THE ISSUE OF SCHOOL DESEGREGATION WAS STUDIED AS IT OCCURED IN SEVEN SOUTHERN CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES, RESULTING FROM THE 1954 "BROWN" DECISION OF THE SUPREME COURT. THESE CITIES WERE COLUMBUS, JACKSONVILLE, NEW ORLEANS, MONTGOMERY, ATLANTA, MIAMI, AND BATON ROUGE. CASE STUDY DATA WERE GATHERED THROUGH INTERVIEW RESPONSES AND PERSONAL FILES OF MANY INDIVIDUALS, INCLUDING SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS, SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS, PUBLIC OFFICIALS, AND CIVIL RIGHTS LEADERS. PRIMARY EMPHASIS WAS PLACED ON A SINGLE CASE STUDY, THAT OF NEW ORLEANS. AT THE TIME THIS STUDY TOOK PLACE, THERE WAS A BREAKDOWN OF SOCIAL CONTROL OVER THE PROBLEM OF SCHOOL INTEGRATION, BRINGING ON INTENSE CONFLICTS INVOLVING STREET DEMONSTRATIONS, SCHOOL BOYCOTTS, AND DISPUTES BETWEEN THE LOUISIANA STATE LEGISLATURE AND THE FEDERAL COURTS. THE MAIN VARIABLE CONSIDERED IN THE CASE STUDIES ABOUT EFFECTIVE INTEGRATION WHILE MAINTAINING SOCIAL CONTROL WAS THE DEGREE OF CIVIC ELITE ACQUIESCENCE--(1) WILLINGNESS TO DESEGREGATE AND (2) ABILITY TO MAINTAIN LAW AND ORDER DURING THE PERIOD OF INTEGRATION. IN ADDITION, TWO OTHER FACTORS WERE CONSIDERED--(1) THE LOCAL SCHOOL BOARD AND ITS DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES AND (2) THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT WITH ITS DEMANDS AND INFLUENCES. ALL OF THIS INFORMATION WAS ANALYZED AND SOME SOCIOLOGICAL CONCLUSIONS WERE DRAWN, EXPLAINING WAYS IN WHICH DIFFERENT ECONOMIC BASES, POPULATIONS, AND GOVERNMENTAL STRUCTURES MAKE CITIES DIFFERENT IN THEIR SYTLES OF DECISION-MAKING. THE AUTHORS CONCLUDED THAT AT THE HEART OF CONFLICTS OVER SCHOOL DESEGREGATION ARE THOSE WHO CAN CONTROL THE DEGREE OF ORDER OR DISORDER IN THE SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF A PARTICULAR CITY. (JH)