On May 18, 1949, Black school-age children filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina against the Durham Public School District, claiming it deprived them of their rights under the Fourteenth Amendment. North Carolina's laws followed the “separate but equal” doctrine set forth by Plessy v. Ferguson. Schools had to be separate, but if they weren’t equal, that meant discrimination was present and school officials weren’t adequately executing the laws of the state. Local officials admitted that the facilities available to the Black children were not as good as those afforded to white children because they lacked funds and had cumbersome building restrictions. They also argued that white families were moving to other sections of the city which required using funding to build a new school building for white children in those new communities. The court ruled that these were not valid excuses for providing Black children with unequal educational facilities. The court found that there were three junior high schools for white children and none for Black children. They also found that the white children’s schools were bigger and had more classes and equipment than the Black children’s schools. Even if local officials did not have the funds, Black children were still left with many disadvantages. Ultimately, the children won the case. The court ruled that equal facilities for Black school children were required. [233 words]