Michael Petrilli observes,

For the better part of a week, Washington has been consumed by the Shirley Sherrod pseudo-scandal, leading many pundits to ponder race relations in America circa 2010. A better indicator, however, might be the goings-on in Wake County, North Carolina, where civil rights advocates are angrily protesting the decision of a newly elected school board to end the education system?s long-running busing program.

This story has it all: civil disobedience, allegations of ?carpet-bagging? Yankees, super-charged emotions, and the highest of stakes: our children. Unlike the Sherrod dispute, which is mostly a symbolic proxy war, this one is fundamental to our self-definition as a country. Do we believe in raising our children together, with kids of other races, cultures, and economic backgrounds, or not?

[snip]

A new Education Next forum titled ?Is Desegregation Dead?? sheds light on this question. Susan Eaton of Harvard Law squares off against Steven Rivkin of Amherst College. Though they differ in their interpretation of the ?success? (or not) of desegregation, they agree on the fundamentals: Integration helps to raise minority student achievement, but it?s not nearly a strong enough intervention by itself to close achievement gaps.