Chapter One: Desegregation before the buses
Students change classes in a high school in 1978. (Courtesy Special Collections Department, University of Memphis Libraries)
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.
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Plan Z court-ordered busing Robert McRae O.Z. Stephens Subscriber OnlyThank you for supporting local journalism.
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Bill Dries
Bill Dries covers city and county government and politics. He is a native Memphian and has been a reporter for more than 40 years.
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