Transforming the Elite

Michelle A. Purdy's Transforming the Elite examines the desegregation of The Westminster Schools, a historically white elite private school in Atlanta, Georgia, within the context of civil rights and in relation to changes at private schools nationwide. A central question of the book is why some private schools chose to desegregate during the 1950s and 1960s, when they were not legally obligated to do so. Purdy contends that this occurred because private schools are “not exempt from larger societal changes,” such as those wrought by civil rights activism (p. 8). Instead, she argues for consideration of the history of private education within the broader context of historical change. Using The Westminster Schools as a case study, Purdy asserts that its desegregation resulted from pressure from civil rights activists, public school desegregation, federal legislation and policies, changes at independent schools nationwide, and the moral beliefs of school officials. The school's leaders

Civil rights · Context (archaeology · Desegregation · Elite · Legislation · Political science · Politics · Sociology · White (mutation · Diverse Education Studies and Reforms · History · Law · Public Administration · Race, History, and American Society · School Choice and Performance