In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court declared school segregation unconstitutional, claiming that racially isolated schools produced a “feeling of inferiority” in and had “a tendency to retard the educational and mental development” of African American children. Supporters of desegregation argued that racially separate education was inherently unequal and that it kept deeply entrenched patterns of discrimination intact. Integrating public schools, they surmised, would be one step toward dismantling racial discrimination and promoting equal opportunity for black Americans.

More than forty years after the Supreme Court’s decision, however, many educators are unhappy with the outcome of integrated education. Some black leaders contend that the desegregated public school actually fosters discrimination. For example, they argue, black children who are bused to schools in white neighborhoods often face negative racial stereotypes held by white students and teachers. White teachers who have...