Abstract
Forty years afterBrown v. Topeka Board of Education, the U.S. Supreme Court's decision declaring de jure segregated schools unconstitutional, we are still seeking the full implementation of that decree. Most Americans accepted limited implementation ofBrown, and the degree of acceptance is split along racial lines. Racial dialogue has changed. White Americans, who control the desegregation process, develop integration plans to their advantage. School integration was not implemented until after passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and peaked in 1972. Today, school integration is declining due to a backlash, changing demographics, and declining resources. However,Brown was a success because it rid the country of legalized state segregation by race in education and in other areas of public policy. The Court could merge the equality standards ofPlessy v. Ferguson and the integration standards ofBrown to give us quality integrated education.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aptheker, H. (1973).The Education of Black People by W. E. B. DuBois. New York: Monthly Review Press.
Ashmore, H. S. (1994).Civil Rights Wrongs: A Memoir of Race and Politics, 1944–1994. New York: Pantheon Books.
Bell, D. (1989).And We Are not Saved. New York: Basic Books.
Benveniste, G. (1989).Mastering the Politics of Planning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Berry, M. F. (1994).Black Resistance White Law: A History of Constitutional Racism in America. New York: Allen Lane, Penquin Press.
Billingsley, A. (1994).Climbing Jacob's Ladder: The Enduring Legacy of African-american Families. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Bissinger, H. G. (1994). We're all racist now.New York Times Magazine (), pp. 27–33, 43, 50, 53–54, 56.
Blase, J. J. (1989). The teacher's political orientation vis-a-vis the principal: The micropolitics of the school. In J. Hannaway and R. Crowson (eds.),The Politics of Reforming School Administration, pp. 113–126. New York: Falmer Press.
Bowles, S., and Gintis, H. (1986).Democracy and Capitalism. New York: Basic Books.
Brown, F. (1979). Major changes in school integration litigation, 1954–1979.Educational Administration Quarterly 15(2): 76–97.
Brown, F. (1982). Improving schooling through Title I: A model for change.Education and Urban Society: 125–142.
Brown, F. (1990). The political language of education and the disadvantaged. In S. L. Jacobson and J. M. Conway (eds.),Educational Leadership in an Age of Reform. New York: Longman.
Brown, F. (1991). School choice and the politics of decline.Education and Urban Society 23(2): 115–118.
Brown, F. (in press).Brown and educational policymaking.Journal of Negro Education.
Brown, F. and Contreras, A. R. (1991). Deregulation and privatization of education: A flawed concept.Education and Urban Society 23(2): 144–158.
Brown, F., and Smith, E. (1976). The allocation of educational environment, ability grouping and the law,Urban Education, 11(2): 201–216.
Brown, S. E., and Cannon, K. (1993). Educational malpractice actions: A remedy for what ails our schools?West Education Law Quarterly 2(2): 246–259.
Carter, D. G., and Sandler, J. P. (1991). Access, choice, quality and integration.Education and Urban Society 23(2): 175–184.
Celis, W. (1994). 40 years afterBrown, segregation persists.New York Times (May 18), p. B8.
Chambers, J. (1994).Brown, has anything changed? North Carolina Central University, May 31.
Coleman, J. S., and Thomas, J. F. (1992).Rational Choice Theory. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Condit, C. M., and Lucaites, J. L. (1993).Crafting Equality: America's Anglo-African World. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Coons, J. E., and Sugarman, S. D. (1979).Education by Choice: The Care for Family Control. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Cose, E. (1993).The Rage of a Privileged Class. New York: HarperCollins.
Crain, R. L. (1969).The Politics of School Desegregation. New York: Doubleday.
Crozier, M. (1984).The Trouble with America. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Davis, M. D., and Clark, H. R. (1994).Thurgood Marshall: Warrior at the Bar, Rebel on the Bench. New York: Citadel Press.
Dayton, J. (1994). Desegregation: Is the court preparing to say it is finished?West's Education Law Quarterly 3(1): 48–56.
DeParle, J. (1990). Talk of government being out to get Blacks falls on more attentive ears.New York Times (), p. A12.
Dred Scott v. Sanford. (1857). 60 U.S. 383, at 407.
Duster, T. (1990).Backdoor to Eugenics. New York: Routledge.
Edelman, M. (1980).The Symbolic Uses of Politics. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Education USA. (1994, June) ED finds magnet school boom but little effect on integration, p. 7.
Ellison, R. (1964).Invisible Man. New York: Signet Books.
Failer, J. L., et al. (1993). Only one oar in the water: The political failure of school desegregation in Yonkers, New York.Educational Policy 7(3): 276–296.
Fowler, F. C. (1988). The politics of school reform in Tennessee: A view from the classroom. In W. L. Boyd and C. T. Kerchner (eds.)The Politics of Excellence and Choice in Education, pp. 183–197. New York: Falmer Press.
Franklin, J. H. (1994).Brown, Has Anything Changed? North Carolina Central University, May 3.
Garrett v. Board of Education. (1991). 775 Federal Supplement 1004, 1006 (Eastern Federal District, Michigan).
Gifford, B. R. (1989). Allocation of opportunities and politics of testing: A policy analytic perspective. In B. R. Gifford (ed.),Test Policy and the Politics of Opportunity Allocation: The Workplace and the Law, pp. 3–32. Boston: Kluger Academic Publishers.
Hacker, A. (1992).Two Nations: Black and White, Separate, Hostile, Unequal. New York: Scribner's.
Herbert, B. (1994). AfterBrown, what?New York Times (May 18), p. A15.
Hess, G. A. (1993). Race and the liberal perspective in Chicago school reform. In C. Marshall (ed.)The New Politics of Race and Gender, pp. 85–96. Washington, DC: Falmer Press.
Hinds, M. D. (1994). In race case, panel picked to improve Philadelphia schools.New York Times (May 11), p. A13.
Iannaccone, L. (1988). From equity to excellence: Political context and dynamics. In W. L. Boyd and C. T. Kerchner (eds.),The Politics of Excellence and Choice in Education, pp. 49–65. New York: Falmer Press.
Jalali, R., and Lipset, S. M. (1993). Racial and ethnic conflicts: A global perspective. In D. Caraley & C. Harris (eds.),New World Politics: Power, Ethnicity and Democracy, pp. 55–76. New York: Academy of Political Science.
Jarvis, S. R. (1992).Brown and the afrocentric curriculum.The Yale Law Journal 101: 1285–1304.
Jones, C. (1994). Years on integration road: New views of an old goal.New York Times (April 10), pp. 1, 15.
Jones-Wilson, F. C. (1990). Race, realities, and American education: Two sides of the coin.Journal of Negro Education 59(3): 119–133.
Judso, G. (1994). Opposition from suburbs dooms school plan.New York Times (May 4), p. A12.
Kluger, R. (1975).Simple Justice, New York: Vintage.
Kozol, J. (1991).Savage Inequalities and Children in American Schools. New York, Crown.
Lewis, M. (1978).The Culture of Inequality. New York: Meridian Books.
McCall, N. (1994).Makes Me Wanna Holler: A Young Black Man in America. New York: Random House.
Metz, M. H. (1994). Desegregation as necessity and challenge.Journal of Negro Education 63(1): 64–76.
Milliken v. Bradley. (1974). 418 U.S. 717.
Mills, K. I. (1994). Black adults see grim future for Black children, survey finds.The Herald-Sun (Durham, NC, May 27), p. A6.
Myrdal, G. (1944).An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy, Vol. 2. New York: Harper & Row.
Nasar, S. (1994). Fall bond trader sees himself as outsider and a scapegoat.New York Times (June 6), pp. 1, 14.
New York Times. (1994). Supreme court ups and downs: The voting rights wreckers (July 1), p.
Noblit, G. W., and Eaker, D. J. (19). Evaluation designs as political strategies. In J. Hannaway and R. Crowson (eds.),The Politics of Reforming School Administration, pp. 127–138. New York: Falmer Press.
Oakes, J. (1985).Keeping Track: How Schools Structure Inequality. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Ogbu, J. U. (1991). Immigrant and involuntary minorities in comparative perspective. InMinority Status and Schooling pp. 3–36. New York: Garland, 1991.
Orfield, G. (1994).The Growth of Segregation in American Schools: Changing Patterns of Segregation and Poverty since 1968. Alexandria, VA: National School Boards Association.
Orfield, G., and Ashkinaze, C. (1991).The Closing Door: Conservative Policy and Black Opportunity. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Peterkin, R. S., and Jackson, J. E. (1994). Public school choice: Implications for African-American students.Journal of Negro Education 63(1): 126–138.
Phillips, K. (1990).The Politics of Rich and Poor: Wealth and the American Electorate in the Reagan Aftermath. New York: Random House.
Plessy v. Ferguson. (1896). 163 U.S. 537.
Ravitch, D. (1985).The Schools We Deserve. New York: Basic Books.
Ray, A. A. (1994).Disciplinary Problems as a Function of Satisfaction: A Study of Black Male High School Students, unpublished dissertation, State University of New York at Buffalo.
Rist, R. C. (1978).The Invisible Children: School Integration in American Society. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Rist, R. C. (1979).Desegregated Schools: Appraisals of an American Experiment. New York: Academic Press.
Schmidt, P. (1994a). Five on Wausau board voted out over busing stands.Education Week:
Schmidt, P. (1994b). 40 years afterBrown, integration is elusive goal: Emphasis on equal opportunity urged.Education Week 13(35): 1, 14.
Sleeter, C. (1994). White racism.Multicultural Education 5–8.
Smothers, R. (1990). In pupil “tracks”, many see a means of resegregation.New York Times (February 18), p. 5.
Spring, J. (1992). Knowledge and power in research into the politics of urban education. In J. G. Gilbulka, R. J. Reed, and K. K. Wong (eds.)The Politics of Urban Education in the United States, pp. 45–56. Washington, DC: Falmer Press.
Stack, C. B. (1975).All Our Kin: Strategies for Survival in a Black Community. New York: Harper & Row.
Stevens, F. I. (1993, January).Opportunity to Learn: Issues of Equity for Poor and Minority Students. Washington, D.C.: National Center for Educational Statistical, U.S. Department of Education.
Takaki, R. (in press).A different mirror: A history of multicultural America.
Tatum, B. D. (1992). Talking about race, learning about racism: The application of racial identity development theory in the classroom.Harvard Educational Review 62(1): 1–24.
Van Dijk, T. A. (1993).Elite Discourse and Racism. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Vergon, C. B. (1989). The evolution of the school desegregation movement and the implications for equity and excellence. In D. Carter (ed.),Equity and Excellence in Education: A Reassessment, pp. 11–28. Indiana University Press.
Vergon, C. B. (1990). School desegregation: Lessons from three decades of experience.Educational Policy 23(1): 22–49.
Williams, P. J. (1991).The Alchemy of Race and Rights. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Willie, C. V. (1978). The inclining significance of race.Society 15(1):
Wilson, W. J. (1980).The Declining Significance of Race. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Wong, K. K. (1994). Linking governance reform to schooling opportunities for the disadvantaged.Educational Administration Quarterly 30(2): 153–177.
Yeakey, C. C. (1993). The social consequences of public policy.The Journal of Negro Education 62(2): 125–143.
Yeakey, C. C., and Bennett, C. T. (1990). Race, schooling, and class in American society.Journal of Negro Education 59(1): 3–18.
Zweigenhaft, R. L., and Domhoff, G. W. (1991).Blacks in the White Establishment: A Study of Race and Class in America. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Brown, F. Brown and the politics of equality. Urban Rev 26, 227–242 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02354370
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02354370