Examples Of De Facto Segregation

De Jure Segregation means separation of people by law. A good example of this is the Jim Crow laws enforced here in the south. It was legal to have separate schools, housing, transportation, etc. for both races, black and white citizens. In the Brown case the Supreme Court ruled separate schools to be unconstitutional. However some states still violated the law. In the 1968 case, “Green v. County School Board, the Court reviewed a freedom-of-choice plan adopted by a small district in Virginia.” The school district created separate K-12 schools, one for Black and one for Whites. The students were allowed to attend the school of their choice. Caucasians refused to attend the Black school. Only a few of the Blacks attend the Caucasian school. The Court rule the plan was not unconstitutional, but failed to achieve integration.
De Facto Segregation means separation as a matter of fact and not by law. For example, Birmingham City Schools are mostly African American students due to the high concentration of African Americans in the neighborhoods. It is a matter of fact not law. As an educational leader, I learned our school District is De Facto Segregated. Due to changes in neighborhood population and White flight from the city, almost all Birmingham City Schools are 90% African Americans. Courts are cautious when ruling in
The increase in Hispanics have impact our school enrollment. This requires educating staff to understand this new culture of students. We have made adjustments to enrollment documents. Many Hispanic students do not have birth certificates, social security numbers and immunization records. In addressing our African American students, we visit the neighborhoods of our students to get a better understanding of their culture. The principal did a staff tour of all the neighborhoods that feds into our high school. This is an enlightening