Desegregation Busing Helped Reduce Racial Discrimination (Coursework Sample)

Desegregation Busing Helped Reduce Racial Discrimination
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Desegregation busing began a few years after the Supreme Court determined that segregation in American schools was unconstitutional and violated the 14th Amendment in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. Soon it became a court-mandated practice that entailed transporting students to school afar their neighborhoods as an effort to address racial segregation. However, these instructions sparked large protests across the United States, with violent demonstrations against busing breaking out in Boston, Pontiac, and Louisville. Nonetheless, when these programs were implemented correctly, students benefited immensely. Desegregation busing reduced racial discrimination by providing equal opportunities, closing the resource gap between schools, and improving the quality of education.
One of the ways desegregation busing reduced racial discrimination was by providing equal opportunities to minority and white students. It was especially true for minority students in school districts whose white parents supported busing, such as Boston. In these areas, black students were assigned a white caretaker parent who assisted open "other doors that otherwise would have been closed to black students." For example, some students secured paid summer internships through their caretaker parents' contacts. Moreover, minority students became more self-assured, less self-conscious, and more comfortable in primarily white settings. As a result, most of these students became highly successful and accomplished professionals who were not limited by their background or skin color.[Valerie Strauss, “What Black Students Who Were Bused Said About Their Experiences,” The Washington Post, July 8, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2019/07/08/what-black-students-who-were-bused-said-about-their-experiences/.] [Valerie Strauss, “What Black Students Who Were Bused Said About Their Experiences.”]
Another way busing promoted racial integration was by providing equal education resources to minority and white students. Predominantly white schools were more equipped and better funded than minority schools. These schools had better libraries and facilities, as well as after-school programs. As a result, minority students bused to such schools began pursuing various careers early. Rothstein cites the story of a black female student who now works as a public TV programmer because she took a course that placed her in a corporate public TV setting as an excellent example of this integration. Therefore, access to the same resources leveled the playing field for white and minority students, further promoting racial integration.[Richard Rothstein, “Lessons; If Tried, Real Integration Easily Proves its Worth,” The New York Times, Jan. 30, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/30/nyregion/lessons-if-tried-real-integration-easily-proves-its-worth.html.] [Rothstein, “Lessons; If Tried, Real Integration Easily Proves its Worth.”]
The final way busing helped minimize racial discrimination was by enhancing educational quality in America. Despite white parents' protests, the courts continued to push for desegregation busing. As a result, beginning in the 1980s, black and minority schools began to receive financing to improve their facilities in readiness for white students. In Charlotte, for example, a crew of fixers arrived at local black high schools to revamp the facilities for white students. The busing program was particularly successful in the South. The courts aggressively pushed for integration, which is the South is where black and white children are more likely to share a classroom. Thus, busing encouraged whites to spend equally in black schools, which improved the quality of education across the country.[Nikole Hannah-Jones, “It Was Never About Bu