Thread by @TexasTribune

1/ School segregation is far from a distant memory in Texas.

48 years ago, a judge ordered the Longview school district to desegregate its schools.

But an educational gap remains. And some fear the progress that’s been made could be lost. bit.ly/2BEzw0U

2/ More than 1 million black and Hispanic students study in Texas classrooms that include few to no white students.

And in Longview, students of color still don’t have the same educational opportunities as white students. bit.ly/2BEzw0U

3/ About 56.2 percent of white students graduated ready for college English and math in 2016.

Compare that with a dismal 23 percent of Hispanic students and 16 percent of black students. bit.ly/2BEzw0U

4/ Longview’s class of 2016 saw 43 percent of white students scoring college ready on SAT and ACT exams, compared with just 2 percent and 3 percent of black and Hispanic students. bit.ly/2BEzw0U

5/ White students are about half of the students enrolled at Longview’s specialized elementary school, which has higher academic standards. bit.ly/2BEzw0U

6/ And Longview ISD has struggled with a new challenge that the judge couldn’t have foreseen 48 years ago: Adequately providing a burgeoning group of Hispanic students with crucial services they need to learn English. bit.ly/2BEzw0U

7/ Local leaders say Longview ISD has made progress.

After all, a judge lifted the desegregation court order this June.

But will Longview continue to improve without federal oversight?

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8/ This is Ted Beard, a longtime Longview Independent School District board member.

Beard knows the district’s commitment to student equity now depends on the collective will of a school board that could change with a single election cycle.

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9/ Getting here wasn’t easy.

When the court issued its ruling in 1970, folks in Longview saw the federal push for integration as a threat to their autonomy.

Some reacted with violence. bit.ly/2BEzw0U

10/ Fearing a “revolution” of the black community, a group of white residents conspired to “injure, oppress, threaten and intimidate” black students in Longview.

They collected lethal weapons like hand grenades, dynamite and Molotov cocktails. bit.ly/2BEzw0U

11/ Two men conspired to blow up dozens of school buses that were meant to transport black students to white schools.

They were later convicted.

They each drew 11 years in prison.

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12/ Meanwhile, the school board itself was stymied by personal politics and disagreements over district leadership, Ted Beard said, leaving little room for attention to their court-ordered requirements. bit.ly/2BEzw0U

13/ A turning point came when the board gave voters a $266.9 million bond to finance a massive overhaul of the district’s schools.

It passed by fewer than 20 votes.

That was in 2008 — decades after the court order. bit.ly/2BEzw0U

14/ Longview ISD built eight schools, renovated three others, razed several school buildings and upgraded technology across the district.

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15/ The massive overhaul appears to have worked.

Longview ISD made more progress integrating black students after 2008 than it had in the previous 15 years, an analyst says. bit.ly/2BEzw0U

16/ The future is uncertain.

If the district had spent almost 50 years trying and failing to completely close the educational gap between white, black and Hispanic students with a mandate from a federal court, some wonder if it can succeed without one. bit.ly/2BEzw0U

17/ Longview is still a small town where many hesitate to talk directly about race.

And people are divided on how they recount the racially fraught history or whether they acknowledge that same racism still exists today.

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18/ Some Longview ISD leaders acknowledge that the opposition to integration that drove the two white men to blow up Longview’s bus barn likely still exists in the community. bit.ly/2BEzw0U

19/ This is Troy Simmons. He now has the longest tenure on the Longview school board.

He’s tired. He was thinking about retiring from the board. But he says leaving is not a decision he can make without considering the impact.

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20/ What if the community elected someone in his place who didn’t believe in further pursuing integration?

What if his seat falls to someone who wants to reverse the gains of the past 48 years? bit.ly/2BEzw0U

21/21 For now, Simmons is sticking around. He just ran for — and secured — another three-year term.

Read our full story here. bit.ly/2BEzw0U