Integration of American Schools

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Recommended: B. Brown v Board of Education signifcance

To this day, if it weren't for the Brown v. Board of Education case, segregation would still be fully legal in American schools. Passed down from the Sumpreme Court in 1954, the Brown v. Board of Education case decreed that all American schools be integrated at once; this forced white-only schools to allow black students to attend. One of the very first students to integrate a white-only public school was a little girl named Ruby Bridges. To integrate public schools Ruby Bridges and many other black students had to bravely face racism, danger, and hatred without having done anything wrong. When it came to integrating public schools ,the fight was long and difficult while, in itself, separating the good from the weak.
On her first day integrating William Franz Elementary School, Ruby Bridges was met by a large and infuriated mob of white parents and students. At a six year old child, the mob cheered for integration to be abolished, screamed out racist insults, and chanted racial slurs. This all happened directly outside Ruby's school and, to make things worse, the effects of Ruby's integration did not end once Ruby left school and went home. The negative effects of Ruby's integration seemed to follow her everywhere and they didn't take long to encroach on her family life and her personality. For example, because of Ruby's integration, her family was told to stop shopping at the local grocery store by Ms. Stein, the owner. What was surprinsing was that Ms. Stein actually liked the Bridges family and never minded them shopping at her store. The real reason why Ms. Stein banned the Bridges' from buying groceries at her store was because she was intimidated by the large population of angry,powerful white people who opposed integrati...

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...g at the top of the stairs in the morning. Mrs. Henry was one of the few things that made Ruby happy, apart from her family, during her difficult integration.
All in all, the fight to integrate white-only public schools seemed almost impossible, but, over time, people began to accept the fact that integration was happening. Although, integration actually divided people in a way. Intergration gave people the opportunity to not be racist and instead be progressive towards their country while it also gave people the opportunity to remain racist and uneducated. The constant fighting between those who agreed with integration and segregationists is one of the main things that made the fight for integration so difficult. Sadly, it was black children and parents who had to be wedged in the middle of the racial conflict in order to better American schools for all children.

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