Judge-imposed racial desegregation can take root where most whites accept it

Evidence

Charlotte’s busing crisis culminated in a genuine political settlement, proving not only the power of the law to reshape the educational patterns of a large metropolitan district but also the myriad ways in which local people could influence the implementation of a judicial decree. … Although around ten thousand students, representing about 20 percent of the total white enrollment, departed from the public schools during the five-year period of busing turmoil, Charlotte-Mecklenburg still combined a greater degree of racial desegregation with a higher degree of popular support than most other urban districts in the nation. … Not surprisingly, the achievement forged during the divisive busing battles soon became incorporated into the booster vision of Charlotte as the prosperous, progressive embodiment of the latest New South. — Matthew D. Lassiter, The Suburban Origins of “Color-Blind”…, 106

Categorization

• CANDY: Despite 20% white flight, Charlotte kept integration AND popular support—and even Reagan’s 1984 anti-busing speech drew awkward silence from a Republican crowd. A vivid counterexample to the standard narrative.
• XREF: connects to: Desegregation succeeds when policy gives white and minority students shared incentives — Marcy Crouch, Magnet Schools and Other Means of…, 3; Whites broadly endorse racial equality in principle yet reject concrete equality policies — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2626; White objections to racial change defend group privilege rather than prejudice — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 3362 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Whites broadly endorse racial equality in principle yet reject concrete equality policies #complicates (0.75) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2626
• White objections to racial change defend group privilege rather than prejudice #complicates (0.74) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 3362
• Desegregation succeeds when policy gives white and minority students shared incentives #expands (0.72) — Marcy Crouch, Magnet Schools and Other Means of…, 3