Brown v. Board of Education and Changes in Population

  1. Changes in Population

In 1950, the white population of New Orleans greatly outnumbered the Black population, and the city was predominantly white. However, the NAACP’s New Orleans branch was already organizing protests and boycotts for equality in the Crescent City. Amid these protests, the Supreme Court ruled that segregation was unconstitutional in the public school system and mandated desegregation. White residents responded with mass migration from urban New Orleans in the mid-1950s. This phenomenon, known as white flight, saw many white residents moving into suburban areas of New Orleans and other surrounding parishes over the following two decades. As white residents continued to leave their homes, the Black population grew in New Orleans in 1960 and 1970.

2. Population Impacts Enrollment

As the white population of New Orleans continued their exodus, they removed their children from public schools that began integration, and public school student enrollment would radically change over this period. Before Brown v. Board of Education, the number of Black and white students enrolled in public schools was similar. Following this decision, the number of Black students increased dramatically, with white student enrollment decreasing. As public schools became predominantly Black, white parents enrolled their children in private schools opening in white suburbs.