In October 1969, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that all dual school districts must be merged immediately into unified systems. The Southern City School system, N.C., developed a desegregation plan which was considered a model of compliance with constitutional requirements, this plan being implemented with little or no community opposition despite the fact that black students constituted 55 percent of the enrollment in the school system. How did Southern City achieve such a far-reaching degree of desegregation without disruptive incidents in a system in which whites moved from a majority to a minority position in their school? What has been the effect of such a drastic change on both white and black children? What kinds of administrative and teaching problems have been created by this sudden change? What has been the response of the community to these changes? This report attempts to answer these questions on the basis of a pilot study conducted in the 1970-71 school year in Southern City. The first section of the report focuses on a brief history of school desegregation in Southern city; the second section examines economic and social characteristics of the city which may account for the degree of success achieved; the third section reports on the desegregation plan as it affected the elementary school level; and, the final section explores the impact of desegregation on the high school level. (Author/RJ)