Fred Rausch Jr. interview

Fred Rausch, Jr. grew up in East Topeka and attended Parkdale Elementary School, Lincoln Junior High, and East Topeka Junior High. Rausch was elected to the Topeka School Board in 1957, shortly after the Brown v. Board Supreme Court decision that declared segregated educational facilities unconstitutional. He was partially responsible for the integration of teachers. When the school board attempted to place African-American teachers in positions at formerly white schools they encountered harsh opposition from both white and black parents. He recalls that this furor died down after a few years. Rausch also discusses how the school districts were rearranged so that children attended a grade school that was no more than six blocks from their home, although he vehemently maintains that the school board never gerrymandered districts for racial purposes. While he admits that, sociologically, integration may have improved students' feelings of self-worth, he is not convinced that integration has improved students' learning abilities and overall education. Rausch left the Topeka Board of Education two years before the Brown case was reopened in 1979. The interview was conducted by Cheryl Brown Henderson.

Date: October 12, 1994
Creator: Rausch, Fred

This source is particularly useful because Rausch was involved in the actual process of integration. It could be grouped with other sources (such as the newspaper article on desegregation's impact on black teachers) that discuss the challenges associated with integration.

KS:11th:3.1:Brown v. Board (2005)

Item Number: 211837
Call Number: Brown v. Board Oral History Coll. 251, Box 2, Folder 21
KSHS Identifier: DaRT ID: 211837

Collections - Manuscript - Brown v. Board Oral History
Curriculum - 11th Grade Standards - Kansas History Standards - 1945-1990 (Benchmark 3) - Brown v. Board (Indicator 1) - Integrated schools
Curriculum - 11th Grade Standards - Kansas History Standards - 1945-1990 (Benchmark 3) - Brown v. Board (Indicator 1) - Process of integration
Curriculum - 11th Grade Standards - Kansas History Standards - 1945-1990 (Benchmark 3) - Brown v. Board (Indicator 1) - Responses to desegregation
Date - 1990s - 1994
Education - Primary - Students
Education - Primary - Teachers
Education - Segregation and desegregation - Brown v. Board
Objects and Artifacts - Communication Artifacts - Documentary Artifact - Transcript
People - African Americans - Discrimination
Places - Cities and towns - Topeka
Places - Counties - Shawnee
Thematic Time Period - Eisenhower Years, 1946-1961 - Civil Rights Movement
Type of Material - Unpublished documents - Transcript