Dismantling Desegregation: The Quiet Reversal of Brown V. Board of Education [Paperback]

Gary Orfield (Author), Susan E. Eaton (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1565844017 | ISBN-13: 978-1565844018 | Publication Date: September 1, 1997

Dismantling Desegregation explains the consequences of resegregation and offers direction for a more constructive route toward an equitable future. By citing case studies of ten school districts across the country, Orfield and Eaton uncover the demise of what many feel have been the only legally enforceable routes of access and opportunity for millions of school children in America.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Harvard-based authors observe that recent judicial decisions on desegregation have given up on the reformist aspects of the landmark Brown desegregation case: now integration is seen not as a goal but as merely "a temporary punishment for historic violations." This, they add, mainly affects the South, where city-suburban desegregation efforts have progressed; in Northern cities, by contrast, a 1974 decision barred such regional desegregation, effectively blocking Brown. While a significant number of blacks are now seeking parity more than integration?an updated form of "separate but equal"?the authors argue that segregation today means profound educational inequality linked to poverty and lack of political power. A good chunk of the book, aimed mainly at experts, consists of detailed case studies of desegregation efforts in places such as Norfolk, Va. (where undoing integration did not improve education), Charlotte, N.C. (where forces for and against integration still seem balanced), and Kansas City (where new spending has brought modest gains). The authors conclude with some possibly good, if not yet politically feasible, advice: desegregation plans, to be effective, must bridge cities and suburbs, and, because school segregation is based on residential segregation, a long-term plan to integrate communities could work better than busing students.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

What ever happened to Brown v. Board of Education? The director and assistant director of the Harvard Project on School Desegregation demonstrate that although Brown is widely praised, courts, politicians, and school districts are racing back to "separate but equal" education based on dubious assumptions and evidence. Orfield and Eaton outline desegregation's legal history, paying particular attention to recent Supreme Court decisions (Dowell 1991, Pitts 1992, and Jenkins 1995) central to the current "dismantling desegregation" campaign, and compare this campaign's logic and rhetoric with the arguments used to justify Jim Crow. After examining the realities and results of increasing school (and housing) segregation in the 1990s, the authors use research by Harvard seminar participants to examine how desegregation, compensatory education, and resegregation decisions have worked in Norfolk, Charlotte, Kansas City, Detroit, Austin, Little Rock, and Maryland's Montgomery and Prince Georges counties. Brown's constitutional target, Orfield and Eaton note, was a "structure of opportunity" from which minorities were excluded; although better desegregation plans could be drawn, giving up on desegregation now would restore the peculiar American brand of apartheid and reimpose its profoundly inequitable distribution of opportunities. Mary Carroll --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: New Press, The (September 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565844017
• ISBN-13: 978-1565844018
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #684,373 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Informative, August 10, 2006

By 

Kenneth Auger "Chip" (San Diego CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dismantling Desegregation: The Quiet Reversal of Brown V. Board of Education (Paperback)

I like many have long felt a sense of pride in our country's apparent commitment to ideals when we annually commemorate Brown v. Board of Education. However, I've been wondering why, after Brown and the years of social turmoil we endured to integrate our schools, that our schools are racially segregated? The authors of "Dismantling..." seem to suggest that we have basically abandoned one of the most cherished ideals of the Republic, equality. That we did this is apparent. Determining the answer to the question why we resegregated our schools to the reader. Though some helpful information on reaching this determination is presented

"Dismantling..." focuses on how we've abandoned the Brown (1954) principle "separate is inherently unequal" and have steadily moved back to Plessy v Ferguson (1896) "separate but equal". The book provides significant amounts of historical perspective and traces the reversing trend through Supreme Court decisions from Brown to 1995. The authors provide a large amount of detail on the effects of these decisions on our schools and at-risk children.

Make no mistake. This book is decidedly one-side. However, this fact does not necessarily invalidate the information presented or the conclusions drawn. I would have appreciated inclusion of more material on the integration successes, however small they may be, and where these successes are occurring.

A pleasant surprising inclusion was the following paragraph which I believe is the most succinctly stated argument that desegregating our schools is desirable and probably necessary. "There is never enough money to satisfy all needs in any school district. All school districts face strong competition for funds, desirable programs, facilities, and the best teachers. Normal politics produces budgets and administrative decisions slanted in favor of the communities with the most power. Administrators and boards tend to reward communities with resources, skills, and access because it this constituency that can most damage the reputation and community support of school officials by using communication skills and their ability to mobilize the electorate. In the long run the weakest communities almost always lose. Resources flow toward power like water flows downhill. Money, good teachers and administrations, and special programs are always scarce and there is always competition for these resources. Assuming that the most powerless communities with the most disadvantaged students and families will receive equal priority over the long run is like assuming that water will flow uphill."

"Dismantling Desegregation" is a dense book. It was apparently written for educational professionals rather than general readers such as myself, who are not directly involved in school desegregation issues and who do not have children in school. For the professional I'm sure it is a valuable information resource. For the rest of us, this book offers interesting information, often valuable, but it is not an easy or pleasant read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a readable (mostly) academic book!, March 26, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Dismantling Desegregation: The Quiet Reversal of Brown V. Board of Education (Paperback)

This is an excellent book that I sat down to read for a class and it turned out to be actually compelling in many parts. The case studies (most of them) were excellent and persuasive. The book would have been better from more of this style all around, and maybe some connections -- some of the chapters were dull, but overall, a really complete overview that gets you thinking.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, cogent analysis, March 22, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Dismantling Desegregation: The Quiet Reversal of Brown V. Board of Education (Paperback)

This is a fabulous overview of our nation's wholescale abandonment of policies and practices that had created desegregated schools in many cities and regions. The book, while scholarly, is really useful for activists, parents and other groups wanting to hang onto racial integration. I recommend it to anyone who cares about this topic.