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Examples Of Segregation In Schools

Decent Essays

Segregation Up Close and Local The correlation between racism and the ability of the U.S. population to accept the differences between the races has obviously been a long term project. Despite the desegregation of schools in the south after the ruling of Brown vs. Board of Education, much reservation was apparent in the willingness of people to allow the mixing of the races. Many works of literature, including Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, demonstrated the racial divide in education. A prime example of this would be to examine the history of our closest metropolitan neighbor Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville schools provide a great example of how public schools dealt with integration and the challenge of changing de facto discrimination. …show more content…

Louisville began integrating in 1961 but with not much avail. Despite the desegregation, the idea of white superiority was still fresh in the minds of many. This was evident by the numerous private white schools being built and the mass migration of wealthy whites to the Floyd Central schools, located across the river in Southern Indiana. Floyd Central was rebuilt in 1967 because by 1961 the migration of 200 plus students per year were flowing into the district. This exodus was also greatly contributed to the construction of the Sherman-Minton Bridge in 1962, linking Louisville to Floyd County, IN. Glen Barks, the first superintendent of the consolidated school district made absolute use of his district’s and surrounding townships non incorporated status. He immediately went about reducing transportation costs and supported whole-heartedly the refusal to integrate with near-by New Albany refusing to bus students. Fear and prejudice of blacks was a common component of the characters in To Kill A Mockingbird. In small town Maycomb, AL race was an intense factor that justified most peoples actions towards blacks. “You aren't really a nigger-lover, then, are you?”(11.107-109) “I certainly am. I do my best to love everybody.”(11.107-109) Atticus and his housekeeper Calpurnia took a different view point and faced the criticism in full wrath from the rest of the town. Atticus was a humble man who raised his children to

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