Historical Spotlight: The Hidden Cost of Integration

As families get ready for another school year, it’s easy to focus on supply lists, new teachers, and getting back into a routine. But there’s a much deeper history behind the public education system that we don’t always talk about. In this Historical Spotlight, we’re taking a closer look at the impact of school integration on Black education and the thousands of Black teachers who were pushed out of the classroom as predominantly Black schools closed. Over 40,000 Black teachers lost their jobs by 1970, forever changing the educational experience for generations of Black students.