What Swann v. Charlotte Mecklenburg teaches us 50 years later
It’s been 50 years since Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg, and school segregation is still a problem, with no easy solutions. We know there isn’t anything magical about a white kid sitting next to a Black or Brown kid in a school building. We do know, that due to the legacy of systematic racialized oppression in the United States, that resources and capital (both social and financial) follow white children. Sixty-seven years after segregated schools were declared unconstitutional (Brown v. Board, 1954), we continue to have hypersegregated schools across our state, with little interest in shifting this reality.
First, a summary of Supreme Court decisions related to segregation as a public policy: Separate but equal (Plessy v Ferguson, 1896) is not constitutional (Brown v. Board). Choice plans were insufficient to end segregation (Green v. County School Board, 1968), and we may use the same tools that we used to segregate (buses), to DEsegregate (Swann).
The legacy of Swann affirms several key points that would serve us well to remember 50 years later,
1) Racial (and socio-economic) segregation harms all of us. All kids benefit from diverse schools. Some of us (Black and Brown) benefit more from diverse schools, but none of us (including my white children), are harmed from desegregation.
2) The tools of segregation can also be the tools of desegregation. Busing was used for decades to maintain racial segregation in schools. Swann declared that busing could also be used as a tool for desegregation. (Seems so basic now, doesn’t it?). The same is true today: we could bus for desegregation, but instead, we bus for “choice,” which most often benefits families like mine (white, college educated, and comfortable navigating bureaucracy in our first language). We could use busing, school siting, zoning, subsidies, controlled choice, and a host of other tools to desegregate.
3) Mandatory court orders that go against public will are challenging. From 1971 to the mid 90s, Charlotte-Mecklenburg was known nationally for making desegregation work. We saw measurable progress in academic and social achievement, and noteworthy economic development. Our schools weren’t perfect, but we avoided hypersegregation, which ensured more equitable distribution of resources, improved teacher retention, and supported a host of other measures that led to improved schooling outcomes. Our schools rapidly resegregated in early 2000s following the 4th circuit upheld decision that CMS was “unitary,” and no longer under a court ordered desegregation plan.
In contrast, Wake County has never operated under a court-ordered desegregation plan. WCPSS enacted a student assignment policy similar to CMS in 1981, after years of inaction and under local and federal pressure. Arguably, Wake County chose desegregation, and continues to make this choice, as schools are less segregated than CMS. Wake County has been able to fulfill the vision of Swann, while never operating under a court-ordered plan, like so many districts throughout the South.
Perhaps this is Swann’s most important reminder — desegregation is the right thing to do, and it is a choice that we must make. We enacted policies and used tools to segregate, and we may do the same to desegregate. None of these choices are race neutral. We must acknowledge the legacy of racial segregation in our state, and actively choose tools to dismantle this legacy.
Amy Hawn Nelson of Charlotte is Research Faculty for the School of Social Policy & Practice, University of Pennsylvania.
