To what extent did the civil rights movement in the US end segregation in the south between 1955 and 1980?

The question requires that candidates consider the merits or otherwise of the suggestion that the Civil Rights movement in the US ended segregation in the South by 1980. Factors that led to the end of segregation in the South and that occurred outside the timeframe may be included, but they must be clearly linked to the issue in the question (for example, paving the way for the civil rights movement). Candidates may refer to Brown I and Brown II as Supreme Court cases that both challenged yet perpetuated segregation. The attempt to integrate Central High in Little Rock, Arkansas or the James Meredith effort to enrol in the University of Mississippi may be addressed to illustrate the limited extent of integration. They may also discuss the Montgomery bus boycott for its impact on integration of transportation. The extent to which public school closures and their replacement with private schools limited educational integration in elementary and secondary schools may also be applied. Other relevant factors, might include the extent of southern de facto segregation, as illustrated by such factors as housing patterns and church and social club membership which was largely unchanged into the 1970s and beyond.

The question required candidates to consider the merits or otherwise of the suggestion that the civil rights movement in the US ended segregation in the south by 1980. The question was perhaps the most popular choice of the session but produced varied results. Most candidates had quite a good grasp of the civil rights movement, but fewer were able to focus on segregation in the South and assessing the status at 1980. The topics most often applied were the Brown Supreme Court case regarding school segregation and the Montgomery bus boycott. There was also a tendency to contrast the roles of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.