Considers the Supreme Court Brown and Bakke decisions the results of socioeconomic influences rather than of moral imperative. Discusses social conditions as influences on judicial processes, economic conditions in the United States when the decisions were made, and the effects of the decisions on school desegregation, educational competition, and…

Examination of the social contexts and circumstances leading to the Brown versus Board of Education decision (1954) and subsequent events reveals that in spite of the promises of school desegregation, repressed learning opportunities continue for African American children. Changes brought by desegregation have been too fragmented and isolated.…

Holds that so long as schooling reflects the racial, cultural, and class biases of society, desegregation as provided for by the Brown decision will not lead to social or educational equality for Blacks. Also criticizes social science theories which argue that racial separation, per se, psychologically damages Blacks. (GC)

Social scientists' assertions in 1954, that desegregation would improve minority student performance by freeing minority children from "pariah" status, and the hypothesis that interracial classroom contact would result in improved minority student achievement, are both unsupported by research. Effective school desegregation programs must…

Although this author knew very little about the details of "Brown v. Board of Education" as a legal matter when he read about it as a young second-year student at the University of Cape Town in 1954, the Court's verdict had a direct influence on his political perspectives and on his aspirations as a would-be teacher for the rest of his…

Gloria Ladson-Billings explains in her chapter that, in part, the promise of "Brown v. Board of Education" has not been realized because it was premised on black inferiority. She elaborates that "instead of addressing the underlying pathology of the defendant--White supremacy"--the evidence, case, and accordant ruling…

This book presents proceedings and papers from a conference on racial and ethnic disparities in K-12 education and identifies key issues for policy and research. Part 1 summarizes the conference in six chapters: (1) "Introduction"; (2) "Education and the Changing Nation"; (3) "How People Learn"; (4) "Social…