In 1968, the Glynn County Board of Education announced a plan for full integration.
This "Freedom of Choice" plan offered students the option of which school to attend based on their preference.
A federal court approved the plan on February 24, 1968.
However, no White students sought out all-Black schools; therefore, full integration was not possible under the "Freedom of Choice" plan.
There was a similar pattern economically in Brunswick: White people did not become patrons of Black-owned businesses. Some of those businesses failed after integration because they ironically lost business. This is a part of integration that is not typically discussed.
In 1969, Glynn NAACP chapter successfully filed a motion in U.S. District Court for immediate full integration.
The NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc. filed a motion in U.S. District Court in Savannah on November 19, 1969, to further integration schools in Glynn, Liberty, and Effingham counties.
The Glynn County Board of Education denied the need for further integration. They claimed that the "freedom of choice" plan was sufficient.
In 1970, the local NAACP (with Carolyn Harris and other students) filed a civil action lawsuit against the Glynn County Board of Education and white families that resisted integration (below).
The U.S. District Court orders the Glynn County Board of Education to develop a plan for full integration by March 1, 1970.
Glynn County is late to submit a report that year.
The Glynn County Plan for the Formation of a Unitary School System from April 13, 1970 details the Black to White ratio at each of the schools within Glynn County. The ratio corresponds to the population of Glynn County at the time: 70% White and 30% Black.
Full integration takes effect on September 1, 1970. This same year, Risley High School is repurposed into a sixth grade center.
Carolyn Harris, one of the first Black students to attend Glynn Academy, reports in an interview with the NAACP that her experience was overwhelmingly positive. However, not all Black students who attended integrated Glynn Academy experienced a positive reception. Anonymous interviews with former teachers and students indicate that some students experienced racism and harassment during this process.
Listen to these first-hand accounts of desegregation of the Glynn County School System:
C.A Lee describes her time working as a school teacher at St. Simons elementary circa 1970 following desegregation.
Aundra describes segregation when asked by the interviewer and explains that a lot of school systems were slow to desegregate. Glynn county was among the slowest to desegregate, she explains that a black child could go to a white school but may be one of only a handful of Black children attending. This changed in 1970 with the full integration of schools.
When asked about “separate but equal” Aundra describes differences between Risley and Greer elementary school and tells us that Risley suffered both logistically and materially, with fewer busses for the football team, bands, and rural students. She explains that she thinks a desire to want to be around people that look like you is human nature, but that beliefs of superiority are where problems arise regarding race.