Power of 50: Little Rock 9
On Sept. 4, 1957, nine black students tried to integrate Arkansas’ Little Rock Central Public High School in the first major test of the U.S. Supreme Court’s segregation-busting decision in Brown v. Board of Education. After Gov. Orval Faubus denied the students entry, President Eisenhower sent federal troops to make sure they reached their classrooms.
In the years since, Little Rock, like much of the South and the rest of the nation, integrated then re-segregated.
Today
Little Rock Central has a black majority, in large part because of the declining percentage of the district’s white population.
Percentage of Little Rock Central students by race
| White | Black | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957-58 | 99.6% | 0.4% | n/a |
| 2006-07 | 42% | 53% | 5 |
Number (%) of Little Rock School District students by race
| |
White | Black | Other |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967-68 | 16,018 | 8,495 | 0 |
| (65.3) | (34.7) | (0) | |
| 2004-05 | 6,257 | 17,653 | 1,810 |
| (24.3) | (68.6) | (7.1) |
SOURCE: National Center for Education Statistics; Little Rock School District
From the early 1960s through the mid-1980s, public schools in the South boasted the highest rate of integration. But since desegregation efforts peaked in the nation in the early 1980s, larger school districts have trended toward resegregation of black and Latino students, most rapidly in the South.
Graph of rise and fall of integration in U.S.
| Year | % blacks in white schools |
|---|---|
| 1968-69 | 23.4% |
| 1972-73 | 36.4% |
| 1980-81 | 37.1% |
| 1986-87 | 36.7% |
| 1991-92 | 34.0% |
| 1994-95 | 32.9% |
| 1996-97 | 31.2% |
| 2000-01 | 28.4% |
| 2002-03 | 27% |
| 2003-04 | 27% |
| 2004-05 | 27% |
Good News
The percentage of Americans age 25 and older with a high school diploma is much higher than it was 50 years ago, and the disparity among races is narrowing.
| Year | White | Black | Hispanic | Asian/Pac. Isl. | Native Amer. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 36.4 | 13.7 | n/a | 40.8 | 12.8 |
| 1960 | 43.2 | 21.7 | n/a | 48.8 | 18.5 |
| 1970 | 54.5 | 31.4 | n/a | 62.2 | 33.3 |
| 1980 | 68.8 | 51.2 | 44.0 | 74.8 | 55.5 |
| 1990 | 77.9 | 63.1 | 49.8 | 77.5 | 65.5 |
| 2000 | 83.6 | 72.3 | 52.4 | 80.4 | 70.9 |
| 2005 | 86.6 | 79.9 | 59.5 | 85.6 | 76.3 |
*Includes private schools and GEDs. Does not include prison, homeless or military populations.
Bad News
The nation’s dropout rate, as estimated by the percentage of public school freshmen who graduate on time, is high.
| White | Black | Asian | Hispanic |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | 50 | 25 | 50 |
SOURCE: “The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives on High School Dropouts,” Civic Enterprises, 2006.
U.S. Supreme Court decisions limiting forced desegregation
1. Milliken v. Bradley, 1974: Restricts busing across district lines.
2. Board of Education of Oklahoma City v. Dowell, 1991: Limits duration of school compliance with court-ordered desegregation remedies.
3. Freeman v. Pitts, 1992: Supports declining judicial supervision of school integration.
4. Missouri v. Jenkins, 1995: Strikes down requirement that the state correct racial inequality through salary increases and remedial education programs.
5. Parents Involved in Community Schools Inc. v. Seattle School District; Meredith v. Jefferson County (Ky.) Board of Education, 2007: Restricts school district policies that determine school enrollment by race.
SOURCE: Harvard University Civil Rights Project
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