Why did the desegregation of schools become a major problem in the USA in the 1950's?

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3rd January 2004

(History Coursework)

Assignment 1 : Model B : Civil Rights in the USA

1a) Why did the desegregation of schools become a major problem in the USA in the 1950’s?

The desegregation of schools became a major problem during the 1950s because education is a crucial organisation in any society as it fully creates the shape of future generations. The desegregation of schools was one of the two main issues the Civil Rights movement targeted to improve. The other was transport. The Civil Rights Movement wanted to end racial prejudice and discrimination and overthrow generations of racism and hate. To succeed in doing this, there had to be progress in other areas, but there wasn’t.                  

        However, the desegregation of schools provided a framework in which change could happen. So the NAACP appealed to the Supreme Court in 1952 to desegregate schools. At first they did not succeed but they tried again and eventually in 1954 the Civil Rights movement succeeded. The Supreme Court ruled that separate schooling was not equal and therefore unconstitutional. The case was labelled Brown v Topeka and after this event occurred there was a lot of tension as not everybody was happy about having desegregated schools. It didn’t help that there was media frenzy, with the spread of television. Most blacks and some neutral, sympathetic whites were delighted with the decision.

                            However, many whites in America were deeply angered. The Supreme Court decision was deeply resented by most of the Southern States and this led to a lot of tension between the federal government and the individual states. Even though schools were desegregated there was still racial tension. When public school segregation ended President Eisenhower reflected widespread opinion when he said, “you cannot change peoples hearts merely by law.” What he meant was that even if laws are changed, that doesn’t mean peoples attitudes will.

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                            The Supreme Court decision ran ahead of public opinion. Four years after the ruling was passed in 1956 there still were no desegregated schools. This anti discrimination measure of desegregated schools only tended to increase racial tension and not diminish it. For example when black children were on their way to desegregated schools they were always jeered at and insulted. In a town in Arkansas called Little Rock during the year 1957 federal troops had to be deployed to protect black students because white people were ...

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