Following the "Brown v. Board of Education" decision, and its apparent lack of progress for black students, Bell grew interested in studying racial struggles within the education system. During the 70s, he studied and wrote about the effects of desegregation. He noted that desegregation did not undo the injustices set by segregation in the first place but, instead, created a whole new set of problems for black students attending predominantly white schools. The aftermath of Brown was a great disappointment as it produced detrimental repercussions for black students who remained to be seen as inferior to white students. Bell concluded, therefore, that the focus for American educational systems should not be on national integration but, rather, should be on improving the quality of education provided for black students. His early work on education contributed to his creation of critical race theory.