A Legal History of Desegregation in Higher Education

From Brown to Ayers v. Fordice: the changing shape of racial desegregation in US higher education

“…These colleges were supposed to receive funds equal to those secured by TWIs with respect to scientific and industrial training (Kujovich 1987, Stefkovich andLeas 1994). The intent of the 1890 Morrill Act was to provide equal development and funding of black land-grant institutions or to admit them into existing TWIs.…”

Diverging Interests

“…Since 1964, with the promulgation of the Civil Rights Act, the United States has focused on diversifying its public 4-year colleges and universities (Brown, 1999(Brown, , 2001(Brown, , 2002Stefkovich & Leas, 1994). Specifically, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act was meant to increase racial diversity across historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and predominantly White institutions (PWIs) by denying federal funding to institutions that practiced discriminatory policies in their admissions of students, recruitment and hiring of faculty, and administrators (Brown, 2001).…”

“…This case stemmed from Mississippi's efforts to continue de jure segregation in its public university system by maintaining universities segregated along racial lines (Stefkovich & Leas, 1994).The case began in 1975, when James Ayers, along with other plaintiffs, filed a lawsuit against Kirk Fordice, the former Governor of Mississippi, for racial discrimination in the state university system. During the time that Ayers filed the litigation, there were five almost entirely White universities and three HBCUs operating within the same geographic region, facilitating a race-based tracking system (Sum, Light, & King, 2004).…”

The Perceived Elimination of Affirmative Action and the Strengthening of Historically Black Colleges and Universities

“…Notwithstanding the significance of these institutions, as governmental constituencies seek to eradicate de jure segregation by promoting student integration and eliminating program duplication (i.e., Adams vs. Richardson, 1972;United States v. Fordice, 1992), some scholars have expressed fear that HBCUs may disappear (Blake, 1991;Day, 1992;Stefkovich & Leas, 1994).…”