High School Bands in Jackson, Mississippi, Before and After Integration

Abstract

Although the United States Supreme Court declared segregation in education under law unconstitutional in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954, the public high schools in Jackson, Mississippi, would remain segregated until 1970. The present study examines the effects of this social climate on the high school band programs in Jackson, Mississippi, during segregation and integration. Information about the band programs was investigated using in-person and telephone interviews, as well as yearbooks, books, and other print media. The implications of this study indicate that segregation had a negative effect on the segregated all-African American high school band programs in Jackson, Mississippi. This study also shows that, initially, integration had a positive effect on the previously all-white high schools in Jackson and that integration immediately had a negative impact on the previously all-African American high schools.