Manchester University Press The 'Desegregation' of English Schools: Bussing, Race and Urban Space, 1960s–80s

This is the first ever book-length work on English bussing, an integrationist policy introduced by certain Local Education Authorities in the early 1960s. It reveals the failure of forced dispersal; despite its stated aim of “spreading the burden” and promoting linguistic and cultural integration, bussing served only to further segregate, and left immigrant children vulnerable to racial harassment. Esteves explores the implementation and impact of bussing in Southall and Bradford, where it was a key measure, and considers the extent to which the policy was heavily improvised and based on unscientific claims. He also discusses places where bussing was more low-key (including Huddersfield, Halifax and West Bromwich), and the education authorities which refused to introduce it, such as Birmingham and London. “This book is a brilliant and timely study bringing together a history of English public policies on race, post-colonial thinking on immigration and the realities of urban education. It examines the failed attempt over forty years ago to 'de-segregate' schools attended by migrant – especially Asian – children, by their forced dispersal – 'bussing' them to 'white' schools. The hysterical reaction to immigrant minorities, the nostalgia for an all-white England, and the ignorance of central and local government in the 1960s and 1970s, were all still apparent around the 2016 Brexit vote.” Sally Tomlinson, Emeritus Professor at Goldsmiths, Honorary Fellow in the Department of Education, University of Oxford, and Associate in the Department of Sociology, University of Warwick “Olivier Esteves explores ethnic minority experiences, memories and resistance with insight and sensitivity in a study that is sure to provoke readers to ask new questions about the history of diversity in 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s Britain.” Elizabeth Buettner, University of Amsterdam “Esteves should be congratulated for the depth and the breadth of archival research which locates the question of desegregation and schooling firmly within a historical context of English towns and cities. Drawing upon rich empirical data and theoretical insight, Esteves clinically shows how the policy of bussing developed, how it was contested and finally rejected during the 1980s. This book is an essential read for anyone interested in the question of race and schooling”. Shamim Miah, Senior Lecturer at the University of Huddersfield “Esteves’ new work constitutes a place-by-place treatment of the troubling phenomena of bussing and educational dispersal … It is a fine piece of scholarship and a sensitive analysis of an important moment in postwar British history, complete with transatlantic resonances.” Brett Bebber, Associate Professor of History at Old Dominion University, USA “Olivier Esteves has written an important and timely book … The insights Esteves provides regarding immigration, assimilation and citizenship will be of interest to a wide range of readers.” Matthew Delmont, Professor of History at Dartmouth College