Can integration break the oppression faced by Black Americans, or will it crystallize long-held images and send Blacks deeper into a spiral of dependency?

Rosetta Austin Moore, a longtime educator who taught in segregated and integrated schools, asks that question and many others in this extensive study of the education system for Blacks in North Carolina.

She traces the struggles of Blacks to survive and learn, beginning with their forced entry into the United States in 1619, drawing on primary documents, charts, illustrations, and a treasure trove of data in four appendixes.

The book...