Chris,

>And if this was forced integration, kind of strange that they only sent one, isn't it?

I don't have time to get fully into this interesting discussion, unfortunately, but on this question, it was quite common for the earliest phases of integration to be done in a very limited way, just to break the barrier.

In my high school in Alabama, integration started in the 1968 or 1969 school year, when I was in 10th or 11th grade. The black students in that grade and two others, I believe, were given the choice to attend my school that year, with other grades added each year.

Switching schools at that point was entirely voluntary, and the takers were few that first year. I believe that my class of 90 received one or two, both of whom were daughters of the local civil rights leaders. (One of the two is now on the county school board.)

More arrived each year, until the black school was finally closed several years later. That was the original plan worked out with civil rights leaders by local and state leaders, and it worked very well.

I remember well the mixed feelings among the community, the relatively quick adjustment by the overwhelming majority of the students, and the strange sense of "what's the big deal" when listening to the adults talk about it.

One of our marching band trips was almost cancelled because some parents were afraid that their kids might end up in the same motel room with one of the black students! Meanwhile, the children of those parents were fighting to see who WOULD get the privilege of staying in the same room with their black friends.

Generally, you're correct that the most widespread and intense racial separation was in the South, but the North had its share, too. I don't think anyone can correctly assert that it was worse up north, but it was certainly not just a southern thing.

While there are still a SMALL minority of people in the south who oppose interracial social interaction, many of them paradoxically have black friends -- they just don't spend any time with them outside of work settings.

In fact, while most (not all) in the south (especially those under age 50) have progressed beyond racism, there is still an awkwardness on the question of HOW to socially interact. Many people have cordial friendships, but do not yet cross the line of inviting their friends over for dinner.

Those lines tend to blur the younger the people involved and the closer to the big city.

It's a fascinating topic that I would love to explore more fully, but time is currently my enemy, so I'll have to mostly leave it at that. Just be careful about carrying over the racist stereotype from the past -- it mostly doesn't fit anymore.


Today, there are still plenty of people in the deep south who haven't come to grips with how to more fully break the racial separation and build deep friendships that extend to visits in the home, worshiping together, etc, but much progress is being made.