Opinion: A call to ‘pause and reflect’ on the 50th anniversary of busing, 10th of school merger
By 2014, the public education landscape was sprawling as six suburban municipal districts launched in Arlington, Bartlett, Germantown, Collierville, Lakeland and Millington. Last year, families turned out for the grand opening of Lakeland Preparatory High School. (Lucy Garrett/The Daily Memphian file)
Roderick Richmond
Roderick Richmond, Ed. D. is a 30-year career educator, including time as Deputy Superintendent of Memphis City Schools and Co-Chair of the Transition Steering Committee. He is currently and adjunct professor at CBU.
“As we mark the 10th anniversary of the monumental merger between Memphis City Schools and Shelby County Schools – regarded as one of the largest mergers in public school history – it’s essential to pause and assess the effects of the Transition Planning Commission’s recommendations and subsequent policies.”
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Chapter One: Desegregation before the buses
Court-ordered busing began in the Memphis City Schools system in 1973, 19 years after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that racially segregated public schools should be integrated with “all deliberate speed.” But MCS had tried other methods at integration before busing.
One-year marriage of Memphis City Schools and Shelby County Schools ended in a happy divorce — for one side
It was the largest and shortest public school district merger in United States history. A decade later, leaders on both sides recall the road that led to an unhappy “shotgun wedding.”
Chapter Two: Busing begins
This second part of The Daily Memphian’s oral history series marking the 50th anniversary of Plan Z begins with prophetic words from McRae’s December 1971 ruling that set the stage for Plan A’s implementation.
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