Desegregation's Effect on Job Opportunities for Negro Teachers

Author

Conard A. Hargest, Prairie View A&M College

Date of Award

5-1969

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Degree Discipline

Economics

Abstract

The 1954 Supreme Court decision declaring segregated public education to be in violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment broke the job monopoly of Negro teachers. While integrated student bodies were becoming commonplace, the integration of faculties lagged. Faced with the new job market that discriminates against him rather than for him, the Negro teacher, in many states, found himself forced out of teaching jobs in direct proportion to the rate and extent of integration.

In the absence of integration, Negro teachers would be hired in proportion to the number of students of their race. The number of Negro students, therefore, establishes an a priori standard for hiring Negro teachers. For this reason, the comparison of job opportunities, over time, is feasible.

If a substantial number of Negro students attend integrated schools and are taught by white teachers, the need for Negro teachers declines. The difference between the a priori standard and the actual number of Negro teachers yields an aggregate job disadvantage. Several states show a high correlation between increases in aggregate job disadvantage for Negro teachers and the extent of integration. Seventeen southern and border states are classified according to this criterion. Although federal legislation will undoubtedly invalidate the results of this study over time, it is apparent that the short run effect of school integration has been to relegate the Negro teacher into a disadvantaged employment position.

Committee Chair/Advisor

Clarence M. Batie

Committee Member

J. L. Brown

Publisher

Prairie View A&M College

Rights

Date of Digitization

3-2-2022

Contributing Institution

John B Coleman Library

City of Publication

Prairie View

MIME Type

Application/PDF

Recommended Citation

Hargest, C. A. (1969). Desegregation's Effect on Job Opportunities for Negro Teachers. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.pvamu.edu/pvamu-theses/1246