The Meaning of the Word "Integration" to Seniors in a Multi-Racial High School

Abstract

Since the Supreme Court decision in 1954 that separate schools for different races are inherently unequal the nation has moved in the direction of increased mixing in the schools. rhetoric used to bring about or prevent such mixing encompasses the concept of racial balance which in turn relies upon the terms desegregation and These words are often used interchangeably. Sometimes the usage betrays a particular social or political stance wherein either word can be used effectively to trigger an emotional response. Often the words seem to lack precision, as when the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders stated that is the only course which explicitly seeks to achieve a single nation rather than accepting the present movement toward a dual society. . same can be said for the usage of the term in a phamphlet which was widely distributed by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in the 1960s: The Southern Christian Leadership Conference has the basic aim of achieving full citizenship rights, equality, and the of the Negro in all aspects of American life. 1 Unfortunately, neither the National Advisory Commission nor the Southern Christian Leadership Conference chose to indicate what they meant by their use of the term integration. Yet definitions of the term integration are readily available. Two are presented here in order to give some perspective on al-