SEGREGATION STILL DIVIDES CLASSROOMS

In some cases, the practice is allowed because parents – black and white – want it that way

BROOKHAVEN, Miss. – More than six decades after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled segregated schools unconstitutional, one Mississippi school district has largely segregated classrooms – some allblack, some majority white.

Segregation in the 2,800-student Brookhaven School District, which is 65% black, is made possible by an informal “parental request” policy that allows parents to ask for specific teachers for their elementary-age children.

It’s a policy used by white and black families alike to place their children with preferred teachers or with friends.

“We’re seeing school choice, which ostensibly offers greater ac

This story was produced by the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting, a nonprofit news organization that seeks to hold public officials accountable and empower citizens in their communities.

AP In 1964, Linda Brown Smith returned to the Sumner School in Topeka, Kan., a public school that refused to admit her in 1951 because she is black. That led to the Brown v. Board of Education ruling.