Bearing the Burden of Desegregation: Black Principals and Brown

Brown had a tragic consequence: the displacement, dismissal, and demotion of thousands of African American educators, in particular principals, in the South. Although the lack of diversity in today’s teaching force has multiple origins, a reexamination of one of its roots deepens our understanding of the past, illuminates the present, and bears on the future. The crisis viewed from the perspective of educators explores the decimation of Black principals whose removal contributed to drying up the “pipeline” of teaching recruits among African Americans. Efforts by the federal government, educational associations, and other groups to reverse the trend were inadequate and belated.