In March, Associate Professor of History Dr. William Hustwit unveiled his new book, “Integration Now: Alexander v. Holmes and the End of Jim Crow Education.” He explores the often-ignored 1969 landmark Supreme Court case and assesses its significance in integrating the South’s public schools.

“Although Brown v. Board of Education 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,” Hustwit says. “Alexander v. Holmes required ‘integration now,’ and less than a year later, thousands of children were attending integrated schools.”

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 account of a legal decision that reaches from the cotton fields of Mississippi to the chambers of the Supreme Court.

This story was published in the Fall/Winter 2019 issue of ’Southern, BSC’s alumni magazine.

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