TENNESSEE DESEGREGATION BEGAN SOON AFTER THE SUPREME COURT SCHOOL SEGREGATION DECISION IN 1954. THERE WERE SOME INSTANCES OF COMMUNITY VIOLENCE WHICH ATTRACTED NATIONAL ATTENTION, BUT THE COURT-ORDERED DESEGREGATION ACTUALLY TOOK PLACE IN EACH INSTANCE, DESPITE SCATTERED DISORDERS. DESEGREGATION EXPERIENCE IN TENNESSEE HAS BEEN UNEVEN BECAUSE OF EXTREME VARIETY OF CONDITIONS. THE WESTERN PART OF THE STATE IS SOUTHERN-ORIENTED, MANY WESTERN COMMUNITIES HAVE LARGE NEGRO POPULATIONS. MIDDLE TENNESSEE, ALTHOUGH RATHER HEAVILY POPULATED BY NEGROES, IS SUBSTANTIALLY LESS SOUTHERN IN ITS OUTLOOK. EAST TENNESSEE HAS FEWER NEGROES, BUT THE MOUNTAIN ENVIRONMENT HAS MADE DESEGREGATION DIFFICULT. THE CITIES OF MEMPHIS, NASHVILLE, CHATTANOOGA, AND KNOXVILLE, AND THE COUNTIES OF DAVIDSON, HUMPHREYS, WILSON, AND KNOX ARE DISCUSSED IN THE REPORT IN REGARD TO THE SCHOOL DESEGREGATION PATTERNS OF THEIR PARTICULAR LOCALITIES. THE NASHVILLE CITY SCHOOL SYSTEM EMPLOYED USE OF THE GRADE-A-YEAR PLAN, BEGINNING IN THE FIRST GRADE, AND HAS BECOME A MODEL OF DESEGREGATION FOR MANY OTHER SYSTEMS OVER THE COUNTRY, DESPITE SEVERAL DEMONSTRATIONS AND VIOLENT ACTIONS ACCOMPANYING THE PROCESS. THE STORY OF DESEGREGATION IN MEMPHIS IS TREATED SEPARATELY AND MORE EXTENSIVELY IN THE REPORT. MEMPHIS, BY 1962, HAD BROKEN SHARPLY WITH MANY CHARACTERISTICS OF ITS LONG PAST AND HAD ACHIEVED DESEGREGATION IN AN ORDERLY MANNER WHICH GAVE ITS CITIZENS, NEGRO AND WHITE, REASON FOR PRIDE.