This study reports on an ethnographic investigation of a desegregated high school in Memphis, Tennessee. Processes of interracial education that occur in a desegregated school are examined in a discussion of some principles of educational stratification. The interaction of stratification and schooling in the United States is explained. The methodology of ethnographic studies is described. The character of the city and the setting are considered in terms of their effect on the general outcome of school desegregation in Memphis. Each of the school system's three subsystems (administrative, academic, student) are discussed as they affect the process of interracial schooling at "Crossover High School." In the discussion of the administrative subsystem, the differing experiences of the school under two different principals are examined. The examination of the academic subsystem reviews the climate of learning in the classroom both before and after desegregation. The section on the student subsystem focuses on extracurricular activities. The outcomes of desegregation that were witnessed at "Crossover" (including white flight) are focused on and utilized to formulate recommendations for making desegregation successful. (MC)