Busing v. Neighborhood Schools

[madville]

18. I was bused in the 80s to a middle school in the city

They bused us from a predominantly white suburb to a majority black middle school in the city. It was pretty bad, I believe it created a whole generation of racists on both sides because there was so much conflict, the school had to be shut down several times and for almost a week one time due to a fight along racial lines involving over 100 people. I was just in 6th grade and it was mostly the older kids fighting so when things like that would break out we would try to get to a classroom or climb onto the roof of the outdoor covered walkways.

All the white families that could afford it pulled their kids and started sending them to the private schools in the area. Several new ones were actually built around that time to meet the demand, in a way the busing helped create a larger elite private school system.

An interesting thing is my parents moved us to a neighboring rural county that had one middle and high school, it was 50/50 black and white and people got along pretty well because everyone had grown up together and weren't forced to be together.