The Pursuit of True Freedom: School Desegregation in Racine, Wisconsin

Abstract

Throughout its existence, the United States had been inundated by racial conflict. Following the 1954 Supreme Court ruling on Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka, school segregation became one of the most controversial racial issues in our country. In the North, where de facto segregation ruled supreme, integrating public schools proved to be an especially arduous task. Racine, Wisconsin, was a typical Northern city in many regards. However, due to outstanding community support and extraordinary leadership, particularly from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and its president Julian Thomas, the Racine Unified School District triumphed over segregation. Because of its successful implementation of school desegregation, Racine became a model for racial accord for the rest of the country.