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Briggs v. Elliott
The ReasonThe Reason
In the 1940s,things were very
differentin
South Carolina.
WHITE children went toA FEW
CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS.
BLACK children went to
MANY SMALLLOCAL SCHOOLS.
Schools like Halley Town served black children.
A “Colored” school used until 1941
Spring Hill School for “Coloreds”
had two rooms.
It was maintained by Spring Hill
Church and the Masonic Lodge.
Rosenwald School for “Colored” Children
Liberty Hill School for “Colored”
Children
Silver School for “Colored” Children
Paxville School for “Colored” Children
Scott’s Branch School for “Colored” Children
Summerton Consolidated High Schoolfor White Children
Many rural children lived a long distance
from their schools
White rural children traveled to their
consolidated schools by bus.
Early 1930s bus for white
children
In 1945,there wasNO BUS
for “Colored” Children
For some black children,the nearest school
with their grade was10 miles away!
Mr. Levi Pearson was
unhappy that there was
NO BUS to take his children to
school
Rev. J.A. De Laine was an
A.M.E. pastor.
He was Mr. Pearson’s
friend.
In 1947, Mr. J.M. Hinton challenged:“No 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.”
Rev. De Laine took the challenge
andMr. Pearson agreed to be
the Plaintiff.
Levi Pearson vs. Clarendon County and School District
No. 26became the First Legal Step toward
Briggs v. Elliott
A Lawsuit:
Even with poor facilities
and no buses,
black children still went to school and achieved.
7th Grade Graduates Liberty Hill School
Liberty Hill Graduates and Teacher
Scott’s Branch School 7th Grade Class 1940
Briggs v. Elliott started as a
simple quest for equal access to education
It grew to end in Better Educational
Opportunities for
all American children
Briggs v. Elliott
The HeroesThe Heroes
PLAINTIFFSPLAINTIFFS inin
Briggs v. ElliottBriggs v. Elliott
HARRY BRIGGS
Briggs v. Elliott Briggs v. Elliott PlaintiffPlaintiff
ANNIE GIBSON
Briggs v. Elliott Briggs v. Elliott PlaintiffPlaintiff
MOSE OLIVER
Briggs v. Elliott Briggs v. Elliott PlaintiffPlaintiff
BENNIE PARSON
Briggs v. Elliott Briggs v. Elliott PlaintiffPlaintiff
EDWARD RAGIN
Briggs v. Elliott Briggs v. Elliott PlaintiffPlaintiff
WILLIAM RAGIN
Briggs v. Elliott Briggs v. Elliott PlaintiffPlaintiff
LUCRISHER RICHARDSON
Briggs v. Elliott Briggs v. Elliott PlaintiffPlaintiff
LEE RICHARDSON
Briggs v. Elliott Briggs v. Elliott PlaintiffPlaintiff
JAMES BENNETT
Briggs v. Elliott Briggs v. Elliott PlaintiffPlaintiff
MARY OLIVER
Briggs v. Elliott Briggs v. Elliott PlaintiffPlaintiff
WILLIAM STUKES
Briggs v. Elliott Briggs v. Elliott PlaintiffPlaintiff
G. H. HENRY
Briggs v. Elliott Briggs v. Elliott PlaintiffPlaintiff
ROBERT GEORGIA
Briggs v. Elliott Briggs v. Elliott PlaintiffPlaintiff
REBECCA RICHBURG
Briggs v. Elliott Briggs v. Elliott PlaintiffPlaintiff
GABRIEL TINDAL
Briggs v. Elliott Briggs v. Elliott PlaintiffPlaintiff
SUSAN LAWSON
Briggs v. Elliott Briggs v. Elliott PlaintiffPlaintiff
FREDERICK OLIVER
Briggs v. Elliott Briggs v. Elliott PlaintiffPlaintiff
ONETHA BENNETT
Briggs v. Elliott Briggs v. Elliott PlaintiffPlaintiff
HAZEL RAGIN
Briggs v. Elliott Briggs v. Elliott PlaintiffPlaintiff
HENRY SCOTT
Briggs v. Elliott Briggs v. Elliott PlaintiffPlaintiff
We Salute
20 HEROES20 HEROES
Briggs v. Elliott Briggs v. Elliott PlaintiffsPlaintiffs
We also SaluteOther Martyrs
in Clarendon County’squest for equality
Mr. James McKnight, who was not a plaintiff,
was murdered by racists
in front of his family
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.
Altered records denied
Mr. Reverdy Wells, Scott’s Branch
1949 class valedictorian,
the opportunity of higher education
Before it was over, Rev. De Laine was
sued, shot at, homeless and listed as a fugitive from
South Carolina justice.
Mrs. Mattie De Laine, helpmate ofRev. J.A. De Laine.
Her house burned while firemen
watched.
Judge J. Waites Waringbecame a social
outcast.
Judge Waringwould NOT hear
a lawsuit for “Separate But
Equal”
Judge Waring,in a dissenting District Court opinion, said
BLACK SCHOOLS WERE NOT
EQUAL
They say you already have “Separate But Equal”
schools.BUT
there is no such thing as “Separate But Equal”
Briggs v. Elliott
Through Through The CourtsThe Courts
First came the Pearson bus transportation
lawsuit
Then came the first Briggs v. Elliott, suing
for “Separate But Equal”
In 1951, there was the final Briggs v. Elliott,
suing for “desegregation”
However, the judges did rule that school facilities must be
made MORE EQUAL
for black children
Waring’s Dissenting Opinion
in 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
South Carolina approved a
$75,000,000 bond to support
equalization of schools.
At last, school buses were provided for black children
A new building (top) equalized Scott’s Branch School and Summerton High (bottom)
Scott’s Branch
Summerton High
Briggs v. Elliott was appealed to the
Supreme Court
On January 28, 1952, Briggs v. Elliott
was returned to the District Court
for a report on equalization progress
By the time Briggs v. Elliott got back to the Supreme Court
Brown v. Board of Educationwas there
Briggs v. Elliott and three other cases
were argued along withBrown v. Board of
Education
On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court ruled
In the field of public education, the doctrine of
“separate but equal” has no place.”
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.”
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 of
LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
