Joe Biden’s bragging about his working with segregationist Democrats brought his opposition to forced busing in the 1970’s back into the news last week. With all the time passed and with all the agendas surrounding its history, there is far more ignorance than knowledge about forced busing. I cannot dispel all ignorance, but I will humbly try to do my small part. (And, yes, I guess I will be indirectly defending Biden on this although I am NO fan of him.)
It is difficult to prove a negative, but I cannot recall any elected body that willingly instituted the busing of students to far off schools into order to achieve desegregation. With few to no exceptions, forced busing, when instituted, was done under the direction of federal court rulings. It was one of the more noxious late 20th century episodes of federal judges acting as dictators in black robes.
And it was profoundly unpopular. Parents, many of whom chose their home to be close to a school, saw their children bused to a far off school across town. At the same time, they saw that many of the liberals pushing forced busing sent their children to private schools.
Responses became even violent as in Jefferson County, Kentucky and South Boston. But a more common response was upper middle class families, mostly White, fleeing to the suburbs (“White Flight’) where there was not forced busing regimes. Others switched their kids to private schools. Yes, some did so from racist motives, but virtually all did not want their children to be a part of this dictatorial social experiment. White Flight harmed urban school districts by weakening their tax base. And, ironically, it usually made urban schools, as well as many cities, less multiethnic. So much for desegregation.
Responses became even violent as in Jefferson County, Kentucky and South Boston. But a more common response was upper middle class families, mostly White, fleeing to the suburbs (“White Flight’) where there was not forced busing regimes. Others switched their kids to private schools. Yes, some did so from racist motives, but virtually all did not want their children to be a part of this dictatorial social experiment. White Flight harmed urban school districts by weakening their tax base. And, ironically, it usually made urban schools, as well as many cities, less multiethnic. So much for desegregation.
It was certainly hard to explain how putting children on long bus rides every day helped their education or why it helped the education of black children to seat them next to white children. The latter question was asked by black opponents to busing.
And that brings me to what is perhaps most forgotten. Forced busing was not a white vs. black issue. Opposition to it crossed racial lines. I personally experienced this as a high school student myself in Dallas in the 70’s.
I lived far from my private school, and it became unfeasible for my parents to take me to school. But the school bus did not come nearly as far south as where I lived. So I had to get up early and take a city bus just to get to my school bus. Yes, I experienced a bit of busing myself.
Now on the city bus were mainly Black workers getting to their places of work early in the morning. I was an unusual passenger in more ways than one, but we got along very well.
One morning on the bus – I don’t remember how – the subject of forced busing came up. I was surprised to see how much these Black workers opposed it. They were quite vocal about it. But their opposition made sense. After all, some of them surely had kids bused across town, too.
One morning on the bus – I don’t remember how – the subject of forced busing came up. I was surprised to see how much these Black workers opposed it. They were quite vocal about it. But their opposition made sense. After all, some of them surely had kids bused across town, too.
But opposition to forced busing crossing ethnic lines is not something you hear much about. Instead past opposition is assumed to be RACIST among the race baiting crowd.
It should make one wonder how much other fake history they are peddling.
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