Fred Rausch Jr. interview

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" /> <meta name="description" content="Fred Rausch Jr. interview - Kansas Memory" /> <meta name="keywords" content="Historical images online, historical documents online, online primary sources, Students, Teachers, Brown v. Board, Civil Rights Movement, Shawnee, Topeka, 1994, Audio recording, Oral histories, Process of integration, Integrated schools, Responses to desegregation, Brown v. Board Oral History #251, Brown vs Topeka Board of Education, Segregation" /> <title>Fred Rausch Jr. interview - Kansas Memory</title> <script type="text/javascript" src="/includes/prototype.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/includes/scriptaculous.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/includes/custom.js"></script> <script src='https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api.js' async defer></script> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/css/main.css" media="screen" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/css/form.css" media="screen" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/css/facet.css.php" media="screen" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/css/featured.css" media="screen" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/css/theme.css.php?theme=blue" media="screen" /> <link rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' href='/css/item.css' media='screen' /> <link rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' href='/css/rating.css' media='screen' /> <script type='text/javascript' src='/includes/item.js'></script> <meta name='ROBOTS' content='NOFOLLOW' /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/css/print.css" media="print" />   <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-NVWXGPN650"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-NVWXGPN650'); </script> </head> <body> <h2 style="display: none;" class="noprint"> Fred Rausch, Jr. grew up in East Topeka and attended Parkdale Elementary School, Lincoln Junior High, and East Topeka Junior High. Rausch was elected to the Topeka School Board in 1957, shortly after the Brown v. Board Supreme Court decision that declared segregated educational facilities unconstitutional. He was partially responsible for the integration of teachers. When the school board attempted to place African American teachers in positions at formerly white schools they encountered harsh opposition from both white and black parents. He recalls that this furor died down after a few years. Rausch also discusses how the school districts were rearranged so that children attended a grade school that was no more than six blocks from their home, although he vehemently maintains that the school board never gerrymandered districts for racial purposes. While he admits that, sociologically, integration may have improved students' feelings of self-worth, he is not convinced that integration has improved students' learning abilities and overall education. Rausch left the Topeka Board of Education two years before the Brown case was reopened in 1979. Cheryl Brown Henderson conducted the interview. The Brown v. Board oral history project was funded by Hallmark Cards Inc., the Shawnee County Historical Society, the Brown Foundation for Educational Excellence, Equity, and Research, the National Park Service and the Kansas Humanities Council. Parts of the interview may be difficult to hear due to the quality of the original recording. An edited transcript is included as Additional Information. This interview has a signed release for scholarly or educational purposes only. </h2> <h1 class="km">Kansas Memory<img src="/graphics/km_logo_print.png" alt="Kansas Memory" /></h1> <h1 class="khs">Kansas Historical Society<img src="/graphics/kshs_non_logo81px.png" alt="Kansas Historical Society" /></h1> <div id="container"> <div id="item_image" style="margin-bottom: 20px;"> <span id="view_image"> <video controls width="484" height="310" preload="metadata" poster="/graphics/audio_background.jpg"> <source src="https://img.kansasmemory.org/audio/00088713.mp3" type="audio/mp3"> Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded audio. </video> </span> <br /> <div id="item_access_options"> </div>  <div id="item_donate" style="padding-top: 1em;"> <p class="item_details_small"> To order images and/or obtain permission to use them commercially, please contact the KSHS Reference Desk at <a href='mailto:KSHS.reference@ks.gov?subject=Image%20Request%20from%20KSHS%20Website'>KSHS.reference@ks.gov</a> or 785-272-8681, ext. 117. </p> <br> <p class="item_details_small">For more information see the Copyright and Permission <a href='http://www.kansasmemory.org/faq#question_63797159'>FAQ</a>. </p> </div> </div> <div id="item_details"> <div id="item_description" class="item_details_box"> <div class="noprint item_header_h2"> <div class="control" style="margin-top: 6px;"> <a id="href_item_description" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="toggleItemDetail('item_description_container');" style="text-decoration:none;"><span id="button_item_description_container">- </span></a> </div> <h2 id="item_title"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="toggleItemDetail('item_description_container');" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">Fred Rausch Jr. interview</a></h2> </div> <div id="item_description_container" > <p id="item_summary">Fred Rausch, Jr. grew up in East Topeka and attended Parkdale Elementary School, Lincoln Junior High, and East Topeka Junior High. Rausch was elected to the Topeka School Board in 1957, shortly after the Brown v. Board Supreme Court decision that declared segregated educational facilities unconstitutional. He was partially responsible for the integration of teachers. When the school board attempted to place African American teachers in positions at formerly white schools they encountered harsh opposition from both white and black parents. He recalls that this furor died down after a few years. Rausch also discusses how the school districts were rearranged so that children attended a grade school that was no more than six blocks from their home, although he vehemently maintains that the school board never gerrymandered districts for racial purposes. While he admits that, sociologically, integration may have improved students' feelings of self-worth, he is not convinced that integration has improved students' learning abilities and overall education. Rausch left the Topeka Board of Education two years before the Brown case was reopened in 1979. Cheryl Brown Henderson conducted the interview. The Brown v. Board oral history project was funded by Hallmark Cards Inc., the Shawnee County Historical Society, the Brown Foundation for Educational Excellence, Equity, and Research, the National Park Service and the Kansas Humanities Council. Parts of the interview may be difficult to hear due to the quality of the original recording. An edited transcript is included as Additional Information. This interview has a signed release for scholarly or educational purposes only.</p> <p style="padding-top: 0.8em;"> <span class="bold">Creator:</span> <a href="/locate.php?query=Rausch+Fred&restrict=creator">Rausch, Fred</a> <br /> <span class="bold">Date:</span> <span id="item_date">October 12, 1994</span> <br /> </p> </div> <div id="item_options"> <p style="margin-top: 0.5em;"> <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="Element.hide('share_box');item_direct_login(211837);Element.toggle('login_box');"><img src="/graphics/buttons/bookbag.png" alt="Bookbag" /></a> <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="Element.hide('save_box');Element.toggle('share_box');item_render_box(211837,'share');"><img src="/graphics/buttons/share.png" alt="Share" /></a> <a href="/item/211837/print"><img src="/graphics/buttons/print.png" alt="Print" /></a> </p> </div> </div> <div class="item_details_box_foot"> </div> <div id="login_box" style="display: none;"> <h4 class="noprint"><a href="javascript:void(0);">Login</a></h4> <div id="item_login" class="item_details_box noprint" > <div id="login_box_contents"> </div> <p> <a href="#" onclick="Element.hide('login_box');">Cancel</a> </p> </div> <div class="item_details_box_foot"> </div> </div> <div id="save_box" style="display: none;"> <h4 class="noprint"><a href="javascript:void(0);">Bookbag</a></h4> <div id="item_save" class="item_details_box noprint" > <div id="save_box_contents"> </div> <p> <a href="#" onclick="Element.hide('save_box');">Cancel</a> </p> </div> <div class="item_details_box_foot"> </div> </div> <div id="share_box" style="display: none;"> <h4 class="noprint"><a href="javascript:void(0);">Share</a></h4> <div id="item_share" class="item_details_box noprint" > <div id="share_box_contents"> </div> <p> <a href="#" onclick="Element.hide('share_box');">Cancel</a> </p> </div> <div class="item_details_box_foot"> </div> </div> <div class="noprint item_header"> <div class="control"> <a id="href_item_pager" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="toggleItemDetail('item_teachers');" style="text-decoration:none;"><span id="button_item_teachers">- </span></a> </div> <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="toggleItemDetail('item_teachers');">Curriculum Notes</a> </div> <div id="item_teachers" class="item_details_box" > <p> This source is particularly useful because Rausch was involved in the actual process of integration. It could be grouped with other sources (such as the newspaper article on desegregation's impact on black teachers) that discuss the challenges associated with integration. </p> <p> KS:11th:3.1:Brown v. Board (2005) </p> </div> <div class="item_details_box_foot"> </div> <div class="noprint item_header"> <div class="control"> <a id="href_item_info" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="toggleItemDetail('item_info');" style="text-decoration:none;"><span id="button_item_info">- </span></a> </div> <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="toggleItemDetail('item_info');">About this item</a> </div> <div id="item_info" class="item_details_box" > <p> <span class="bold">Item Number:</span> 211837 <br /> <span class="bold">Call Number:</span> Brown v. Board Oral History Coll. 251, Box 2, Folder 21 <br /> <span class="bold">KSHS Identifier:</span> <a href="https://www.kshs.org/archives/211837">DaRT ID: 211837</a> <br /> </p> </div> <div class="item_details_box_foot"> </div> <div id="item_links_box" class="noprint"> <div class="noprint item_header"> <div class="control"> <a id="href_item_links" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="toggleItemDetail('item_links');" style="text-decoration:none;"><span id="button_item_links">- </span></a> </div> <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="toggleItemDetail('item_links');">Additional Information</a> </div> <div id="item_links" class="item_details_box" > <p> <a href="https://www.kshs.org/audiotours/kansasmemory/029_brown_v_board.htm">Brown v. Board of Topeka: Podcast "what bothers me now is it didn't bother me then."</a><br /> <a href="https://img.kansasmemory.org/transcription/bvbpdf/211837.pdf">Edited Transcript</a><br /> </p> </div> </div> <div class="item_details_box_foot"> </div> <div class="noprint item_header"> <div class="control"> <a id="href_item_categories" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="toggleItemDetail('item_categories');" style="text-decoration:none;"><span id="button_item_categories">- </span></a> </div> <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="toggleItemDetail('item_categories');">Categories</a> </div> <div id="item_categories" class="item_details_box" > <p class="item_details_small"> <a href="/category/6663" title="New results based on Collections - Manuscript - Brown v. Board Oral History " >Collections - Manuscript - Brown v. 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Fred Rausch Jr. interview - Kansas Memory