Department of Justice rules schools in Cleveland, Mississippi, required to desegregate

Department of Justice rules for Mississippi school to desegregate.
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The Justice Department on Monday ordered the school district in Cleveland, Mississippi, to desegregate, effectively ending a five-decade-long legal battle that has been waged nearly since Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. The court concluded that "the delay in desegregation has deprived generations of students of the constitutionally-guaranteed right of an integrated education."

The court rejected two proposals put forward by the school district as unconstitutional, and decided that the only way to desegregate was to consolidate Cleveland's high schools and middle schools. But how has segregation gone on so long in the first place in Cleveland? According to The Atlantic:

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.