School Diversity Overview
Integration is creative, and is therefore more profound and far-reaching than desegregation…Integration is genuine intergroup, interpersonal doing. Desegregation then rightly is only a short range goal. Integration is the ultimate goal of our national community. Thus as America pursues the important task of respecting the letter of the law, i.e., compliance with desegregation decisions, she must be equally concerned with the spirit of the law, i.e., commitment to the democratic dream of integration.
— Martin Luther King, Jr., The Ethical Demands for Integration (1962)
The strength of our nation depends on how well our education system prepares young people with the foundational skills and dispositions needed to support healthy political, social, and economic institutions. Believing democracy depended on an “educated population that could understand political and social issues and would participate in civic life, vote wisely, protect their rights and freedoms, and resist tyrants and demagogues,” founding leaders such as Thomas Jefferson and John Adams proposed establishing a system of public education to reach as many people as possible.
Because the U.S. Constitution does not give the federal government expressed power over education, however, the American education system is more decentralized and unequal than the average modern democracy. Due to our history of slavery and racial segregation, there are wide differences in how states run and fund public schools and, thus, wide gaps in outcomes for students based on their socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity. This has presented a complicated challenge for desegregating schools and ensuring states continue to prioritize and invest in meaningful integration.
There are many aspects of integration, not just race and ethnicity. The U.S. has made great progress in integrating schools by sex/gender and disability, for example, as a result of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The two areas where our county struggle the most are race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. This table from a 2022 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office demonstrates the overlap between these two variables in our schools.
This data shows the extent to which Hispanic, Black, and American Indian/Alaska Native groups are overrepresented in the low-income population. This link is not coincidental, it is the direct result of historical government action and inaction.
As our country becomes increasingly more diverse and the economy becomes increasingly interdependent on other regions and countries, our children—our future leaders and workforce—will need skills to be able to effectively communicate, negotiate, cooperate, share resources, serve, and understand other perspectives. According to U.S. Census Bureau National Population Projections (2020), the Non-Hispanic white population will continue to shrink due to falling birth rates and rising death rates of the greying population.
By 2045, Non-Hispanic whites are no longer projected to make up the majority of the U.S. population. By 2060, they are projected to make up only one-third of the population of children under 18 years old.
Colleges, universities, and a large number of Fortune 500 corporations have used affirmative action and DEI policies over time because they get better results working with a diverse population of students or workers. In tackling the problem of implicit bias, research is now showing that many of the strategies that have been implemented in recent decades are ineffectual or even make matters worse.
In the social psychological literature, one of the most well-established strategies for reducing prejudice and fostering positive intergroup relations involves no training and no discussion of prejudice. Intergroup contact theory and research maintain that the key to positive intergroup relations is equal-status, cooperative, and interdependent contact with outgroup members.
— Mixed signals: The unintended effects of diversity initiatives (Dover et. al., 2020)
This indicates that one of the most impactful ways to improve intergroup relations in the workplace and society is through providing diverse environments for children as early as possible during their formative years—most importantly, through diversity in peer interactions and working relationships fostered in the classroom, sports, arts, and extracurricular activities at school. Unfortunately, the other most significant socializing environments for young people, like neighborhoods and religious institutions, are the most segregated parts of American society. Ensuring diverse public schools, then, could be the most significant action we can take to improve race relations in this country long term.
Despite the clear trend of resegregation in the data, it has not been as evident to various segments of the population depending on region, community type (urban, suburban, rural), race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or school type. The change over time has been most significant in the South because desegregation plans there had such a significant impact on the racial mix of schools. After desegregation court orders went into effect, the South became more integrated than any other region in the country.
The percentage of Black students in white schools in the South peaked around 1986-1988 and began to decrease rapidly in the early 1990s when court-ordered desegregation plans were lifted. This chart from the UCLA Civil Rights Project’s 2024 national report shows that the share of Black and Latino students in majority white schools is now lower that it was before court orders were enforced and busing plans were fully implemented in the early 70s.
In addition to court orders being lifted, there were other significant changes in American education policy during the late 1980s and early 1990s that influenced this trend. Public opinion shifted from concern about equality in schools to concern about the quality of schools as measured in standardized test results. There was also fairly universal concern about the racial achievement gap and the continued use of busing, but major disagreements about how to tackle the issues.
According to the Civil Rights Project (2019), “it is possible that white people could perceive an increase in interracial contact even though students of color are increasingly segregated.” Consider the racial composition of the typical student of each race/ethnicity in the 2021:
Based on this national 2021 data, white students make up about 45% of the school-age population, Latino 28%, Black 15%, and Asian 6%. Based on the racial composition of schools, the “typical student” attends a racially imbalanced school. This mean that the typical student’s own racial/ethnic group is about 20-30 percentage points overrepresented in their school. The bulk of the imbalance appears to be with the white population of the school; for the typical Black student, the overrepresentation of Black students is mostly offset by the underrepresentation of white students, and likewise for Latino and Asian students.
All students deserve the opportunity to reach their full potential and integrated schools have been shown to best advance this goal. Recent policy initiatives regarding taxes and entitlements, fair housing, and school choice have great potential to exacerbate economic and racial/ethnic segregation, making this an especially significant moment to understand the extent and costs of segregation for children:
Segregation is a demographic and spatial reality, as described above, but, more critically, it is also a device used by a dominant group for maintaining their higher status vis-à-vis others through limiting social interaction. It is natural for families to desire the best for their children, but to the extent that those with power and advantage are able to influence and perpetuate policies in order to hoard benefits and opportunity, leaving disadvantaged children in circumstances which may dramatically influence their life courses for the worse, we must question whether we are and will be “one nation, indivisible.”
— Consequences of Segregation for Children’s Opportunity and Wellbeing (McArdle & Acevedo-Garcia, 2017)
As these trends continue, it is especially important for public school supporters and integration proponents to present ample evidence that true integration has yet to be achieved, that we can implement policies to improve it, and that investing in those policies will benefit us all.
Share Your Story!
In 2024, North Carolina schools are less integrated than they were in the1970s when court orders and busing were required to desegregate our school systems. We must push back on policies that fuel this pattern of resegregation by race and social class. Help us convince voters and policymakers that school diversity is worth fighting for!
PSFNC is looking for North Carolinians to share their stories about school diversity in NC over the years including the eras of segregation, desegregation, integration, and/or resegregation.
- We would love to hear from current or former students, educators, parents, or leaders representing all backgrounds and perspectives from all over the state.
- There are different options for how you can share to fit your preferences and time commitment.
- If you know someone who has an important story to share, please share this form with them.
- We would also welcome any recommendations for historical people we can learn more about online or with a submitted resource.
Resources
The Civil Rights Project / Proyecto Derechos Civiles (UCLA) website includes recent K-12 national reports and other resources on school diversity, and it also covers college issues like affirmative action and immigration
K-12 Education: Student Population Has Significantly Diversified, but Many Schools Remain Divided Along Racial, Ethnic, and Economic Lines issued by the U.S. GAO, 2022
Education GPS by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) includes an interactive feature and international research (select United States for national research)
The ABCs of Systemic Racism short video and interactive online booklet by Nancy Snipes Mosley of PSFNC, 2024
School Integration vs Resegregation: A Battle Worth Fighting PSFNC webinar with Jerry Wilson of CREED and James Carter of the Urban Institute, 2023
The webinar is also embedded below. The first 23 minutes is an overview followed by guest speakers focusing on case studies from Charlotte-Mecklenburg and Wake County.
References
Center on Education Policy. (2020). History and Evolution of Public Education in the US. The George Washington University Graduate School of Education and Human Development. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED606970.pdf
Chokshi, N. (2014). The most segregated schools may not be in the states you’d expect. Washington Post; The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/05/15/the-most-segregated-schools-may-not-be-in-the-states-youd-expect-2/
Dover, T. L., Kaiser, C. R., & Major, B. (2019). Mixed Signals: The unintended effects of diversity initiatives. Social Issues and Policy Review, 14(1), 152–181. The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues. https://spssi.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/sipr.12059
Frankenberg, E., Ee, J., Ayscue, J., & Orfield, G. (2019). Harming our Common Future: America’s Segregated Schools 65 Years after Brown. In The Civil Rights Project / Proyecto Derechos Civiles. UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies. https://www.civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/research/k-12-education/integration-and-diversity/harming-our-common-future-americas-segregated-schools-65-years-after-brown/Brown-65-050919v4-final.pdf
Gillespie, M. (1999). Americans Want Integrated Schools, But Oppose School Busing. Gallup.com. https://news.gallup.com/poll/3577/americans-want-integrated-schools-oppose-school-busing.aspx
Hannah-Jones, N. (2015). Apostrophes [Author reading video]. In YouTube: Longreads. https://youtu.be/Iw0skHB1rBc
Holoien, D., Alegre, J., Holoien, T., Jacoby-Senghor, D., Prentice, D., & Shelton, J. (2013). Do Differences Make a Difference? The effects of diversity on learning, intergroup outcomes, and civic engagement. In Many Voices, One Future: An Inclusive Princeton. Princeton University. https://inclusive.princeton.edu/sites/g/files/toruqf1831/files/pu-report-diversity-outcomes.pdf
King, Jr., M. L. (1986). The Ethical Demands for Integration (1961). In J. M. Washington (Ed.), A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches (pp. 117–125). Harper Collins Publishers. https://www.faculty.umb.edu/lawrence_blum/courses/318_11/readings/king_ethical_demands.pdf
Lopez, L., McLeod, H., & Wise, A. (2015). America’s churches: often a reflection of the nation’s racial divide. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-shooting-south-carolina-churches/americas-churches-often-a-reflection-of-the-nations-racial-divide-idUSKBN0P10WC20150621
McArdle, N., & Acevedo-Garcia, D. (2017). Consequences of segregation for children’s opportunity and wellbeing. Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. A shared future: Fostering communities of inclusion in an era of inequality. https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/a_shared_future_consequences_of_segregation_for_children.pdf
Orfield, G., & Pfleger, R. (2024). The Unfinished Battle for Integration in a Multiracial America – from Brown to Now. In The Civil Rights Project / Proyecto Derechos Civiles. https://www.civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/research/k-12-education/integration-and-diversity/the-unfinished-battle-for-integration-in-a-multiracial-america-2013-from-brown-to-now
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2023). Education GPS – Equity. OECD. https://gpseducation.oecd.org/revieweducationpolicies/#
Startz, D. (2020). The achievement gap in education: Racial segregation versus segregation by poverty. The Brookings Institution. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2020/01/20/the-achievement-gap-in-education-racial-segregation-versus-segregation-by-poverty/
U.S. Census Bureau. (2020). Racial and Ethnic Composition of Children Under 18 [Bar graphs]. In Demographic Turning Points for the United States: Population projections for 2020 to 2060 population estimates and projections current population reports. https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2020/demo/p25-1144.html
U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2022a). K-12 Education: Student population has significantly diversified, but many schools remain divided along racial, ethnic, and economic lines. Report to the Chairman, Committee on Education and Labor, House of Representatives. https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-22-104737
U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2022b). Schools by Percentage of Hispanic, Black, and American Indian/Alaska Native and by Percentage of Students Eligible for Free and Reduced Lunch, in School Year 2020-21 [Stacked bar charts]. In K-12 Education: Student Population Has Significantly Diversified, But Many Schools Remain Divided Along Racial, Ethnic, and Economic Lines. https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-22-104737
UCLA Civil Rights Project. (2024a). Racial Composition of Schools Attended by the Typical Student, By Race, 2021 [Stacked bar charts]. In The Unfinished Battle for Integration in a Multiracial America – from Brown to Now. https://www.civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/research/k-12-education/integration-and-diversity/the-unfinished-battle-for-integration-in-a-multiracial-america-2013-from-brown-to-now
UCLA Civil Rights Project. (2024b). Timeline of Major Legal Decisions, Legislation, and Latino/Black-White Segregation [Line chart with markers]. In The Unfinished Battle for Integration in a Multiracial America – from Brown to Now. https://www.civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/research/k-12-education/integration-and-diversity/the-unfinished-battle-for-integration-in-a-multiracial-america-2013-from-brown-to-now
Vespa, J., Medina, L., & Armstrong, D. (2020). Demographic Turning Points for the United States: Population projections for 2020 to 2060 population estimates and projections current population reports. In Census – Publications. U.S. Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2020/demo/p25-1144.pdf
by Nancy Snipes Mosley,
PSFNC staff member and former high school Social Studies teacher
Last updated 7/27/2024