Legal Defense Fund Wins Reinstatement for Negro Teachers

Press Release
June 8, 1966

Legal Defense Fund Wins Reinstatement for Negro Teachers preview

Cite this item

  • Press Releases, Volume 4. Legal Defense Fund Wins Reinstatement for Negro Teachers, 1966. 33760309-b792-ee11-be37-00224827e97b. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/12ff949e-e8a7-4187-8b3a-3921ccbd9400/legal-defense-fund-wins-reinstatement-for-negro-teachers. Accessed June 01, 2025.

    Copied!

    10 Columbus Cirele 

New York, N.Y. 10019 
JUdson 68397 

NAACP 
ete Td 

Legal Defense and Educational Fund 
PRESS RELEASE 
President , 

on. Francis E, Rivers 

ete. 8 

LEGAL DEFENSE FUND 
VFINS, REINSTATEMENT.” <4 
FCR NEGRO TEACHERS 

ea 

RICHMOND----The Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals 

ordered the reinstatement of 16 Negro teachers who lost 

their jobs last year when the Hendersonville, N.C., school system 

was desegregated. 

The court, acting on an appeal taken by the NAACP 
Legal Defense and Educational Fund, reversed a Federal District 

Court decision. The Fund acted in behalf of the teachers and 

the North Carolina Teachers Association. 

The District Court had dismissed the case on grounds 

that there was insufficient evidence to prove that the teachers 

were dismissed for racial reasons. 

However, the appellate court found that the dismissed 

teachers had been forced to compete for a chance to retain their 

jobs, while white teachers were routinely reemployed. 

Eight Negro teachers who had been employed before the 

schools were desegregated kept their jobs. 

The court ruled that the criteria used by the school 

superintendent to determine which teachers were to be retained 

was ".,,too subjective to withstand scrutiny in the face of the 

long history of racial discrimination in the community..." 

The appellate court ordered the District Court to 
reassume jurisdiction in the case and to supervise the school 
board in setting up objective standards for employment of 
teachers. The standards must be applied to all teachers alike, 
the court said. 

“All of the plaintiffs who desire to teach in the Hen- 
dersonville school system and who can me en minimum standards 
of the Board are entitled to...reempl& “forthe. 1966-1967 
school year..." the court said. . 

Legal Defense Fund lawyers involve 
Director-Counsel. Jack Greenberg and Melvyn i New, York;-% 
J. Levonne Chambers of Charlotte; Conrad 0,\Péarson of ,Durhan - 

sand Ruben.J. Dailey‘and ‘Robert L, Harrell of Asheville.’ ? ("4 

eWease. were 

=30- 
Jesse DeVore, Jr., Director of Public Information—Night Number 212 Riverside 9-8487 Ss

Copyright notice

© NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.

This collection and the tools to navigate it (the “Collection”) are available to the public for general educational and research purposes, as well as to preserve and contextualize the history of the content and materials it contains (the “Materials”). Like other archival collections, such as those found in libraries, LDF owns the physical source Materials that have been digitized for the Collection; however, LDF does not own the underlying copyright or other rights in all items and there are limits on how you can use the Materials. By accessing and using the Material, you acknowledge your agreement to the Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Materials.


Additional info

To the extent that LDF includes information about the Materials’ origins or ownership or provides summaries or transcripts of original source Materials, LDF does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy of such information, transcripts or summaries, and shall not be responsible for any inaccuracies.

Return to top