The Melting Not

On Wednesday, I took a look at how the desegregation that followed Brown v Board of Ed seventy years ago has slowed, and in some places, even reversed: Integrate Expectations. Today, WaPo (Gift Article) explains that the decision remains remarkably popular. It’s the actual implementation of related policies and outcomes that people are less enthused about. 70 years later, 1 in 3 Black people say integration didn’t help Black students. “About half of Black adults favor letting children attend neighborhood schools, even if it means most students would be of the same race — which, given housing patterns, is often the case. White Americans also sometimes hold conflicting views. Nine in 10 Whites say they support the Brown decision, and nearly 2 in 3 say more needs to be done to integrate schools throughout the nation. Nonetheless, large segments of the White population oppose strategies that would help make that a reality. Nearly 8 in 10 White adults say it is better for children to go to neighborhood schools over diverse ones.”