A Study of Regulatory Intervention in Labor-Management Relations: School Desegregation in Los Angeles, Dade County, and Boston

This article analyzes the interaction between public school desegregation and labor relations in Los Angeles, Dade County, and Boston. First enumerating the ways in which desegregation led to specific changes in either personnel policies or collective bargaining agreements in the three school systems, then providing an evaluation of the performance of the court’s regulatory intervention within labor management relations in the three school systems. After comparing regulatory performance, the factors that influence the observed variations in performance are assessed. A distinction is found between those causal factors that are ‘environmental’ and those that are under the direct control of the parties. The article concludes with a theoretical discussion of the differences that exist between the court’s regulatory intervention in collective bargaining and arbitration

Busing did not fail. We did. : Doublespeak, Whiteness, and the Contradictions of Liberalism in Public Schooling

Using an interdisciplinary approach and a gear metaphor, I look at why an early 2000s school desegregation program in the Twin Cities was praised as revolutionary, but ended up resulting in greater segregation in the cities. This dissonance serves as an entry point for my greater project, in which I attempt to understand how doublespeak functions as a tool of white resistance to desegregation efforts in the North, and by extension, as a tool of white supremacy. Zooming out, I look at how the contradictions of liberalism harness the manipulation of language and the construction of whiteness to ensure that public schools serve as a site for the reproduction of white supremacy

Wheels on the Bus: School Transportation as a Reflection of Sprawl

The second half of the twentieth century constituted a change in land use ideology and development practice brought about by the rise of the automobile, increasing economic upward mobility, and privatization of the family home. During this time, the districting and building of public schools similarly changed, turning schools from local community centers to regional and de-contextualized places of education. The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which these development practices have caused children to rely on car and bus transportation to get to and from school. Using the variable of distance within a GIS analysis of three case study locations in California, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, we tested the hypothesis that the increasing regionalization of schools in conjunction with the sprawl of developed parcels diminishes walkability to those schools for the children who attend them. Our results suggest that increased distance from schools and the districting mandates for determining school attendance decrease the ability of children to walk to school, reflecting the shift to automobile-centered land use. Our research also suggests that infrastructure-related walkability is further impeded by economic, cultural, and socio-psychological norms that are in many ways connected to or facilitated by the automobile

Ray Flynn's Legacy: American Cities and the Progressive Agenda

Raymond Flynn won Boston's mayoralty in 1983 after a virtual tie in the preliminary election, as he and Mel King led a field of nine, each with approximately 29 percent of the votes. Both were neighborhood activists who had been in the state legislature. Both had been underdogs in the preliminary election, but defeated a better financed developer-friendly candidate. In the general election Flynn, white and from South Boston, won handily over King, a black who was on the faculty at MIT. The Boston Globe, endorsing Flynn, argued that he was in a better position to reach out to South Boston conservatives. One King supporter, perhaps unsurprised by the outcome, commented: "...they elected the two most pro neighborhood people as finalists and then what followed was ... neighborhood forums where you were hearing different theories of community empowerment and organizing ... it was really an education for the whole populace." In this retrospective, Peter Dreier, a housing activist who became Flynn's housing policy advisor, describes the results as they unfolded in City Hall: significant accomplishments against a troubled history marred by the busing conflicts of the previous decade

Symposium: Brown v. Board of Education and Its Legacy: A Tribute to Justice Thurgood Marshall, Learning Together: Justice Marshall\u27s Desegregation Opinions

In this Article, Professor Marcus examines the influence of Justice Thurgood Marshall on the Supreme Court\u27s current school desegregation agenda. Justice Marshall was part of the majority in desegregation cases during his earlier years on the high Court subsequently, however, his role became one of dissenter. Professor Marcus analyzes the divisive issues facing the Court in desegregation litigation, Marshall\u27s positions on such issues, and his legacy to the Court in this area. Finally, the Article assesses the vitality of this legacy in light of two Supreme Court decisions issued after Justice Marshall\u27s retirement