Connecting Public School Segregation with Urban Renewal and Interstate Highway Planning: The Case of Birmingham, Alabama

Abstract

This article analyzes the connection between public school segregation and Urban Renewal and interstate highway construction in Birmingham, Alabama. It analyzes the routes of the interstate highways, the locations of Urban Renewal areas, and their impact on segregated schools and school zones. This article argues that interstate highways and Urban Renewal were used to preserve segregated schools. It also argues that activists for White schools were able to affect interstate highway design while activists for African American schools were not. Also, Urban Renewal funds were used to build new segregated schools and neighborhoods in order to reinforce patterns of segregation.