Apprehensions of Negro Teachers Concerning Desegregation in South Carolina

Abstract

On May 17, 1954, the United States Supreme Court in a unanimous decision ruled that segregation in public education is unconstitutional. With this decision the focus of interest shifts from the legal basis of desegregation to the sociological and educational factors involved in the effectuation of a racially-integrated public school system. During the period of litigation and since the decision of the Court there has been much speculation regarding the effects desegregation will have upon the retention and future employment of Negro teachers in the South. Three states, Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina, have threatened to abandon the public school system. During the arguments in these cases it was suggested by the states attorneys that there would be a great displacement of Negro teachers if the schools are desegregated. Such statements have created an atmosphere which has contributed to the production of anxiety among Negro teachers as to their welfare in an integrated school system. This is particularly so in view of the fact that few of the Southern states have well-defined tenure laws protecting teachers' rights of employment. Although Negro legal and professional groups have sought to assure Negro teachers that they have little to fear in regard to job rights in an integrated system, it is clear that these efforts have not been completely successful.