How Does School Desegregation Affect White Adults' Racial Attitudes and Political Ideologies?

This study investigates how historical school desegregation impacts White adults' racial attitudes and political leanings. Using nationwide data from the General Social Survey, the research analyzes responses from individuals who attended desegregated schools due to court mandates from the 1960s to 1980s. Findings reveal that desegregation significantly reduced political conservatism by 0.35 standard deviations and improved positive racial attitudes by 0.081 standard deviations among White adults in the U.S. South, with negligible effects outside the South. This suggests that desegregation led to lasting ideological and attitudinal shifts, particularly in regions with a history of legal racial segregation.

Central Research Question

This study examines the long-term effects of school desegregation on the racial attitudes and political ideology of White adults in the United States. Specifically, it asks: What is the causal impact of historical court-mandated school desegregation on White individuals’ racial attitudes and political conservatism as adults? Using this question as a focal point, the research aims to determine whether desegregation led to measurable shifts in political ideology and racial attitudes, especially within the U.S. South, where racial segregation was once mandated by law.

Previous Literature

Existing research into the effects of racial desegregation in schools has largely focused on the educational and socioeconomic outcomes of Black students, who generally benefited in terms of academic attainment and later success in the labor market. Studies show that racially integrated schooling may reduce White prejudice through increased intergroup contact, as posited by Allport’s contact hypothesis (1954). This hypothesis argues that greater racial contact, under certain conditions, can foster positive attitudes between groups, particularly when there is equal status, shared goals, and institutional support. While numerous studies have tested the contact hypothesis, few have established causation, and much of the literature lacks comprehensive, nationwide data on White individuals’ long-term attitudes following school desegregation. This study seeks to bridge that gap, offering new insights by combining rigorous causal methods and nationwide data.

Data

The study analyzes data from the General Social Survey (GSS), a nationwide survey that has been conducted since 1972 and includes self-reported responses from White adults on questions related to background, socioeconomic status, political ideology, and racial attitudes. This survey data is geocoded, which allows the researcher to align respondents' counties of residence with the historical timeline of court-mandated school desegregation plans. The research sample includes 342 counties, with 74 implementing desegregation plans between the 1960s and 1980s. Additionally, county-level socioeconomic characteristics, voting patterns, and segregation indices from sources like the Decennial Census and the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) survey provide context for examining factors that may have influenced the effects of desegregation.

Methods

To assess the impact of school desegregation, the study uses a difference-in-differences (DID) approach. This method compares changes in racial attitudes and political conservatism between White adults who were school-aged at the time of desegregation (exposed group) and those who were already adults (unexposed group). The analysis is further refined by comparing respondents from counties where desegregation occurred to those from counties that were not mandated to desegregate. The main outcomes analyzed include three composite scores: political conservatism (e.g., likelihood of Republican affiliation), attitudes toward Black individuals and racial equity policies, and support for free speech protections for racially biased opinions. These measures are derived from a factor analysis of related GSS survey items. The study’s DID approach accounts for potential regional variation by focusing separately on the U.S. South, given its distinct history of legally enforced racial segregation, and other regions of the U.S.

Findings/Size Effects

The findings reveal substantial regional variation in the effects of school desegregation. Among White adults in the U.S. South who were exposed to desegregated schools, there was a significant reduction in political conservatism and an increase in positive racial attitudes. Specifically, exposure to desegregated schooling decreased political conservatism by 0.35 standard deviations and increased positive racial attitudes by 0.081 standard deviations. Notably, these effects were not observed in White adults from other regions of the U.S., indicating that the social and historical context of the South may have influenced the impact of desegregation policies.

To contextualize these effects, the researcher also examined specific behaviors tied to racial attitudes and political ideology. For instance, White adults in the South exposed to desegregation were approximately 18.34 percentage points more likely to vote for a Democratic presidential candidate and 16.47 percentage points more likely to dismiss cultural explanations for Black–White inequality. However, no significant effect was found on support for the protection of racist speech in either region, suggesting that while desegregation influenced political ideology and attitudes toward racial equity, it did not shift broader views on free speech issues related to race.

The study further explored the impact of mobility and migration patterns, noting that many White individuals moved out of desegregating districts, potentially as a reaction to mandated integration. To account for this, the analysis focused on White respondents who reported residing in the same county as adults that they had lived in as teenagers. Sensitivity tests showed that even with this focus, the results held, indicating that desegregation’s effects on political conservatism and racial attitudes in the South were robust to potential biases introduced by selective migration patterns.

Conclusion

The study provides the first nationwide causal evidence linking school desegregation to long-term shifts in White adults’ racial attitudes and political conservatism, particularly in the Southern U.S. These findings support the contact hypothesis, which argues that greater racial exposure in desegregated schools can reduce outgroup prejudice. While the positive effects on racial attitudes and political ideology were limited to the South, the study highlights the enduring impact of desegregation policies on individuals’ perspectives, with implications for modern policy discussions around racial equity in education.

These findings suggest that while educational desegregation may have initially been focused on reducing racial isolation for the benefit of Black students, it also had substantial effects on White adults, fostering more progressive political attitudes in areas historically associated with racial segregation. Given the regional specificity of these effects, future policies promoting racial integration in schools could consider local historical and social contexts to optimize outcomes. The study concludes that integrating school systems may offer benefits beyond academic improvements for students, potentially shaping social and political views in ways that promote inclusivity and reduce racial bias across generations.

Citation

Chin, Mark. 2024. "The Impact of School Desegregation on White Individuals’ Racial Attitudes and Politics in Adulthood." Education Finance and Policy. https://doi.org/10.1162/edfp_a_00428