After the abolition of slavery, the US passed three amendments, granting the newly freed slaves legal status. However, the Supreme Court made a series of decisions that overshadowed these amendments. Blacks and Whites were to be segregated in several ways, some more so in the s
outh than the north. Transportation, public accommodations, recreational facilities, prisons, armed forces, and schools in both Northern(less so) and Southern states were all by law and private action segregated. In 1945 the two most segregated aspects of American life were housing and education. In the South, this was even more prominent. Many in the South saw it as a way to keep them in their place(Trueman). If they were uneducated and had bad housing, then the thought was that they would “work” for the whites again. During World War 2, many black joined the military and returned more with the feeling that they deserved equality as they had been fighting for the country.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People saw this and made it a stepping stone in civil rights. Certain Colleges wouldn’t accept blacks, and many high schools, middle and elementary were either just whites or just blacks. Some due to law or economics reasons, and racism. Typically schools that were just blacks were underfunded and in poor condition. Mixed schools were separa
ted the children in the classrooms, lunchrooms, playgrounds and restrooms(Trueman). From book given to water fountains. Even the buses they rode were segregated. It stayed this way until the Civil Rights Act of 1964. By 1962 single race schools only existed in Mississippi, Alabama, and South Carolina(Trueman). Although only these were official schools, everywhere there were still schools that were predominantly white or black. This still continues to this day, however, today it is mostly due to the economic situation of the person.
The History of Education 