He boarded a whites-only train with the hope of undoing racist laws. Instead, his arrest led to a Supreme Court decision that upheld the “separate but equal” doctrine used to justify segregation.
Tag Archives: Segregation and Desegregation
The Time Archbishop Tutu Was Searched at the Airport
A former South Africa bureau chief for The Times recalls telling moments with the anti-apartheid religious leader.
Minneapolis’ School Plan Asks White Families to Help Integrate
In a citywide overhaul, a beloved Black high school was rezoned to include white students from a richer neighborhood. It has been hard for everyone.
How the Real Estate Boom Left Black Neighborhoods Behind
While homeownership has been an engine of prosperity for white Americans, home values in places like Orange Mound in southeast Memphis have languished. What would it take to catch up?
A Landmark Reckoning With America’s Racial Past and Present
Originally published as a series in The New York Times Magazine and now revised and expanded as a book, “The 1619 Project,” edited by Nikole Hannah-Jones, Caitlin Roper, Ilena Silverman and Jake Silverstein, undertakes an ambitious examination of slavery and its ongoing legacy for Black Americans.
Homer Plessy’s Arrest in 1892 Led to a Landmark Ruling. Now He May Get Justice.
His legacy is tied to a Supreme Court decision that upheld the “separate but equal” doctrine, underpinning laws that segregated and disenfranchised African Americans for decades.
Linwood Holton, 98,Virginia Governor Who Pushed for Racial Equality, Dies
The first Republican governor of the state in almost a century, he seemed to herald a new, post-racial South. He later became disillusioned with his own party.
Amid Pandemic Turmoil and Curriculum Fights, a Boom for Christian Schools
With public schools on the defensive, is this a blip or a ‘once-in-100-year moment for the growth of Christian education’?
New York City to Phase Out Its Gifted and Talented Program
Students who are currently enrolled in gifted and talented classes will not be affected. But the highly selective and racially segregated program will be replaced for incoming students.
Have We Failed Suburban Schools?
Our focus on the problems with inner-city education has left us with big blind spots.
Abortion Has Never Just Been About Abortion
The way it became a “godsend” for the right is a peculiar tale.
Buffalo Soldiers, the Famed Black Cavalry, Get a Statue at West Point
For decades, the Buffalo Soldiers taught military horsemanship to cadets at West Point. On Friday, a statue was unveiled in their honor.
What Should We Do About Systemic Racism?
Understand it better, for starters.
How the Mayor’s Big Decision Could Upend N.Y.C. School Admissions
New York City’s highly competitive gifted and talented programs could be overhauled in one of the last major policy moves from Mayor de Blasio.
The Tragedy of America’s Rural Schools
Outdated textbooks, not enough teachers, no ventilation – for millions of kids like Harvey Ellington, the public-education system has failed them their whole lives.
On Matters of Race, Randall Kennedy Demands Thinking Over Feeling
Kennedy’s new essay collection, “Say It Loud!,” challenges many common beliefs in the name of individuality.
How Strong Is America’s Multiracial Democracy?
Recent research on racism, prejudice and politics suggests a broad range of possibilities.
The Black Mortality Gap, and a Document Written in 1910
Some clues on why health care fails Black Americans can be found in the Flexner Report.
Lucille Times, Who Inspired the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Dies at 100
Six months before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, Mrs. Times had an altercation with a bus driver and stopped riding the city’s segregated buses.
The Resilience of New York’s Black Homeowners
Black homeownership has declined in the city and nationally in the last 20 years, hindered by gentrification and inequitable lending policies.
A Mississippi Restaurant Has Been Beloved for Decades. But There’s Another Story to Tell.
Lusco’s, a century-old fixture in the Delta, became known for its food, and for Booker Wright, a Black waiter who dared to tell the truth about the Jim Crow-era South.
What Thurgood Marshall Taught Me
He became the first Black Supreme Court justice, and the stories he told his clerks — like me — revealed how he helped break down America’s color line.
John M. Patterson, Segregationist Alabama Governor, Dies at 99
He welcomed the Klan and refused to integrate schools, forging a path that would be followed by Gov. George C. Wallace.
Dealing With Our Segregated, Jim Crow Education System
The George Floyd case may represent a milestone of progress in criminal justice. But can we expand this recognition of unfairness and inequity to other spheres?
Only 8 Black Students Are Admitted to Stuyvesant High School
Once again, tiny numbers of Black and Latino students received offers to attend New York City’s elite public high schools.
Black Lives Are Shorter in Chicago. My Family’s History Shows Why.
How did a Promised Land to generations of Black families become a community of lost lives?
Winfred Rembert, 75, Dies; Turned Painful Memories Into Art
Decades after nearly being lynched in rural Georgia, he began recreating vivid scenes from his life by carving figures into leather.
Kenneth C. Kelly, Champion of Desegregation in California, Dies at 94
When Mr. Kelly, an engineer, wasn’t designing ways to communicate with spacecraft, he was opening doors for Black families to move into the San Fernando Valley.
‘Traveling Black,’ a Look at the Civil Rights Movement in Motion
Mia Bay’s history recounts how modes of transportation first seen as possible escapes from degradation and danger succumbed to the stubborn forces of segregation.
Kim Janey Becomes Boston’s First Black Mayor
At 11, Kim Janey was bused into a neighborhood where Black students were pelted with rocks. As acting mayor, she hopes to help Boston step out of the shadow of that era.
Justice for the Negro Leagues Will Mean More Than Just Stats
Major League Baseball now wants to welcome Negro-leagues statistics into its record books — but the numbers are just a small part of what needs to be remembered.
Black Family Seeks Return of Its Beach Resort Land Near L.A.
Willa and Charles Bruce were among the first Black people to settle in Manhattan Beach, Calif., but the city shut down their resort in 1924. Now, the county is considering returning the land.
Lawsuit Challenging N.Y.C. School Segregation Targets Gifted Programs
The sweeping complaint accuses New York City of maintaining a segregated school system and seeks to establish the right to an anti-racist education.
Richard Carranza Will Resign as Leader of N.Y.C. School System
His departure, planned for mid-March, comes after repeated clashes with Mayor Bill de Blasio over desegregating the city’s schools.
Overlooked No More: Jimmie McDaniel, Tennis Player Who Broke Barriers
More than 80 years ago he played what is believed to have been the first interracial tennis match, against Don Budge, the world champion. But he has become a forgotten footnote of the game’s storied past.
New York Schools Are Segregated. Will the Next Mayor Change That?
By deferring decisions on desegregating schools, Mayor Bill de Blasio has pushed those choices onto his successor — and into the race to replace him.
Black, Deaf and Extremely Online
On TikTok and in virtual hangouts, a younger generation is sharing the origins and nuances of Black American Sign Language, a rich variation of ASL that scholars say has been overlooked for too long.
I Desegregated the University of Georgia. History Is Still in the Making.
The duty to remember our country’s history belongs to all Americans.
William Winter, Reform-Minded Mississippi Governor, Dies at 97
In his single term, he fought to improve his state’s education system. He later threw himself into civil rights work.
N.Y.C. to Change Many Selective Schools to Address Segregation
The pandemic prompted the mayor’s most significant action yet on integration: a major shift in how hundreds of schools admit students.
Why Did Racial Progress Stall in America?
The answer may show us the path out of our fractured and polarized present.
Hidden in Plain Sight: The Ghosts of Segregation
Vestiges of racism and oppression, from bricked-over segregated entrances to the forgotten sites of racial violence, still permeate much of America’s built environment.
California Needs to Do More to Fight Environmental Racism
The state may be phasing out gas-powered cars, but it’s still legal to put an oil well right next to an elementary school.
Lucille Bridges, Mother of Civil Rights Trailblazer, Dies at 86
In 1960, Ms. Bridges enrolled her daughter Ruby in an all-white school in New Orleans and escorted her there, breaking through segregation.
What the Tumultuous Year 1968 Can Teach Us About Today
The dangerous animosities of the past never went away, and have now re-emerged with new force.
My Brother Died and Reminded Me of These Life Lessons
I went home to celebrate Frederick’s glorious life and was forced to reflect on my own.
Memories of Homecoming at Historically Black Colleges and Universities
At historically Black colleges and universities, homecoming is part family reunion and part revival. It’s canceled this year, so let’s celebrate here.
American Suburbs Are Tilting for Biden. But Not Milwaukee’s.
The predominantly white neighborhoods outside Wisconsin’s largest city, among the nation’s most racially segregated suburbs, could be a key part of President Trump’s narrowing path to re-election.
DeVos Vows to Withhold Desegregation Aid to Schools Over Transgender Athletes
The Education Department has told Connecticut schools that desegregation grants will be cut off Oct. 1 if they continue to allow transgender students to choose the teams they compete on.
How the Black Vote Became a Political Monolith
Why do a vast majority of Black Americans, despite our diverse politics, vote the same? Because our rights are always on the ballot.