A 1976 court order to desegregate Milwaukee Public Schools led to initial progress that has since faded.
Many Milwaukee schools remain racially segregated, with achievement gaps persisting between White and Black students.
Recent efforts to renew desegregation conversations have stalled due to a lack of funding and leadership changes.
Officials say lasting solutions require addressing broader issues and collaborating across sectors.On Jan. 19, 1976, federal Judge John Reynolds ordered Milwaukee Public Schools to desegregate, in response to a lawsuit filed by lawyer and state Rep. Lloyd Barbee.
The ruling prompted sweeping changes to the city’s educational system. In the initial years under the court-ordered desegregation plan, schools made measurable progress.
But 50 years later, the promise of sustained integration has faded. Many of Milwaukee’s schools remain divided along racial lines, and achievement gaps between White and Black students persist.
Barbee, who died in 2002, was disappointed the mandate didn’t achieve lasting integration, recalled his daughter, Daphne Barbee-Wooten, a civil rights lawyer who edited a book of her father’s writings. Even so, she said, Barbee always held onto hope that his vision of an integrated school system in Milwaukee would one day be realized.