Final answer:
Many school systems in the South employed a strategy of "massive resistance" to prevent school integration, including passing laws mandating school closures. This resistance was met with varying levels of success, but overall, integration was met with significant opposition in many school systems in the South.
Step-by-step explanation:
Many school systems in the South did not want to integrate, so they employed a strategy of "massive resistance" to prevent school integration. This strategy included various tactics such as passing laws mandating school closures if they were forced to integrate. For example, in Virginia, state leaders used this strategy which resulted in the closure of numerous public schools across the state, some for years. Some White southerners also established private academies that admitted only White students in response to integration efforts.
In addition to school closures, school districts in the South also challenged integration orders in court, hoping to stall the integration process. When lawsuits proved unsuccessful, many southern officials promised total resistance to any efforts to force desegregation. They were encouraged by events such as President Eisenhower's avoidance of the issue and the Southern Manifesto issued by ninety-six Southern congressmen, which denounced the Supreme Court's Brown decision.
While some urban school districts on the North-South border peacefully integrated their schools, many other districts chose to do nothing and wait for court and federal government action. In rural and smaller cities throughout the Border South, black communities took matters into their own hands by filing lawsuits demanding immediate and unconditional integration. Overall, the process of integration in school systems in the South was met with significant resistance.