Many institutions of higher learning aim to promote greater racial diversity to harness learning benefits and foster a sense of inclusion. Nevertheless, the institutional pursuit of racial diversity is difficult to benchmark. The current constitutional boundary limits the use of race to promote the diversity in college admissions to a…

The purpose of this study was to determine what school and principal characteristics influence the alignment of contemporary leaders' beliefs with African American principals' beliefs working during the pre-"Brown v. Board" era. Using OLS multiple regression on a sample of Georgia school principals, the study found a statistically…

East High School was opened in 1926 to over nine hundred students from the surrounding neighborhoods. At that time, East High School was an all-White suburban school in comparison to its identity today as the most diverse high school in the state with over forty languages and countries represented in its population. During the first decades of its…

The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of Black school counselors post-"Brown v. Board of Education" (1954) decision and their integration into predominantly White public schools. A literature review was conducted which included the history of school counseling, "Brown v. Board of Education," and its…

Polling data routinely indicate broad support for the concept of diverse schools, but integration initiatives--both racial and socioeconomic--regularly encounter significant opposition. We leverage a nationally representative survey experiment to provide novel evidence on public support for integration initiatives. Specifically, we present…

Primary and secondary schools across the nation are becoming increasingly heterogeneous, yet the teacher population remains homogenous. In fairness, this is not a new issue: At the turn of the century, Whites represented a significant aggregate of the teacher population: 73% in the inner city; 81% in suburban schools; 91% in small towns; and 98%…

What explains the rise of race-conscious affirmative action policies in undergraduate admissions? The dominant theory posits that adoption of such policies was precipitated by urban and campus unrest in the North during the late 1960s. Based on primary research in a sample of 17 selective schools, we find limited support for the dominant theory.…

The South was the central focus of the "Brown v. Board of Education" decision from the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954. The landmark ruling held that laws mandating segregation in the school systems of the eleven states of the Old Confederacy, along with D.C. and six other states, violated the U.S. Constitution. Intense opposition met the…

I argue that enrollment of a diverse student body is but a pragmatic first step toward the broader social goal of inclusion and ask whether motives for campus diversification are aligned with pedagogic goals. I address this question by focusing on inclusion, namely, organizational strategies and practices that promote meaningful social and…

Historically Black colleges and universities are a unique institutional cohort in American higher education. These colleges have been celebrated for their achievements and critiqued for their composition at differing points during their collective history. This article addresses contemporary ebbs and flows of their relevance and reputation in the…

The purpose of this study is to address differences in states' capital spending between public four-year historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and their predominantly White institutions (PWIs) counterparts located in the southeastern and bordering regions of the United States. This investigation was viewed through nine academic…

The purpose of this study was to examine and describe the relationship between a school's percentage of African American students enrolled and the placement of an African American principal for all of Florida's K-12 traditional public schools during the academic year 2010-2011. This study also sought to determine if this relationship was moderated…

After decades in the political wilderness, school integration seems poised to make a serious comeback as an education reform strategy. A growing number of parents, university officials, and employers want elementary and secondary schools to better prepare students for the increasingly racially and ethnically diverse society and the global economy.…

This study examines the impact of racial isolation on high school student performance in North Carolina, a state in the southeast United States. Our research goal is to investigate if increased isolation negatively impacts Black students' academic performance. Employing the North Carolina State Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) dataset, we…

Suburban schools have traditionally remained homogenous enclaves for White middle class families. On the surface, these racially integrated spaces reflect the dream of Brown v. Board of Education--to have students of all races learning and developing together. A closer look at these racially mixed environments unveils the systemic problems…