Study Questions:

Orfield, 1996: Dismantling Desegregation, Chapter 11: Segregated Housing and School Resegregation

This is based on a theory of Civil Rights as a way to equality:

This article is in a way an illustration of how the sediments of racism have accumulated over time, and how courts assess this history and do or do not take it into consideration.

Miliken I (1974): Court decides that suburbs cannot be forced to integrate with city students, unless it can be shown that they are intentionally segregating against children in the city.

HUD – Housing and Urban Development

1) Describe the link between segregation in housing and segregation in education

2) How does resegregation in schools occur?

3) Discuss the following statement: “Justice Sandra Day O’Connor described residential change as the result of white flight and ‘natural, if unfortunate, demographic forces’ in 1995.” (p. 3 of our unpaged assignment) What do Denton and Massey have to say about these so called “natural” and “unfortunate” causes of segregation?

4) What has become the major urban/political obstacle for integration?

5) What is the notion of “suburban innocence”?

6) Explain the example of Detroit!

7) Discuss the significance of where attendance zones for schools are drawn for the possibility of desegregated schools. (see particularly the long quote before the subheading “Protecting the Suburbs”

8) Discuss to what extent schools cause segregated neighborhoods, or to what extent segregated neighborhoods cause segregated schools.

9) What is the “racial instincts” argument in the Court’s decision on school and housing segregation?

10)Name some of the ways Orfield discusses how segregation has historically occurred and still occurs!

11)Do you agree with the Court’s decision when it stated that past patterns of segregation should have no bearing on present day decisions of desegregation? What about the question of reparation here?

12) Provide examples of cities where the city government intentionally recreated segregated neighborhoods

13) To what extent does Orfield argue the Federal government has caused residential segregation?

14) To what extent do you think there should be a reparation for residential segregation?

15) What is “white flight” and its connection to suburbanization?

16) Why, according to Orfield, is segregation not a natural and unchangeable demographic force?

17) Which solutions seem more effective in overcoming desegregation?