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Howard University law professors George E. C. Hayes and James Nabrit, attorneys in the lawsuit.
Louis Redding, shown here with Thurgood Marshall, received his law degree from Harvard University. In 1929 he became the first African American to practice law in Delaware, and some 20 years later took on the cases of Bulah v. Gebhart and Belton v. Gebhart. According to one NAACP member, Redding accepted no payment for his services. He directed the chapters instead to raise money for court costs.
Flyer Stating: “Death!!! Why? How?” Promotion of event being led by Charles Houstan and others on June 14th at the mt. zion methodist church
Flyer stating: “Come to a home bake sale” dated to take place on November 7th, 1953
Flyer with text saying: “Over crowded D.C. school’s teacher shortage, no room for me”
The Court of Chancery is a high court in the state of Delaware, with powers over civil rights. The chief justice is known as the chancellor.
Howard High School yearbookFor many years, Howard High School was Delaware’s only business and college preparatory high school for African Americans and served the entire state. With few exceptions, this institution produced the leaders of Delaware’s black community.
Ethel Louise Belton traveled two hours every day to Howard High School in Wilmington from her community of Claymont. The local white high school offered courses and extracurricular activities unavailable at Howard. Ethel’s mother said, “We are all Americans, and when the state sets up separate schools for certain people of a separate color, then I and others are made to feel ashamed and embarrassed.” Nine other black plaintiffs from Claymont felt the same way and joined her in a lawsuit.
"The Supreme Court chose to combine Bolling v. Sharpe with the other segregated schooling cases in October 1952."
Both sides were dissatisfied with the state court’s decision and appealed the case. In December 1952, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case and combined it with the other four.
Photograph of Attorney, Charles Sumner, who argued Robters's case and would become the Senator of Massachusetts
Letter written by Lucile Bluford to attorny Charles Hamilton Houston. She writes to him telling him his hunch was correct and that there were still journalism courses being taught at the University of
Missouri but without graduate credit. She tells Houston she will ask Rev. Harold Wilkie for the names and addresses of the students taking these courses and the times, instructor, and when they are being taught. She discusses other things, such as the fees she will pay regarding the case. But she ends with asking him what she should do regarding the information of the journalism courses.
Document discusses action of University of Missouri to cancel journalism program, which was suspected to be done to end Bluford's demands that she be admitted. Charles Hamilton Houston stated that Bluford
did not think the journalism program at Lincoln was equal to the one at the University of Missouri (Univerisy of Missouri offeredgraduate work, Lincoln offered only undergraduate). Discusses argument made by Canada to support denying Bluford's admission, and he even argues that her the suit was brought as "a part and in furtherence of a conspiracy between plaintiff and counsel and officials of the NAACP for the purpose of attempting to aid the association in its campaign to break down the policy of the state of Missouri and other states requiring seperation of white and Negro races for purposes of higher education." The NAACP denied this stating Bluford is no "fake."
gives a detailed summary of the case. "While this was certainly a victory, it was not what the families had hoped for. Rather than rejecting the separate but equal doctrine, the decision accepted and enforced it. It was the State Board of Education that appealed the decision and at the U.S. Supreme Court the Delaware cases were combined with the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case."
"Newspaper clipping reporting on Bluford’s trial and the support she received from women from Stephens College."
"This newsclipping from 1944 shows that public opinion was quickly changing in support of integration."
Wilson Daily Times, 16 September 1914. This day, 26 opinions were delivered by the superiod court, and one was Johnson v. Board. Basically just recaps the case, mentioning that J. S. Johnson's four children
had less than 1/16 of black blood. Judge Walter Clark reversed the previous ruling. So before, lower court saw that marriage with woman with no more than 1/8 black blood was legalized, so the legislature overstepped in saying that children of parents like these could not attend a white school. Supreme court states that while that law does exist, "it did not intend to abolish any of the distinctions based on color."
The case took seven months to be decided. The suit was filed against the Board of Education in the February Term of Wilson County Superior Court in 1914, by J.S. Johnson. He was a white man and the father
of four children, Arthur, Fannie, Carl, and Andrew. Johnson had sent Arthur to the local white public school and a teacher sent him home after two days. Johnson demanded that the children be allowed to attend the district’s white school. The Board of Education claimed the children of the plaintiff could not attend the white school "for that they have negro blood in their veins.” Judge George W. Connor scheduled a hearing for February 4th, 1914, and it was postponed until the 10th. Superior Court ruled a victory for Johnson because, in Judge W.M. Bond's opinion, their marriage was valid, so the legislature overstepped in barring the children from white schools. The Board of Education appealed and the Supreme Court overturned. Even so, the Johnsons’ community regarded them as white. In the 1920 census of Spring Hill township, Wilson County, and in the 1910 one, on the Keely Branch of the Smithfield and Red Hill Road, the family were described as white.
A photograph of a 3rd-4th grade class at Rosedale school. (This is the same photograph as the one above). The two Chinese girls in the bottom left are Berda and Martha, there is a Chinese girl on the right side, and two older Chinese boys in the upper left top row. (chineseamericanhistorian.blogspot.com)
Photograph of Manuel C. Gonzales, a Mexican-American civil right activist. He was on the legal team of the appellees in this case.
Photograph in the newspaper the Richmond Afro American of a meeting in Rev. L. Francis Griffin’s church, in which NAACP lawyers convinced the students to forget the request for a new school and instead demand that the court strike down the Virginia law requiring segregated schools.
I found the photograph on another website. The quality wasn't great but it had this title: "Rosedale Chinese 1918 - 19. Back from left: Willie Wy Wong, Ben Wong, Kate Wong Lum, Gong Lum, Middle: Wong
Dai, Lum Jim Foon, Martha Lum, Oy Shung Fung, Susie Wong, Front: Mamie Wye, Berda Lum, Taylor Wy, Dan Wy, Alex Wong." I found the photograph with much higher quality (the link provided). Also the inital site said this was taken in 1918-1919, but the website where the high quality photo was found says 1920. (chineseamericanhistorian.blogspot.com)
Photograph of Manuel C. Gonzales, a Mexican-American civil right activist. He was on the legal team of the appellees in this case.
Full case outline and brief
Involves admitting a child of color into a public school. Claim the father is entitled to ascertain the right. It was objected that child did not show necessary qualifications for admission. Finishes by saying "that the board having made the child’s color the sole objection, the relator, if this fails, is presumptively entitled to the writ."
Case presented, H. M. & W. E. Cheever, for relator and D. B. & H M. Duffield for respondents. Majority opinion written by Justice Thomas M. Cooley.
Case outline, findings of fact, conclusions of law,
Full case outline
Photograph of Attorney General Mac Q. Williamson, who was on brief for the appellees.
"Original proceedings in mandamus, writ denied, opinion of the Kansas State Supreme Court was written by Justice Burch. William Reynolds, the plaintiff, was a resident of Lowman Hill school district and the father of Raoul Reynolds, an eight-year-old student who had attended a desegregated school in the district until the building was destroyed by fire. A new and modern brick building, Lowman School, was constructed; however, it was designated for white students and black students were forced to attend an older and undesirable building, Douglass School. In February 1902, William Reynolds brought his son to Lowman School for enrollment, but the principal refused because the child was of African descent. Mr. Reynolds was directed to enroll his son in Douglass School designated for black students. The plaintiff accused the Board of Education of violating the Constitution of the State of Kansas and the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Reynolds demanded that his son be admitted to Lowman School, to be taught without regard to his race or color, and to be treated in all respects as a white child."
Shows an article and photograph of Roy Wilson
Photograph of William T. Wallace, who was Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court and wrote the majority opinion
"These records are proceedings in mandamus related to the William Reynolds v. Board of Education of the City of Topeka Kansas Supreme Court Case."
"Deposition taken for Kansas Supreme Court case William Reynolds, plaintiff v. The Board of Education of the City of Topeka, defendant. John P. Rogers, Shawnee County Surveyor, was questioned about the elevation, slope, and drainage around the schools in question: Lowman Hill and Douglass."
Discusses the case in a historical context, and also in the context of other similar cases, and Brown.
Title self-explanatoy
Bibbs children were sent away from this school since it was designated as a white school.
May 18, 1954: "The Washington Post leads with the U.S. Supreme Court decisions that outlawed school segregation, including the Bolling v. Sharpe decision that ended Jim Crow in District of Columbia public schools." Couldn't find a more readable image of the paper, I'll continue looking in a bit (I couldn not find it)
Spottwoods Bolling, plaintiff shown after the Court decision.
Interview with John Stokes. He begins by saying that him and the students did not go on strike for intrgration but for a new building. He says if they had gotten a new building he would have not been a part of Brown v Board. He says that the lack of resources made him realize him and the other students were being programed for failure. He said they knew of "separate but equal," excpet that it was everything but being equal. He says that this was the only case of the Brown cases to be student led and that he could not be any prouder to have been one of those students. After the schools were shut down, many students didn't get an education, white or black.
Photograph of Thurgood Marshall, who was on the legal team of the plaintiff.
News referring to when the University refused to give athletic pass books to the five Black students of the Law school
Louisiana Room, Special Collections, Edith Garland Dupre' LibaryUniversity Archives & Manuscripts
Article discusses the admission of Black students to UNC. It discusses the ruling, mentions a statement made by Kelly M. Alexander (president of the North Carolina branch of the NAACP), and mentions the three students, (who are also pictured at the top) Harvey Beech (27), J. Kenneth Lee (28), and Floyd B. McKissick (28). Beech recieved no formal notice of his acceptance. There is then further discussion of the NAACP.
Autobiography of Florence Allen. Chapter 9 (Supreme Court of Ohio) Pages 91-92, she discusses Weaver v Board: Begins with summary, mentions that student Doris Weaver did not have have a roommate and that one of the houses was full so she was assignedto live with a white instructor. She states the Weaver case was one of the two decisions that was "used in an attempt to defeat my confirmation." She finishes by telling a story of a classmate of color she had met her first year at Western Reserve University. She states that while she was getting attacked for her decision, she asked that former classmate what she would have done if she was in the same situation as Doris. Apparently this classmate answered: "Why, Florence," she said, "I would have stayed right there and graduated and made it easier for some colored girl to follow me."
Photograph of Thurgood Marshall, who was on brief for the appellant.
Photograph of attorneys Thurgood Marshall and Charles Hamilton Houston with plaintiff Donald Gaines Murray. (On another website, this picture was dated 1935, but I couldn't find the source, so I stuck to the archives of Maryland which showed it undated)
Thurgood Marshall and Donald Murray on their way to court to argue for Murray's admissionto the University of Maryland Law School in 1935.
Photograph of Thurgood Marshall, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs. President John F. Kennedy appointed Marshall to the U.S. Court of Appeals in 1961. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson made him the first black Solicitor General. In 1967, President Johnson appointed Marshall, the first black justice, to the U.S. Supreme Court, proclaiming it was “the right thing to do, the right time to do it, and the right man and the right place.”
Mentions UNC Law School registration on Monday, June 11th, and the first three Black students UNC (Here they're said to be J. Kenneth Lee, James Lassiter, and Harvey Beech, his last name spelled "Beach"). Dean of the law school Herny P. Brandis says that a fourth Black student will enroll in the summer (Floyd McKissick).
"The Law School at South Carolina State College, or more commonly known as “State College,” opened on September 17, 1947 with nine African American students. It closed on May 15, 1966 when the Law School graduated its final class. The Law School was conceived when John Wrighten, an African American veteran of World War II and graduate of State College, applied for admission to the University of South Carolina (USC) School of Law on June 30, 1946. Wrighten, who was denied admission due to his race, sued the University on grounds that the rejection violated his constitutional rights under the Fourteenth Amendment. The case of Wrighten v. Board of Trustees of University of South Carolina was argued in the District Court of the United States for the Eastern District of South Carolina between June 15, 1947 and July 12, 1947. J.Waites Waring, the presiding judge, ruled on July 12, 1947 that the University could either close the School of Law for refusing to admit black students, admit Wrighten to the School of Law, or create a new law school for black students at State College. If Wrighten’s suit succeeded in gaining admission to USC, 1947 would have marked the year South Carolina desegregated its first public school since Reconstruction. However, due to the implicit racism in the post-war South and state laws against the comingling of races, USC agreed to the third option."
Photograph of Thurgood Marshall, one of the attorneys for the plaintiff. President John F. Kennedy appointed Marshall to the U.S. Court of Appeals in 1961. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson made him the first black Solicitor General. In 1967, President Johnson appointed Marshall, the first black justice, to the U.S. Supreme Court, proclaiming it was “the right thing to do, the right time to do it, and the right man and the right place.”
Photograph in the newspaper the Richmond Afro American of a meeting in Rev. L. Francis Griffin’s church, in which NAACP lawyers convinced the students to forget the request for a new school and instead demand that the court strike down the Virginia law requiring segregated schools.
Members of the Wilmington branch of the NAACP pose for a photograph in 1944. In the fall of 1950, the group coordinated an effort of black parents to register their children in white schools in Wilmington and surrounding communities. All were refused. African American attorney Louis Redding worked with the NAACP activists and parents to select the cases that seemed likeliest to win.
After the strike, The Rev. L. Francis Griffin (chairman of Moton’s PTA) asked NAACP attorneys and Richmond natives Oliver Hill and Spottswood W. Robinson III to visit Prince Edward County. Some parents preferred working with the school board rather than antagonizing it, but the majority supported the suit. Robinson filed the suit on 23, 1951. After the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Prince Edward County schools remained segregated. In 1959 the Prince Edward County Board of Supervisors refused to appropriate money for the schools to protest court rulings. All schools closed and black students either attended schools out of the county or dropped their education altogether. White students could attend private schools that formed to avoid desegregation. The Reverend L. Francis Griffin, the local NAACP chapter president, arranged for some students to attend Kittrell Junior College in Henderson, North Carolina, and set up training centers for students who remained in Prince Edward County in an attempt to give the children limited instruction in reading and arithmetic. Prince Edward County schools reopened in 1964 and then only after a court order. During the 2003 session, the General Assembly issued a resolution apologizing to Prince Edward County students who lost five years of education.
Gives a very breif summary of the case
John Peair of Upper Alton filed suit in 1888 against the school board to get his two children enrolled in the school district white school. Although the supreme court ruled in favor of Peair the decision only applied to John Peairs children, and local officials refused to integrate the town’s schools generally. (Starts on page 613)
Gives really great information, especially about alton and the Lincoln school , brief explination of case, in context of the other cases
Yearbook of North Carolina Central University. On image 24, the top left student is allegedly plaintiff Harold Thomas Epps.
This chapter of the book goes into great detail about the facts and history of the case, along with the plaintiff. Although it is detailed, it is really easy to understand and read through
Title self-explanatory
Brief summary and discussion of case.
Video interview with Frankie Freeman. When asked on the case, she first talks about when she opened her office in St. Louis. She said she joined the NAACP, and when she went to see them, she said, "I would be willing to work with you if any cases come." Once the case got brought up wit the NAACP and she was told about it, she told them she wanted to be involved. After Hadley got rid of their course, it was rumored (she claims they could never have proved this because they never pursued it), that there was a private school that white students went. After the ruling, the three Brewton brothers got trained, but they got trained to the military for the Korean War. Freeman says one of the brothers even became an assistant manager of the Federal Aviation Administration in St. Louis. And since she would talk about the case through the years, he eventually called Freeman and told her that while he was talking to his suervisor about how he came to be where he was, he learned that the supervisor was a student at Hadley at the time he was denied admission.
Discusesses Barry Farm, a 375-acre site in Anacostia, purchased by the federal government in 1867 for the settlement of African Americans after the Civil War. It was founded the same year that African American men gained the right to vote in D.C., and would it along with the surrounding area would become home to the emergent black political class, like Frederick Douglass. "The community's formative years coincided with a period in which black leaders and voters played a significant role in the city's governance, leading Congress to end home rule in 1874." There is a section discussing residents of Barry Farm who were involved in the case. James C. Jennings and his wife Luberta moved to Barry Farm Dwellings’ Stevens Road in 1943 with their children, the two youngest being Adrienne and Barbara. In 1950, they were ready for junior high, but there was no junior high or high school near them. Their older siblings even had to travel all the way to schools in Southwest and Northwest D.C., missing out on extracurriculars. When the new whites-only school, John Philip Sousa Junior High, would open nearby, the Jennings joined other neighborhood residents to fight for admission. Nearly 400 signed a petition to the school board demanding that Sousa be integrated and the majority of signers were from Barry Farm. They were escorted by Gardner Bishop and by Reverend Samuel Everette Guiles of Campbell AME Church. When turned away, attorneys filed Bolling v. Sharpe. "Valerie Cogdell was the lead plaintiff in a companion case filed the same day on behalf of several additional Barry Farm residents, but this case was abandoned in favor of Bolling." Attorneys James Nabrit and George E.C. Hayes attacked segregation head-on and Barry Farm residents had pushed for this approach, and hosted fundraising dinners and raffles at Campbell AME, and by soliciting contributions to pay for legal expenses. Section concludes with the Supreme court ruling in May 1954, that the racial segregation of public schools was unconstitutional.
Describes how People v. McFall was decided on quo worranto proceedings rather than substantive grounds. (Page 137)
Title self-explanatory (the plaintiffs of the case)
The Claymont Twelve poster featuring photographs of 11 Black students who integrated into Claymont highschool and belton who decided to stay at the Howard school
Book written by Raymond Gavins. It emphasizes black achievements in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, specificly, outcomes of the Civil Rights Movement. Pages 182-183 discuss plaintiff Floyd McKissick. He was born on 3/9/1992, studied at Morehouse College, North Carolina College, and University of Carolina Law School. He passed away on 4/21/1991. He was the national director of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). He joined the NAACP back in high school. After brown his efforts focused primarily on helping the Black community (like helping mobilize sit-ins and represent Black people arrested for trespassing at an ice cream parlor). He embraced Black power, but apparenlty supported Richard M. Nixon due to his views on economic independence. Many members departed from CORE apparenlty because of McKissick's rejection of nonviolence and integration. He would resign and develop Soul City, a Black industrial community financed via loan guarantees from the Nixon Administraion. The next paragraph summerizes the case.
Photograph/copy of the ORIGINAL newspaper when Samuel Cisco was arrested for not sending his children to the school for Black students, talks a lot about racial tensions gives the amazing quote from cisco "The war has been carried into Africa and we now propose to carry it in Caucasia."
"In 1946, John H. Wrighten applied for admission to the University of South Carolina Law School. After being denied, he sued the Board of Trustees of the University of South Carolina. Rather than desegregate the law school, the court ruled that South Carolina must provide an equal law school facility for Blacks. This set the tone for the state’s policy of school equalization as a strategy to prevent desegregation. South Carolina poured money into a new law school for African Americans at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, allocating $200,000 for a building and $30,000 for a law library. When prompted with inquiries about the high costs, the Dean of the University of South Carolina’s law school explained, 'Gentlemen, well I’ll tell you, the price of prejudice is very high.'"
Photograph of Thurgood Marshall, an attoreny for the plaintiff
Photograph of Thurgood Marshall, who an attroney for the appellee. This was his first major victory in his struggle for equality under the law.
Image of a press clipping found in NAACP papers in Topeka. It discusses the case and the support pledged to the plaintiff, George Wright, and others Black citizens of Topeka who have filed suit against the board of education.
Book by John Stokes and others, telling his story of being involved with the strikes and case.
Title self-explanatory (protest after schools were closed)
Only contains court decision (no summary or argument for one side or other). Relator asks for writ of madamus, which can be given when relator has had a right violated. main question: "whether the regulations adopted by the respondents, who are Ohio State University officials, contravene the provisions of the State and Federal Constitutions. There is no violation of any state law. School board of Ohio State University has all the power to adopt rules. If the rules are reasonable and furnish similar facilities to the races and they both have similar educational advantages, no constitutional rights have been abridged. Involves living facilities, and court says it isn't about pursuing equal school advantages, but about having the same social circle. Refers to Garnes v. McCann case stating “Any classification which preserves substantially equal school advantages is not prohibited by either the State or federal constitution, nor would it contravene the provisions of either.” Writ is denied. (Also first woman judge ruled on this case)
The relator William T. Lewis, is qualified in all aspects to be admitted to the University of Florida, except that he was denied by the State Board of Control because he is black (the University of Florida is maintained exclusively for white students). In April 1949 Lewis applied for admission to the first-year class of the College of Law of the University of Florida. Because of his denial, he instituted this mandamus action, saying the University of Florida is the only tax-supported university in the State that offers courses of agriculture for graduate students. He says the refusal of the governing authorities to admit him because he is black is illegal and a denial of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed him by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Federal Constitution. The Board offered him the opportunity to secure instruction in law at a university or college outside the State of Florida, where black students are eligible for admission. As an alternative, they offered to enroll him at the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College. Every question raised has been considered and decided by this Court in State ex rel. Hawkins v. Board of Control, supra, and it follows that the opinion and judgment rendered in that cause should control the disposition the should be made of the case at bar.
The relator Benjamin F. Finley, is qualified in all aspects to be admitted to the University of Florida, except that he was denied by the State Board of Control because he is black (the University of Florida is maintained exclusively for white students). In April 1949 Finley applied for admission to the University of Florida to enter the graduate school for the study of agriculture. Because of his denial, he instituted this mandamus action, saying the University of Florida is the only tax-supported university in the State that offers courses of agriculture for graduate students. He says the refusal of the governing authorities to admit him because he is black is illegal and a denial of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed him by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Federal Constitution. The Board offered him the opportunity to secure instruction in a graduate school of agriculture at a university or college outside the State of Florida, where black students are eligible for admission. As an alternative, they offered to enroll him at the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College. Every question raised has been considered and decided by this Court in State ex rel. Hawkins v. Board of Control, supra, and it follows that the opinion and judgment rendered in that cause should control the disposition the should be made of the case at bar.
In April 1949, the relator, Rose Boyd, a black resident of Florida, applied to the University of Florida. She is qualified in all aspects, but she was denied by the State Board of Control because of her race (the university is maintained for white students). She instituted this mandamus action averring that the University of Florida is the only tax-supported university in the State which offers courses of pharmacy, and she says that the governing authorities denying her admission because of her race is illegal and a denial of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed her by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Federal Constitution. The Board said they offered Boyd the opportunity to secure instruction in pharmacy at a university outside the State of Florida where black students are eligible for admission as an alternative. They offered to enroll her at the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College. Every question raised has been considered and decided by this Court in State ex rel. Hawkins v. Board of Control. It is so ordered.
Photograph of attorneys Spottswood Robinson III (left) and Oliver W. Hill (right) who were on the legal team of the plaintiffs.
Photograph of attorneys Spottswood Robinson III (left) and Oliver W. Hill (right) who were on the legal team of the plaintiffs.
This website gives the overall historical implecations of the case, and also a very brief summary. Puts the case into context along with other cases
"Completed in 1950, John Philip Sousa Junior High School for white students in Anacostia was a showcase, with more than 42 classrooms, a large auditorium, and a fully equipped gymnasium."
NAACP Youth Council student leaders with Reverend I. DeQuincy Newman and James Blake, Charleston, South Carolina, 1950s, courtesy of the Avery Research Center.
Photograph of the historical marker honoring Scott Bibb
Photograph of Sidney Redmond, an attorney who was part of the legal team for the case.
Described the struggles of Scott Bibb and the African American community in the Alton School District. They have now created a historical marker to honor the dedication of Scott Bib and the desegregation of schools.
Describes the history of the Bibb family and outlines the story of the case. Explains why there is resistance to segregated schools and explains why the Alton School District did not desegregate until the Brown ruling.
Page 228. Explains the case and takes important quotes from it and the King case.
Describes all the cases leading up to the Bibb case, and describes the school district and county historically. Also provides photographs of all the buildings.
"School Segregation Cases — Order of Argument Record Group 267: Records of the Supreme Court National Archives and Records Administration"
Image of an article from the Topeka Plaindealer, February 8, 1929 (does this date make sense if the case took place a year later?) discussing the ruling of this case.
Article from Triad Buisness Weekly discussing Lee's achievements, his life, and his struggles with racism and discrimination.
Briefly covers the case and goes into detain about the South Carolina State College and its history
Photo of Roy. S. Wilson pictured with documents and the deans office (?) behind him
Title self-explanatory
