Journal of Negro Education

Review
Author(s): Sandra N. Smith
Review by: Sandra N. Smith
Source: The Journal of Negro Education, Vol. 48, No. 2 (Spring, 1979), pp. 226-228
Published by: Journal of Negro Education
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would have been greatlyenrichedif he had explored the extentto
which pseudo-scientificpropaganda played a part in encouraging
industrial education. Although Spivey has made the strongest
condemnationof industrialeducation of any scholar to date, he
offerslittle that is new in the way of interpretation.Spivey has,
however,added a new dimension to the debate between the advo-
cates of academic versus industrialeducation by includinga chap-
ter to show that the concept of industrialeducation was extended
to Africa in order to meet the needs of European and American
industrialists.Since thereis currentlya revival of industrialeduca-
tion under way, Spivey's book could serve the purpose of alerting
societyto the importanceof seeing thatcareereducation is directed
into channels which will assure that the trainingwill furnishmar-
ketable technical skills. Spivey has produced a thoughtfulbook
that will stimulatediscussion and should be of interestto scholars
of black historyand professionaleducators for use at the under-
graduateand graduatelevels.
VictorB. Howard
Professorof History
Morehead State University

MUST WE BUS?*
Must We Bus? is the most completeand exhaustivecompilationof
data related to busing and school desegregationthat is available to
date. There is alreadya large body of opinion and policy literature
on these topics. Although Orfield also advocates policy, this work
is primarilydesigned to presentdemographic,legal, and historical
data as the basis for policy discussion and decision. This objective
is admirablyachieved.
The title suggests that the principal focus of the book is on
busing. Actually,busing is secondaryto the issue of desegregation.
The basic argumentis thatAmericanschools have a clear moraland
legal obligationto achieve desegregation;thatschool administrators
and policymakersat all levels have followedobstructionistpolicies;
that busing is a reasonable and necessary-though not sufficient-
means for achieving desegregation.The scope of data and of the
argumentis limitedto elementaryand secondaryeducation; the de-
segregationof public collegesand universitiesis not included.
The firstsection of the book focuses upon the law and desegre-
gation. It reviews the responses by school systems to the 1954
Brown decision and subsequent legislationdesigned to enforcede-

*Gary Orfield,Must We Bus? SegregatedSchools and National Policy (Washington,D.C.: The

BrookingsInstitution,1978). 468 pp. $7.95 paper; $16.95 cloth.

226 The Journalof Negro Education

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segregation.Orfield tracesthesedevelopmentsinto 1977. The treat-
ment is broad, however, and includes discussion of demographic
developmentin the cities,housing legislation,and the concerns of
Hispanic and other ethnic groups. The analysis is especially help-
ful in evaluating the possibilityof desegregation(and thereforethe
value of busing) in cities of differentsize in differentparts of the
country.
Various obstacles to desegregationare presented and possible
solutions are weighed.For example,Orfieldpresentsthe concernof
the Hispanic communitythat desegregationmay mean that its lan-
guage and unique culture will be lost to the children. Similar
concernshave been voiced by the Black community,but were large-
ly ignored in the book. Orfield also mentions the impact of the
Catholic school system.In some cities, the Catholic school system
provides the only integratedmiddle-class education for minority
children.On the otherhand, in citieswith a rapidlydecliningwhite
population, the presence of a stable and substantialproportionof
white childrenin the Catholic school systemimpedes effectivede-
segregationin thepublic school system.
A minor theme,but neverthelessone thatis stronglyargued, is
that a significantimpedimentto desegregationis the existence of
multiple,small, independentpolitical subdivisions,in major metro-
politan areas. This is viewed as an anachronisticsituation which
mustbe remediedby thecourtsor by nationalpolicy.
The second section of the book describesthe foot dragging,the
dilatory and obstructionisttactics of national leaders with respect
to implementingdesegregationpolicy. The Carteradministrationis
included.
The final section of the book presentsthe choices which con-
front national policymakers.Orfield outlines a varietyof actions
which could be utilized to bringschool systemscloser to the reality
of desegregation.He does not insist upon any single solution nor
upon any particularpackage of solutions.He asks only thatpolicy-
makers at all levels reaffirma genuine commitmentby takingsome
of theconcretesteps thatwill lead in thisdirection.
The values of the book are many. It presentsan excellentcol-
lection of current demographic,legal, and other data related to
school desegregation.An additional value lies in the exposure of
equivocationby nationalleaders. Orfieldurges themto make a firm
commitmentand to act on thatcommitment.One minorconcernis
the presentationof tedious and detailed statementsand actions by
congressmen,federal administrators,presidents,and others. This
is probably outweighedby the value to be derived frombringing
the actions of public servantsinto the lightof public scrutiny.The

The Journalof Negro Education 227

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cumulative effectof Gary Orfield's narrativeis devastating.The
book is recommendedreading for all persons who are concerned
thatour public schools become trulydemocraticinstitutions.

Sandra N. Smith
Associate Professorof Education
Howard University

IN THE MATTER OF COLOR*

This book, In the Matter of Color, by A. Leon Higginbotham,a
Federaljudge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuitin
Philadelphia, is an extremelytimelywork on the role of race in
the development of law in the United States. After reading the
book, few Americanswould deny the necessityof taking positive
legal action to compensate blacks for the brutalityperpetrated
against them and sanctionedby the forceof law. In the Matter of
Color places in historical perspective the perniciousness of the
Bakke decision and the nefariousnessof the "reverse discrimina-
tion" argumentin such cases as DeFunis, Bakke,and now Weber.
Judge Higginbothammakes the case for affirmativeaction in
1979 by painstakinglydocumentinghow racism became institu-
tionalizedduring the colonial period. When one considersthat the
atrocitiesinflictedupon blacks were enforcedby the legal system
for over threecenturiesand thatthe legal barriersto black progress
began to crumble less than three decades ago, one wonders why
the controversyover such modest programsas affirmativeaction.
In the Matter of Color is essential reading for those unfamiliar
with the systemicnature of racism in this countryand for those
who would argue against compensatoryprogramsfor blacks. It is
the firstof a four-volumeserieswhich tracesthe evolutionof racial
justice in the United States. The firstvolume chroniclesthe "inter-
relationshipof race and the American legal process" during the
colonial period.
The historyof the American people reveals a tension between
the national ideals as embodied in the Declaration of Independence
and the reality of American life. Certainly this tension is most
evident during the RevolutionaryWar when whites fought for
their freedom,while cruelly and unabashedly enslaving another
race of people. The cries for freedomand the expression of the
loftyideals of equality were clever expressionsof illusions as the
revolutionariesexhibited a remarkabledegree of ambidexterityas

*A. Leon Higginbotham,Jr.,In the Matter of Color, Race and the AmericanLegal Process: The
Colonial Period (New York: Oxford UniversityPress,1978). Illustrated.Pp. xxiii,312.

228 The Journalof Negro Education

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