Education as a Battlefield: School Desegregation in the United States (1954-1980)

Authors

  • Aurora Bosch Universitat de València

Keywords:

School desegregation, United States, mass white resistance, racial liberalism.

Abstract

In the modern struggle against segregation and racism in the United States, education played a pivotal role from 1954 onwards, after the Supreme Court declared school segregation anti-constitutional. This article analyses the context that made the Brown vs Topeka ruling possible from an historical, political and social context, the immense white resistance it sparked amongst southern segregationists and the notable progress made in school integration in the 1960s and 70s thanks to the «racial liberalism» in the Democratic Party. It also explores the clear setbacks from 1974 onwards driven by conservative Republicanism that exploited white racial resentment across the nation against federal welfare policies for minorities.

Keywords: School desegregation, United States, mass white resistance, racial liberalism.

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Issue

No. 34 (2019): juliol-desembre

Section

Monographic theme

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