The Burden of Brown: Thirty Years of School Desegregation

by Raymond Wolters

The author describes the course of events and the educational results in the five school districts whose litigation was consolidated for the Supreme Court's landmark decision on desegregation, Brown v. Board of Education (1954). Instead of fostering better race relations and improved academic performance, Wolters argues, the attempt to integrate the nation's  schools has been a tragic failure. 

Genres: Race

356 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1984

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a well-researched study of school desegregation in the American south. It is a scholarly work that gives an unbiased historical reading of the events and reports the facts of what happened and what the ongoing effects of the Brown decision have been. I bought it because one of the chapters focuses on my home town in Clarendon County, SC, and though it has been several years since I read it, I remember that it seemed to be a fair record of events, explaining the issues from all sides.