Date of Award

3-1975

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Political Science

Abstract

The intent of this paper is to show an affirmative duty on the part of all governments (national and State) to eliminate racial imbalances, whether they be "de jure" or "de facto", from the public schools. The thesis of this paper is that racial segregation is violative of the Constitution of the United States. No distinction need be made between State imposed or State tolerated racial im- balance. Failure to take affirmative action to eliminate segregation and its detrimental effects on black public school students is a transgression of the rights guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment and the interstices of the Constitution.

A study of demographic and populat ion shifts is included in Chapter I to help interpret the "urbanization" of segregation. Chapter II discusses the extent or degree of housing segregation and attempts to illustrate the weak- nesses of public school systems based on such residential patterns. The third chapter points to the great disparities in American public education and the effects of racial imbalance on the Negro students confined to racially identifiable schools. It also contains a brief overview of the leading studies on the sociological evidence available. Chapter IV suggests that many so called "de facto" situa­tions are improperly labelled and should rightfully be under the "de jure" category. It continues to demonstrate that adventitious segregation is violative of the Constitution and that ample constitutional authorization exists for Congress and the federal courts to require States to take corrective measures. The final chapter examines a district court decision ordering the desegregation of a metropolitan area by a consolidation of the preponderantly white school systems of the suburbs with the predominantly black school system of the inner city. This method must be used to alleviate racial imbalances in many major urban communities.

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