School Desegregation in Tennessee: 12 Districts Released from Desegregation Orders 17 Districts Remain Under Court Jurisdiction

摘要

Following the Civil War, Tennessee, a former slave state, enacted a series of statutes that mandated racial segregation in most areas of public life, including transportation, public accommodation, and education. In 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its Plessy decision that established the legal precedent of separate but equal facilities for blacks and whites. In 1954 the Court in Brown versus Board of Education overturned the Plessy decision, and 29 school districts in Tennessee were sued to forcibly integrate their schools.