This article focuses on the first African American students at two southern land-grant universities, North Carolina State University and Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University (Virginia Tech). Although these institutions integrated in the 1950s, most of the current desegregation scholarship focuses on other southern institutions in…

From 1896 to 1954, the "separate but equal" doctrine instituted by the landmark "Plessy v. Ferguson" case reverberated in public education in the United States until its rejection in the 1954 "Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka" Supreme Court decision. In this integrative literature review, the authors sought to…

The Orlando Sentinel published a 1955 letter to the editor from Zora Neale Hurston. In it, she condemns the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education and the leadership of the Black intelligentsia in the decision. Using Timothy Parsons' myth of a progressive empire, this article emphasizes Hurston's central thesis: that forced…

What accounts for the variation in southern state colleges and universities responses to initial desegregation? This article analyzes southern state university responses to qualified Black students' applications to historically white public colleges. Furthermore, the study tests V.O. Key's hypothesis in Southern Politics in State and Nation--that…

This article provides a history of Black southern teacher associations and the civil rights agenda they articulated from Reconstruction through the desegregation of public schools in the 1970s. Black teacher associations demonstrated historic agency by demanding a fundamental right to an education, equal salaries, and the right to work during the…

The objective of this study was to investigate Black teachers' perceptions of their impact on Black student achievement. Study participants included teachers with 2-15 years of experience from neighboring school districts in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Data were collected during school-year 2011-2012. Methods included journal…

Similar to W.E.B. Du Bois, we believe that access to educational opportunities is a fundamental right that should be provided to all Americans, regardless of race, ethnicity, or national origin. Too often, however, the educational experiences for Black students are significantly uneven in comparison to other demographic groups. These students…

The "Brown v. Board of Education" Supreme Court's unanimous decision (1954) held promise for many African American children and youth. Sixty years after "Brown," racial disparities in school discipline have garnered national attention in the professional literature. This article extends the post-Brown discourse beyond the…

At the 60th anniversary of "Brown," the authors analyze survey data from a national sample of 1,227 Black and White college students to examine the frequency and nature of cross-racial interactions and their influence on students' sense of belonging in college. Results suggest the cross-racial interactions vary by race and frequent,…

This article highlights the overshadowed contributions that Marion Thompson Wright, Ruby Jackson Gainer, and Mamie Phipps Clark made to the landmark "Brown v. Board of Education" case. Arguably, "Brown" would not have materialized without their legal and scholarly activism. Yet their legacies were eclipsed by legendary race men…

The percentage of African American educators in the U.S. has declined over the past 65 years while the public school populations have become more diverse. Reasons for this decline are posited from a review of the literature, including "Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Kansas," and the expanded opportunities for African Americans…

In 1954, the United States Supreme Court decided "Brown v. Board of Education" and ordered the desegregation of students by race in public schools. Many of the states as well as the federal executive branch of government expressed some level of opposition to this order. Over time, courts have taken alternative positions on the education…

The effective integration of African American students into previously segregated careers was one of the main goals of the "Brown" decision and, in turn, the outcomes of such efforts have been the subject of much scholarly interest). This qualitative study, drawing on critical race theorist Derrick Bell's critique of "Brown,"…

This article examines the under-representation of Black students in gifted education, asserting that social inequalities (e.g., prejudice and discrimination) contribute to segregated gifted education programs. Under-representation trends are presented for gifted education, along with methods for calculating under-representation and then inequity…

While segregation in public schools was found unconstitutional in the "Brown v. Board" of Education of Topeka Kansas case in 1954, many present day African American students still attend segregated schools. Within these "de facto" segregated schools, students meet challenges to educational achievement. In a sample of 160…