Implementing Brown v. Board: an evaluation of the success of desegregation at Suncoast High School

In 1954 a unanimous Supreme Court ruled that maintaining separate schools for white and black students was inherently unequal. Following the decision, school boards
across the nation struggled to determine what desegregation meant for their schools. This research focuses on the history of desegregation at Suncoast High School, in Riviera Beach, FL, paying specific attention to the respective goals of the various stakeholders. The goals are discerned by drawing on official documents, newspaper articles and interviews. After weighing the goals of each stakeholder against the current state of desegregation at Suncoast I argue that only some goals have been met. I conclude that while the goals of the national stakeholders, school board and local white parents have been met as of 2010, some goals of the local black community—most importantly, having a community high school for their children—have not been met.