NAACP Legal Campaign

NAACP Legal Campaign

  • Brown v. Board of Education, 1954

    • Long-term legal campaign by NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and LDF (Legal Defense Fund).

    • Strategy: Attacking Plessy v. Ferguson via a method described as 'bow with two strings' by Charles Hamilton Houston.

    • Charles Hamilton Houston:

      • Head lawyer for the NAACP.

      • Utilized Howard University to train civil rights lawyers.

      • Focused on attacking segregation by starting with graduate and professional schools as they are less moldable and less threatening than elementary schools.

      • Emphasized equalization, ensuring that even though schools were separate, they received equal resources.

Early NAACP Legal Victories

  • Gaines v. Missouri (1938):

    • Supreme Court ordered states that provide state-run education for whites to also provide it for blacks (specifically in law school).

  • Smith v. Allwright (1944):

    • Supreme Court outlawed the white Democratic primary in Texas, emphasizing equal voting rights.

  • Sweatt v. Painter (1950):

    • Supreme Court decision that integrated the Texas law school, acknowledging the inadequacies in separate facilities.

  • McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents (1950):

    • Supreme Court ruled that a public institution of higher learning cannot provide different treatment based on race, specifically regarding graduate education.

  • Psychological Evidence:

    • Dr. Kenneth Clark and Mamie Phipps Clark: Conducted the doll test to provide evidence of the psychological effects of segregation on African American children.

Five Cases Under Brown v. Board of Education

  1. Bolling v. Sharpe, Washington D.C. (1954):

    • Parents sought admission of children to an all-white junior high due to poor conditions in their segregated school.

    • Lawsuit filed by a Howard University law professor was dismissed by the trial court.

  2. Briggs v. Elliott, Clarendon County, SC (1952):

    • Parents requested equal bus transportation for Black children.

    • NAACP attorneys, including Thurgood Marshall, represented the case.

    • Initially ruled against; however, Judge J. Waties Waring's dissent influenced the Supreme Court appeal.

  3. Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka, Kansas (1954):

    • Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, stating that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal."

    • Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson (1896).

  4. Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County, Virginia:

    • Initiated by a student strike led by Barbara Johns in response to inadequate conditions at Moton High School.

    • NAACP attorneys filed the lawsuit on behalf of 117 students.

  5. Belton (Bulah) v. Gebhart, Wilmington, Delaware (1952):

    • Delaware court ruled the "separate but equal" doctrine unconstitutional; ordered Black students to be admitted to white schools.

Backlash and Massive Resistance

  • Lynching of Emmett Till (1955):

    • 14-year-old Till abducted and murdered for allegedly offending a white woman, Carolyn Bryant.

    • Mamie Till Mobley sought national attention, allowing JET Magazine to publish a photo of Till's body to highlight racial violence.

  • Political Backlash to Brown:

    • Southern Manifesto (1956):

    • Document signed by 101 Southern congressmen opposing the Supreme Court's desegregation ruling.

    • Claimed the ruling abused judicial power and violated states' rights; called for lawful resistance against integration.

    • Promoted the "Massive Resistance" policy in Virginia.

Earliest Attempts at Desegregation

  • The Clinton 12, Clinton, TN (1956):

    • First court-ordered desegregation in a state-supported public high school in the South, occurring a year prior to Little Rock.

  • Mansfield, TX (1956):

    • Experienced a significant desegregation crisis when a federal court ordered its high school to desegregate.

    • Local residents resisted violently, deploying tactics to prevent Black students from enrolling.

  • The Little Rock Nine, Little Rock Central High School (1957):

    • Selected by the NAACP, faced violent opposition when attempting to integrate.

    • Governor Orval Faubus used the National Guard to prevent entry; federal intervention by President Eisenhower ensured their attendance with Army troop protection.

  • Ruby Bridges, New Orleans (1960):

    • Escorted by federal marshals, was the only student in her class for months, with only one teacher willing to instruct her.

Southern Universities and Colleges

  • HBCUs and Out-of-State Students:

  • Autherine Lucy, University of Alabama (1956):

    • First African American to enroll, later expelled due to riots but was finally reinstated in 1988.

  • Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes, University of Georgia (1961):

    • Initially denied admission in 1959, they continued to reapply.

    • Enrolled following federal court intervention; faced rioting and violence.

  • James Meredith, University of Mississippi (1962):

    • First African American to enroll, triggering riots and needing federal marshals and troops for protection.

    • Successfully began classes on October 1, 1962.

  • James Hood and Vivianne Malone, University of Alabama (1963):

    • First Black students to enroll successfully, facing Governor George Wallace's obstruction at the school's entrance.

    • Federal intervention led to their admission and set a precedent for further desegregation.