've disabled JavaScript in your web browser.
• You're a power user moving through this website with super-human speed.
• You've disabled cookies in your web browser.
• A third-party browser plugin, such as Ghostery or NoScript, is preventing JavaScript from running. Additional information is available in this support article .

To regain access, please make sure that cookies and JavaScript are enabled before reloading the page.

Political Polarization and Finance

We review an empirical literature that studies how political polarization affects financial decisions. We first discuss the degree of partisan segregation in finance and corporate America, the mechanisms through which partisanship may influence financial decisions, and available data sources to infer individuals' partisan leanings. We then describe and discuss the empirical evidence. Our review suggests an economically large and often growing partisan gap in the financial decisions of households, corporate executives, and financial intermediaries. Partisan alignment between individuals explains team and financial relationship formation, with initial evidence suggesting that high levels of partisan homogeneity may be associated with economic costs. We conclude by proposing several promising directions for future research.

No funding was received for this project. We are grateful to William Cassidy, Maarten Meeuwis, and William Mullins for sharing their comments. We also thank Terry Cheng and Anushri Jain for excellent research assistance. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

MARC RIS BibTeΧ

Download Citation Data

Working Groups

More from nber.

In addition to working papers , the NBER disseminates affiliates’ latest findings through a range of free periodicals — the NBER Reporter , the NBER Digest , the Bulletin on Retirement and Disability , the Bulletin on Health , and the Bulletin on Entrepreneurship  — as well as online conference reports , video lectures , and interviews .

• Share full article

What Killed Harmony Ball-Stribling?

One woman’s death reveals the myriad ways in which social and economic factors endanger pregnant women in the United States.

Byron Stribling with a quilt dedicated to Harmony, his wife, and Harper, the daughter they’d planned to have. Ms. Stribling died in 2021, eight months pregnant, on the side of the road while her husband and paramedics gave her CPR. Credit...

Supported by

By Roni Caryn Rabin

Photographs by Rory Doyle

Roni Caryn Rabin reported from Belzoni, Miss. She has published a series of articles examining the causes of the maternal mortality crisis in the United States.

• Aug. 11, 2024 Updated 11:53 a.m. ET

The last day Byron Stribling spent with his wife, Harmony, was the Fourth of July in 2021. A great day, he always says.

The holiday fell on a Sunday. The congregation at their church in Belzoni, a small town in the Mississippi Delta, blessed the couple and prayed for a safe delivery for Ms. Ball-Stribling. She was eight months pregnant and scheduled to have a C-section five days later.

At a barbecue, the Striblings feasted on ribs, collard greens, potato salad and cornbread. But around midnight, Ms. Ball-Stribling threw up and said her chest hurt. “She wanted to lay down, but I told her, ‘We need to go somewhere,’” Mr. Stribling, 32, recalled.

Ambulances in the Delta are unreliable, and the only hospital in Belzoni closed over a decade ago. So they piled into his car and sped toward Yazoo City, Miss., the closest town with an emergency room, about 30 miles away.

On the way, Ms. Ball-Stribling had a seizure. Panicked, Mr. Stribling called 911. The dispatcher told Mr. Stribling to pull over and start CPR, so he slammed on the brakes and pumped her chest on the side of the road until an ambulance came. But he already knew he had lost her, there on the shoulder of Route 49-W.

What killed Harmony Ball-Stribling? The death certificate says the cause of death was complications of pre-eclampsia, a life-threatening blood pressure disorder that can develop during pregnancy, exacerbated by hypertension and hardening of the arteries. But that’s not the whole story.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and  log into  your Times account, or  subscribe  for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber?  Log in .

Want all of The Times?  Subscribe .

Advertisement