Briggs v. Elliott The Reason

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Briggs v. ElliottThe Reason
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In the 1940s,things were very differentin
South Carolina.
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WHITE children went toA FEW CONSOLIDATED
SCHOOLS.
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BLACK children went to MANY SMALLLOCAL SCHOOLS.
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Schools like Halley Town served black children.
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A Colored school used until 1941
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• Spring Hill School for Coloreds had two rooms.
• It was maintained by Spring Hill Church and the
  Masonic Lodge.

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Rosenwald School for Colored Children
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Liberty Hill School for Colored Children
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Silver School for Colored Children
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Paxville School for Colored Children
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Scotts Branch School for Colored Children
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Summerton Consolidated High Schoolfor White
Children
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Many rural children lived a long distance from
their schools
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White rural children traveled to their
consolidated schools by bus.
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Early 1930s bus for white children
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In 1945,there wasNO BUS for Colored Children
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For some black children,the nearest schoolwith
their grade was10 miles away!
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Mr. Levi Pearson was unhappy that there wasNO
BUS to take his children to school
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Rev. J.A. De Laine was anA.M.E. pastor. He
was Mr. Pearsons friend.
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In 1947, Mr. J.M. Hinton challengedNo teacher
or preacher in South Carolina has the courage to
get a plaintiff to test the school bus
transportation practices of discrimination
against Negro children.
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Rev. De Laine took the challengeandMr. Pearson
agreed to be the Plaintiff.
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A Lawsuit
Levi Pearson vs. Clarendon County and School
District No. 26
became the First Legal Step toward Briggs v.
Elliott
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Even with poor facilitiesand no buses,black
children still went to school and achieved.
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7th Grade Graduates Liberty Hill School
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Liberty Hill Graduates and Teacher
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Scotts Branch School 7th Grade Class 1940
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Briggs v. Elliott started as a simple quest for
equal access to education
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It grew to end in Better Educational
Opportunities for all American children
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Briggs v. Elliott The Heroes
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PLAINTIFFS inBriggs v. Elliott
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HARRY BRIGGS
Briggs v. Elliott Plaintiff
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ANNIE GIBSON
Briggs v. Elliott Plaintiff
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MOSE OLIVER
Briggs v. Elliott Plaintiff
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BENNIE PARSON
Briggs v. Elliott Plaintiff
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EDWARD RAGIN
Briggs v. Elliott Plaintiff
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WILLIAM RAGIN
Briggs v. Elliott Plaintiff
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LUCRISHER RICHARDSON
Briggs v. Elliott Plaintiff
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LEE RICHARDSON
Briggs v. Elliott Plaintiff
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JAMES BENNETT
Briggs v. Elliott Plaintiff
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MARY OLIVER
Briggs v. Elliott Plaintiff
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WILLIAM STUKES
Briggs v. Elliott Plaintiff
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G. H. HENRY
Briggs v. Elliott Plaintiff
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ROBERT GEORGIA
Briggs v. Elliott Plaintiff
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REBECCA RICHBURG
Briggs v. Elliott Plaintiff
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GABRIEL TINDAL
Briggs v. Elliott Plaintiff
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SUSAN LAWSON
Briggs v. Elliott Plaintiff
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FREDERICK OLIVER
Briggs v. Elliott Plaintiff
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ONETHA BENNETT
Briggs v. Elliott Plaintiff
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HAZEL RAGIN
Briggs v. Elliott Plaintiff
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HENRY SCOTT
Briggs v. Elliott Plaintiff
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We Salute20 HEROES
Briggs v. Elliott Plaintiffs
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We also SaluteOther Martyrs in Clarendon
Countysquest for equality
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Mr. James McKnight, who was not a plaintiff,
was murdered by racists in front of his family
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Mr. Bo Stukes, a plaintiff, died
while trying to continue working as an auto
repair mechanic after being fired. A poorly
secured car fell on him while he was working.
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Altered records deniedMr. Reverdy Wells, Scotts
Branch1949 class valedictorian, the opportunity
of higher education
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Before it was over, Rev. De Laine was sued, shot
at, homeless and listed as a fugitive from South
Carolina justice.
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Mrs. Mattie De Laine, helpmate ofRev. J.A. De
Laine.Her house burned while firemen watched.
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Judge J. Waites Waringbecame a social outcast.
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Judge Waringwould NOT heara lawsuit for
Separate But Equal
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Judge Waring,in a dissenting District Court
opinion, said BLACK SCHOOLS WERE NOT EQUAL
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They say you already have Separate But Equal
schools.BUTthere is no such thing as Separate
But Equal
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Briggs v. Elliott Through The Courts
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First came the Pearson bus transportation lawsuit
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Then came the first Briggs v. Elliott, suingfor
Separate But Equal
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In 1951, there was the final Briggs v. Elliott,
suing for desegregation
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However, the judges did rule that school
facilities must be made MORE EQUAL for black
children
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Warings Dissenting Opinionin a Nutshell You
guys ought to be ashamed to call such rot justice
from a United States Court. I want no part of
it.
The dissenting Judge Waring
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South Carolina approved a 75,000,000 bond to
support equalization of schools.
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At last, school buses were provided for black
children
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A new building (top) equalized Scotts Branch
School and Summerton High (bottom)
Scotts Branch
Summerton High
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Briggs v. Elliott was appealed to the Supreme
Court
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On January 28, 1952, Briggs v. Elliott was
returned to the District Courtfor a report on
equalization progress
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By the time Briggs v. Elliott got back to the
Supreme CourtBrown v. Board of Educationwas
there
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Briggs v. Elliott and three other cases were
argued along withBrown v. Board of Education
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On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court ruled
In the field of public education, the doctrine of
separate but equal has no place.
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In response to pleas about the time needed to
integrate schools, on May 31, 1955, the Court
ruled
Admission to public schools on a
non-discriminatory basis must take place with
all deliberate speed.
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Many civil rights battles were later fought, but
the heroes of Briggs v. Elliott had set the
stage.America had promised to uphold its
guarantee ofLIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
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