Strike

In 1974 there was a teacher’s strike and faced a major confrontation over desegregation in the schools. Roland Patterson was the first black superintendent of the schools (served from 1971 – 1974). Teachers went on strike Monday, February 4, 1974. Only 29 percent of the students had attended classes. By the third day only 16 percent of the students showed up and less than a quarter of the staff. The system had been shut down. For the 1973-74 school years the teachers had been working without a contract. Their salaries were low, their working conditions were poor, and the classrooms were overcrowded. Patterson kept the schools open in spite of the energy crisis. If the schools closed they might not get money from the state and federal governments. Mayor Schaefer felt that an increase in funds to the school at that time would make the takes higher and he would risk the chances of more white flight from the city. The teachers reached an agreement for a 6 percent wage increase. They return to work on March 4.

Former Mayor Schaefer

Racial tension was further exposed by a federal mandate which meant Baltimore had to produce a desegregation plan. After the Brown decision the courts did little in the way of punishing those that had not adhered to the ruling. Things changed in the 1970’s, and punishment stemmed from the federal rulings of the1960’s. “Since Baltimore’s schools received substantial federal funds as a result of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, they came under the domain of Title VI of the Civil rights Act of 1964, which prohibited discrimination in entities that received federal funds.” This could mean a withdrawal of funds in an already pinched economy. If Baltimore didn’t please the federal government this could mean a 10 percent budget cut or even more if the state wasn’t happy.

With all this tension going on Peter Holmes, a lawyer who headed Hew’s Office of Civil Rights sent a letter to Patterson in 1973. He informed him of the intentions of the Supreme Court’s decision in Adams v. Richardson. This required Hew (Department of Health Education and Welfare) to communicate with Baltimore and other districts. This correspondence was to put them on notice to rebut or explain the racial disproportion in the schools. Patterson was ordered to come up with data on racial balance in each school. Holmes reminded him of Swann v. Charlotte Mecklenberg, which warranted “ a presumption against schools that are substantially disproportionate in their racial composition." Patterson tried to stall and used the same old arguments (the demography). In 1974, the Federal government reached a decision and gave Patterson 30 days to come up with a desegregation plan.