Freeman v. Pitts, 503 U.S. 467, 47 (1992)

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Cite as: 503 U. S. 467 (1992)

Blackmun, J., concurring in judgment

least two ways: DCSS may have contributed to the demographic changes themselves, or it may have contributed directly to the racial imbalance in the schools.

To determine DCSS' possible role in encouraging the residential segregation, the court must examine the situation with special care. "[A] connection between past segregative acts and present segregation may be present even when not apparent and . . . close examination is required before concluding that the connection does not exist." Keyes, 413 U. S., at 211. Close examination is necessary because what might seem to be purely private preferences in housing may in fact have been created, in part, by actions of the school district.

"People gravitate toward school facilities, just as schools are located in response to the needs of people. The location of schools may thus influence the patterns of residential development of a metropolitan area and have important impact on composition of inner-city neighborhoods." Swann, 402 U. S., at 20-21.

This interactive effect between schools and housing choices may occur because many families are concerned about the racial composition of a prospective school and will make residential decisions accordingly.2 Thus, schools that are demonstrably black or white provide a signal to these families, perpetuating and intensifying the residential movement. See Keyes, 413 U. S., at 202; Columbus Board of Education, 443 U. S., at 465, n. 13; ante, at 507-508 (Souter, J., concurring).

School systems can identify a school as "black" or "white" in a variety of ways; choosing to enroll a racially identifiable

2 See Taeuber, Housing, Schools, and Incremental Segregative Effects, 441 Annals Am. Acad. Pol. & Soc. Sci. 157 (1979); Orfield, School Segregation and Residential Segregation, in School Desegregation: Past, Present, and Future 227, 234-237 (W. Stephan & J. Feagin eds. 1980); Elam, The 22nd Annual Gallup Poll of Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools, 72 Phi Delta Kappan 41, 44-45 (1990).

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