On the eve of the new school year and the implementation of Berkeley’s new two-way busing program, the LA Times surveyed the political battles that had taken place on the road to this moment and the preparations that been necessary for the roll-out of the busing plan.
As the article notes, 1964 had been a convulsive moment in educational politics for Berkeley. A recall campaign had been launched against school board members who ordered the integration of Berkeley’s junior high schools; the superintendent of Berkeley’s school system had resigned amidst the controversy. Yet the forces supporting desegregation had prevailed, defeating the recall, and over the next four years “the opposition [had] become relatively quiet and almost resigned.”
According to the article, there was a general, if qualified, optimism about the project of integration — with skeptics on the right and left giving the initiative a chance to prove its worth.