Mary F. Ehrlander

Ehrlander traces the failure of the Supreme Court's decision Brown v. Board of Education to effect desegregation in American schools and to create genuine equal opportunity.

After the Supreme Court's decision, Brown v. Board of Education (1954), segregated schools eventually responded to court orders to desegregate; yet, in the 1990s racial isolation remained, and standardized tests revealed an achievement gap between minority and white students. Case studies in Wilmington (Delaware), Prince George's County (Maryland), San Diego, Cleveland, and elsewhere and national studies on the achievement gap reflect the judicial system's inability to effect the reform envisioned in Brown. Judicial action spurred public recognition of the incompatibility between state-sponsored segregation and justice and equality, but only grassroots political pressure can produce equitable, high-quality public school systems.

Table of Contents

1. The Legacy of Jim Crow
2. Compliance Begins
3. Compensatory Education
4. The Case of Wilmington, Delaware
5. Wilmington in the 1990s
6. The Case of Prince George's County, Maryland
7. Prince George's County in the 1990s
8. Desegregation in San Diego, California
9. San Diego in the 1990s
10. Desegregation in Cleveland, Ohio
11. Cleveland at the Turn of the Century
12. Trends in School Desegregation at the Turn of the Century

References
Index