Integration Now

Recovering the history of an often-ignored landmark Supreme Court case William P. Hustwit assesses the significant role that <i>Alexander v. Holmes</i> (1969) played in integrating the South’s public schools. Although <i>Brown v. Board of Education</i> has rightly received the lion’s share of historical analysis its ambiguous language for implementation led to more than a decade of delays and resistance by local and state governments. <i>Alexander v. Holmes</i> required “integration now” and less than a year later thousands of children were attending integrated schools.<br/><br/>Hustwit traces the progression of the Alexander case to show how grassroots activists in Mississippi operated hand in glove with lawyers and judges involved in the litigation. By combining a narrative of the larger legal battle surrounding the case and the story of the local activists who pressed for change Hustwit offers an innovative well-researched account of a definitive legal decision that reaches from the cotton fields of Holmes County to the chambers of the Supreme Court in Washington.