"No, I wouldn't want to be bused to another school. I'm satisfied
being here at Grady."
"It's a matter of. being separated from my friends. I wouldn't know
anyone and I'd have to get used to new surroundings."
"I feet the Atlanta system has already met the Standards. Bussing in the Atlanta system would merely defeat the purpose of integration."
These are just a few of the reactions teachers and students have had when posed with the question of desegregation. Mere mention of desegregation is often enough to cause demonstrations and classroom boycotts. Parents complain, schools close, and somewhere in between the parents and school board officials, are the students. Although students are the ones who are actually affected, their voice seems to become lost. Their opinions are often either neglected or manage to go unheaded.
Despite shouts of protest, busing to achieve racial balance may become
a reality in the Atlanta School System. Should the ruling take effect, it
would mean the busing of some 4000 black and white students. A plan was
presented to the public by November 27.
Negotiations between the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement
of Colored People) and the Atlanta School Board have gotten to the point
that school staff members are also meeting with the NAACP.
Up to this point, only school board members were involved in the talks. This would indicate that they are now proceeding with the actual workings of the plan. This plan was submitted to the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on November 17.
However, busing is not the only alternative. Another idea is a "freedom of choice" plan. According to this plan, a student in the racial majority could request to transfer to a school where he would be in the racial minority. This would mean that only white students at Grady could transfer to predominately black schools. Cost of transportation and transportation itself would be provided.
Another idea, proposed in New York, would have made use of junior high schools. Junior high schools would be built in areas between black and white neighborhoods. These schools would cater to students from these neighborhoods and integration could be achieved.
Segregation seems to work in cycles. All white schools are slowly integrated. As white families move out, these previously all-white schools become black.
Meanwhile, the struggle for an agreement continues. Students are left wondering where they or their brothers and sisters will be attending school in the near future. Many officials believe all the confusion and turmoil produced by this issue is only defeating the purpose of public education.