The School Bus (Pt. 2) Riding Through Racial Tensions

Public school buses (part 1- almostanauthor.com) hit the road in the 1920s, traveling the soon-to-be-familiar roads of segregation. But the developing “norm” did not necessarily reflect contentment in the populace. Troubled hearts couldn’t make sense of a Black child walking 6 blocks to catch the bus to a Black school while the White school was only 7 blocks from home.

Signs of racial tension magnified themselves in the filing of Brown v. Board of Education (1954). The infamous case uprooted racial segregation in schools, ordering 21 states to desegregate. However, Brown did not result in an “End of Road” sign because it lacked a timeline in which the feat of desegregation should be achieved. Little progress resulted in the 1955 Brown 2 ruling: Integrate!

The story of school buses and desegregation emerged—A long ride over rough, muddy, twisting roads of racial tension.

Protests erupted in major cities across the states while the murky road to desegregation snaked through the judicial system. From the mid-fifties to the mid-seventies, numerous issues were addressed by the Courts:

Good faith effort to comply

Racial imbalance v. academic performance

Extension of mandate to suburbs

Federal v. State jurisdictions

“Caution” signs loomed. Long bus rides wearied the children and shortened time for homework.

“Pit Stops” popped up. More buses on the road carrying precious children required additional safety standards. In the 1960s, roll-over preventions were added, and the early seventies supplemented safety with amber warning lamps, flashing lights on STOP arms, and the directive for yellow paint.

A 1971 U.S. Supreme Court ruling upheld busing to end segregation. Charlotte, North Carolina’s attempt to desegregate was deemed successful, and other school districts looked to them as an example.

Boston, on the other hand, didn’t shine in the desegregation test. A 1974 Court order triggered protests and violence—eggs, bricks and bottles were thrown at the school buses transporting Black children.

Over the next decade, more than 400 court orders were issued requiring schools to desegregate, an impressive indicator of the depth of discontent.

“Reduced Speed Ahead”: A twist in progress came with The General Education Provisions Act of 1974. It prohibited use of federally appropriated funds for busing. Money-poor school districts resorted to voluntary busing programs which continued into the 1980s.

The 1990s gave rise to a series of court orders that released many school districts from the requirement to desegregate. It was deemed no longer necessary.

Efforts to desegregate continued in some areas. However, in 2007, a court case limited the ways in which districts could promote desegregation and tamped down voluntary busing programs.

With the release of court orders, limited funds for busing, and resistance to voluntary busing, it is not too surprising that a 2019 report indicates many school districts across the states remain segregated.

Through years of legal challenges and changing orders, the school buses kept rolling—bumpy, muddy, twisting roads leading to roadblocks and dead ends. What a journey!

For writers of 20^th century historical fiction, myriad provocative story lines involving desegregation wait the telling. A plethora of affected neighborhoods offers a variety of settings. A bus load of ethnically diverse children, along with parents, teachers, and bus drivers presents a deep pool of characters.

Buses and desegregation—friction-filled stories for a writer’s pen.

Jeannine Brummett lives in South Carolina with her husband of nineteen years, Don, who shares his three adult sons and three grandchildren with her. Reading is big on her list of things to do, but she also thrives on TV crime dramas, NBA basketball, and marvels at the critters and fowl life that live at the pond behind their house. She loves to sing praise songs, attend Bible Study, and help at a local food pantry.