Desegregation Historiography

Equality and equal opportunity are two terms that have changed or have been redefined over the last 100 years in America. The fathers of our constitution wanted to establish justice and secure liberty for the people of the United States. They wrote about freedom and equality for men, but historically it has not been practiced. In the twentieth century large steps have been made to make the United States practice the ideals declared in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The major changes following Rosa Park 's refusal to give up her bus seat to a young white man and the Brown v. Board of Education trial in 1954. These Supreme Court rulings altered American society and began the desegregation and integration movements. In the 1950 's many writers took interest in writing about segregation, desegregation, integration and black history in general. Many historians write about segregation still existing today and the problems in which integration never had the chance to correct.
Many works about desegregation were written in the years to follow, was it a good idea and would it last? Murray Friedman, Roger Meltzer and Charles Miller put a collection of essays together in the mid 70 's discussing integration and the many different views pertaining to desegregation in its first fifteen years. Major changes have taken place in American lives that have not been fully absorbed in our thinking that cause confusion and bitterness. The authors agree that the original goal of civil rights forces was the dismantling of school systems segregated under law, despite the strong resistance, was successful in some places. Pennsylvania is one state that issued programs to integrate schools that were successful. Another topic addressed in New Perspectives on School Integration is the study of ethnic groups in schools. At the time programs only study the present or dominant ethnic group at a specific school. It changes from school to school rather than teaching ethnicities of many

Bibliography: Friedman, M., R. Meltzer, C. Miller. New Perspectives on School Integration. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1979 Harris, Ian M. Criteria for Evaluating School Desegregation in Milwaukee. The Journal of Negro Education, Vol.52, No.4 (Autumn, 1983), 423-435. Kozol, Jonathan. Savage Inequalities: Children in America 's Schools. New York, New York: Crown Publishers Inc., 1992. Samuels, Albert L., Black Colleges and the Challenge to Desegregation. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 2004.