Desegregation and the (Dis)Integration of Black School Leaders: Reflections on the Impact of Brown v. Board of Education on Black Education

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe history of education for African Americans in the United States is one of struggle largely due to laws that forbade the education of enslaved Africans. Resultingly, education exists in a broader system of oppression. Historically, school desegregation displaced many Black teachers and administrators and ultimately forced Black professionals into other fields out of fear of limited employment opportunities in education. In contrast, currently, while the majority of school-aged children are people of color, the vast majority of school leaders and administrators are White. This essay examines the robust body of literature that details the effects of the Brown decision. In addition to a careful review of Brown literature, the literature on urban education (undertaken because of the numbers of Black school leaders and Black children in those contexts) is examined as well. This literature is analyzed to understand the extant far-reaching and deep-seated consequences of the Brown decision. Desegregation closed Black schools, not White ones, and disintegrated the impact of Black educators on their students and the communities they served. The effects of this decision have significantly altered the course of education for Black educators and Black children.