Final answer:
Judicial rulings like Brown v. Board of Education made segregation in schools unconstitutional in 1954, but segregation persisted due to resistance to desegregation, lack of enforcement, and social and economic factors leading to de facto segregation.
Step-by-step explanation:
The landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling in 1954 established that separate educational facilities were inherently unequal and unconstitutional, overturning the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which had permitted 'separate but equal' segregation. However, segregation persisted in schools due to a combination of factors.
Resistance to desegregation in the United States was strong, particularly in the states that had previously mandated segregation. The failure of the subsequent ruling, known as Brown II, to include a clear timetable for integration allowed for ongoing defiance and delays in enforcing the desegregation decision. Additional resistance included the establishment of private segregation academies and local opposition to the integration of schools, especially in communities outside the South, such as those in New York City led by activist Mae Mallory and the Harlem Nine.
Ultimately, while de jure segregation had been overturned, de facto segregation remained as a result of social and economic conditions along with local and individual resistance to the change in law. It would take further civil rights activism and additional legal challenges to begin to dismantle the pervasive culture of segregation that had long been embedded in American life.