Public Schools

In Dr. Johnson's article, Rethinking School Desegregation: Was It A Curse Or Cure For Black Male Students?, he chronicles the rise of neo-segregation within the public school system, and suggests re-segregation. He writes:

“Although never documented in any educational law writings, special education was the panacea that gave calm to White school districts assuring them that they wouldn’t have to truly integrate their schools, but only give the appearance of doing so. When forced busing policies really began to heat up, especially in northern states, in the late ’60s and early ’70s, white schools were able to get away with “cosmetic integration” policies that forced Black children, who rode in on cheese buses, to remain together for the entire school day".

To outside observers, the school appeared integrated, but inside the building, it was business as usual. When community leaders rejected the “cosmetic integration” practices of principals and superintendents, coincidentally, special education was born. Now these very same public school officials had the ability to legitimize their “Separate But Equal” schooling by labeling the cheese-bus-riding-Blacks with “learning disability” and “mental retardation” labels.