The Forward Edge of Every Backward Movement: The Desegregation of Stockton Unified School District
Poster Number
65
Faculty Mentor Name
Gregory Rohlf
Research or Creativity Area
Humanities & Arts
Abstract
Although school segregation was outlawed in California in 1880, Stockton practiced segregationist tactics within its government, including its public school district well into the twentieth century. In the early 1900’s, red-lining influenced by the Home Owner’s Loan Corporation and race-based housing restrictions were put in place by mortgage brokers and money lenders with the goal of keeping North Stockton completely white by placing racially motivated language within the deeds for the homes in North Stockton that specified that only white people were allowed to live in these homes. This, in turn, segregated the city of Stockton, from North to South along Weber Avenue. North Stockton soon became known for its quiet, idyllic neighborhoods, lined with towering trees and picturesque family homes. The homes to the south of Weber Avenue were markedly different; due to their location, they were worth far less than their counterparts to the north, limiting their owners’ abilities to create generational wealth as their counterparts to the north were doing. These housing restrictions directly affected the quality of the schools in their neighborhoods and indirectly segregated Stockton public schools. Despite Mendez v Westminster outlawing school segregation in California in 1947 and Brown v Board of Education outlawing school segregation on a federal level in 1954, Stockton Unified School District (SUSD) continued to practice segregative practices. Attempts made throughout the late 1960s and into the early 1970s to desegregate Stockton public schools in the form of busing were met with fierce opposition from the public. Proposals to integrate the school district through busing, presented by Superintendent James Reusswig of SUSD, resulted in protests, riots, tense school board elections and student-led walkouts. It was only after a four year long lawsuit and a direct order from the California Supreme Court that SUSD finally desegregated their schools in 1974.
Location
University of the Pacific, DeRosa University Center
Start Date
24-4-2026 11:00 AM
End Date
24-4-2026 2:00 PM
The Forward Edge of Every Backward Movement: The Desegregation of Stockton Unified School District
University of the Pacific, DeRosa University Center
Although school segregation was outlawed in California in 1880, Stockton practiced segregationist tactics within its government, including its public school district well into the twentieth century. In the early 1900’s, red-lining influenced by the Home Owner’s Loan Corporation and race-based housing restrictions were put in place by mortgage brokers and money lenders with the goal of keeping North Stockton completely white by placing racially motivated language within the deeds for the homes in North Stockton that specified that only white people were allowed to live in these homes. This, in turn, segregated the city of Stockton, from North to South along Weber Avenue. North Stockton soon became known for its quiet, idyllic neighborhoods, lined with towering trees and picturesque family homes. The homes to the south of Weber Avenue were markedly different; due to their location, they were worth far less than their counterparts to the north, limiting their owners’ abilities to create generational wealth as their counterparts to the north were doing. These housing restrictions directly affected the quality of the schools in their neighborhoods and indirectly segregated Stockton public schools. Despite Mendez v Westminster outlawing school segregation in California in 1947 and Brown v Board of Education outlawing school segregation on a federal level in 1954, Stockton Unified School District (SUSD) continued to practice segregative practices. Attempts made throughout the late 1960s and into the early 1970s to desegregate Stockton public schools in the form of busing were met with fierce opposition from the public. Proposals to integrate the school district through busing, presented by Superintendent James Reusswig of SUSD, resulted in protests, riots, tense school board elections and student-led walkouts. It was only after a four year long lawsuit and a direct order from the California Supreme Court that SUSD finally desegregated their schools in 1974.
