Opinion: Moving forward as busing ends

No one can fully explain the phenomenal population growth and economic prosperity that Charlotte, N.C., has enjoyed over the past three decades, but racial desegregation of the school system certainly did not hinder it. Forced by courts to bus schoolchildren, Charlotte became a national testing ground for social justice in 1970. The schools initially faced bomb threats and fighting, but some courageous academic, civic and business leaders stepped forward to embrace the change. The results speak for themselves.

As the U.S. Supreme Court formally ends nearly two generations of busing in Charlotte, the School Board is led by a black man who attended schools there at a time when the races were separated. Arthur Griffin shows confidence in the work ahead. At a press conference following the court's ruling, he said: "This is the final chapter in pupil assignment, not the end of the work we need to do in our schools. . . . The courts have spoken, and they have said that is it up to us as individuals and as a community to do what is right and just for all children."

Charlotte is proceeding, notably, with a choice assignment plan that provides for continued geographic school zones and for specialized curriculum offerings that are backed with extra money and people. It is already achieving quantifiable results in the classroom, having more than doubled the percentage of black children who read at grade level in elementary school in the past five years and having increased fivefold the number of black students who take high school advanced placement exams.

In school districts across America, ones such as Charlotte or Pinellas or Hillsborough, the end of court-ordered busing need not be viewed with alarm. As Charlotte is now showing the nation, the postbusing era can be used to concentrate on academic progress and to assure that all students learn.

Busing did not just transform education for black students; it created a framework for community growth. Early on, business leaders such as banker Hugh McColl used the integrated schools as a selling point. They lured new business, new construction, even professional sports franchises. Blacks were elected to the mayor's office, Congress and the School Board. In the process, the city became a model for the New South. As Griffin puts it: "For as long as I can remember . . . this has been a city where people of different races, different backgrounds, religious creeds and origins have come together in very difficult times to make this a great city. We are the Queen City of the South, and I can attest to each one of you that this ruling simply says that we are moving forward."

As busing ends, the push for educational equality endures.

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