Separate But Equal (Lucent Library of Black History)

Describes the inequality of education between white and African American students after the Civil War, the legal cases that forced the integration of schools, and the reactions to the desegregation of schools that still continue today.

Grade 7 Up—This simple and direct overview begins with the ban against educating slaves and the efforts of Prudence Crandall to provide black girls with schooling in Connecticut in 1832. Following a history of segregation, the major battles to desegregate public schools in the North and in the South, as well as those to desegregate universities and colleges, are highlighted. The violent white backlash that occurred in both Southern and Northern states in the 1960s and '70s is also covered. More value is added through the inclusion of statements by students who were on the frontlines in desegregating schools. Sidebars and archival photos are included. Libraries would do well to add this book to their collections.—Carol Jones Collins, Columbia High School, Maplewood, NJ
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