Are We Gon' Be Alright? The Fate of Black Students, Schools, and Communities After the St. Louis Voluntary Desegregation Plan Ends

• In Event: 21.049 - Living, Learning, and Communities in Black Education

Abstract

Through an analysis of (a) key studies on desegregation in St. Louis, (b) a series of community reports, (c) and in-depth interviews with African American participants in the St. Louis Voluntary Desegregation Plan, this paper employs Critical Race Theory to examine the extent to which Black communities, schools, and students benefited from the plan. Key findings capture Black sacrifice and White benefits, and note the importance of moving towards school reform models that affirm African-American students and strengthen African-American schools and communities.The findings within this paper are significant because of the long-standing challenges in bringing about Brown’s second promise of quality schooling for Black children and the intransigence of housing and school segregation in the United States.

Author

• Jerome E. Morris, University of Missouri-St. Louis