Just do it! Integrate schools right away.

We have long had schools that were officially closed to students of color. Segregation laws have sent a powerful, racist message that generations of students have absorbed. At the same time, our young people have lost the opportunity to learn from others of different races.

Schools attended only by African American students have always been severely short of funds, because White populations are rarely willing to spend adequate money on schools unless their own children attend them. Just by comparing photographs of White and Black schools in Prince George’s County, you can immediately see where most of the money has gone.

Therefore, we need to make every school in Prince George’s County reflect the diversity of the County population as soon as possible.

First, we can try dividing the County into large districts and assigning equal numbers of minority students to all the schools within their own districts. (This will be called a “unitary district” plan.) If the schools still remain segregated, we will begin busing students to increase the level of integration county-wide.

White students should be bused to historically African American schools as well as the reverse. The teaching staffs of all our schools should also be integrated.

There will be some disruption and hostility as a result of this rapid approach. Therefore, County schools should develop educational programs designed to help people of all races learn to get along together. Also, teachers, administrators, and students who act in a hostile or racist manner should be disciplined.

We will get past the initial conflict fairly quickly if we act decisively to integrate our schools and send a clear message that we expect everyone to help make integration successful. All our students will be better off as a result.

Integrate the County, but don't start with kids

It is tempting to try to fix our County’s racial segregation by integrating our schools. But if we use our schools to integrate our society, then our children—especially children of color—will have to bear the burden of integration. The few African American students who attend predominantly White schools will be unwelcome, socially isolated, and sometimes abused. They will not be taught about their culture and heritage. Even if their numbers increase, predominantly White teachers will expect too little of them and their education will suffer.

Fortunately, there is an alternative: integrating our neighborhoods first, and then allowing our schools to integrate gradually.

Families in Prince George’s County live in different areas and towns depending on their race. This is partly because realtors steer White people into White areas and people of color into African American or Latino areas. During the 1950s, it is the official policy of the National Association of Realtors never to bring "into a neighborhood … members of any race or nationality" if their "presence" will lower property values in the neighborhood. The Realtors Association believes that African Americans and Mexicans lower property values when they enter White neighborhoods.

Another reason for housing segregation is that the Federal Housing Administration does not grant African Americans loans to buy homes during the 1950s and 1960s. Banks also discriminate in lending. The result is that African Americans are unable to buy houses that are good investments, so they are unable to accumulate capital.

We can promote housing integration—by banning discrimination, by providing loans to all qualified applicants, and even by deliberately situating public housing projects in places where they will increase diversity. Developers can also be encouraged to build deliberately integrated new suburban communities.

Meanwhile, we can promote integration of workplaces, retail stores, and houses of worship. This is the best path to real integration and fairness.

Provide high-quality neighborhood schools for all, without forcing integration

Regardless of race, all of the County’s parents say that their top priority is simply the best possible education for their children. Integrating our schools may be a good thing, but it is not our highest priority, and it comes at a high cost: hostility, “White flight” out of the County, long commutes to schools, and a loss of choice for families.

It has certainly been wrong for us to exclude any child from a school because of his or her race. We should now advertise to all families that they have a right, guaranteed by the Supreme Court, to send their children to their preferred schools. However, we should not force families and children to go to particular schools just to promote integration. If most White students stay in White schools and most Blacks stay in Black schools, that is acceptable—as long as everyone receives a good education.

If we try to bus students to promote integration, we will not get integrated schools. We will just get years of turmoil followed by the withdrawal of most White children from the County’s public school system.

The County has spent less money on children of color than on White children, and this is wrong. However, there is nothing wrong with an all-Black school—as long as it has adequate staff, equipment, space, and supplies.

Besides, we predict that large numbers of African American families will move into Prince George’s County during the next 30-40 years, and many will be well educated and well paid. They will be able to demand good schools for all children in the County.

We understand that diversity is a value. However, there can be cultural diversity even within a school that is all-White or all-Black. Besides, if we integrate our schools by busing, then all our schools will be majority-White. Every school will have the same dominant culture. That is not really “diversity.” It is actually more diverse to have some schools with largely Black populations, and others that are largely White.