Under North Carolina state law, racial segregation was required for public schools, but racial discrimination was prohibited. Separate opportunities had to be equal, per the Fourteenth Amendment. Parents and guardians of children attending all-Black Plymouth High School sued their county’s Board of Education, saying their children’s educational facilities weren’t equal to those provided for local white students. The local Board of Education admitted Plymouth High’s existing educational facilities were inferior, but explained they planned to close down Plymouth High and another all-Black high school and consolidate these schools with a third centrally located school, Roper High. They would build new, better facilities at Roper High and provide transportation. The families argued that this was unfair because their children would have to travel outside of their community while white children could continue learning closer to home. The Board maintained that their consolidation plan would actually create better school facilities for Black children than for white children. Consequently, a similar plan was made to consolidate the white high schools as soon as funding became available. The question before the court was whether the closing of Plymouth High School and requirement of students to travel to Roper would be an act of discrimination. District Court ruled that it was not. The case was appealed. The main concern of the Black students was the distance they needed to travel to get to the new school. The Court, however, held that because white children would have to travel similar distances for their school there was no racial discrimination present. [254 words]