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…

Students are more racially segregated in schools today than they were in the late 1960s and prior to the enforcement of court-ordered desegregation in school districts across the country. This special issue addresses the overarching theme of policies, practices, or roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders that may directly or indirectly…

Courts, students are told, will protect minorities' legal rights against popular sentiment and political pressure. But courts can be expected to protect rights only within boundaries shaped in part by popular and political opinion. This suggests that litigation outcomes regarding education rights issues will depend on shifting the policymaking…

Purpose: This article examines the role social science has played in litigation involving public single-sex educational programs. It also explores a body of social science research related to gender and education that we believe could assist the courts and school leaders in better examining the possibilities and the limitations of single-sex…

This article provides historical and legal context for recent U.S. Supreme Court school desegregation decisions. The Supreme Court's race-based and race-neutral arguments from "Brown" (1954) to "Parents Involved" (2007) are examined within their broader context. Policy implications and potential support for diversity goal…

Though once a leader in school integration, Massachusetts has regressed over the last two decades as its students of color have experienced intensifying school segregation. This report investigates trends in school segregation in Massachusetts by examining concentration, exposure, and evenness measures by both race and class. First, the report…

The scholarship of Kenneth B. and Mamie P. Clark, referenced in the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision in "Brown v. Board of Education," emphasized the nation's color line, not only in the Jim Crow South but in American cities overall. The Clarks pointed out the critical role of context; however, they applied it narrowly to the issue…

The social scientist has a public responsibility which deserves as much attention as scientific and professional concerns. Some social scientists, retreating from this ideal, are now rewriting the history of the liberal movements of the 1960s. This revisionism, a product of contemporary neoconservatism, hinders the continuing efforts that social…

It has now become fashionable to base conservative social policy and political decisions on the reports of neoconservative social scientists. Thus, it is important to examine the political and historical context of the new Coleman report, which purports to have found evidence against busing for school desegregation. (Author/GC)

Recent literature reviews have emphasized the weakness and inconsistency of research on school desegregation outcomes. If social science is to have more influence on school desegregation policy, future research will need to work from comprehensive causal models that incorporate the conditions under which desegregation occurs. (Author/LC)

The appellate argument of Paul Wilson, who represented the Topeka, Kansas, school board in the 1952 Supreme Court case, "Brown v. Board of Education," presents an excellent example of the influence of personal and legal ethics on rhetorical choices. A reluctant advocate of racially segregated education, a policy the Topeka Board of…

Summarizes the role of short-term and long-term effects of social science research in examining the impact of school desegregation policies on black students, discussing whether it works to improve student achievement. The article suggests that short-term effects research has traditionally been less informative than long-term effects research. (SM)

Social scientists' assertions in 1954, that desegregation would improve minority student performance by freeing minority children from "pariah" status, and the hypothesis that interracial classroom contact would result in improved minority student achievement, are both unsupported by research. Effective school desegregation programs must…

Fifty researchable questions are framed in terms of nine broad problems suggested for social science research. The problems are: How much movement will be needed to attain and maintain integrated schools in the metropolitan centers? What roles should state and federal agencies play in school desegregation? How should the organization, control and…

On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court rendered one of the most important legal decisions in American history. With its first opinion in the "Brown v. Board of Education," the Court ruled unanimously that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. Writing for the Court, Chief Justice Earl Warren stated that racial segregation…