According to Census Bureau statistics, from 1972 to 1992, the number of blacks in the public schools increased 3%, whereas the number of Latino students jumped 89%, and the enrollment of white students fell 14%.
In a Harris poll conducted for the Boston Globe, when given a choice between busing and segregation, blacks and Latinos now overwhelmingly support busing. Seventy-nine per cent of blacks support busing if there is no other way to achieve integration. Whites support busing by a 48% to 41% majority.
March
In Freeman v. Pitts, 503 U.S. 467 (1992), the Supreme Court holds that courts May release school districts from parts of desegregation orders even if they have never fully complied with other aspects.
April
After an all-white jury acquits four Los Angeles police officers on trial for the beating of motorist Rodney King, riots erupt in South Central Los Angeles. The riots last three days, resulting in $1 billion in property damage. Fifty-one people are killed, 2000 are injured. In August, a federal grand jury indicts the officers for violating King’s civil rights. Two of the four officers are eventually convicted the following year.
June
In United States v. Fordice, 505 U.S. 717 (1992), the Supreme Court holds that the state of Mississippi has failed to dismantle the effects of previous segregation in public colleges and universities.