St Luke's Church Eccleshill - Articles from "The Link"

"Busing" - the USA experience

For nearly a year now, I’ve sent a “Letter from St Luke’s Eccleshill” by e-mail to “Cross and Crown”, the parish magazine of the R E Lee Memorial Episcopal Church in Lexington, our twin parish in Virginia, USA. Last month I wrote about the education issues raised at a meeting in Ravenscliffe (see page 9 of October’s Link), and Brian Shaw, their editor, sent back a comment to the effect that the American experience was that bussing (or ‘busing’ as it is spelt over there) was a big mistake. So I asked him to explain why...

I grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina, the site of one of the earliest sit-ins by African Americans attempting to end segregation. The city was divided right down the middle of Elm Street (the main street); everything to the east was black, everything to the west was white. It was typical of many southern cities.

What busing attempted to do was force the east and the west to come together. They started with the four high schools; two were all white, one was all black, and one was about a 60-40 mix of white and black. They mixed them all up and ended up shipping kids all over town. The result that was that NO ONE felt comfortable. The busing ruined school identity and spirit, and it destroyed the sense of community at the schools. In other words, it had the exact opposite effect to what was intended.

Later, the school board re-drew the districts to reach out to pockets of black kids to incorporate into the white schools and vice versa. The result of that was the creation of four high schools that were divided along economic lines, although they were racially mixed. That’s where things remain now, 30 years later.

I believe we cannot force each other to integrate. I think we must seek and promote opportunities to do so. Athletics has been a powerful force in integration in this country. It’s hard to be a racist when you’ve got teammates who are of another race. Education, in the broadest sense, is also the key. Over here we talk a lot about “mandatory” diversity, of making sure that appointed groups and committees have representatives from all segments of the community. Although it smacks of political correctness, it does have a beneficial impact. We must look for every opportunity to create integration and interaction without seeming to force it. If you can do that, you can take a small step forward. Human nature being what it is, you can only make so much progress. Good luck.

Brian Shaw

	*St Luke's Church, Eccleshill - The Link* magazine** The Link is published monthly at 40p (Senior Citizens 35p), and we deliver free within the parish and post copies (at the reader's expense) to those who request it. Please contact us if you would like a free copy for a trial period. November 2002, Page 8.
Home Page. Index of articles. Race & Faiths: index, Riots, Twinning, Aire, Iraq, Bussing, Islam. Article which gave rise to this one. Schools: index, Church & School, Creationism, Get involved, Ravenscliffe, Bussing. In this issue: (November 2002) Vicar's letter, Wildfire, Window, small services, bussing in USA, Iraq, Jelleys.	"Busing" - the USA experience For nearly a year now, I’ve sent a “Letter from St Luke’s Eccleshill” by e-mail to “Cross and Crown”, the parish magazine of the R E Lee Memorial Episcopal Church in Lexington, our twin parish in Virginia, USA. Last month I wrote about the education issues raised at a meeting in Ravenscliffe (see page 9 of October’s Link), and Brian Shaw, their editor, sent back a comment to the effect that the American experience was that bussing (or ‘busing’ as it is spelt over there) was a big mistake. So I asked him to explain why... I grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina, the site of one of the earliest sit-ins by African Americans attempting to end segregation. The city was divided right down the middle of Elm Street (the main street); everything to the east was black, everything to the west was white. It was typical of many southern cities. What busing attempted to do was force the east and the west to come together. They started with the four high schools; two were all white, one was all black, and one was about a 60-40 mix of white and black. They mixed them all up and ended up shipping kids all over town. The result that was that NO ONE felt comfortable. The busing ruined school identity and spirit, and it destroyed the sense of community at the schools. In other words, it had the exact opposite effect to what was intended. Later, the school board re-drew the districts to reach out to pockets of black kids to incorporate into the white schools and vice versa. The result of that was the creation of four high schools that were divided along economic lines, although they were racially mixed. That’s where things remain now, 30 years later. I believe we cannot force each other to integrate. I think we must seek and promote opportunities to do so. Athletics has been a powerful force in integration in this country. It’s hard to be a racist when you’ve got teammates who are of another race. Education, in the broadest sense, is also the key. Over here we talk a lot about “mandatory” diversity, of making sure that appointed groups and committees have representatives from all segments of the community. Although it smacks of political correctness, it does have a beneficial impact. We must look for every opportunity to create integration and interaction without seeming to force it. If you can do that, you can take a small step forward. Human nature being what it is, you can only make so much progress. Good luck. Brian Shaw
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