Here's a breakdown of the timeline's complexity:
* 1954-1964: The initial period after *Brown v. Board* saw slow and often resistant implementation. Southern states, in particular, employed various tactics – including "massive resistance" – to delay or prevent integration. This included closing schools, creating private segregated academies, and employing legal challenges. Some progress occurred in border states and parts of the North, but the overall pace was glacial.
* 1964-1970s: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and subsequent legislation, along with increasing federal pressure and court actions, accelerated the desegregation process. However, even with federal intervention, significant resistance remained, and integration was often implemented in a piecemeal and sometimes superficial manner. "Freedom of Choice" plans, often perceived as inadequate, were common, and genuine integration lagged. Busing became a highly controversial tool used to achieve racial balance in some areas.
* 1970s-Present: While legally mandated, full integration has never been completely achieved in many school districts. While overt segregation is illegal, de facto segregation – segregation in practice due to factors like housing patterns and socioeconomic disparities – persists. Court-ordered desegregation plans were gradually phased out in many areas, leading to a resegregation of schools in some regions. The fight for equitable educational opportunities continues today, with ongoing debates about school choice, funding disparities, and addressing the legacy of segregation.
In short, there's no single answer to "how long." Legal desegregation began in 1954, but full, meaningful integration in terms of racial balance and equitable educational opportunities remains an ongoing struggle, with many districts still grappling with its consequences today. The process was stretched over decades, and its effects are still felt in the present.