This month, adaptation has trumped resistance in the schools. The desegregation plan here relies not on forced busing but on an open enrollment system under which parents can apply to any school and cannot be turned down because of race. Black families that apply to formerly white schools tend to have the means to transport their children out of their black townships, or alternatively to be domestics who live and work in white areas. Some schools have tried to erect barriers to desegregation, but the white-dominated media have been vigilant watchdogs. When a principal gave different answers about the availability of slots, his lies would be broadcast.
Some principals use admission tests to discourage black students.
One principal demanded HIV tests for new elementary school pupils. Such episodes have been the exception, not the rule. These schools are underutilized, and attracting black students facilitates funding. Only a handful of segregated academies have opened. Private education would cost five times that.