Schools were originally separated as a result of the Plessy v. Ferguson ruling, which did not prohibit the Jim Crow South from the outright segregation of races. This Supreme Court ruling was later overturned in Brown v. Board of Education, which mandated that all schools be integrated immediately. Unfortunately, the entrenched, systematic oppression of the American South made school desegregation a long battle with many obstacles along the way.
The state of Virginia adopted policies of “massive resistance” in response to the Brown v. Board of Education ruling. Firstly, the compulsory education law was amended in Virginia so that parents would be able to keep their children from attending integrated schooling. Additionally, schools that were integrated were often closed, and funds were diverted to private, all-white schools. As a result, many African American students were left without
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Although North Carolina did not actively pass legislation to outright combat integration, schools were desegregated at a sluggish pace. North Carolina passed ‘free choice programs’ that allowed African Americans to attend any school. However, because of the geographic divide (for example, North Charlotte is mostly black, while South Charlotte is mainly white), most African Americans were hesitant to attend the majority-white schools. Displeased with the progress of integration, federal authorities introduced new methods of forced integration. For Charlotte in particular, busing was used to forcefully integrate the African American student body with the white student body. However, forced busing also came with additional setbacks. For instance, black faculty or staff were often fired or demoted as schools integrated. Furthermore, black students were still discriminated against in their new schools, and there were some protests from black students who sought