Not surprisingly, as school desegregation picked up speed, white flight kept pace. In early 1964 the Atlanta Board of Education responded to pressure from federal courts and greatly accelerated its plans for integration in the upcoming school year. No longer would white facilities remain unused, while black schools became dangerously overcrowded. “We’re going to fill every empty seat in high school classrooms this fall,” board member Sara Mitchell announced in April. Transfers, which had heretofore been tightly limited, were suddenly granted in great numbers. While only 85 requests had been
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