Coppedge v. Franklin County Board of Education Appellees' Appendix (1a-482a)

    1st t h e

Mnxttb BUUb (Emtrt uf Kppmh
F o u r t h  C ircu it

No. 11,794

H arold D ouglas C oppedge, a minor, et al., 
and

U n ited  S tates  op A m e r ic a , etc.,
Appellees,

T h e  F r a n k l in  C o u n t y  B oard op E d u catio n , et al.,
Appellants.

a ppeal  prom  t h e  d istrict  court  op t h e  u n ite d  states por t h e
EASTERN DISTRICT OF N ORTH  CAROLINA 

RALEIGH DIVISION -CIVIL

APPELLEES’ APPENDIX

J o h n  D oar

Assistant Attorney General

F r a n k  E . S c h w e l b  
F ran cis  H . K e n n e d y  

Department of Justice 
Washington, D.C. 20530

Attorneys for
Plaintiff s-Intervenors-Appellees

J a c k  G reenberg  
J am es  M. N abr it , III 
R obert B elton  
J am es  N . F in n e y  

10 Columbus Circle 
New York, New l"ork 10019

J . L eV o n n e  C ham bers  
405% East Trade Street 
Charlotte, North Carolina

C onrad  O. P earson

203% East Chapel Hill Street 
Durham, North Carolina

Attorneys for 
Plaintiff s-Appellees



I N D E X

Volume I
PAGE

Complaint........................................................................ 2a

Answer ...............................................................    10a

Exhibit “A ” Attached to Answer—General 
Statement of Policies, etc. (Omitted) ............  16a

Order.............................................................................   17a

Complaint in Intervention ........................................   18a

Verified Answer to Complaint in Intervention........... 26a

Transcript of Hearing on Motion for Preliminary 
Injunction..............................................................    35a

Motion to Delay Injunction ...........................    150a

Order Denying Motion for Preliminary Injunction .... 156a

Findings of Fact; Conclusions of Law; Interim 
Order.........................        162a

Appendix A—Plan for Compliance, etc.............  171a
Appendix B—Assurance of Compliance, etc.....  177a

Plaintiffs’ Response to Defendants’ Standards for 
Employment, etc. .....................   180a

Plaintiff-Intervenor’s Objections to Defendants’
Standards, etc.................    182a

Motion to Require Defendants to Eliminate Edu­
cational Disparities ...................................................  185a



XI

Affidavit of Frank E. Schwelb in Support of Motion 186a

Appendix A—Enrollment List ............................ 191a

Appendix B—Enrollment List ............................ 193a
Appendix C—Enrollment List ............................ 195a

Appendix D—Enrollment List ......................... 197a

Appendix E—Enrollment List ............... ............ 199a
Appendix F—Enrollment List ............................ 201a

Appendix G—Assignment of Buses ..................  203a

Motion for Further Relief ...................... ..................  204a

Plaintiffs’ Interrogatories .........     209a

Defendants’ Answers to Plaintiffs’ Interrogatories .. 213a

Exhibit A—Enrollment Totals ............................ 217a

Exhibit B—Notice of School Desegregation
Plan ............................................   219a

Exhibit C—Letter to Parents.............................. 221a

Exhibit D—-Same as Exhibit B .......................... 222a
Exhibit E -l—Letter .............................................  223a

Exhibit E-2—Same as Exhibit B ...................... 224a

Exhibit E-3— Choice of School F orm ................  225a

Defendants’ Answers to Plaintiffs’ Interrogatories .. 226a

Defendants’ Response to Plaintiffs’ Motion for Fur­
ther Relief ........    228a

PAGE



I ll

Transcript of Hearing in Baltimore, Md., dated 
April 20, 1967 ............................................................  233a

Transcript of Hearing in Raleigh, N.C., dated May 
9, 1967 ................................... ....... ............................ . 236a

Appendix C to Plaintiff-Inter venor’s Proposed Find­
ings .............................................................................  239a

Appendix D to Plaintiff-Intervenor’s Proposed Find­
ings .........................................................     259a

Defendants’ Motion to Stay Execution of Opinion 
and Order dated August 17,1967 .............................  262a

Plaintiff-Intervenor’s Memorandum in Opposition to
Defendants’ Motion to Stay Execution.................. 265a

Order Denying Stay ................................................   271a

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston ..........  272a

Deposition of Booker Talefero Driver ......................  308a

Deposition of Cecil M acon..............................   328a

Deposition of Sidney Winston Manley......................  335a

Deposition of George Vance Floyd ...........................  345a

Deposition of John Echols .........................................  363a

Deposition of W. J. Champion .....................................  370a

PAGE

Deposition of Jean Carol Satterwhite ...................... 380a



IV

Stipulated Testimony of Satterwhite, Moore, Geddie 
and Dunn....................................... ........... .............. . 410a

Deposition of Nellie Margaret Kearney ..................  413a

Deposition of Irene Arrington ...................................  418a

T estim o n y

(Hearing on Motion for Preliminary Injunction)

Government’s Witnesses 

Warren W. Smith—
Direct (By Mr. Fink) ................................. 48a, 79a
Direct (By Mr. Chambers) .......................... 59a
Cross (By Mr. Yarborough) ........................ 83a
Redirect (By Mr. Chambers) ................ 112a, 146a
Recross (By Mr. Yarborough) .............. 137a, 148a
Redirect (By Mr. Fink) ................................ 149a

Volume II

Deposition of Rev. Robert T. Latham ................483a, 907a

Deposition of Rev. Frank Wood ......................... 526a, 742a

Deposition of Rev. Luther Coppedge ....................... 560a

Deposition of Spencer McKinley Massenburg .... . 590a

Exhibit 1—Note ....................................................  601a

Exhibit 2—Note .............................. .....................  603a

PAGE

Deposition of Queen E. W ortham................. ......... . 397a



V

Deposition of Plummer Alston, Jr..............................  604a

Government’s Exhibit 1—Article in Franklin 
Times...................................................................   611a

Deposition of Inez Davis............................................... 612a

Exhibit A—Form B .............................................  623a

Deposition of Thaddens Jerome Cheek .................... 625a

Deposition of Margaret Crudup.................................  648a

Government’s Exhibits 2 and 3—Notes..............  667a

Government’s Exhibit 4—Letter dated August 
12, 1965 ................................................................  669a

Deposition of James T. Anderson .............................. 670a

Government’s Exhibit 1—Article from Franklin 
Times..................................................................   689a

Deposition of Joseph Henry Branch ........................  690a

Exhibit 1—Letter dated June 10, 1965 ..........  705a

Exhibit 2—School Preferential Form ................  707a

Exhibit 3—School Preferential Form ................  709a

Deposition of Christine Coppedge ......................710a, 760a

Government’s Exhibit 1—Article from Franklin 
Times....................      725a

Deposition of Fred Wilton Rogers ......................726a, 847a

Government’s Exhibit 1—Article from Franklin 
Times....................................................   741a

PAGE



Deposition of Margaret E. Fogg .............................. 821a

Deposition of Buck Norwood ...................................  882a

Deposition of Christopher Neal ................................ 925a

Deposition of Paul C. Engram .................   959a

Volume III

Deposition of Warren E. Massenburg ..........    997a

Deposition of Edith Alston Anderson ....................  1014a

Deposition of William L. Stormer ..........................  1036a

Deposition of Arthur L. Morgan .............................. 1096a

Deposition of Ossie Lynn Spivey ............................ 1127a

Deposition of Michael Dan Matthews ....................  1149a

Deposition of Wanda Lou Parrish ..........................  1151a

Deposition of Sheral Frazier .....................    1153a

Deposition of Jerry Wayne Boone ..........................  1154a

Deposition of Ira Bowden .........................................  1158a

Deposition of Mattie G. C. Harris .......................... 1163a

vi

PAGE

Deposition of Alice Fay Clanton .............................. 790a

Deposition of Arnee Hartsfield ................................ 1175a



Deposition of Ruby E. Perry .... ............................... 1183a

Deposition of Charlie White ....    1189a

Deposition of Frank W. Rogers ............................  1194a

Deposition of Joyce Terrell .....................................  1202a

Deposition of Willie Perry ...................................... 1208a

Deposition of Dazell Walters .................................. 1214a

Deposition of Sadie M. Suitt .................................. 1216a

Deposition of Joyce Griffin .....................................  1221a

Deposition of Robert B. Fleming ..........................  1226a,

Deposition of Alvaretta Moore ......    1230a

Deposition of Cnnetter Bolden ................................ 1235a

Deposition of Melissa Dean .....................................  1236a

Deposition of OUie Strickland ................................ 1241a

Deposition of Gladys Hayes .................................... 1243a

Deposition of Robert Richardson .........................   1244a

Deposition of Evelyn Kay Harris ........................  1246a

VII

PAGE

Deposition of Mattie W. Crudup ..........................  1179a

Deposition of Veronica Hawkins ........... ...........    1252a



Transcript of Trial July 25-26, 1967 .......................... 1256a

Summation of Argument by Counsel ................  1489a

(Trial July 25-26, 1967)

Plaintiffs’ Witness

Rev. Luther Coppedge—
Direct (By Mr. Sehwelb) .............................. 1259a
Direct (By Mr. Chambers) .......................... 1286a
Cross (By Mr. Yarborough) ........................  1287a
Redirect "(By Mr. Sehwelb) .......................... 1316a
Recross (By Mr. Yarborough) ....................  1319a

Defendants’ Witness

Warren W. Smith—
Direct (By Mr. Davis) ..................... ............  1330a
Cross (By Mr. Chambers) .......................... 1354a
Cross (By Mr. Sehwelb) .............................. 1398a
Redirect (By Mr. Davis) .................... 1436a, 1483a
Recross (By Mr. Chambers) ........................  1470a
Recross (By Mr. Sehwelb) .......................... 1477a

viii

PAGE



ix

Exhibit Volume

EXHIBITS
PAGE

Government Trial Exhibit 16 (Excerpts from the 
Minutes of the Franklin County Board of Educa­
tion (Minutes of the Meeting of February 4,
1963) ...........................................................................  1535a

Government Trial Exhibit 20 .................................... 1545a

Government Trial Exhibit 22 .................................... 1547a

Government Exhibit 1 to the Deposition of Sidney 
W. Manley of July 26, 1966 .................................. . 1550a

Government Exhibit 1 to the Deposition of Margaret 
Crudup of July 27, 1966 ................................ ........  1550a

Government Exhibit 2 to the Deposition of William 
L. Stormer of May 19, 1967 .................................... . 1551a

Government Trial Exhibit 1 .....................................  1567a

Government Exhibit 2 to the Deposition of Irene 
Arrington of July 27, 1966 .....................................  1568a

Government Trial Exhibit 15 ...................................  1570a

Government Trial Exhibit 3 .....................................  1571a

Government Exhibit 1 to the Deposition of George 
Y. Echols of July 26, 1966 .................................. . 1573a



X

Government Exhibit 3 to the Deposition of Irene 
Arrington of July 27, 1966 .....................................  1575a

Government Trial Exhibit 6 .......................................  1577a

Government Trial Exhibit 5 .......................................  1578a

Government Trial Exhibit 7 .......................................  1581a

Government Exhibit 1 to the Deposition of Rev­
erend Luther Coppedge of July 28, 1966 ............  1582a

Government Trial Exhibit 8 ............... .......................  1583a

Government Exhibit 1 to the Deposition of James 
T. Anderson of July 28, 1966 .................................  1584a

Government Trial Exhibit 9 .......................................  1586a

Government Exhibit 1 to the Deposition of Plummer 
Alston, Jr. of July 27, 1966 .....................................  1587a

Government Trial Exhibit 11 .....................................  1588a

Government Exhibit 2 to the Deposition of Reverend 
Sidney Dunston of July 26, 1966 .............................. 1591a

Government Exhibit 1 to the Deposition of Fred W. 
Rogers of July 28, 1966 ........................................... 1595a

Government Exhibit 3 to the Deposition of Fred W. 
Rogers of April 28, 1967 .........................................  1596a

Government Trial Exhibit 36 .....................................  1606a

PAGE



XI

Government Exhibit 3 to the Deposition of Fred W. 
Rogers of April 28, 1967 ................................... .....  1608a,

Government Exhibit 4 to the Deposition of Arthur 
L. Morgan of May 20, 1967 ......... -..........................  1611a

Government Exhibit 2 to the Deposition of Arthur 
L. Morgan of May 20, 1967 .....................................  1614a

Government Trial Exhibit 33 ................................... . 1616a

Government Trial Exhibit 35 .....................................  1618a

PAGE



Is THE

lUtuUb States (Haurt of Appeals
FOB THE

E astern  D istrict  of N orth  C arolina 

R aleigh  D ivision  

C iv il  A ction  N o. C1796

H arold D ouglas C oppedge, a m in or, b y  his fa th e r  and next 
fr ie n d , R ev . L u t h e r  C oppedge ;

F rances N arene D river , J acquelyn  R ose D river , B ooker 
T. D river , Jr., and J esse L. D river , m in ors , b y  their 
fa th er  and  n ext fr ie n d , B ooker T. D r iv e r ;

Ch arles  D. G il l , M arth a  D. G ill  and J am es  G il l , m in ors, 
b y  th eir fa th e r  and  n ext fr ien d , O tis G i l l ;

P atricia  K. G il l , a m in or, b y  h er fa th er  and n ext fr ien d , 
R u f in  G i l l ;

M argie J. K elley  and Gw e n d o lyn  E. K elley , minors, by 
their father and next friend W illie  P e ttifo r d ;

J ean  C arol S a tterw h ite  and  C arl L ee S a t t e r w h it e , 
m in ors , b y  th eir fa th er  and n ext fr ie n d , H en ry  
S atterw h ite  ;

B erth a  E ngram  and P au l  E n g ram , II, m in ors, b y  their 
fa th er and n ext fr ie n d  P au l  E ngram  ;

N orine A rrin gto n , a m in or, b y  h er m oth er and  n ext fr ien d , 
M rs. I rene A rrington  ;

Carrie C. M cK n ig h t  and N a t h a n ie l  M cK n ig h t , m inors, 
by their m oth er and  n ext fr ien d , M rs. Carrie H. C omer ;

Charlie  H. J ones, a m in or, b y  h is fa th er  and  n ext fr ien d , 
S an dy  J o n e s ;

R egina  0 .  W oodson, a m in or, b y  h er m oth er and n ext fr ien d , 
M rs. O sceloa C ogsw ell ,

Plaintiffs,
v.

T h e  F r a n k l in  C o u n t y  B oard of E du cation , 
a p u b lic  b o d y  corp ora te ,

Defendant.



2a

Complaint

(Filed December 8, 1965)

I

The jurisdiction of this Court is invoked pursuant to 
Title 28 U. S. C. §1343(3) and (4) this being a suit in 
equity authorized by law, Title 42 U. S. C. §1983, to be 
commenced by any citizen of the United States or other 
person within the jurisdiction thereof the redress the 
deprivation under color of statute, ordinance, regulation, 
custom, or usage of a State of rights, privileges, and 
immunities secured by the Constitution and the laws of 
the United States. The rights, privileges and immunities 
sought herein to be redressed are those secured by the 
Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Con­
stitution of the United States.

II

This is a proceeding for a preliminary and permanent 
injunction enjoining the Franklin County Board of Edu­
cation, its members and its Superintendent from con­
tinuing the policy, practice, custom and usage of dis­
criminating against the plaintiffs and other Negro citizens 
of Franklin County, North Carolina, because of race or 
color.

III

The plaintiffs in this case are Harold Douglas Cop- 
pedge, a minor, by his father and next friend, Rev. Luther 
Coppedge; Frances Narene Driver, Jacquelyn Rose Driver, 
Booker T. Driver, Jr., and Jesse L. Driver, minors, by 
their father and next friend, Booker T. Driver; Charles 
D. Gill, Martha D. Gill and James Gill, minors, by their



3a

father and next friend, Otis Gill; Patricia K. Gill, a minor, 
by her father and next friend, Rutin Gill; Margie J. 
Kelley and Gwendolyn E. Kelley, minors, by their father 
and next friend, Willie Pettiford; Jean Carol Satterwhite 
and Carl Lee Satterwhite, minors, by their father and 
next friend, Henry Satterwhite; Bertha Engram and Paul 
Engram, II, minors, by their father and next friend, Paul 
Engram; Norine Arrington, a minor, by her mother and 
next friend, Mrs. Irene Arrington; Carrie C. McKnight 
and Nathaniel McKnight, minors, by their mother and 
next friend, Mrs. Carrie H. Comer; Charlie II. Jones, a 
minor, by his father and next friend, Sandy Jones; Regina
O. Woodson, a minor, by her mother and next friend, Mrs. 
Osceloa Cogswell. Plaintiffs are Negroes and bring this 
action on their own behalf and on behalf of all other Negro 
children and their parents in Franklin County, North 
Carolina, who are similarly situated and affected by the 
policy, custom, practice and usage complained of herein. 
Plaintiffs are citizens of the United States and of the 
State of North Carolina. All plaintiffs reside in the Frank­
lin County, North Carolina, and the minor plaintiffs and 
ohter minor children similarly situated are eligible to 
attend the public schools of Franklin County which are 
under the jurisdiction, management and control of the 
defendant. The members of the class on behalf of whom 
plaintiffs sue are so numerous as to make it impracticable 
to bring them all individually before this Court, but there 
are common questions of law and fact involved, common 
grievances arising out of common wrongs and common 
relief is sought for each member of the class. The plain­
tiffs fairly and adequately represent the interest of the 
class.

Complaint



4a

TV

The defendant in this case is the Franklin County Board 
of Education, a public body corporate, organized and 
existing under the laws of the State of North Carolina. 
The defendant Board maintains and generally supervises 
the public schools in Franklin County, North Carolina, 
acting pursuant to the direction and authority contained 
in the State’s constitutional provisions and statutes. As 
such the Board is an arm of the State of North Carolina, 
enforcing and exercising State laws and policies.

V

Defendant, acting under color of the authority vested 
in it by the laws of the State of North Carolina, has pur­
sued and is presently pursuing a policy, custom, practice 
and usage of operating the public school system of Frank­
lin County, North Carolina, on a racially discriminatory 
basis, to wit:

A. Defendant maintains and operates dual school zones 
and attendance areas for white and Negro pupils. All 
Negro pupils are initially assigned by the defendant Board 
to schools limited to Negro students; similarly, all white 
students are initially assigned to schools limited to white 
students.

B. Defendant employs and assigns principals, teachers 
and other professional school personnel on the basis of 
race and color. Negro principals, teachers and other pro­
fessional school personnel are assigned to schools reserved 
for Negro students and white principals, teachers and other 
professional school personnel are assigned to schools re­
served for white students.

Complaint



5a

C. Effective with, the 1965-66 school year, defendant has 
adopted a plan for the assignment of students to the various 
schools as follows:

1. Students entering the first grade, or entering the 
school system for the first time may indicate their 
choice of school.

2. Students in grades 2, 9 and 12 for the school year 
1965-66 were permitted to indicate a choice of school. 
Freedom of choice is to be extended to grades 3, 4, 
10 and 11 for the school year 1966-67 and to all 
remaining grades for the school year 1967-68.

3. Students in grades unaffected by the plan this school 
year and for the 1966-67 school year are assigned to 
schools pursuant to dual biracial school zone lines, 
Negro students to Negro schools and white students 
to white schools.

4. In case of overcrowding, preference is given to stu­
dents living nearest to the school.

5. No provision is made for elimination of racial em­
ployment and assignment of teachers, principals and 
school personnel nor for the elimination of racial 
planned or sanctioned extra curricular school ac­
tivities.

VI

Individual plaintiffs herein, pursuant to the plan adopted 
by defendant and on the basis of their race and color, 
were assigned by defendant to Negro schools. Plaintiffs, 
through their parents, requested reassignment to pre­
viously all-white schools. Plaintiffs’ requests were denied, 
plaintiffs were advised, because they were in grades un­

Complaint



6a

affected by defendant’s plan. Plaintiffs’ requests for trans­
fer were denied by tbe defendant pursuant to a plan 
which deprives plaintiffs of their rights to equal protec­
tion and to due process of law as guaranteed by the Four­
teenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States 
and 42 U. S. C. §1983, in that plaintiffs were assigned 
to schools and are compelled to remain at these schools 
solely on the basis of their race and color without justifi­
cation therefor.

Complaint

VII

Plaintiffs have made reasonable efforts to communicate 
their dissatisfaction with the continued racial discrimina­
tion by the Board in the operation of the Franklin County 
Public Schools, but without effecting any change. Plain­
tiffs seek here, not only their transfer to previously all- 
white schools, but also the complete reorganization of the 
Franklin County School System into a unitary, nonracial 
system wherein the educational opportunities offered by 
the defendant are made available to all students without 
regard to race or color, wherein there are no racial designa­
tions in the assignment of teachers, principals and other 
professional school personnel, wherein school plans, opera­
tion, and all school activities are free from racial designa­
tion and restrictions.

VIII

Plaintiffs and members of the class which they represent 
are irreparably injured by the acts of defendant com­
plained of herein. The continued operation of a racially 
discriminatory school system in Franklin County, the con­
tinued use of racially drawn attendance lines, the assign­



7a

ment of students and personnel on the basis of race and 
the administration of a racially discriminatory transfer 
system, the approval of school budgets and school activities 
on the basis of race violate the rights of the plaintiffs and 
the class they represent which are secured to them by the 
Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Four­
teenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

The injury which plaintiffs and members of their class 
suffer as a result of the actions of the defendant is and 
will continue to be irreparable until enjoined by this 
Court. Any other relief to which plaintiffs and those 
similarly situated could be remitted would be attended 
by such uncertainties and delays as to deny substantial 
relief, would involve a multiplicity of suits, cause further 
irreparable injury and occasion damage, vexation and in­
convenience to the plaintiffs and those similarly situated.

W herefore, plaintiffs respectfully pray that this Court 
advance this cause on the docket and order a speedy hear­
ing of the action according to law and, after such hearing, 
enter a preliminary and permanent decree enjoining the 
defendant, its agents, employees and successors and all 
persons in active concert and participation with them:

1. From refusing to permit plaintiffs to transfer im­
mediately to the school of their choice.

2. From continuing to maintain a dual scheme or ra­
cially drawn school zone lines or attendance area lines.

3. From making initial assignments of pupils to the 
public schools of Franklin County, North Carolina, on the 
basis of race or color.

Complaint



8a

4. From continuing to administer a racially discrimina­
tory transfer system.

5. From assigning teachers, principals, and other pro­
fessional school personnel to the public schools under their 
jurisdiction on the basis of race or color.

6. From approving employment contracts, budgets and 
disbursing funds on the basis of race or color.

7. From undertaking any new construction designed to 
continue and perpetuate a segregated system of education 
in Franklin County, North Carolina.

8. From programming, sanctioning and supporting ex­
tra-curricular activities which are limited solely to mem­
bers of one race or color.

9. From continuing to make any other distinctions in the 
operation of the schools under its jurisdiction which are 
based solely on race or color.

In the alternative, plaintiffs pray that this Court enter 
a decree directing the defendant to present a complete 
plan in a period of time which will permit its implementa­
tion during the school year of 1965-66, reorganizing the 
entire school system of Franklin County, North Carolina, 
into a unitary, nonracial system which will include a plan 
for the assignment of teachers, pupils, principals and other 
school personnel on a nonracial basis; the allotment of 
funds, the construction of schools, the approval of budgets 
on a nonracial basis; the programming of extra-curricular 
activities on a nonracial basis and the elimination of any

Complaint



9a

other discrimination in the operation of the school system 
or curricular which are based solely on race or color.

Plaintiffs pray that if this Court directs defendant to 
produce a desegregation plan, this Court will retain juris­
diction of this case pending Court approval and full and 
complete implementation of defendant’s plan.

Plaintiffs pray that this Court will allow them their 
costs herein, reasonable counsel fees and grant such other, 
further and additional or alternative relief as may appear 
to the Court to be equitable and just.

Respectfully submitted,

Complaint

C onrad 0 .  P earson

203% East Chapel Hill Street 
Durham, North Carolina

J . L evonne  Cham bers

405% East Trade Street 
Charlotte, North Carolina

J ack  G reenberg 
D errick  A. B e l l , J r .

10 Columbus Circle 
New York, New York 10019

Attorneys for Plaintiffs



10a

(Filed January 14, 1966)

Now comes the  DEFENDANT the Franklin County Board of 
Education, answering the complaint in this action, and 
says and alleges as follows:

1. Answering Paragraph 1 of the complaint, it is ad­
mitted that the Statutes cited therein confer jurisdiction 
upon this Court; but the defendant denies that any of the 
plaintiffs in this action have been deprived by the defendant 
of any rights, privileges, and immunities secured by the 
Constitution and laws of the United States, and those se­
cured by the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of 
the Constitution of the United States.

2. It is admitted that the complaint states that the 
plaintiffs in this action seek a preliminary and permanent 
injunction enjoining the Franklin County Board of Educa­
tion, its members and its superintendent, from continuing 
certain alleged practices; but this defendant says that all 
allegations of the complaint alleging discrimination by 
the defendant against the plaintiffs and others similarly 
situated in Franklin County, North Carolina, because of 
race or color, are unwarranted and are untrue.

3. It is admitted that the parties listed in Paragraph 3 
of the complaint are denominated plaintiffs herein, but it 
is denied, upon information and belief, that every one of the 
next friends is the father or the mother of a minor plaintiff 
or that every one of the minor plaintiffs is a citizen of 
Franklin County, North Carolina.

Further answering said paragraph, the defendant admits 
that the plaintiffs are of the colored race, but the defendant

Answer



11a

has no knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief 
as to how many other members of the colored race desire 
the plaintiffs to act on their behalf or to represent them 
in this action, for that this defendant denies that any of its 
policies, customs, practices and usages discriminate against 
or deprive any citizen of Franklin County, North Carolina, 
colored or white, of any of their rights or privileges. Ex­
cept as herein admitted, the allegations of Paragraph 3 
of the complaint are denied.

4. The allegations of Paragraph 4 are admitted, except 
that the defendant says that it enforces and exercises not 
only State laws and policies hut also acts to the best of its 
ability in compliance with the laws and policies of the 
United States.

5. That Paragraph 5 of the complaint is denied. Further 
anwsering said paragraph, the defendant says and alleges:

A. That the Office of Education of the United States 
Department of Health, Education and Welfare (herein­
after called Office of Education) pursuant to the enactment 
into law of the Civil Eights Act of 1964, issued rules and 
regulations respecting the enforcement of the provisions 
of said Act, which said rules and regulations were, accord­
ing to defendant’s information and belief, approved by the 
President of the United States as required by said Act. 
That said rules and regulations were entitled “General 
Statement of Policies Under Title VI Of The Civil Rights 
Act Of 1964 Respecting Desegregation of Elementary And 
Secondary Schools” , a copy of same being hereto attached, 
marked Exhibit “A ” and asked to be taken as a part of 
this Answer.

Answer



1 2 a

B. That upon being informed of requirements of the 
Department of Health, Education and Welfare of the 
United States Government that a Franklin County Plan 
for Compliance with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 must be 
submitted to and approved by the said Office of Education, 
the defendants, through its agents and representatives, had 
conferences and meetings with representatives of the Office 
of Education, and pursuant to these conference and meet­
ings, the Franklin Coupnty Board of Education submitted 
to the Office of Education a draft of a Plan for Compliance 
with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (hereinafter called “Plan 
for Compliance” ) ; that thereafter, other conferences and 
meetings were held with representatives of the Office of 
Education and amendments were made to the Franklin 
County Plan for Compliance; that on 31 August 1965 the 
Office of Education approved said Plan for Compliance as 
amended. A copy of said Plan for Compliance, embracing 
all amendments made subsequent to 3 May 1965, is hereto 
attached, marked Exhibit “B” and asked to be taken as a 
part of this Answer.

C. That as provided by the directive issued by the Office 
of Education of the United States Department of Health, 
Education and Welfare, same being Exhibit “A” hereto 
attached, the Franklin County Board of Education, prior 
to the time of the closing of the schools for the 1964-65 
school year, required parents or legal guardian of children 
entitled to attend the schools of the Franklin County Ad­
ministrative Unit in the 1965-66 school year and who were 
to be initially enrolled in the first grade or who were pro­
moted to the second, ninth or twelfth grades for the 1965-66 
school year, to make a free choice of the schools within said 
Administrative Unit in behalf of said children, and pursu­

Answer



13a

ant to said free choices, ten colored children Avere assigned 
by the Franklin County Board of Education for the 1965-66 
school year to schools formerly attended by Avhite children, 
and a number of said colored children are now attending 
formerly all Avhite schools. That under the aforesaid ap­
proved Plan for Compliance, all parents or legal guardian 
of all students in all grades of schools of the Franklin 
County Administrative Unit will be required, beginning 
with the 1966-67 school year which commences on or about 
1 September 1966, and for each school year thereafter, to 
exercise a free choice of schools, and no pupil Avill be ad­
mitted or readmitted to any school in the Franklin County 
Administrative Unit until such free choice has been made, 
as herein specified.

D. That the United States Office of Education, Depart­
ment of Health, Education and Welfare, has set a target 
date of the fall of 1967 for the extension of desegregation 
to all grades of all school systems within the United States, 
and the Franklin County Plan for Compliance Avith the 
Civil Rights Act of 1964 exceeds the minimum requirements 
of said United States Office of Education, in that the fall 
of 1966 is the date for extension to all grades in all schools 
in the Franklin County Administrative Unit of the freedom 
of choice plan approved by the said Office of Education. 
That therefore, under the Franklin County Plan for Com­
pliance, for the 1966-67 school year which will commence 
on or about 1 September 1966, the parents or legal guardian 
of all children eligible to attend the schools of the Franklin 
County Administrative Unit, including all plaintiffs who 
may be so eligible, shall be required, prior to the closing of 
the 1965-66 school year in the month of May 1966, to exer­
cise their free choice of schools, and the Franklin County

Answer



14a

Board of Education is now adhering and will continue to 
adhere to said Plan for Compliance.

6. That the allegations of Paragraph 6 of the complaint 
are denied. Further answering said paragraph the de­
fendant says that requests were made in behalf of the 
plaintiffs for assignment fo rthe 1965-66 school year to 
schools of the Franklin County Administrative Unit other 
than the schools which said plaintiffs had previously been 
attending, but that the grades to which transfers were re­
quested in behalf of said plaintiffs were not the first, 
second, ninth or twelfth grades, but were for grades to 
which freedom of choice will be extended for the school 
year beginning September 1966, and for which assignments 
shall be made by the Franklin County Board of Education 
prior to the end of the 1965-66 school year in May 1966, 
and therefore those of the plaintiffs who will be eligible 
to attend the schools of the Franklin County Administra­
tive Unit for the 1966-67 and subsequent school years will 
more than receive the benefit of the United States Office of 
Education’s 1967 target date for total public school desegre­
gation. That all of the minor plaintiffs are for the 1965-66 
school year enrolled in and attending the schools to which 
their parents or legal guardian initially enrolled them by 
their voluntary action, and this defendant says that the 
defendant Franklin County Board of Education is not 
depriving the plaintiffs, under color of statute, ordinance, 
regulation, custom or usage, of rights, privileges, and im­
munities secured by the Constitution and laws of the United 
States, but on the contrary said defendant Franklin Board 
of Education is assuring and supplying to the plaintiffs 
all of their rights, privileges and immunities provide by 
the Constitution and laws of the United States. Except as

Answer



15a

herein admitted, all the allegations of Paragraph 6 of the 
complaint are untrue and are denied.

7. That there is no racial discrimination by the Franklin 
County Board of Education in the operation of the Franklin 
County public schools; that all educational opportunities 
offered by the Franklin County Board of Education to 
students eligible to attend the schools of the Franklin 
County Administrative Unit are now available to all stu­
dents without regard to race or color pursuant to the 
aforesaid Plan for Compliance; that there are now no 
racial designations in assignment of teachers, principals 
and other professional school personnel; and that school 
plans, operation and all school activities are now free from 
racial designation and restriction, pursuant to the afore­
said Plan for Compliance and said directive of the United 
States Department of Health, Education and Welfare. 
Except as herein admitted, all the allegations of Para­
graph 7 of the complaint are untrue and are denied.

8. That the allegations of Paragraph 8 of the complaint 
are untrue and are denied.

W herefore , the defendant prays judgment of the Court:
1. That plaintiffs’ request for preliminary and perma­

nent injunction be denied, and that the defendant be heard 
by the Court before the entering of any order respecting a 
preliminary or permanent injunction.

2. That all prayers in plaintiffs’ complaint be denied and 
that this action be dismissed.

3. That plaintiffs be taxed with the costs hereof, and 
that the Court grant such other, further and additional

Answer



16a

relief to the defendant as may appear to the Court to be 
equitable and just.

R espectfully  subm itted , this the 14th day of January 
1966.

Answer

“ Exhibit A”  Attached to Defendant’s Answer

G eneral  S tatem en t  of P olicies U nder T itle  V I  of th e  
C iv il  R ights  A ct of 1964 R especting  D esegregation of 
E le m e n ta r y  and  S econdary S chools

(Omitted)



17a

Order

This cause came on to be heard on January 19, 1966, 
on the motion of the Attorney General of the United States.

It appearing that the Attorney General has certified 
that this is a case of general public importance, it is or­
dered that the plaintiff-intervenor’s motion for leave to 
intervene is granted and the plaintiff-intervenor is hereby 
allowed to enter its appearance in said cause and to file 
its complaint in intervention therein.

It is further ordered that the plaintiff-intervenor’s mo­
tion to add new parties is granted and that Franklin 
County Board of Education, Louisburg, North Carolina; 
Warren W. Smith, Louisburg, North Carolina; Mrs. T. H. 
Dickens, Louisburg, North Carolina; Jones H. Winston, 
Youngsville, North Carolina; Albert C. Fuller, Louisburg, 
North Carolina; Lloyd A. West, Henderson, North Caro­
lina; and Horace W. Baker, Youngsville, North Carolina, 
be added as parties-defendant and that the Clerk issue 
summons to be served upon them, together with a copy of 
the complaint in intervention.

This 20th day of January, 1966.

/ s /  A lgernon  L. B utler  
A lgernon  L. B utler  

Chief Judge,
United States District Court



18a

Complaint in Intervention

(Filed January 20, 1966)

In th e

U n ited  S tates D istrict  C ourt

FOR TH E

E astern  D istrict  of N orth  Carolina  

E aleigh  D ivision  

C iv il  A ction  No. C 1796

H arold D ouglas C oppedge, et al.,
Plaintiffs,

U n ited  S tates of A m erica , by N icholas deB. K at ze n b a c h , 
Attorney General,

Plaintiff -Intervenor, 
v.

T h e  F r a n k l in  C o u n ty  B oard of E ducation , a public body 
corporate; W arren  W. S m it h , Superintendent, M rs. 
T.H. D ic k e n s , Chairman, J ones H. W in st o n , A lbert 
C. F u ller , L loyd A. W est , H orace W. B ak er , members, 
Franklin County Board of Education,

Defendants.

The United States of America, plaintiff-intervenor 
herein, alleges:

1. This is a complaint in intervention filed by the 
United States under Section 902 of the Civil Rights Act 
of 1964 (78 Stat. 241, 266-267), and Rule 24, F.R.C.P.



19a

2. On December 8, 1965, the plaintiffs filed their com­
plaint in this case under 28 U.S.C. §1343 (3) and (4) and 
42 U.S.C. 1983 seeking injunctive relief against alleged 
conduct of the defendant Franklin County Board of Edu­
cation denying them the equal protection of the laws on 
account of race or color, in violation of the Fourteenth 
Amendment to the United States Constitution and 42 
U.S.C. 1983.

3. The Attorney General has certified that this case is 
of general public importance and his certificate is attached 
to this complaint in intervention.

4. The plaintiffs herein are Negro citizens of the United 
States who presently reside in Franklin County, North 
Carolina, and are presently enrolled in or eligible to attend 
the public schools operated by the Franklin County Board 
of Education.

5. The Franklin County Board of Education, the orig­
inal defendant herein, is charged with the responsibility 
under North Carolina law of operating a public school 
system in Franklin County, North Carolina.

6. Mrs. T. H. Dickens, chairman, Jones H. Winston, 
Albert C. Fuller, Lloyd A. West, and Horace W. Baker 
are members of the Franklin County Board of Education 
and are charged under Article 5, §§115-18 et seq. General 
Statutes of North Carolina with the general control and 
supervision of all matters pertaining to the public schools 
administered by the Franklin County Board of Education.

7. Warren W. Smith is the Superintendent of schools 
for Franklin County. He is charged under Article 6,

Complaint in Intervention



20a

§§115-54, et seq. of the General Statutes of North Caro­
lina with the responsibility of acting as ex officio secre­
tary to the defendant Franklin County Board of Educa­
tion and of keeping records and supervising other admin­
istrative functions in the operation of the schools operated 
by the defendant school board.

8. In operating the public schools in Franklin County, 
North Carolina, prior to the 1965-66 school year the defen­
dants maintained a dual system based upon race and color. 
Seven schools were maintained exclusively for Negro stu­
dents and were staffed by Negro teachers and six schools 
were maintained exclusively for white students and were 
staffed by white teachers.

9. The defendants, in operating and directing the pub­
lic school system of Franklin County, have received and 
are receiving financial aid and assistance under various 
federal programs administered by the Department of 
Health, Education and Welfare.

10. Pursuant to Sections 601 and 602 of the Civil Rights 
Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. §§20Q0d, 2000d-l) and implementing 
regulations adopted by the Secretary of the Department 
of Health, Education and Welfare (45 C.F.R. §80.1 et seq.), 
the defendants filed a desegregation plan with the United 
States Office of Education, which plan was approved on 
August 31, 1965.

11. The desegregation plan accepted by the United 
States Office of Education provided that students enrolled 
in the first, second, ninth and twelfth grades of the schools 
operated by the defendants were to be given a free choice 
as to which of these schools they would attend.

Complaint in Intervention



21a

12. The desegregation plan further provided, that stu­
dents enrolled in grades other than the first, second, ninth 
or twelfth grades of the schools operated by the defendants 
could also apply for a transfer to their choice. These 
transfers were described by the defendants’ desegregation 
plan as “lateral transfers” . Pursuant to the desegregation 
plan the defendant school board could adopt racially non- 
diseriminatory prerequisites for lateral transfers provided 
that the prerequisites were made known to the transfer 
applicants. The defendant Board of Education adopted 
a policy that lateral transfers would only be granted to 
students who changed their residences or desired to take 
a course of study unavailable to them at the schools in 
which they were enrolled at the time of application.

13. Pursuant to their desegregation plan, the defen­
dants, in the spring of 1965, conducted a freedom-of-choice 
school registration. Sixty-one Negro students, out of a 
total of over three thousand Negro students in the Franklin 
County School system, applied for transfer to formerly 
all-white schools.

14. Of the sixty-one applications for transfer referred 
to in the preceding paragraph, thirty were filed on behalf 
of Negro students seeking lateral transfers to schools 
attended by white students.

15. The defendants failed to inform prospective appli­
cants for lateral transfer of the conditions upon which 
such transfers would be granted. As a result of this failure, 
the thirty Negro applicants for lateral transfer had no 
opportunity to set forth in their applications information

Complaint in Intervention



22a

showing that they met the conditions imposed by the de­
fendants for the granting of such transfers.

16. The defendant school board, on or about August 23, 
1965, denied the applications of the thirty Negro students 
seeking lateral transfers and continues to refuse to enroll 
these Negro students in the schools of their choice, upon 
the grounds that the applications did not state the appli­
cants had changed their residences or desired to take 
courses of study unavailable at the school in which the 
applicants were enrolled at the time they submitted their 
applications for transfers.

17. Of the sixty-one applications for transfer referred 
to in paragraph 13, thirty-one were filed on behalf of 
Negro students enrolled in the first, second, ninth and 
twelfth grades of schools operated by the defendants seek­
ing freedom of choice transfers to schools attended by 
white students.

18. Following the receipt of the applications for trans­
fers from the Negro students the defendants caused the 
names and addresses of these students to be published 
in a newspaper of general circulation in Franklin County.

19. Following publication of the identities of the Negro 
applicants, they and their families were threatened and 
intimidated by various means, including cross burnings 
and the shooting of firearms at homes of Negroes.

20. Following the publication of the identities of the 
Negro applicants and their being threatened and in­
timidated as above described, approximately twenty of

Complaint in Intervention



23a

them requested that they be allowed to withdraw their 
applications. The defendants granted each such request 
and enrolled the applicants in schools attended solely 
by Negroes.

21. As a result of the actions of the defendants at 
least fifty-one of the sixty-one Negro applicants for trans­
fer are still enrolled in schools attended solely by Negroes.

22. The defendants maintain, at the present time, a 
racially segregated school system in which students, faculty 
members and other staff personnel are assigned on the 
basis of race or color and will continue to do so unless 
restrained by order of this Court.

W hebeeobe, the plaintiff-intervenor prays that this Court 
enter an order enjoining the defendants, together with 
their agents, employees, successors and all those in active 
concert or participation with them from failing to offer 
and provide equal educational opportunities and facilities 
to all students in all schools without regard to their race 
or color and from otherwise maintaining in the operation 
of the Franklin County School system any distinctions 
based upon race or color and more particularly requiring 
that:

1. Defendants not publish, or otherwise divulge without 
legitimate reason, the identity of any Negro student who 
applies for transfer to a school attended by white students;

2. Defendants immediately enroll in the schools of their 
choice the Negro students whose requests for lateral trans­
fers for the 1965-1966 school year were denied;

Complaint in Intervention



24a

3. Defendants adopt all measures and take all steps, 
necessary and reasonable, to ensure that every student en­
rolled, or eligible for enrollment, in any school operated 
by the defendants makes a full, informed choice unin­
fluenced by threats, intimidation or harassment from any 
source, of the school which he will attend beginning with 
the 1966-1967 school year.

4. In the event that, upon a hearing, defendants do 
not demonstrate that a truly free choice of schools, unin­
fluenced by threats, intimidation or harassment, can be 
given every student no later than the commencement 
of the 1966-1967 school year by the measures and steps 
adopted and taken by defendants, then, in such case, the 
defendants be required to assign all students according 
to a unitary system of geographic attendance zones, or some 
other non-discriminatory means not depending upon the 
choice of the pupils.

5. Defendants shall make provision for the desegrega­
tion of the faculty and staff in all schools under their 
jurisdiction. The race or color of teachers or staff mem­
bers shall not be a factor in the initial assignment to a 
particular school, or class within a school, of teachers, ad­
ministrators or other employees, and reasonable steps shall 
be taken toward the elimination of segregation of teachers 
and other staff personnel in the schools resulting from 
prior assignments based on race or color.

6. Neither race nor color shall be a factor in the hiring, 
retention or dismissal of teachers or other staff personnel 
in the schools under the jurisdiction of the defendants.

Complaint in Intervention



25a

Plaintiff-intervenor further prays that this Court grant 
such additional relief as the needs of justice may require, 
including the costs and disbursements of this action.

Complaint in Intervention

N icholas  deB. K atzen bach  
Attorney Genera’!

J o h n  B oar

Assistant Attorney General

R obert H. C o w  e n 
United States Attorney

M aceo W. H ubbard 
Attorney
Department of Justice



26a

(Filed February 21, 1966)

Now comes tbe defendants, answering the Complaint In 
Intervention of the United States of America, and say and 
allege as follows:

1. Answering Paragraph 1, it is admitted that the United 
States of America, by Nicholas deB. Katzenbach, Attorney 
General, has intervened in this action, but the defendants 
say that there has not been a denial by them, or any of them, 
of the equal protection of the laws under the 14th Amend­
ment to the United States Constitution to any persons on 
account of race, color, religion, or national origin.

2. It is admitted that on or about 8 December 1965 the 
original plaintiffs herein filed a Complaint against the 
Franklin County Board of Education, seeking certain in­
junctive relief against alleged conduct of said defendant 
Franklin County Board of Education, but the defendants 
say that all allegations of said Complaint alleging discrimi­
nation by the defendant Franklin County Board of Educa­
tion against the original plaintiffs because of race or color, 
are without foundation and are untrue.

3. It is admitted that there is attached to the Complaint 
in Intervention herein a certificate by Nicholas deB. Katzen­
bach, Attorney General, stating that in his judgment this 
case is of general public importance.

4. Answering Paragraph 4, the defendants say that the 
minor plaintiffs are presently enrolled in and are attend­
ing the public schools of Franklin County, North Carolina, 
and are citizens of the United States, but these defendants

Verified Answer to Complaint in Intervention



27a

do not have sufficient knowledge or information to form a 
belief as to whether or not all of the minor plaintiffs are 
legal residents of Franklin County, North Carolina.

5. That Paragraph 5 is admitted.

6. That Paragraph 6 is admitted.

7. That Paragraph 7 is admitted.

8. Answering Paragraph 8, the defendants say, upon in­
formation and belief, that prior to 1955 there was operated 
in Franklin County a constitutional system of schools pro­
viding separate schools for pupils of the colored race and 
for pupils of the white race; that beginning with the 1956-57 
school year, the Franklin County Board of Education en­
rolled pupils in schools within the Franklin County Ad­
ministrative Unit in accordance with the provisions of 
Article 21 of Chapter 115 of the General Statutes of North 
Carolina, and this procedure continued through the 1964-65 
school year; that during the period from 1956 through the 
1964-65 school year, according to the defendants’ informa­
tion and belief, first grade pupils were enrolled initially in 
the schools to which their parents or legal guardians pre­
sented them for enrollment, and thereafter such pupils 
were enrolled in the same schools, or in a school for which 
the previously attended school was a “feeder school” , un­
less they changed their places of residence or unless re­
quests for transfers were made in their behalf, in which 
cases the provisions of Article 21 of Chapter 115 of the 
General Statutes of North Carolina were followed. Further 
Answering said Paragraph, the defendants say that prior 
to the 1965-66 school year 13 schools were operated by the

Verified Answer to Complaint in Intervention



28a

defendant Board of Education and that pursuant to the 
procedure hereinbefore outlined in this Paragraph, colored 
students attended seven of said schools and white students 
attended six of said schools; that teachers in the aforesaid 
schools were employed pursuant to applications filed by 
said teachers, the nomination of said teachers by the princi­
pals of the respective schools, and the election of said 
teachers by the local school committees, all in full compli­
ance with the laws of North Carolina. Except as herein 
admitted, the allegations of Paragraph 8 are denied.

9. Answering Paragraph 9, the defendants say, upon in­
formation and belief, that Federal funds are expended by 
the defendant Board of Education in the operation of the 
Franklin County School System, but that all of said funds 
are allocated to said defendant Board of Education by the 
North Carolina State Board of Education, and that to the 
present, insofar as the defendants have knowledge or in­
formation, there have been no Federal funds received by 
the defendant Board of Education directly from the United 
States Department of Health, Education and Welfare.

10. Answering Paragraph 10, the defendants say that 
pursuant to Title YI of the Civil Bights Act of 1964, which 
title embraces Section 601 and 602 of said Act, and pursuant 
to certain rules and regulations issued by the United States 
Department of Health, Education and Welfare, the defend­
ant Board of Education filed with the Commissioner of Ed­
ucation of the United States Department of Health, 
Education and Welfare a Plan For Compliance with the 
Civil Bights Act of 1964; and that pursuant to many con­
ferences and several meetings between officers and repre­
sentatives of the defendants and certain officials of the

Verified Answer to Complaint in Intervention



29a

United States Department of Health, Education and Wel­
fare, and after adoption of several amendments to said 
Plan, the same was approved by the United States Com­
missioner of Education under date of 31 August 1965. Fur­
ther answering said Paragraph, the defendants say that 
the aforesaid Franklin County Plan for Compliance with 
the Civil Rights Act of 1964 should not be designated a 
“desegregation” plan, for that in the opinion of the defend­
ants the Franklin County Board of Education has been 
operating a school system in full compliance with the laws 
of the State of North Carolina and of the United States, in 
the manner hereinbefore set forth in this Answer regarding 
the assignment of pupils.

11. That a copy of the Franklin County Plan for Com­
pliance with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is attached hereto, 
marked Exhibit “A ” , and the same is asked to be taken as 
a part of this Answer. That said Plan for Compliance pro­
vided that for the 1965-66 school year the parents or legal 
guardians of students being initially enrolled in the first 
grade or being promoted to the second, ninth or twelfth 
grades of schools in the Franklin County Administrative 
Unit, were to be given a free choice as to which of these 
schools they desired said pupils to be enrolled, and upon 
the opening of said schools for the 1965-66 school year said 
pupils were enrolled pursuant to free choices by their par­
ents or legal guardians as expressed to the defendant Board 
of Education. That the aforesaid Plan for Compliance fur­
ther provided that for the 1966-67 school year and for sub­
sequent years freedom of choice would be extended to all 
grades in all schools of the Franklin County Administrative 
Unit. Except as herein admitted, the allegations of Para­
graph 11 are denied.

Verified Answer to Complaint in Intervention



30a

12, Answering Paragraph 12, the defendants say that 
the provisions of the Franklin County Plan for Compliance 
with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, copy of which is attached 
hereto marked Exhibit “A ” and asked to be taken as a part 
hereof, are clearly stated, and said provisions can be best 
obtained from said Plan itself. Further answering said 
Paragraph, the defendants say that the defendant Board of 
Education adopted for the 1965-66 school year a policy that 
lateral transfers in grades other than the first, second, 
ninth and twelfth, would be allowed in cases where students 
had changed their places of residence or desired to take a 
course of study for which they would be qualified and which 
would not be available to them in the school to which they 
would normally be assigned under the provisions of the 
approved Franklin County Plan for Compliance with the 
Civil Rights Act of 1964. Except as herein admitted, the 
allegations of Paragraph 12 are denied.

13. It is admitted that the Franklin County Board of 
Education, prior to the time of the closing of the schools 
for the 1964-65 school year, required parents or legal 
guardians of children entitled to attend the schools of the 
Franklin County Administrative Unit in the 1965-66 school 
year and who were to be initially enrolled in the first grade 
or who were promoted to the second, ninth and twelfth 
grades for the 1965-66 school year, to make a free choice 
of the schools within said Administrative Unit in behalf of 
said children, and pursuant to said free choices, ten colored 
children were assigned by the Franklin County Board of 
Education for the 1965-66 school year to schools attended 
by white children, and six of said colored children are now 
attending schools with white children. It is further admitted 
that the total of free choices and of applications for lateral

Verified Answer to Complaint in Intervention



31a

transfer was 61. Except as herein admitted, the allegations 
of Paragraph 13 are denied.

14. That Paragraph 14 is denied, the fact being that ap­
plications for lateral transfers were made in behalf of 36 
colored pupils.

15. Answering Paragraph 15, the defendants say that 
the parents or legal guardians of colored pupils in whose 
behalf requests for lateral transfers were made, were given 
full opportunity to state the reasons they desired said pu­
pils to be assigned to another school, but none of said ap­
plications stated that it was made for the purpose of en­
abling a student to take a course of study which would not 
be available in the school to which the pupil would be as­
signed under the aforesaid Franklin County Plan for Com­
pliance, nor did it show that there had been a change of 
residence of such pupil; that the defendants verily believe 
that the parents or legal guardians of said 36 pupils gave 
the true and valid reasons for requesting lateral transfers, 
and relied upon the good faith and truthfulness of said 
parents or legal guardians in stating their reasons.

16. Answering Paragraph 16, the defendants say that on 
or about 23 August 1965 the parents or legal guardians of 
the students in whose behalf applications for lateral trans­
fers had been made were informed that said students were 
not in the four grades for which freedom of choice was 
avaiable for the 1965-66 school year pursuant to the afore­
said Franklin County Plan for Compliance as approved by 
the United States Commissioner of Education, or otherwise 
did not meet the criteria for lateral transfers, and said 
pupils were assigned for the 1965-66 school year to schools

Verified Answer to Complaint in Intervention



32a

in accordance with, provisions of the aforesaid Plan for 
Compliance regarding grades other than the first, second, 
ninth and twelfth grades.

17. Answering Paragraph 17, the defendants say that 
there were 25 freedom of choice requests filed on behalf of 
colored students entitled to be enrolled in the first, second, 
ninth and twelfth grades for the 1965-66 school year in 
schools operated by the Frankin County Board of Educa­
tion. Except as herein admitted, the allegations of Para­
graph 17 are denied.

18. That Paragraph 18 is denied.

19. That in the summer of 1965 some of the defendants 
saw reports in the press of one or more instances of cross 
burnings and the shooting of fire arms at a house, hut these 
defendants have no knowledge or information that said 
acts were related to the implementation of or action under 
the Franklin County Plan for Compliance with the Civil 
Rights Act of 1964. Further answering said paragraph, 
these defendants specifically deny that they or any one con­
nected with the Franklin County Schools committed any act 
of intimidation by any means against any person whomso­
ever. Except as herein admitted, the allegations of Para­
graph 19 are denied.

20. Answering Paragraph 20, the defendants say that 
prior to the opening of schools for the 1965-66 school year 
the parents or legal guardians of eleven (11) pupils in 
whose behalf freedom of choice of schools had been made, 
requested the defendant Board of Education that said stu­
dents be permitted to continue attending the schools that 
they had been previously attending, and that said defendant

Verified Answer to Complaint in Intervention



33a

Board of Education, in order to allow said parents or legal 
guardians full freedom of choice as to the schools the said 
pupils would attend, granted said requests. Except as 
herein admitted, the allegations of Paragraph 20 are denied.

21. That the allegations of Paragraph 21 are not clear 
and accurate statements of the true facts, and these defend­
ants therefore deny the same. Further answering said 
Paragraph, these defendants aver that the students re­
ferred to in said Paragraph are enrolled in and are attend­
ing schools in which they were initially enrolled by their 
parents or legal guardians, and that they are now being 
educated to the full extent of the educational opportunities 
afforded by the Franklin County Board of Education to all 
students in the Franklin County School system without 
discrimination on account of race or color.

22. That the allegations of Paragraph 22 are denied.
I n  fu r th e r  answ er  to the Complaint in Intervention here­

in the defendants say that the Answer filed under date of 
14 January 1966 by the defendant Franklin County Board 
of Education to the original Complaint herein, contains a 
true statement of the facts therein set forth, and these de­
fendants therefore refer to said Answer for an additional 
and further answer to said Complaint in Intervention.

W herefore , the defendants pray judgment of the Court :
1. That the plaintiffs’ prayer for an injunction be de­

nied, and that the defendants be heard by the Court before 
the entering of any order respecting a preliminary or per­
manent injunction.

Verified Answer to Complaint in Intervention



34a

Verified Answer to Complaint in Intervention

2. That all prayers in plaintiffs’ Complaint in Interven­
tion be denied and that this action be dismissed.

3. That plaintiffs be taxed with the costs hereof, and that 
the Court grant such other, further and additional relief 
to the defendants as may appear to the Court to be equitable 
and just.

R espectfu lly  subm itted , this the 19th day of February 
1966.



35a

The Court: The court is calling the case of Coppedge, 
and others, and the United States of America against the 
Franklin County Board of Education and others.

This matter, I understand, is before the court on a mo­
tion for preliminary injunction. The position, apparently, 
of the original plaintiffs and the United States are similar.

I will hear from such counsel as desire to be heard with 
respect to the motion.

Mr. Fink: Your Honor, as you said, this is a motion for 
a preliminary injunction. The government’s motion covers 
approximately 30 children whose parents requested a trans­
fer for their children to previously all-white schools in 
Franklin County. They did this in the spring and summer 
of 1965.

The government will show at this hearing that the Frank­
lin County Board of Education entered into or submitted a 
freedom-of-choice plan to the Department of Health, Educa­
tion and Welfare in the Office of Education. This plan pro­
vided for desegregation of four grades this year and all 
of the grades of the schools for next year under a freedom- 
of-choice plan.

Some children who were not in the fourt grades that 
were directly covered by the freedom-of-choice provision

—5—
for this year made application for a transfer to white 
schools during the spring. These (requests for) transfers 
were made pursuant to a provision in the plan which is 
known as a lateral-transfer provision. The lateral-transfer 
provision itself made no reference to any criteria to be 
utilized by the defendant school board in making these ap­
plications effective or in denying them.

— 4 —

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36a

It will be the government’s contention, and we intend to 
prove, that the defendants never made known to the govern­
ment or to any of the individual plaintiffs or any of the 
other Negro children who are similarly situated that these 
criteria existed. It will he our contention that they denied 
all of these transfers on August 23rd and mailed these de­
nials or, more accurately, they mailed an assignment to 
these children on August 30th.

The Department of Health, Education and Welfare at­
tempted to come to some sort of agreement as to these 
children, because they had been under the impression when 
they accepted this plan that these children were getting into 
white schools. They were also under the impression that 61 
children had applied for transfer, or their parents had ap­
plied for a transfer for them, and that these children were 
being transferred into white schools. In fact, ten children

— 6 —

actually did transfer, but only six of them remained.
In support of the legal side of the government’s position 

we cite Patricia Rogers, et al, and Edgar F. Paul, et al; and 
this was cited in the plaintiffs’ memorandum in support of 
a preliminary injunction. This case was decided on Decem­
ber 6, 1965, by the Supreme Court of the United States. In 
this particular case the plaintiffs had been attempting to 
enter white schools since approximately 1957. The particu­
lar matter involved a motion to add plaintiffs to the case, 
because the original plaintiffs had left school or were leav­
ing school due to having graduated.

The Court: One, I believe, had.
Mr. Fink: Yes, sir. And I think one was about to gradu­

ate.

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37a

The Court said—and this is what we consider the im­
portant part of the holding—that: “Petitioners are en­
titled to immediate relief; we have emphasized that ‘delays 
in desegregating public school systems are no longer toler­
able,’ ” citing Bradley v. School Board.

And said: “Pending the desegregation of the public high 
schools of Fort Smith according to a general plan consistent 
with this principle, petitioner and those similarly situated

—7—
shall be allowed immediate transfer to the high school that 
has the more extensive curriculum and from which they 
are excluded because of their race.”

They did this with particular reference to students who 
had been assigned to a Negro high school “ on the basis of 
their race” ; and that the assignments were “constitutionally 
forbidden not only for the reasons stated in Brown v. Board 
of Education, 347 U.S. 483, but also because petitioners are 
thereby prevented from taking certain courses offered only 
at another high school limited to white students . . . ”

The answers to the interrogatories in this case filed by 
the defendants in answer to the original plaintiffs’ inter­
rogatories show that there are different courses available at 
the white schools in Franklin County.

Mr. Chambers: If it please the court, the plaintiffs’ posi­
tion here is very similar or practically the same thing as 
that of the government. We will show here that the Frank­
lin County Board of Education has operated a completely 
segregated school system; that it has proposed here some­
thing to comply with the regulations of the Department of 
Health, Education and Welfare, under the Title 6 provision 
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a plan of compliance which 
patently falls short of the requirements of the Brown de-

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Preliminary Injunction



38a

Transcript of Hearing on Motion for
Preliminary Injunction

— 8—

cision and implementing decisions such as Watson v. City 
of Memphis, and Golds v. Board of Education, and other 
decisions.

The board has adopted a plan, as stated by the govern­
ment, providing for free transfers in four grades and for 
lateral transfers, as subsequently interpreted by the board, 
upon certain criteria.

We submit, first of all, that the plan in limiting transfers 
to four grades this year is far too little, and that under the 
recent decisions of the Supreme Court the board is required 
to go much faster in desegregating the system and is per­
mitted to delay desegregation only upon showing some ad­
ministrative burden. And we will show here that the board 
has no administrative burden to delay desegregation of the 
school system and to open up all twelve grades of the school 
system for the 1965-66 school year.

We have requested the court in a subsequent motion, an 
amendment to our initial motion for preliminary injunction 
in which we requested that the thirty children who were 
denied transfer be ordered immediately transferred to the 
white schools, and enlargement of this motion to require 
that the board now adopt a plan that will desegregate the 
school system, requiring that the board adopt a plan pro­
viding for geographical assignment of students and for

— 9 —

complete desegregation of the faculty and school personnel. 
There are other factors which we will show here today that 
should be considered and required of the board in its plan 
of desegregation, such as athletics or extra-curricular activi­
ties.



39a

The board has denied the transfer of the 30 children in­
volved in this suit by applying criteria not applied to white 
students similarly situated; that is, that white students are 
assigned to the schools, to which the Negro students have 
requested transfer, without meeting or having applied to 
them the criteria the board here seeks to apply to the Negro 
students seeking to transfer; and we have cited cases in our 
memorandum which prohibits the board from applying dif­
ferent criteria to Negro students seeking to be assigned to 
the same schools as white students similarly situated. This 
is a patent discriminatory practice by the school board, and 
we submit that the court should require the board to delete 
it.

Thirdly, the board here has failed to include in its plan 
and to provide for desegregation of its faculty. We submit 
that the court should require the board complete desegrega­
tion of its faculty for several reasons, one being that the 
students are denied their rights, as required under the 
Brown decision, by being assigned to the school system in

— 10—

which faculty members are assigned according to race; 
secondly, a plan providing for freedom-of-choiee is wholly 
inadequate where faculty members are assigned according 
to race; thirdly, the board cannot desegregate the school 
system where it continues to maintain any discriminatory 
practice such as faculty assignment by race. This would be 
our position here today. And we propose to introduce the 
answers to the interrogatories filed by the school board and 
testimony of some of the plaintiffs involved in this pro­
ceeding.

The Court: Now, Mr. Chambers, one question at this 
point. You have stated that this plan of compliance falls

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40a

short of constitutional standards. Has the plan in this case 
been submitted to and approved by the Department of 
Health, Education and Welfare?

Mr. Chambers: The plan, I think, as attached to the 
answer of the school board has been submitted to and ap­
proved by the Department of Health, Education and Wel­
fare.

The Court: You are attacking that plan?
Mr. Chambers: Yes, sir. Also, the board adopted a plan 

in May which was not approved by the Department. The 
Department approved an amended plan, which is the plan 
attached to the answer.

— 11—

These children were denied transfers under the May 
plan, not the plan approved by the Department. And 1 
think the government has an affidavit to that effect: that 
the denial here by the board of the applications by the plain­
tiffs was not pursuant to the Department’s understanding of 
the way the plan was to be administered.

Mr. Fink: That is correct.
The Court: Do counsel for the defendants desire to be 

heard now in a preliminary statement, or do you wish to 
reserve it until after the evidence has been offered?

Mr. Yarborough: If your Honor please, I would like to 
clarify one matter. I understood that the hearing today is 
on the government’s motion for preliminary injunction; 
and as to the original plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary 
injunction, they served notice on me that today they would 
move to amend their motion, which changes the complexion 
of their original motion. So I would like to know to what 
extent they propose to be heard on their motion for pre­

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41a

liminary injunction. I have before me the one that was 
served just a few days ago.

The Court: Well, I do not know the effect of the amend­
ment. I have it, I believe, now before me.

— 12—

Mr. Chambers: Your Honor, if I may, the amendment 
was filed subsequent to our original motion for preliminary 
injunction; and we interpreted the proposed amendment as 
only changing the requested prayer for relief. We did not 
intend to change the substantive evidence which we pro­
pose to produce here today. If the court, however, feels that 
it would delay the proceedings to permit us to produce the 
evidence we propose to produce in order to obtain the re­
quested relief and the motion for amendment, we would 
withhold the motion for amending the original motion for 
preliminary injunction and just proceed on the original 
motion.

The Court: Well, of course, the evidence that is ad­
duced by both sides has a direct bearing upon the relief 
that’s granted; and it may be that your amendment, if it 
enlarges the relief that you seek, may have an effect upon 
the evidence that might be pertinent. Whether or not the 
defendants would be prepared to meet that at this hearing 
is a matter for them to say, unless you desire to withdraw 
your amendment at this time.

Mr. Chambers: Your Honor, if it is the defendant’s posi­
tion that it will change the substantive evidence that should 
be produced, in order to protect them if they should be sur-

—13—
prised by the proposed evidence that we would like to in­
troduce to support the requested relief in that motion, we

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42a

will withdraw the motion and proceed on the original mo­
tion that we filed.

The Court: I will hear from the defendants.
Mr. Yarborough: If your Honor pleases, as I under­

stand it, the government’s motion for preliminary injunc­
tion has only at the moment to do with the assignment of 
approximately 30 pupils to other schools. The original 
motion for preliminary injunction filed by the original 
plaintiffs asks substantially that.

This amendment asks that the board be directed to com­
pletely reorganize the entire school system of Franklin 
County, and so forth, which as I understand it is a total 
assault on the freedom-of-choice system or theory itself. 
As I understand the government’s position, they are not at­
tacking the freedom-of-choice theory or system but only at­
tacking, you might say, the administration or handling of it. 
In their amendment a completely different relief is sought.

The Court: Do you mean by that to say that you are not 
prepared to meet that issue at this hearing at this time?

Mr. Yarborough: That is correct, sir. I do not think we 
could meet that issue as to whether or not we should pre-

—14—
sent a complete plan of reorganizing the entire school sys­
tem. We didn’t come prepared for that.

The Court: Well, I understand the plaintiffs to say, in 
light of that, that they will withdraw that motion at this 
time. So we will proceed on the original motion.

Mr. Yarborough: If your Honor pleases, so far as stat­
ing our position, Mr. Tucker has a point of law, but we 
would prefer other than that to wait until they have com­
pleted their evidence. Your Honor gave us that privilege, 
I  would assume.

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43a

The Court: All right.
Mr. Tucker: Your Honor, just briefly. We don’t want to 

go into our side of it fully at this time, but I have read the 
Rogers case that was mentioned, and I am sure your Honor 
has too, and I want to call attention to the fact that that 
was a case of not where the board had adopted the regula­
tion of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare 
limiting the minimum, but it was a case of grade-by-grade 
integration which no one contends is a good-faith compli­
ance nor fast enough.

We feel that under the law, as clearly expressed in the 
case we have cited in our memorandum, which is a case

—15—
where the town officials, and so forth, in Alabama tried to 
enjoin CORE from doing almost the same things that they 
accuse the Franklin County Board of doing. In that ease 
they held that CORE could not be enjoined. The district 
court did enjoin CORE, but the circuit court reversed and 
in that reversal stated what is the converse of the rule of 
law stated by the Department of Justice that the cases made 
clear that this board is practicing segregation in an uncon­
stitutional manner and that you should issue a preliminary 
injunction. In that case cited in our memorandum, it is 
clearly stated that the converse of that is true, and that the 
court should not issue a preliminary injunction unless it is 
clear that the board is violating the constitutional rights of 
these plaintiffs.

And I want to point out also that in the plan as regards 
to lateral transfers, although it does not specifically state 
what procedure the board should adopt, it is in the plan 
that the lateral transfers should be allowed upon specific 
conditions set by the board; therefore, it is very obvious

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Preliminary Injunction



44a

that if the board adopted reasonable conditions, that they 
were not only in the plan, hut that it is good common sense 
and good law, and we feel that the evidence in this case 
will show—

The Court: Was any notice or publication given of such
- 1 6 -

rules or regulations as were adopted?
Mr. Tucker: I ’m sure there was. But I want Mr. Yar­

borough or someone else to get into that phase of it.
And these defendants are not far, your Honor, from the 

Holt case which went up in Raleigh in which Holt failed 
to go before the board and allow them to make a prelimi­
nary inquiry into some of the very things that are here as 
to what curriculum was in Broughton that was not in Ligon. 
And he did not do that. There wasn’t any plan that the 
board there had any specific authority to ask Holt to come, 
but it was considered a reasonable request on the part of 
the board in order that they would be able to assess his 
qualifications to a transfer; and it held that where he had 
failed to do that, that not only preliminary injunctino be 
not allowed but permanent injunction not allowed.

The Court: Of course, the law is going to have relation 
to the facts as they develop; and, of course, at the present 
time I don’t know what the facts are.

Now, I wonder if the parties have made any effort to 
stipulate the facts such as they can stipulate? Any agreed 
facts in this case?

—17—
Mr. Tucker: I think so. Mr. Yarborough worked all day 

over there, and he is more qualified along those lines.

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Preliminary Injunction



45a

The Court: Can it be submitted to the court on agreed 
facts, or are the parties now prepared to present such evi­
dence as you may have ?

Mr. Fink: As far as the government is concerned, your 
Honor, we have shown the defendants’ attorney, Mr. Yar­
borough, a copy of the documents we intend to put in, and 
it is agreed as to the form of these documents. I am sure 
that they are still reserving the right to challenge them on 
the substantive grounds. But I don’t think we will have 
a great deal of difficulty in putting in the evidence.

The Court: Now, will there he a separate proffer of evi­
dence on the part of the original plaintiffs and the govern­
ment?

Mr. Fink: There will be a separate proffer, hut I don’t 
believe we are going to be duplicating in that. I don’t be­
lieve, also, as far as the government’s case is concerned 
that it will be a very lengthy presentation.

The Court: Let’s hear from the original plaintiffs then. 
You may offer your evidence.

Mr. Chambers: That is true of the plaintiffs too.
—18—

Your Honor, the government has certain documents that 
it plans to intrdouce, and we would like to get those in be­
fore we present our part of the case.

The Court: You have no objection to the government 
putting in its evidence first?

Mr. Chambers: None at all.
Mr. Fink: The government presents for identification—
The Court: You may just offer those as exhibits if there 

is no objection. Is there going to be any objection? Now, 
you have a perfect right to object, anybody does, of course, 
to any evidence that goes in.

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Preliminary Injunction



46a

Mr. Yarborough: I don’t think there will be any objec­
tion.

Mr. Fink: We offer as Government’s Exhibit No. 1 : Gen­
eral Statement of Policies Under Title 6 of the Civil Eights 
Act of 1964 Eespecting Desegregation of Elementary and 
Secondary Schools, published by the United States Depart­
ment of Health, Education and Welfare in the Office of 
Education.

Mr. Yarborough: No objection.
Mr. Fink: As Mr. Yarborough has pointed out, your 

Honor, this is attached to their answer.
—19—

The government offers Government’s Exhibit No. 2: A 
letter from the Department of Health, Education and Wel­
fare, Office of Education, dated February 4, 1966, and it is 
signed by David Barus and notarized. It contains attach­
ments, and it reads: “Attached hereto are true copies of 
the Desegregation plan of Franklin County, North Caro­
lina, Board of Education, as amended, with attachments 
thereto as they appear in the files of this office.” Signed 
David N. Barus, Deputy Director, Equal Educational Op­
portunities Program.

Mr. Yarborough: If your Honro please, may I ask Mr. 
Fink one question regarding that? Is the letter from the 
Office of the Commissioner of Education, dated 31 August, 
attached to that? That modifies—

Mr. Fink: I am going to offer that right now.
Mr. Yarborough: Otherwise we would object to that as 

not being the complete plan.
The Court: I understand he is going to offer that next.
Mr. Fink: I offer Government’s Exhibit No. 3 which is 

the letter dated August 31, 1965, addressed to Mr. Warren

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Preliminary Injunction



47a

W. Smith, Superintendent of Franklin County Schools, 
Louisburg, and it is signed by Francs Keppel. This is the 
letter that Mr. Yarborough just mentioned. This was not

— 20—

attached to the affidavit.
I offer Government’s Exhibit No. 4 which is a letter from 

Warren W. Smith, dated October 21, 1965, to Dr. Frances 
Keppel. Dr. Frances Keppel is the U.S. Commissioner of 
Education. This letter and the attachments show the break­
down by race of the students in Franklin County as of 
October 21st.

I would like to note parenthetically that the government 
would show that there is a slight difference in the number 
of students who are actually enrolled today. At that time 
there were more Negro students enrolled in the white 
schools.

The government offers as Government’s Exhibit No. 5 
an affidavit of David S. Seeley who is the Acting Assistant 
Commissioner for Equal Educational Opportunities, Unit­
ed States Office of Education, dated February 3, 1966. This 
was served on the parties.

I would also like to call your Honor’s attention to an 
affidavit that was filed in this case by the government on 
January 20, 1966. This affidavit was signed by Luther Cop- 
pedge. This was filed, and I assume that that would now 
be a part of the record.

The Court: Very well, yes.
Mr. Fink: The last group of documents, your Honor, 

will require a witness, so I would like to call Mr. Warren
— 21—

W. Smith, Superintendent of the Franklin County Schools.

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Preliminary Injunction



48a

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Direct

— 22—

W arren  W. S m it h , ca lled  as a w itn ess  b y  the g o v e rn ­
m ent, h av in g  been  d u ly  sw orn , w as exam ined  and  testified  
as fo l lo w s :

Direct Examination by Mr. Fink:

Q. Please state your name. A. Warren W. Smith.
Q. State your address, sir. A. 118 Person Street, Lou- 

isburg, North Carolina.
Q. What is your occupation? A. Superintendent of the 

Franklin County schools.
Q. How long have you held that position! A. Since July 

1, 1963.
Q. And you have held it all the time since then? A. Yes.
Q. Mr. Smith, before the hearing in this matter today, 

I showed you a list of documents, which I will hand to you 
now—

The Court: Now, I expect you should mark those 
for identification.

Mr. Fink: Yes, I will.
Mr. Clerk, I hand you twenty-one sheets of paper 

that I would like to be marked Government’s Col-
—23—

lective Exhibit No. 6 for identification.
The Witness: Let me ask one question. This first 

one—
Mr. Fink: Let me do it this way.

Q. I am going to hand you the papers marked Govern­
ment’s Collective Exhibit No. 6 for identification. Are you 
familiar with these documents? A. Yes, sir.



49a

Q. Will you. describe them, please? A. This document, 
Page No. 1—

Q. Describe it by the name appearing. A. This is the 
assignment for first-grade students for 1965-66 for begin­
ners.

The Court: Let me see it for just one minute so 
I will understand it.

Mr. Yarborough: I f your Honor please, may I 
interrupt? Mr. Smith undertook to ask a question 
about the first one. As I understand, that applies to 
some person named Brown who is not involved, the 
parent or the child, in this case.

Mr. Fink: This is only to put it in for a matter 
of completeness. I am not editorializing on any of 
them. I am taking what appeared in the Department 
of Health, Education & Welfare files; and I assume

—24—
Mr. Smith, in his identification of these, will point 
out any of the problems.

Mr. Yarborough: What I am trying to say, if 
your Honor pleases, in that particular one some 
child named Brown, I believe, is not involved in this 
case.

The Court: Maybe this will clarify it. Mr. Fink, 
are you offering this only to demonstrate the type 
of notice or form that is used in making first-grade 
assignments ?

Mr. Fink: No, sir. I am taking this collective ex­
hibit as the entire file of the Department of Health, 
Education & Welfare with reference to the notice as 
to the assignments of children.

Warren W. Smith—for Government— Direct



50a

Now, it is possible that there is no controvery as 
to one or more of these children, bnt to be fair to 
the defendants, I have taken the whole file, and I 
haven’t editorialized any of it. This is what was 
presented to the Department of Health, Education & 
Welfare.

The Court: Now, I understand that the defendant 
says that the particular student whose name appears 
on this first sheet of Government’s Collective Exhibit 
No. 6 has no reference to any party to this suit. Is 
that substantially correct?

—25—
Mr. Yarborough: That’s correct. So far as I am 

able to say now, there has been no controversy with 
regard to the admission or assignment of that partic­
ular student to any school, so far as I know. Mr. 
Smith or someone else will have to correct me if I 
am wrong. It makes no particular difference, except 
that it pertains to a student who is not involved in 
this particular suit.

The Court: I get your point.
Now, what is the purpose now, Mr. Fink, of this 

first sheet?
Mr. Fink: I say it is only included as a matter 

of completeness so that there is no editorializing. 
So far as we know, these are all the children that 
the Franklin County Board of Education said had 
been assigned in this manner, so far as we know in 
Washington.

Mr. Chambers: Your Honor, the plaintiff might 
say in addition that this is a class action, and we 
think the exhibit shows the pattern that wTe hope

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Direct



51a

to establish here of the Board’s adherence to a dis­
criminatory practice.

Whether the person named is an individual plain­
tiff in the suit, the fact that this is a class action 
and also the fact that this might be some evidence

—26—
to show a practice of discrimination, and we think 
the exhibit would be pertinent.

Mr. Fink: My point, your Honor, is that I frankly 
do not know whether that individual child has sub­
sequently been admitted to a white school or not. 
All I know is that these exhibits were submitted to 
the Department of Health, Education & Welfare as 
the exhibit showing who had been denied a transfer 
from a Negro school to a white school, or had not 
been admitted to a white school upon request.

The Court: Very well. I shall admit the exhibit, 
and will give it such consideration as at the proper 
time, if any, I think it deserves.

Mr. Yarborough: Now, pardon me for interrupt­
ing, but I would like to correct Mr. Fink when he 
uses the expression “white schools.” I think he will 
find from our pleadings that we have no schools 
designated as white, Negro, or colored. He says 
“ white schools.” Our Board of Education operates 
no school designated as white or colored.

The Court: All right.
Mr. Fink: On the other hand, I would like to

—2 7 -
point out that the very next document in Collective 
Exhibit No. 6 is that of Mr. and Mrs Luther Cop- 
pedge, and the name of the child is Harold Douglas

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Direct



52a

Coppedge, and he most certainly is a part of this 
controversy.

Now, in this collective exhibit other than this first 
piece of paper, which is addressed to Lillie B. Brown, 
all of these students are now requesting and demand­
ing that they be admitted to schools of their choice; 
and the government takes firm position as to each 
and every one of these.

I am only saying that as to the first individual, 
Lillie B. Brown, I do not know what her position 
is right at this moment.

The Court: All right, you may proceed. It is 
admitted.

By Mr. Fink:

Q. Mr. Smith, how many schools do you operate in 
Franklin County1? A. Thirteen.

Q. How many of these schools have Negro children en­
rolled in them? A. Two.

Q. Two children? A. Two schools.
—28—

Q. In the whole county? How many have Negro students 
enrolled in them? A. It would be eight.

Q. Of these eight schools how many are entirely com­
posed of Negro students? A. Six.

Q. There are no white students at all in these schools? 
A. That’s right.

Q. How many of these schools are attended by white 
students? A. Seven.

Q. How many of the seven schools that you have just 
mentioned are attended solely by white students? A. Five.

Q. There are no Negroes, in other words, in five of these 
schools? A. That’s right.

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Direct



53a

Q. That leaves two schools, is that correct, that have 
Negro students enrolled at the present time with white stu­
dents? A. That’s correct.

Q. How many Negro students are enrolled in each of
— 29—

these two schools? A. There in one school and three in 
another.

Q. And what are the names of these two school? A. The 
Louisburg High School and the Bunn High School.

Q. What grades are these three children in in the Louis­
burg school? A. The first, second, and twelfth.

Q. And in the Bunn school? A. Two in the first and one 
in the twelfth.

Q. How many Negro students applied in the spring of 
1965 for entrance into a white school? A. Sixty-one.

Q. How many students actually have entered in any 
form into a white school in 1965 or 1966? A. Ten. were 
assigned. Eight actually showed up at the school.

Q. What happened to the others? You say “eight” , what 
happened to the other two? A. They requested reassign­
ment to schools where they had previously been.

Q. What that granted? A. The Board has not acted.
Q. The Board has not acted on the two? A. No.
Q. Where are they now? They are not in the white

- 3 0 -
schools, I take it, is that correct? A. No, they are not.

Q. So if the Board hasn’t acted, where are they? A. I 
couldn’t say for sure.

Q. They have not re-entered into Negro schools? A. I ’m 
not absolutely sure on all of them.

Q. In 1964-1965 for the 1964-1965 school year, how many 
Negro students attended schools in Franklin County with 
white students? A. None.

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Direct



54a

Q. How about in the school year of 1963-1964, how many 
Negro students attended school with white students? A. 
None.

Q. Do you have any knowledge as to the prior history 
of the Franklin County schools with reference to how many 
Negro students have applied for and have been admitted 
to white schools? A. None that I know of.

Q. No Negro has—you mean no Negro has been admitted 
to a white school prior to 1963-1964 to your knowledge? 
A. To my knowledge, no.

Q. Tell me this: How many Negro students are now 
riding on buses with white students to school? A. I guess 
all six.

—31—
Q. Do they ride all of the way to school with white 

students, or do they have to take a Negro bus part way, a 
bus that Negro students ride on part way?

The Court: Now, just a moment. You say that all 
six of the Negro students ride on buses with white 
students. To what six do you refer? I understood 
that there were eight Negroes enrolled in 1965-66 in 
these school to which they applied for assignment.

By the Court:

Q. Now, you refer to six riding on buses? A. We have 
six now in what were formerly white schools.

Q. I still do not have this clear. I understand that sixty- 
one Negroes applied in 1965 for admission to other schools; 
that ten were assigned; that eight enrolled. Now, you 
refer to six. Are those eight that enrolled still in the 
schools? A. No. Six are still in formerly white schools.

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Direct



55a

Q. Then two of the original eight are no longer attending 
the schools to which they were assigned! A. That’s cor­
rect.

The Court: I see. You may continue.

By Mr. Fink:

Q. Mr. Smith, how many Negro teachers are now assigned
—32—

to teach in schools for white children, if any! A. None.
Q. How many white teachers are teaching in schools 

where Negro students are the sole persons attending? That 
is, schools solely attended by Negroes as students, are there 
any white teachers assigned to any of these schools? A. 
No. Classroom teachers, no.

Q. In 1963 and 1964 did the same situation exist? A. 
Yes.

Q. In 1964-1965 did the same situation exist? A. Yes. 
Q. Are there any courses that are taught at the Louis- 

burg High School that are not taught at the Riverside High 
School? A. I could not say for that without referring to 
the list of subjects that I have in the interrogatories.

Q. Did you compile the information in the answers to 
the interrogatories? A. I had the high school supervisor 
compile these.

Q. Under your direction? A. Yes.

Mr. Fink: I am not going to pursue this line, your 
Honor, under the assumption that the plaintiff’s at­
torney, Mr. Chambers, is going to submit those. Is

—33—
that correct, Mr. Chambers?

Mr. Chambers: Yes, sir.

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Direct



56a

Warren W. Smith—-for Government—Direct 

By Mr. Fink:

Q. I would like to ask you one series of questions, sir, 
one the administrative set-up of the schools. When do 
you have a first marking period or grading period at which 
time students are tested and graded by the schools? A. 
Every six weeks.

Q. Every six weeks? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Beginning at what date—beginning when—in Septem­

ber or October— A. Well, the first day of school, the first 
day of the 180; and then in six weeks from that, or thirty 
school days from that date.

Q. Every thirty school days. And when did you start 
school this year? A. September 8th.

Q. September 8th. My mathematics are very poor. When 
would have been the last time you had a grading period— 
what day? A. Approximately a week ago.

Q. One week ago? A. Approximately.
Q. That was approximately at the mid-point of your

—3 4 -
school year, is that correct? A. Yes. However, let me 
bring this out. The Christmas holidays were extended, but 
the examination period was not extended. The examina­
tions were given, really, before the end of the mid-year.

Q. Approximately when were the examinations given? 
A. They were given the week of the 19th.

Q. Of what month? A. January.

By the Court:

Q. Is that a mid-year examination, or how do you describe 
it? A. We consider it as the mid-year examination. The 
week of the 17th, excuse me.



57a

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Direct 

By Mr. Fink:

Q, The week of the 17th of January? A. Yes, sir. The 
17th through the 21st.

Q. I would like to know when would be your next exami­
nation period? A. It will be about the first or second week 
of March.

Q. And when will be your final examination period of 
the year? A. It would be the last week of June.

Q. The last week in June? A. Yes.
—35—

Q. Have you ever had any student transfer into your 
school system after October 1 of a particular school year 
from another district or from outside the State of North 
Carolina? A. I ’m sure we have.

Q. And what is the procedure followed with a student in 
that situation? A. Well, the principal or the guidance 
counselor or the homeroom teacher would try to map out 
the schedule as best they can.

Q. Would the student be normally admitted to classes? 
A. Yes, sir.

Q. Would he normally get credit for the full year, as­
suming that he passes the examinations in the spring of 
the school year? A. Yes, if he could pick up the subjects 
that he had been taking in the other school.

Q. How would he pick up the subjects that he had been 
taking in the other school? A. Well, they would have to 
be offered in the school that the student was entering.

Q. Have you ever had a child who was in the last year 
of school and you had a required course for graduation

—36—
that he couldn’t take that he hadn’t taken at the school that 
he had come from; ever had that? Do you recollect that?



58a

The Court: Just one minute. (To reporter) Read 
that question back.

Mr. Fink: Perhaps I could make it clearer.

(Last question read by reporter.)

Mr. Fink: I will withdraw that question and re­
word it.

By Mr. Fink:

Q. Have you ever had children enrolled in your school, 
after October 1st of the school year, in the last grade; that 
is, in the 12th grade? Do you recall anyone who has ever 
come into it? A. I do not recall that I have had.

Q. Have you ever had any white child who requested to 
transfer to another school within the system after October 
1st of the school year? A. Yes, when they moved from one 
attendance area to another.

Q. Have you ever had that occur? A. Yes.
Q. Do you ever recall any of these students taking a 

course at the school to which they transferred that had 
not been available in the school from which they trans-

—37—
ferred? A. No, I do not recall.

Q. Mr. Smith, I would like to turn to this plan of desegre­
gation that you and the Board submitted to the Department 
of Health, Education and Welfare. Do you recall whether 
at any date prior to September 1, 1965, either you or any 
member of the Board informing the Department of Health, 
Education & Welfare that it was going to utilize two criteria 
in deciding whether or not to grant or to deny a lateral 
transfer? A. Of course, we had many, many hours of tele­
phone conversations with HEW officials, but nothing in

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Direct



59a

writing except the original draft and the amendment. In 
fact, they sent nothing back to us in writing. Of course, we 
talked many hours about the guide-lines that were handed 
down on April 30th or whatever the date was.

Q. Did you ever tell Mr. Seely or Mr. Keppel or any 
member of their staff that you intended to utilize two 
criteria, i.e., that any child that moved into a new district, 
into a new school district, or that he wanted to take a 
course unavailable to him, that either of these criteria were 
included? A. No, not in my telephone conversations.

Mr. Fink: That is all the questions I have at this 
time, your Honor.

—38—
Examination by Plaintiffs by Mr. Chambers:

Q. Mr. Smith, I have a copy of the answers filed by the 
defendants to plaintiffs’ interrogatories which I would like 
to have marked as Plaintiffs’ Exhibit No. 1 , and ask if you 
were involved in the preparations of these answers filed 
by the school board? A. Was I involved in— ?

The Court: Now, hasn’t he testified that they were 
prepared under his supervision, in response to a 
question by Mr. Fink?

You want the original marked?
Mr. Chambers: I want to substitute the original 

for the copy that I have here.
The Court: You want the original filed?
Mr. Chambers: Yes, sir, I would like to file the 

original.

By Mr. Chambers:

Q. Mr. Smith, while he is marking that, how long have 
you been involved in the Franklin County school system in 
any capacity? A. 1948—September 1948, since that date.

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Direct



60a

Q. Since September 1948? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you come into the school system as a school

- 3 9 -
teacher or in an administrative capacity? A. As a school 
teacher.

Q. Were you subsequently promoted or elected as a prin­
cipal of a school? A. Yes, sir.

Q. At what time? A. 1953.
Q. And when did you become principal—I mean super­

intendent of the schools? A. July 1, 1963.
Q. Was your position from 1953 to 1963 that of principal 

of one of the schools in the school system? A. Yes.

By the Court:

Q. Was it 1953 or 1956 that you were elected principal? 
A. ’53.

By Mr. Chambers:

Q. Mr. Smith, are you familiar with any plan or steps 
taken by the Franklin County Board of Education to de­
segregate the Franklin County school system prior to the 
school year 1965-66? A. Of course, the plan we followed 
at that time was from the North Carolina school law.

Q. You mean the North Carolina Pupil Enrollment Act?
— 40—

A. Yes.
Q. And that is the plan that you followed? A. Up 

through this past school year.
Q. No other steps were taken by the Board to desegre­

gate the school system, is that correct? A. We have had 
meetings with principals, and so forth—integrated meet­
ings.

Warren W. Smith—for Government— Direct



61a

Q. You have had integrated staff meetings, you mean? 
A. Yes.

Q. But nothing was done by the school board to deseg­
regate the students assigned to the various schools ? A.As 
I say, we followed this plan prescribed by he North Caro­
lina school law.

Q. Nor was any step taken to desegregate the faculty in 
the various schools? A. Other than once again following 
the North Carolina school law.

Q. And you have testified, have you not, that Negro 
teachers were and have been assigned to Negro schools, 
and white teachers to white schools? A. Once they had 
made application for that school and nominated by the prin­
cipal and elected by the committee and approved by the 
superintendent and the Board of Education.

—41—
Q. And this has resulted in Negro teachers in Negro 

schools and white teachers in white schools? A. Yes, sir,
Q. And it is also true that Negro students have been 

assigned to Negro schools and white students to white 
schools? A. What do you mean by— ?

Q. Under the Pupil Assignment Act. A. Yes.
Q. Now, in administering the North Carolina Pupil As­

signment Act, you did not have any Negro student assigned 
to a predominantly white school? A. No.

Q. Nor any white student assigned to a predominantly 
Negro school? A. No.

Q. Now, how were students assigned for the 1965-66 
school year who were not in grades 2, 4, 8, and 11? A. 
Who were not in grades 2, 4, 8, and 11?

Q. The grades that you have here provided for being 
affected by your plan of compliance. A. Those who would 
be in grades 1, 2, 9, and 12, the grades you are referring 
to. You are asking the other grades?

Warren W. Smith—for Government— Direct



62a

Warren W. Smith—for Government— Direct

—42—
Q. The other grades. A. In the remaining grades, each 

student and the report card of each student, this informa­
tion on lateral transfer, was inserted in the report card; 
this went home to the parents, giving this information 
about lateral transfers, and those stated that they could 
apply or had the right to apply for lateral transfers by fill­
ing out a certain form and turning it in by a certain time, 
and so forth.

Q. Were they not notified by the report card, when dis­
tributed, that they were assigned to the school they attended 
the previous year? A. No.

Q. They were not? A. No.
Q. They were not given any assignment when the report 

cards were distributed? A. No.
Q. When were they assigned? A. August 23rd.
Q. All of these students were assigned August the 23rd? 

A. The students you are referring to, August 23rd.
Q. Now, on August 23, how were they assigned to the 

schools? A. You are still referring to the—
—43—

Q. —the students in the grades not affected by the plan. 
A. The lateral-transfer applications?

Q. No. I want to know how they were assigned by the 
school board, whether or not they made requests for lateral 
transfers. A. Those who had not made a request were 
assigned to the schools which they had previously attended.

Q. And how were those assigned who made requests for 
lateral transfer ? A. If they did not meet the two criteria, 
they were assigned to the school they previously attended.

Q. How many students did you have to make requests 
for lateral tranfers? A. There were thirty-eight.



63a

Q. And how many of these thirty-eight were assigned to 
the school requested in the application for lateral transfer? 
A. None.

Q. All thirty-eight applicants were denied transfer? A. 
Well, actually seven requested reassignment ; seven of the 
thirty-eight requested reassignment.

Q. Do you mean that they were assigned initially and 
then requested reassignment? A. No. They requested re-

—4 4 -
assignment before they were actually assigned.

Q. Now, trying to explain your word “ reassign,” under 
the plan you adopted you provided that students involved 
in grades 1, 2, 8, and 11 would be permitted to indicate the 
school they wanted to attend before any assignment was 
made; is that correct? A. Yes.

Q. Now, did the same thing apply to the students in the 
other grades? A. That they could choose the school that 
they—No.

Mr. Yarborough: Your Honor, may I correct an 
obvious error? Mr. Chambers used 1, 2, 8, and 11. 
Actually it was 1, 2, 9, and 12.

Mr. Chambers: That’s correct. 1, 2, 9, and 12.

By Mr. Chambers:

Q. Now, how were the students in the other grades, that 
is the grades other than 1, 2, 9, and 12—were they permitted 
to indicate the school they wanted to attend before they 
were assigned? A. No, not unless they asked for the lat­
eral transfer.

Q. Weren’t they really assigned and then permitted to
—45—

ask for a lateral transfer? A. No.

Warren W . Smith—for Government—Direct



64a

Q. Then they were permitted to indicate the school they 
wanted to attend before they were assigned! A. If they 
fit the two, they could request it, of course, if they fitted the 
two criteria.

Q. Now, I will read to you, Mr. Smith, paragraph D of 
the Plan for Compliance which you have attached to the 
answers to the interrogatories, which reads:

“At the end of the school year, pupils eligible to continue 
in the same school except where covered by Part A  and Part 
C above, will be assigned thereto for the forthcoming year. 
At a date fixed by the Board of Education and appropri­
ately in advance of the time that assignments for the forth­
coming year are made, there shall be made available in all 
schools and at the office of the superintendent, appropriate 
instructions setting forth in detail the procedure by which 
parents or legal guardian of the child entitled to attend the 
schools of Franklin County Administrative Unit may ex­
ercise their right to apply for a transfer of such child to a 
school of their choice.”

Does this mean that the child was initially assigned back 
to the same school and then permitted to request transfer!

—46—
A. No.

Q. Following your Plan of Compliance, you have testified 
that ten Negro students were assigned to a formerly all- 
white school! A. Yes.

Q. Eight of those students, you say, enrolled! A. Pm 
pretty sure eight did enroll.

Q. And now six are enrolled in the schools! A. That’s 
right. That, I do know.

Q. What happened to the other four! A. Well, one 
never would go to the school which was assigned. In fact,

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Direct



65a

there were two that would not go to the school to which 
they were assigned.

Q. Do yon know the names of those two students? A. 
One was Neal, a twelfth-grade student; and I cannot think 
of the other name—he was a second grade student.

Q. Was Neal a Negro student? A. Yes.
Q. Was he assigned to a Negro school? A. He was as­

signed to the Louisburg school.
Q. And the Louisburg school is a predominantly white 

school? A. Yes.
Q. And the student in the second grade, was that student

—47—
a Negro student? A. Yes.

Q. Was that student assigned to a predominantly Negro 
or predominantly white school? A. White.

Q. And these two students, you say, did not go to the 
school to which they were assigned? A. To my knowledge, 
they never actually attended the predominantly white school.

Q. Are they still in the school system? A. I ’m not sure 
about the one in the twelfth grade; I’m not sure whether he 
is still in the school system at all.

Q. What about the one in the second grade? A. I ’m 
pretty sure that that student is in the Riverside School, but 
I do not know this.

Q. And the Riverside School is a predominantly Negro 
school? A. Yes.

Q. What happened to the other two students? A. They 
requested to go back to the same school.

Q. To the same school? A. Yes, sir, the one they at­
tended the previous year.

Q. Now, was this subsequent to October 1st of 1965 or
—48—

prior to October 1st of 1965? A. This was prior to.

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Direct



66a

Q. Prior to? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you know whether this was during the month of 

September? A. Pm pretty sure it was during the month 
of September.

Q. After school had opened? A. Yes.
Q. And the other two students requested to go back to a 

Negro school? A. Yes.
Q. Did the Board act on these two applications? A. No, 

they have not acted on those yet.
Q. And those two students are now attending a Negro 

school? A. I assume they are; I do not know.
Q. How were they admitted? A. I don’t know.
Q. But they are attending predominantly Negro schools 

now? A. I do not know for sure.
Q. Now, Mr. Smith, are you required under the North 

Carolina law to keep attendance records of students? A.
- 4 9 -

Yes. The principals, of course, keep the attendance record 
and turn it into the county office.

Q. Are you also required to report truancy of students? 
A. We have an attendance counselor who works with the 
principal and the teachers.

Q. Are you required to report to the North Carolina State 
Board of Education any absences of students in your school 
system? A. Yes, sir.

Q. Have you reported the absence of these four students? 
A. Of course, individually, I do not know. The principal 
certifies this and turns it in to me. These students Pm sure 
—Pm almost positive they were marked absent in the 
school to which they were assigned.

Q. Do you know why the four students of the ten did not 
go to the predominantly white school to which they were

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Direct



67a

assigned! A. I do not know for sure. I know what one 
or two told me.

Q. You do not know why they did not go! A. They said 
that—

Q. No. I just want to know if you know.

Mr. Yarborough: He said he knew what he was
—50—

told.
The Witness: I know what I was told.
Mr. Chambers: I know. But if you don’t know.

By Mr. Chambers:

Q. According to Exhibit B attached to the answers to 
interrogatories filed by the defendants, it is indicated that 
schools listed as predominantly white schools have some 
courses not offered by schools listed as predominantly Ne­
gro schools; is that true? A. Yes. And it would work in 
reverse also.

Q. You mean that some Negro schools would have some 
courses that some white schools would not have? A. Yes.

Q. Now, of the high schools, would you indicate the 
schools which are predominantly white and the schools 
which are predominantly Negro. A. Yes. Bunn High 
School is predominantly white; Edward Best High School 
is predominantly white; Epsom High School is predomi­
nantly white; Gfethsemane High School is predominantly 
Negro. Gold Sand School is predominantly white; Louis- 
burg High School is predominantly white; Perry’s School 
is predominantly Negro; Youngsville High School is pre­
dominantly white; Riverside High School is predominantly 
Negro.

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Direct



68a

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Direct

—51—
Q. Do you know the schools to which the plaintiffs in­

volved in this action requested transfer! A. Louisburg 
School, the Edward Best School, and the Bunn School.

Q. Do you know the schools to which these plaintiffs were 
assigned! A. The Perry’s School, Cedar Street School, 
Riverside School, and the Gethsemane School.

Q. Did any of the plaintiffs request reassignment to 
Louisburg High School? A. Yes.

Q. Isn’t it true, Mr. Smith, that the predominantly white 
schools that you named here offer courses not offered at 
the schools you stated the Negro plaintiffs here were as­
signed? A. I would have to look at that list again. I 
could not answer this without tabulating.

Q. What do you mean by “tabulating” ? A. Comparing 
them and see which subjects would be offered in one and 
not be offered in the other.

The Court: It this information concerning which 
you have asked set out in the exhibit?

Mr. Chambers: It is set out in the exhibit, yes, sir.

By Mr. Chambers:

—52—
Q. Now, Mr. Smith, did you have anything to do with 

the preparation of the Plan of Compliance submitted by 
the Board of Education to the Department of Health, Edu­
cation & Welfare? A. Yes.

Q. Did you have anything to do in the determination of 
limiting the free transfers to the four grades for this year? 
A. Yes, I was working on the committee drafting this plan.

Q. Do you know why the Board limited free transfers at



69a

this time to four grades? A. We were following the guide­
lines set up by HEW.

Q. When you say that you were following the guide-lines 
set up by HEW, do you mean by that the plan or the 
guide-lines adopted by HEW indicating that some schools 
may have four grades for desegregation per year; is that 
what you followed? A. Yes. And we were trying to get a 
plan whereby we could operate our schools in Franklin 
County.

Q. Now, what do you mean by getting a plan by which 
you could operate your schools in Franklin County? A. 
A  plan whereby—a feasible plan in our opinion that was 
best for most of the people in Franklin County.

—53—
Q. Now, what do you mean by a feasible plan? A. One 

that would work.
Q. Could you elaborate a bit more on what you mean 

by one that would work? A. Well, first of all, we had to 
satisfy HEW officials.

Q. And if you satisfied HEW, that is all you would seek 
to do? A. Well, that was the first objective.

Q. Now, you could have opened all twelve grades for free 
transfers for this year, could you not? A. Yes, I guess so.

Q. In other words, HEW’s regulations do not prohibit 
you from permitting transfers in all grades, do they? A. 
No.

Q. You did not, however, elect to do that? A. No.
Q. You decided to limit free transfers to four grades? 

A. Yes, sir.

Mr. Yarborough: I f your Honor please, may I 
ask counsel to whom he is referring when he says 
“you decided” ? Does he mean the witness or the

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Direct



70a

Board of Education, or what? I think the record
—54—

should be clear.
Mr. Chambers: I will withdraw that question.

By Mr. Chambers:

Q. Mr. Smith, are you, as superintendent of the Franklin 
County school system, in attendance at school board meet­
ings? A. Yes.

Q. Do you hold any capacity with the school board? A. 
Secretary to the Board of Education.

Q. And you take down the minutes of the school board? 
A. Yes.

Q. Were you in attendance at the school board meetings 
during the school board’s discussion of the proposed plan 
of compliance with Title 6? A. Yes, sir.

Q. And were you in attendance at each of those meet­
ings? A. Yes.

Q. Are you not, Mr. Smith, the principal draftsman of 
the plan adopted by the board and presented to the Depart­
ment of HEW? A. No, sir.

Q. Who else participated with you in the drafting of that
—5 5 -

plan? A. The committee which was appointed by the 
board.

Q. Consisting of board members? A. A  board member, 
yes.

Q. And who else? A. The attorney to the board, and 
the superintendent or secretary.

Q. Did you attend each of those committee meetings? 
A. Yes.

Q. Now, Mr. Smith, you indicated a moment ago that 
you were trying to adopt a plan which would be feasible.

Warren W. Smith—for Government-—Direct



71a

Could you explain to the court why a plan providing for 
free transfers in all twelve grades would not be feasible?

Mr. Yarborough: We object to that question, if 
your Honor please. He can’t speak for the board; 
he can only speak for himself.

The Court: Well, objection overruled. I will hear 
what he has to say.

A. Ask your question again.

(Last question read by reporter.)

A. I don’t know.
Q. You don’t know. During your attendance at the meet­

ings of the committee and the meetings of the board in 
considering the plan adopted and presented to the Depart­
ment, did you discuss adopting a plan providing for free

—5 6 -
transfers in all twelve grades? A. All types of plans, yes.

Q. And it was the consensus of the committee meetings 
and the board meetings that you would not adopt such a 
plan? A. Yes.

Q. Now, did you also feel that you should not adopt a 
plan providing for free transfers in the twelve grades ? A. 
Was that my feelings?

Q. Yes. A. Yes.
Q. What is the basis for your feelings? A. The basis 

of mine is the transition year, the first year we have had 
integration of the schools.

Q. Do you mean that if you were to provide for free 
transfers in all twelve grades, you might have some oppo­
sition from people in the community? A. Well, we don’t 
know.

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Direct



72a

Q. You might have? A. Might.
Q. Did you feel that by adopting a more limited plan 

you would limit the number of transfers of Negro students 
to formerly all-white schools? A. We had no way, really, 
of knowing.

—57—
Q. Wasn’t that your intention? A. I don’t know that it 

was.
Q. As the plan has worked, had you adopted a plan pro­

viding for free transfers in all twelve grades, you would 
have had more than six students now in formerly all-white 
schools, would you not?

Mr. Yarborough: Objection.

A. I don’t know.

Mr. Tucker: He doesn’t know.
The Court: Objection sustained. That calls for a 

conclusion that I don’t know whether he is in a posi­
tion to make.

By Mr. Chambers:

Q. Mr. Smith, if the board had adopted a plan providing 
for free transfers in all twelve grades, and with the num­
ber of applicants who applied, more would have been 
eligible for transfers than the ten that were approved by 
the board, is that not correct? A. If we had free choice.

Q. Transfers in all grades? A. Yes.
Q. And by adopting the four grades, you had fewer stu­

dents who satisfied your criteria for transfer?

Mr. Yarborough: We object to “fewer,” if the 
court pleases.

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Direct



73a

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Direct

—58—
The Court: Yes. I think that is a matter of argu­

ment rather than testimony of the witness.

By Mr. Chambers-.

Q. Now, Mr. Smith, you indicated in the board’s answer 
to plaintiffs’ interrogatories that the board would prefer 
to continue following its prior practice in assigning teachers 
and school personnel! A. Yes.

Q. And it’s stated here that the board feels that this is 
the better method for employment and assignment of 
teachers and school personnel. Do you know what basis the 
board used for this determination! A. It’s an opinion that 
we feel.

Q. Do you know the basis for the board’s opinion! A. I 
would say for the person to apply for the job where they 
want to teach.

Q. But do you know the basis of the board’s opinion that 
it would be better to follow your prior practice? A. I 
would say it would be hard to fill teaching positions if we 
did not follow it.

Q. Why would it be difficult to fill teaching positions? A. 
I would say most anyone would like to know where they are 
going to work when they sign a contract.

—59—
Q. Has the board considered, to your knowledge, reas­

signment of teachers on a non-racial basis? A. I ’m sure 
it has been considered.

Q. Was it considered at an official board meeting at 
which you were in attendance? A. Yes, it has been dis­
cussed.

Q. And was it not decided that the board would not pur­
sue that practice of making non-racial assignments of teach­



74a

ers? A. I don’t know that any definite decision was 
reached.

Q. At least you have not followed that practice?

Mr. Yarborough: If your Honor please, we object 
to that because I think the witness testified that 
teachers are assigned pursuant to their applications. 
There is no evidence at all that the board makes any 
assignment except pursuant to the teacher’s request 
for employment in a particular school.

The Court: Yes, I understood that to be his testi­
mony. You may continue.

By Mr. Chambers:

Q. Mr. Smith, has the board ever adopted an official 
policy that teachers may be employed and assigned on a 
non-racial basis, to your knowledge? A. Well, there was

— 60—

the plan itself.
Q. I mean has the board, to your knowledge, adopted a 

policy at any stage of which you are familiar to employ and 
assign teachers on a non-racial basis? A. I do not know 
of such a policy.

Q. You do not know of such a policy. Has the board, to 
your knowledge, advised teachers and school personnel in 
the system that teachers may be employed and assigned on 
a non-racial basis? A. No.

Q. You have not indicated to the principals of the schools 
nor to the teachers in the school system that the board will 
consider applications and will assign teachers without re­
gard to their race ? A. The principals have been instructed 
that the teachers make applications for the schools in which 
they want to teach.

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Direct



75a

Q. But you have not instructed the principals that a 
Negro teacher, for instance, may apply and be assigned to 
a predominantly white school, or that a white teacher may 
apply and be assigned to a predominantly Negro school? 
A. Not specifically, but they apply for the school in which 
they want to teach.

Q. And you have followed the practice, as you have
—61—

stated, which has resulted in Negro teachers in predomi­
nantly Negro schools and white teachers in predominantly 
white schools?

The Court: I think he has sufficiently covered that 
territory.

Q. One final question, Mr. Smith, that would go back to 
your previous testimony. You stated that you followed the 
North Carolina Pupil Enrollment Plan prior to this school 
year? A. Yes.

Q. Did the board at any time prior to this school year 
advise Negro students that they could apply and be as­
signed to any school of their choice? A. Not that I know 
about.

Q. To your knowledge no such notice was made at any 
time prior to the 1965-66 school year? A. No.

Q. Mr. Smith, do you know of any reason why the Negro 
students involved in this proceeding as plaintiffs should not 
be assigned to the school of their choice? A. You mean at 
this time?

Q. At this time. A. I think transferring at any time 
through the year is not in the best interest of a student as 
far as subject matter is concerned. Each teacher teaches at 
a different rate, would be in a different place in the subject

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Direct



76a

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Direct

—62—
or the hook that they would he taking; and it’s always the 
possibility that you could not get the same subjects you 
were taking at one school if you transferred to another 
school.

Q. You do not admit of disparity in the quality of educa­
tion offered by the schools? A. No.

Q. And if the Negro student decided to exercise his 
choice, if permitted, should it not be his right to decide 
whether he wants to transfer at this stage ?

Mr. Yarborough: We object, if the court pleases. 
Whether or not it should be the pupil’s right to de­
cide, I think would be a question of argument.

The Court: Yes, I think so.

By Mr. Chambers:

Q. Mr. Smith, is there any administrative problem that 
the board would incur if these students were permitted to 
transfer at this stage? A. Well, there are always adminis­
trative problems when you have transfers and that sort of 
thing.

Q. Would they be very serious administrative problems? 
A. Well, it would be if they could not get the subjects in

—63—
the school to which they transferred; and transportation.

Q. If they could get the subjects, there would not be any 
serious administrative problems? A. No, not any serious.

Q. And the school system has agreed in its plan to pro­
vide transportation for all students regardless of race? A. 
I forget how that is worded, but those eligible to be trans­
ported, or something, to that school. In other words, we



77a

would not necessarily run all the way across the county for 
an isolated case.

Q. You do provide transportation for students living 
more than one-and-a-half miles from the school to which 
they are assigned? A. Yes.

Q. Now, Mr. Smith, would there be any administrative 
problem were the board to adopt a plan for this year pro­
viding for free transfers in all grades? A. Would there 
be any problems?

Q. Administrative problems. A. Yes.
Q. What would they be, Mr. Smith? A. Well, the trans­

portation and schedules.
Q. Transportation and schedules. Is there any other

- 6 4 -
problem? A. Well, I ’m sure there are many, many more 
problems. I can’t think of all of them now.

Q. When you speak of transportation, do you mean rout­
ing the buses ? A. There would always be that problem.

Q. And you would have that problem at any time during 
the year, would you not? A. You mean transportation?

Q. Transportation. A. Yes.
Q. The routing of buses? A. Oh, yes.
Q. And you would have the other problem you refer to 

at any time during the year? A. What do you m ean- 
schedules?

Q. Yes. A. Being able to get the subjects?
Q. Bight. A. Yes.
Q. So there wouldn’t be any unusual administrative prob­

lem that you wouldn’t have at any stage of the year? A. 
No.

Q. Mr. Smith, isn’t it true that the same thing would have 
been the case had you provided for free transfers in all

- 6 5 -
grades for this year? A. You mean in the very beginning?

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Direct



78a

Q. In the very beginning. A. No, I wouldn’t—
Q. That the hoard wouldn’t have had any serious ad­

ministrative problems? A. No, I doubt it.
Q. It wouldn’t have had? A. No. Of course, I have no 

way of knowing.
Q. But you know of no administrative problem that you 

would have had? A. No.

Mr. Chambers: Your Honor, I have about two or 
three other questions I would like to ask, and I will 
be through with this.

The Court: All right.

Q. Mr. Smith, the white students assigned to the schools 
to which the plaintiffs involved in this proceeding requested 
transfer were not required to be subjected to the same cri­
teria you have applied to the Negro applicants, were they? 
A. What do you mean—lateral transfers?

Q. No. I mean the white students initially assigned and 
who were assigned this year to, for instance, the Louisburg 
School, were not required to show that they could obtain a

— 66-

course only at the Louisburg School? A. You mean in 
the— ?

Mr. Tucker: —lateral transfer?

By Mr. Chambers:

Q. No. I ’m talking about the white students now assigned 
to the Louisburg School were not required to show that 
they could obtain some course only at the Louisburg School? 
A. You mean the original assignment?

Q. The original assignment. A. No.

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Direct



79a

Q. They were assigned there initially? A. Yes.
Q. And they did not have to pass master with some cri­

teria? A. Those who were already in the school?
Q. Right. And those who were assigned for this school 

year were not required to he subjected to the criteria that 
you seek to apply to those requesting lateral transfer? A. 
Those who were in the school the previous year.

Q. Mr. Smith, isn’t it true that the procedure formerly 
followed by the board in utilizing the school committees has 
now been discontinued? A. Yes.

—67—
Q. In the Franklin County school system? A. Yes.
Q. Isn’t it true that a teacher now applies to the school 

system and is assigned by the school system to a particular 
school? A. Yes, I would say that the board would assign.

Mr. Chambers: No further questions.
Mr. Fink: Your Honor, may I have the witness 

for just a moment? I would like to clear up a couple 
of questions.

The Court: All right.

Further Direct Examination by Mr. Fink:

Q. Mr. Smith, how did you inform the Negro plaintiffs 
in this lawsuit of their eligibility to make an application 
for a transfer to a white school during the spring of 1965? 
A. This information was put in the child’s report card. 
Those who were in the grades other than the freedom of 
choice grades, this information was put in the report card 
saying that they would fill out this preferential form and 
have it in by a certain time, turn it in to the principal or 
to the office of the superintendent.

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Direct



80a

Warren W. Smith-—for Government— Direct

— 68—

Q. Did it spell out at this time in the report card any 
criteria which the school board would utilize in granting 
or denying these applications? A. No.

Q. Did you subsequently publish in a local newspaper or 
by any other means the criteria that were going to be util­
ized? A. No.

Q. Did you inform the applicants of the criteria at any 
time before they made the application? A. No.

Q. Did you inform the principals to so inform the par­
ents of the applicant? A. The principals were informed 
of the procedure, and so forth. The criteria, specifically, 
no.

Q. Did you, personally, ever tell any of the plaintiffs 
prior to the end of August that you were going to utilize 
two criteria? A. No. No one ever asked me for this infor­
mation, and no one ever asked the principals for this in­
formation to my knowledge.

Q. And to your knowledge, did you ever tell them or 
did any of the principals ever tell them? A. I did not. 
I don’t know whether the principals did.

—69—
Q. During the questions put to you by Mr. Chambers, 

he mentioned that a child named Neal withdrew from a 
white school—I believe the Riverside School—before he 
actually entered? A. That was a twelfth-grade student.

Q. Yes. And what was his first name? A. I can’t recall.
Q. Would it be Lynwood? A. It seems to me that might 

be one.
Q. Did he have a brother named Christopher? A. I be­

lieve so.
Q. Did Christopher actually enroll? A. The ninth-grade 

student actually enrolled, but I don’t know which was which.



81a

Q. But one of the Neals enrolled in September? A. Yes. 
Q. Is he still in school now? A. So far as I know.
Q. Is he in a white school? A. So far as I know he is 

in the Riverside School, but I ’m not sure of that.
Q. He’s in the Riverside School, which is a Negro school? 

A. Yes.
—70—

Q. He is not in the Louisburg School? A. He is not in 
the Louisburg School. I would not say for sure whether 
he’s in the Riverside School.

(Two-page document marked for identification 
as Government’s Exhibit No. 7.)

Mr. Yarborough: Let the clerk show that is in two 
parts, two pages.

Mr. Fink: I ’ll make that clear.

By Mr. Fink:

Q. I hand you, sir, Government’s Exhibit No. 7 for iden­
tification. Do you recognize this document? A. Yes.

Q. What does the first page purport to be? A. Request 
for reassignment by Willie M. Neal for his two sons to go 
back to the Riverside School where they were assigned the 
previous year.

Q. And there is a second page, is that correct? A. Yes. 
Q. And would you please describe that? A. Well, the 

reason—
Q. I mean the second page, sir. A. You asked me to 

describe the second page. I can’t very well describe it with-
—7 1 -

out giving this. The reason given by Willie Neal stated for 
Lynwood Neal-—I believe that is the twelfth-grade student

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Direct



82a

—that the “child would not attend Louisburg School but 
will attend Riverside.”

Then the other child who was in the ninth grade, I be­
lieve Christopher Neal: “Only one in his class at Louisburg 
who transferred from Riverside.” And it says: “ Intimi­
dated by students.”

Then I have a letter from the principal of the Louisburg 
School.

Q. That is the second page of Government’s Exhibit No. 
7; is that correct? A. Yes.

Q. On that page isn’t it correct that Mr. Fox, the prin­
cipal, in essence denied— A. (Reading from Page 2 of 
G-7) “After thorough investigation I can not find one mem­
ber of the Faculty at Louisburg who has seen or heard of 
any form of intimidation to Christopher Neal before or 
during his attendance at this school. In my opinion the 
boy was completely left alone. He was given every oppor­
tunity to adjust to his new situation, but it appeared to me 
that he was unhappy with the idea of coming to Louisburg 
School from the beginning. When talking with Christo­
pher’s father after he decided to transfer, his father said

—72—
the boy was merely lonesome for his friends and classmates 
who were at Riverside. He made no mention of any intimi­
dation at that time.”

Mr. Fink: Your Honor, at this time I offer Gov­
ernment’s Exhibit No. 7.

The Court: All right.
Mr. Fink: I have no further questions.

Warren W. Smith-—for Government—Direct



83a

Cross Examination by Mr. Yarborough:

Q. Mr. Smith, with reference to the exhibit f 6-6) con­
taining the assignment of one Lillie B. Brown, do you have 
any recollection at all as to whether or not there has been 
any controversy about the assignment of that child to the 
first grade of the Riverside School? A. No, none whatso­
ever.

Q. Mr. Smith, pursuant to Mr. Fink’s questioning of you, 
there are a few matters I would like to ask you about.

When did the Franklin County Board of Education send 
out these notices of the request for transfers? A.May 10, 
1965.

Q. Now, Mr. Smith, under what date did the Franklin 
County Board of Education first submit a draft of its Plan

—73—
for Compliance to the Office of Education in Washington? 
A. April the 27th was the draft. The preliminary draft you 
are referring to ?

Q. Yes, sir. A. The preliminary draft was sent to Wash­
ington, D.C., to Mr. Allen Lesser.

By the Court-.

Q. For my information, who is he, or what is he con­
nected with? A. He is an HEW official.

By Mr. Yarborough:

Q. I mean when was the first plan adopted by the board? 
A. May 3, 1965.

Q. Mr. Smith, do you recall when the Board of Education 
received a copy of one of the government’s exhibits (G-l) 
entitled “ General Statement of Policies,” and so forth, is­
sued by the U.S. Department of Health, Education & Wei-

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Cross



'84a

fare! A. A  copy came from the State Department of 
Public Instruction sometime in May, a mimeographed copy 
of these rules, and so on.

Q. Now, Mr. Smith, the draft of the Plan for Compliance 
submitted under date of 3 May 1965 to HEW provided, did

—74—
it not, that free choice of schools would be made or awarded 
or granted to students entering the first, the second, the 
ninth, or the twelfth grades, for the 1965-66 school year? 
A. Yes.

Q. This paper here, General Statement of Policies, one 
of the government’s exhibits, do you recall in that what 
grades that required for desegregation? A. Yes. It was 
the—

Mr. Chambers: I would like to object to that ques­
tion, your Honor. As I understand it, he is asking 
him what did HEW require; and I think that that 
policy statement is self-explanatory; and I think the 
question carries a bit more than the policy plan pro­
vides.

The Court: Let me see if I can find that. You 
started to make a comment, Mr. Yarborough?

Mr. Yarborough: Yes, I say that it is in evidence 
both attached to our answer, and Mr. Fink also put 
it in as one of the government’s exhibits.

The Court: It is Government’s Exhibit 1 ,1 believe.
Mr. Yarborough: And I just wanted to ask Mr. 

Smith the four grades required under this that the
- 7 5 -

board—
The Court: All right. Go ahead and rephrase your

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Cross



85a

question and point out what you have reference to 
in here.

By Mr. Yarborough:

Q. Mr. Smith, in Government’s Exhibit 1, which is Ex­
hibit A  attached to the Board of Education’s answer to the 
original complaint here, will you state what grades the 
Office of Education or the Department of HEW required to 
be desegregated or freedom of choice given for the school 
year 1965-66? A. The first grade, and the first and last 
grade of high school.

Q. In Franklin County what would that be? A. That 
would be the first, ninth and twelfth, and then you could 
choose any other grade.

Q. And what other grade did the Board of Education 
choose? A. The second grade.

Q. And in the notices sent out on 10 May 1965, state 
whether or not pupils planning to enter those four grades 
—first, second, ninth, or twelfth—for the 1965-66 school 
year were given freedom of choice, the parents or guardians 
of such pupils? A. Yes.

—76—
The Court: Is a copy of that notice attached to 

any of the pleadings, or has it been offered in evi­
dence ?

The Witness: The freedom of choice grades ?
The Court: No. The notice to which Mr. Yar­

borough refers which was furnished to the parents.
Mr. Fink: Your Honor, it is attached as a part 

of Government’s Exhibit 2. That is the “School Pref­
erential Form.”

Mr. Yarborough: It is Form B-3 attached to 
Government’s Exhibit 2.

Warren W. Smith—for Government-Gross



86a

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Cross 

By Mr. Yarborough:

Q. Now, Mr. Smith, in this form B-3 attached to Govern­
ment’s Exhibit 2, state whether or not that is the form or 
notice sent to the parents or persons purporting to be legal 
guardian of pupils entering the second, ninth, or twelfth 
grades for the 1965-66 school year? A. Yes, sir, this is 
the type of form.

Q. Now, on that form at the bottom there is a blank, 
simple statement requesting the grade and the school to 
which the parent or guardian wanted that child to be as­
signed? A. Yes, sir.

Q. To whom were those notices sent and by what means?
—77—

A. These notices were inserted in the report card of all 
students who were in the first, eighth, and eleventh grades, 
and they were sent to the parents; and this was inserted 
in the report card on May 10th.

Q. Now, pursuant to that, do you recall how many appli­
cations of so-called free choice you received? A. Twenty- 
three.

Q. And that, of course, did not apply to pupils planning 
to enter the first grade, because they were not then in 
school? A. That’s right.

Q. But was a freedom of choice allowed to parents or 
legal guardian of pupils entering the first grade? A. Yes.

Q. I believe notice of that was published in the Franklin 
Times as a paid advertisement? A. That’s right. It was 
the first week in May, May 4th and May 6th.

Mr. Chambers: May I ask for some explanation or 
clarification? You mean notice of what?

Mr. Yarborough: To all the parents or legal 
guardians of all persons planning to enter their child



87a

in the first grade of the Franklin County school 
system for the year 1965-66.

Q. And what other method did you use to get wmrd to
—78—

those parents or legal guardians of those entering the first 
grade? A. The students who were in school, if they knew 
of someone who would be a beginner for the 1965-66 school 
year.

Q. Those who had younger brothers and sisters planning 
to enter? A. Yes.

Mr. Pearson: One question, Judge Butler. Don’t 
you think we should have a copy of that notice which 
was published in the newspaper?

By Mr. Yarborough:

Q. It was published in two issues? A. That’s right.

Mr. Yarborough: I don’t have one with me. I can 
provide one.

The Court: Well, I shall suggest to counsel to the 
Board that you find a copy of the notice that was 
published on May 4th and May 6th.

By Mr. Yarborough:

Q. Mr. Smith, attached to Government’s Exhibit No. 2 
just prior to Form B-3, is that the letter that was sent to 
all known persons having children that might enter the 
first grade? A. Yes.

—79—
Q. Now, Mr. Smith, state whether or not those parents 

were notified of a complete free choice of schools for those 
first graders to enter? A. Yes.

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Cross



88a

Q. Do you recall how many choices were made! A. 
Three.

Q. Of colored to formerly white schools! A. Yes, sir.

Mr. Chambers: Your Honor, I know we are try­
ing to expedite these proceedings, but we object to 
counsel leading, testifying you might say.

Mr. Tucker: It‘s his witness, your Honor.
Mr. Chambers: We grant that, your Honor, hut 

we think that this is a little bit more than leading.
The Court: Well, just try to avoid leading if 

you can.

By the Court:

Q. How many did you say received in response to this 
letter, that is requests for reassignment! A. Well, ac­
tually, this is the first grade. We had over 500 of these 
in all. But what was your question!

By Mr. Yarborough:

Q. Well, first, how many responses did you receive!
—80—

A. Over 500.

By the Court:

Q. Well, what do you mean by “ responses” ! You mean 
requests! A. Beginners.

Q. Bequests for assignment! A. That’s right.

By Mr. Yarborough:

Q. And out of that how many colored children were 
there who sought initial assignment in the first grade of

Warren W. Smith—for Government— Cross



89a

a school that had formerly been attended by only white 
children? A. Three.

Q. Mr. Smith, state whether or not those three were 
granted? A. Yes.

Q. Now, Mr. Smith, state whether or not parents or 
legal guardians of children entering the first grade for 
the first time were required to make a choice of schools? 
A. Well, I believe it states in this letter if they had reg­
istered or carried this child for pre-school clinic for be­
ginners, to state the school of their choice.

Q. And out of the 500 state whether or not you re-
— 81—

ceived any complaint by or on behalf of any parents that 
their child or ward had not been assigned to the school 
that person wanted that child to attend? A. None.

Q. No complaints whatsoever? A. No complaint.
Q. And then insofar as you know, all parents of all first- 

graders got their child in the school they wanted that 
child to attend? A. Yes.

Q. State whether or not since the assignment or since 
the opening of school until this date, have there been any 
complaints about first-graders? A. No.

Q. I believe you stated there were applications in behalf 
of 27 colored pupils for assignment to schools formerly 
attended only by white pupils? A. In the—

Q. —other three grades. A. There were 23.
Q. Now, Mr. Smith, those applications were received 

by the Board of Education about the middle of May? A. 
Yes.

Q. Now, prior to the time that the board made these
— 82-

assignments, how many parents requested the board or

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Cross



90a

notified the board that they desired to make a change 
in their request for assignment? A. In freedom of choice? 

Q. In freedom of choice. A. Eleven.

By the Court:

Q. Is that eleven of the twenty-three? A. Yes.

By Mr. Yarborough:

Q. And the board granted those? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Now, those requests to be allowed to change their 

choice of school, state whether or not they were late in 
writing to the board? A. Yes, they were late in writing.

Q. And I believe copies of all of those were furnished 
to Mr. Fink some several months ago at his request? 
A. Yes.

Q. Photo copies. And those requests were made by 
parents or legal guardians of the children, people who 
were responsible for the children? A. Yes.

Q. State whether or not as far as you know they were
—8 3 -

all done freely and voluntarily?

Mr. Chambers: Objection.
Mr. Yarborough: I mean so far as he knows, 

based on statements on the letters he received from 
them.

Mr. Chambers: That calls for a conclusion and 
some hearsay evidence.

Mr. Yarborough: I will withdraw it, if  your 
Honor please.

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Cross



91a

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Cross 

By Mr. Yarborough-.

Q. Mr. Smith, by what method did those people com­
municate with you, originally! A. By letter or through 
the principal. Each one wrote a letter or made some state­
ment requesting assignment.

Q. Some statement in writing? A. In writing, yes, sir. 
Q. Mr. Smith, something has come up about these two 

—that out of the ten assigned, eight were enrolled, and 
there are now six. Now, out of the ten initially assigned— 

The Court: Now, just one moment at that point.

By the Court:

Q. Was that ten of the twenty-three that were assigned?
—84—

A. Yes.

By Mr. Yarborough:

Q. Actually assigned? A. Yes, sir.
Q. By letter? A. Yes.
Q. And eight enrolled in school on the first day? A. 

Yes.
Q. Out of that eight, do you recall how many -were en­

rolled in the Louisburg School? A. Five, I believe.
Q. And how many in the Bunn School? A. Three.
Q. Now, that was actually enrolled. Now, how many 

were assigned to the Louisburg School? A. Seven to the 
Louisburg School and three to the Bunn School.

Q. Out of the seven assigned, five actually appeared 
on the opening day and entered school? A. Either on the 
first or second day, yes, sir.

Q. Now, of those two who were assigned to the Louis-



92a

burg School and didn’t go, one was Willie Neal’s boy? 
A. That’s right.

—85—
Q. And he stated, did he not, in your presence, verbally—-

The Court: Well, now, the form of the question is 
objectionable there.

By Mr. Yarborough:

Q. What did he state!

Mr. Chambers: I object to that, too.
The Court: Overruled.

Q. What did he state was the reason that that boy did 
not enroll? A. That he just would not go to that school. 

Q. That was the boy’s father? A. Yes.
Q. The boy is a minor, approximately how old? A. Well, 

in the twelfth grade.
Q. And you knew Willie Neal, his father, of course? A. 

Yes.
Q. Now, as to the other one, he was a second-grader, I 

believe? A. Yes.
Q. What was his name? A. Whitley.
Q. I believe you stated that that child never appeared 

for enrollment in the Louisburg School? A. No.
—86—

Q. Now, do you know what that child’s mother— A. The 
mother came to me—

Mr. Chambers: Your Honor, we would like to en­
ter an objection to that, too.

The Court: Well, is that child a party to this suit?

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Cross



93a

Mr. Yarborough: No, sir. But a good deal was 
said on direct-examination, if yonr Honor please, by 
Mr. Fink about ten assigned, eight enrolled, and 
only three there now. I wanted to bring it on down 
as to why they are not in there. I think it will take 
only a moment.

The Court: Objection overruled. What was the 
name of that child!

The Witness: I believe it was Barbara Whitley.

A. (Continuing) The mother came in to see me and said 
the child had been crying and would not attend the Louis- 
burg School, and she had tried for several days to get the 
young child to go to the Louisburg School, and for emo­
tional and for health reasons, and so forth, she would like 
for the child to go back to the school which the child had 
attended the previous year.

Q. Now, Mr. Smith, that child never appeared at the
—87—

Louisburg School for enrollment! A. No.

Mr. Fink: Your Honor, I have absolutely no 
objection to Mr. Yarborough’s going into this area; 
however, I wanted to state that these matters will 
become, probably, one of the chief matters in con­
troversy in the case in chief that we will present 
at the time the case is heard on its merits, the 
entire case.

WTe have refrained from getting into the details 
on these matters at this time, and so I didn’t want 
it to be taken that this would be the total govern­
ment’s case at this point.

The Court: I understand.
Mr. Chambers: Nor the total plaintiffs’ case.

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Cross



94a

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Cross 

By Mr. Yarborough:

Q. Now, Mr. Smith, two were enrolled— Christopher 
Neal and a Davis child, I believe! A. Yes.

Q. State whether or not within a few days after school 
opened their parents requested those two children to go 
back to Riverside School! A. Yes, that’s correct.

Q. One was in the 9th grade and one in the 12th! A.
— 88—

One in the 9th and one in the 12th, yes, sir.
Q. Now, Mr. Smith, you stated to Mr. Fink on direct- 

examination that there were no colored children enrolled 
in school with white children in the year 1963-64 or the 
year 1964-65. A. That’s correct.

Q. I believe you further stated that at that time the 
Board of Education was operating under the North Caro­
lina Pupil Assignment Act! A. Yes.

Q. Do you know how long they had been operating under 
that Act, or do you know whether or not it was since it was 
enacted by the Legislature of North Carolina! A. Ap­
proximately, I would say, about that length of time.

Q. And, of course, by the same token, there were no 
white children in any schools attended by colored children 
during those years! A. That’s right.

Q. Mr. Smith, about the teacher assignment or employ­
ment which was constantly referred to by Mr. Fink and 
Mr. Chambers, prior to this year what method did the 
Board of Education use in employing principals and 
teachers! Use principals first. A. The teacher made ap­
plication—

Q. Use principals first. A. Oh, the principals!
—89—



95a

Q. Yes. A. The superintendent nominated the princi­
pal, the local committee elected, and then it came back to 
the Board of Education for approval or disapproval.

Q. Mr. Smith, state whether or not during the time it 
was your duty to nominate them, state whether or not 
you nominated those principals pursuant to the applica­
tion of each principal to each school? A. Yes. Each prin­
cipal made application to me for the school which he wished 
to be principal of.

Q. State whether or not in effect the principals made the 
choice of schools. They assigned themselves by applying, 
is that correct?

Mr. Chambers: Objection.
The Court: Well, that is a conclusion, I think. 

He stated the facts, as I understand it.

By Mr. Yarborough:

Q. Now, Mr. Smith, in teachers what methods were used? 
A. The teachers made application to the school in which 
they applied to teach in, and the principal would nominate 
to the committee; the committee would elect, and then it

— 90—
would come up to the superintendent and the board for 
approval.

Q. And state whether or not that was the state law?

Mr. Chambers: Objection.

A. That was the state law.

Mr. Yarborough: Well, if your Honor please, Mr. 
Chambers asked him quite a few things about what 
the state law required. I won’t quote the law, but—

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Cross



96a

Q. Well, Mr. Smith, state whether or not you had any 
complaints from any teachers as to the school in which 
they were teaching? A. No.

Q. Or any principal? A. No.

The Court: Just a minute there.

By the Court:

Q. The principal submitted the names or made nomina­
tions to the school committee who elected the teachers. Now, 
was that election, as you understand it, subject to the 
approval of the Board of Education? A. Yes, sir.

Mr. Fink: Your Honor, I have no objection to 
the question as to whether any of the teachers com-

—91—
plained, but it is irrelevant to this suit. The ques­
tion is whether the students complained or these 
particular plaintiffs complained. It isn’t a matter 
of the teachers’ standing; it’s a matter of the pupils’ 
standing to challenge a school system in which the 
teaching staff was not desegregated.

Mr. Tucker: It’s a problem, though, whether you 
can make a teacher go to a school he doesn’t want 
to go to. I don’t think any court has ever gone into 
that problem and decided it yet.

The Court: All right, I understand the objection.

By Mr. Yarborough:

Q. Mr. Smith, state whether or not since you have been 
superintendent, you or the Board of Education has ever 
assigned any principal or any teacher to a school for

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Cross



97a

which that teacher or principal did not apply? A. No, we 
have not.

Q. Mr. Smith, pursuant to one of Mr. Fink’s questions 
you made the statement that there are no classroom teach­
ers of one race currently teaching in a school predominantly 
of another race. How about other teachers? A. We have 
administrative and supervisory personnel working in all 
of the schools.

Q. How many supervisors do you have? A. We have 
two.

—92—
Q. You state they work in both schools? A. Yes, sir. 

And, of course, we have a director of instruction.
Q. State whether or not the director of instruction works 

in all the schools? A. In all the schools.

Mr. Pearson: Mr. Yarborough, are you speaking 
of white and Negro supervisors?

Mr. Yarborough: Both?
The Witness: Both.

By Mr. Yarborough-.

Q. Now, Mr. Smith, in your in-service meetings state 
whether or not you have desegregated meetings? A. We 
have desegregated meetings in the in-service meetings.

By the Court:

Q. What do you mean by “in-service” ? Is that your ad­
ministrative and supervisory personnel and your teachers 
and officers? A. Yes, sir. Or we could have someone else 
come in and give instructions to the teachers, a couple of 
hours maybe in one session, or it might be a 16-hour course 
or something like that—in-service training.

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Cross



98a

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Cross 

By Mr. Yarborough:
—93—

Q. I believe yon said they are integrated? A. Yes.
Q. Mr. Smith, I want to correct one statement I believe 

you made. Pursuant to a question by Mr. Fink, you stated 
that the examinations, final examinations, would be given 
the last week in June. A. That’s the first week in June, 
as it now stands. The first week in June.

Q. Mr. Smith, does the Franklin County School system 
have a semester system? A. No.

Q. What is required in the Franklin County school sys­
tem to get credit for a course? A. We follow the outline 
prescribed by the State Department of Public Instruction 
whereby a student pursues a course for 180 days, say, 
one hour a day for 180 days before he or she receives a 
unit of credit.

Q. Now, Mr. Smith, state whether or not subjects are 
taught for the nine months straight through? A. Yes, in 
every ease with maybe one minor exception, economics and 
sociology. That’s the only course I can think of that would 
be taught on a half-year basis, and even those might be 
applied six weeks and then switch to the other one, depend­
ing on the manner the teacher wishes to give instruction.

—94—
Q. When Mr. Chambers was examining you, you were 

asked about some of the lateral transfers. State how many 
notices were sent out, approximately how many, in the early 
part of May for pupils then enrolled in the Franklin 
County school system, regarding the assignment to the 
schools for the next, ensuing year. A. All

.Q All? A. It would be approximately 6,000.

The Court: Now, that covered what?



99a

Mr. Yarborough: All pupils then attending the 
Franklin County school system who expected to en­
roll in the school system for the ’65-66 school year.

Q. That applied both to the free choice grades and lat­
erals? A. Yes, sir.

The Court: What was the nature of the notice ? 

By Mr. Yarborough-.

Q. Mr. Smith, on that notice for the three grades other 
than the first, that is, the 2nd, 9th, and 12th, this form B-3 
was sent out. Do you have any idea about how many were 
sent? A. It would be an estimate if I gave it.

Q. Give us an estimate. A. Approximately 1800 of
—95—

them.
Q. And do you have any idea approximately how many 
you received back? A. About 90%.

The Court: Which notice are we talking about?
Mr. Yarborough: This is Form 3-B on the free­

dom of choice, if your Honor please, grades 2, 9, 
and 12.

Q. Now, Mr. Smith, do you know how many of the other 
forms were sent out about the other eight grades?

Mr. Chambers: Your Honor, we would like to re­
quest some identification of what other form he is 
referring to now.

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Cross



100a

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Cross 

By the Court:

Q. Now, yon have testified, as I understand it, that ap­
proximately 6,000 notices were sent, which I understand 
encompasses all of the students in their entire Franklin 
County school system! A. Yes, sir.

Q. Now, you sent certain types of notices to certain stu­
dents and other types of notices to others! A. Yes, sir.

Q. Now, the 6,000 includes all the notices that were sent!
—96—

A. Yes, sir.

The Court: Now, you may continue and see if you 
can elucidate what notices went to whom.

By Mr. Yarborough:

Q. Mr. Smith, this Form B-3 attached to Government’s 
Exhibit 2, state whether ro not this was sent to those plan­
ning to enter the 2nd, 9th, or 12th grades for the ’65-66 
school year! A. Yes, sir. The B-3 was sent to them.

Q. And state whether or not this letter you referred to 
a few minutes ago attached to Government’s Exhibit 2 just 
prior to Form B-3 was distributed to all known parents 
of children entering the first grade? A. Yes, sir.

Q. Now, Mr. Smith, I hand you Government’s Exhibit 2 
and show you what is denominated as Form B-4. State 
whether or not a form substantially like that was sent to 
the parents or legal guardians of pupils in the other eight 
grades, excluding 1, 2, 9, and 12? A. Yes.

Q. State whether or not that pertained to the grades 
now called “lateral transfer grades.” A. Yes.

Q. Do you know about how many of those forms were
—97—

distributed? A. That would be approximately 4,000.



101a

Q. Do you know approximately how many were re­
turned? A. It would be 37—37 came to—you see, these did 
not have to be returned. This was information that went 
to the parent.

Q. How many requests for lateral transfers were made? 
A. Thirty-seven.

Q. Now, Mr. Smith, state what was done— A. I beg 
your pardon, that should be 38.

Q. State what was done to all the pupils other than those 
applying for free-choice transfers and those applying for 
lateral transfers. What was done as to the other as to the 
assignment of schools for the ’65-66 school year? A. Re­
peat that, please.

Q. I say what was done with reference to the assignment 
of all of the pupils in the Franklin County school system 
other than those planning to enter the 1st, 2nd, 9th, or 12th 
grades for the ’65-66 school year? I mean were they as­
signed? A. They were assigned to the school that they 
were presently attending.

Q. Now, Mr. Smith, state whether or not you have had 
any complaints since then from those assignments? A. No.

—98—
Mr. Chambers: Objection.
The Court: Overruled.

Q. And when were those assignments made for all of 
these 38? A. May the 19th.

Q. And by what means were they distributed? A. They 
were distributed on the report card that went out at the 
end of the year.

Q. Now, Mr. Chambers asked you a question about if 
the Board of Education assigned teachers on a non-racial 
basis or on a racial basis. State whether or not they make

Warren W. Smith—-for Government—Cross



102a

any such assignments on a racial basis of teachers em­
ployed by the Franklin County school system. A. Well, 
the teachers are assigned to the school for which they ap­
ply, and elected to teach.

Q. Mr. Smith, he asked you if there would he an admin­
istrative problem, Mr. Chambers did, of transferring pupils 
at this stage of the school year, with particular reference 
to the transportation and schedules. When are your trans­
portation routes and your school schedules worked out? A. 
They are worked out in the spring or summer before the 
opening of school.

Q. State whether or not teachers are employed on the
—9 9 -

basis of the schedules in the subjects which they are to 
teach? A. Yes.

Q. Mr. Chambers asked you a good deal about pupils 
already in school not being required to meet the same cri­
teria as is required of these pupils seeking lateral transfer. 
I ’ll ask you to state whether or not that same rule applies 
to both white and colored pupils? A. Yes.

Q. I ’ll ask you to state whether or not all pupils are now 
in the school to which their parents or guardians brought 
them?

Mr. Chambers: Objection.
The Court: Overruled.
Mr. Chambers: Your Honor, may I say one thing 

on that?
The Court: Yes.
Mr. Chambers: I think the fact that these plain­

tiffs are involved in this proceeding would refute the 
question that was asked.

The Court: Well, it may refute it, but neverthe­
less I don’t think it makes the question or the answer

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Cross



103a

irrelevant. There was some talk about freedom of 
choice, and this question I think tends to be relevant

— 100—

to that inquiry.
Objection overruled.

By Mr. Yarborough-.

Q. Mr. Smith, state whether or not that so far as you 
know all of these minor plaintiffs are now enrolled in the 
Franklin County school system and are being taught there? 
A. Yes.

Q. And state whether or not every one of them, so far 
as you know, are enrolled in the schools which they attended 
for the ’64-65 school year? A. Yes.

Mr. Pearson: May it please the court, you know 
he testified there were two students he didn’t know 
where they were, whether they were in school or not. 

Mr. Yarborough: He said so far as he knows.
The Witness: So far as I know.
The Court: All right, go ahead.

By Mr. Yarborough-.

Q. Mr. Smith, in reference to those two students just 
mentioned, state whether or not that was the Neal child 
and the Whitley child? A. Yes.

—101—
Q. Mr. Smith, state whether or not their parents, Willie 

Neal, or the Whitley child’s mother—I do not recall her 
name—asked you to transfer them back?

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Cross

The Court: I believe he has been into that.



104a

Mr. Yarborough: The reason for the question, if 
your Honor please, I wanted to know whether or 
not Mr. Smith gave them permission to go back to 
Biverside School.

Q. You permitted that? A. Yes, sir.
Q, This was done pursuant to their parents’ request? 

A. Yes.
Q. Mr. Smith, with reference to the lateral transfers and 

the criteria that the Board of Education used for lateral 
transfers, state whether or not that criteria applied equally 
to students of the white race as well as students of the 
colored race? A. Yes, sir.

The Court: I believe he has testified to that.
Mr. Yarborough: I beg your pardon, your Honor. 

I didn’t remember.

Q. Mr. Smith, about this notice or the notice about the
—1 0 2 -

criteria for change, I ’ll ask you to state whether or not 
the criteria regarding the availability or regarding the 
desire to take a course of study offered in one school and 
not in another, state whether or not that was contained in 
the guide-line issued by the HEW? A. Yes.

Mr. Fink: If your Honor please, the way it is 
phrased in the guide-line is there for anyone to see. 
My objection is that no witness can interpret that 
for this court. I think that is a matter for oral argu­
ment by the attorneys.

The Court: Yes, I think the regulations speak for 
themselves.

Warren W. Smith— for Government—Cross



105a

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Cross 

By Mr. Yarborough:

. Mr. Smith, state whether or not the Board of Educa­
tion considered the guide-lines issued by the Office of Edu­
cation of HEW before they adopted any criteria? A. Yes.

Q. Now, Mr. Smith, when did your school open, the school 
system of Franklin County, this year? A. September 8th.

Q. State whether or not some days prior to that date 
the assignments or notice of assignments for the laterals 
or for the minor plaintiffs in this action were sent out?

—103—
A. Yes.

Q. Mr. Smith, did you have a conversation with Luther 
Coppedge prior to the opening of school and subsequent 
to the date the notice of assignment of his child, Harold 
Douglas Coppedge was sent out? A. Yes.

Q. How was that? A. By telephone call. He called me.
Q. Do you remember the date? A. I ’m not sure if it 

was the last day of August or the first of September. It 
was Tuesday or Wednesday of that week.

Q. Pursuant to that telephone call did you have another 
conversation with him or a meeting with him? A. Yes. 
We arranged a meeting with two members of the Board of 
Education, the attorney to the Board of Education, and 
myself.

Q. With whom? A. We met with Mr. and Mrs. Cop­
pedge, Mrs. Irene Arrington, and Mr. B. T. Driver.

Q. State whether or not Mrs. Arrington and B. T. Driver 
are plaintiffs in this action? A. Yes.

Q. And so is Luther Coppedge? A. Yes.
—104—

Q. Now, when was that meeting held? A. The meeting 
was held on September 2nd.



106a

Q. Where? A. In the Office of the Board of Education 
in the Board room.

Q. Now, Mr. Smith, at that meeting state whether or not 
the criteria was fully explained to those parents there, 
Mr. Coppedge, Mrs. Arrington, and Mr. Driver. A. Yes.

The Court: Just a minute. What criteria?
Mr. Yarborough: That is the criteria for lateral 

transfers, if your Honor pleases.

Q. Now, Mr. Smith, did Mr. Coppedge make any state­
ment as to whether or not his son desired to take a course 
of study at Edward Best School which was not offered at 
the Perry’s School? A. He made the statement that his 
son’s reason for asking for transfer was not for a subject 
at the Edward Best School that he could not get at the 
Perry’s School. His reason was that the Edward Best 
School was the nearest one to his home, as he had put on 
his application, preferential application.

Q. Mr. Smith, state at that meeting on the 2nd of Sep­
tember before school opened whether Mrs. Arrington or 
Mr. Driver stated that their child or children desired to

- 1 0 5 -
take a course of study not available at the school to which 
they were assigned? A. No, neither one.

Q. Did you later on meet at a meeting with Mr. Cop­
pedge? A. Yes. We made a trip to Washington, D.C., 
and met with Mr. Mordeeai Johnson and a Mrs. McClure, 
HEW officials, and Mr. A. C. Fuller, Vice-Chairman of the 
Board of Education, Mr. Yarborough, attorney to the 
Board of Education, and I, met in Washington, D.C. with 
Reverend Coppedge and a Reverend S. G. Dunston.

Warren W. Smith— for Government—Cross



107a

Q. Now, how was that meeting held? A. That was held 
in one of the offices of the HEW headquarters or these tem­
porary S-buildings, which is a part of HEW.

Q. Do you know whether or not Mr. Coppedge made any 
statement in the presence of all of those people relative 
to his child desiring to take a course of study at Edward 
Best that was not available to him at Perry’s High School? 
A. He made the same such statement again in Washington, 
D.C.; that his reason was not for a course of study, it was 
because it was nearer to Edward Best School.

Q. What was that date, that approximate date? A. Oc-
—106—

tober 8, 1965.
Q. State whether or not you had a meeting subsequent 

to October 8, 1965, at which Mr. Coppedge was present? 
A. It was October 13th.

Q. Where was that meeting? A. That was a meeting 
with the full Board of Education.

Q. Who else was present other than the members of the 
Board and you? A. Mr. Yarborough, attorney to the 
Board of Education, Mr. S. G. Dunston and B. T. Driver, 
and Reverend Coppedge.

Q. State whether or not there Mr. Coppedge made any 
statement regarding his son desiring to take a course of 
study at Edward Best not available at Perry’s? A. He 
made about the same statement that had been made on two 
previous occasions; that the course of study was not his 
reason for asking for transfer; that it was nearness to 
school.

Q. B. T. Driver was also present? He’s a plaintiff here. 
A. Yes.

Q. State whether or not he made any request for trans­
fer to the Bunn School from the Gethsemane School, to

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Cross



108a

which his children were then assigned, on account of
—107—

a course of study there not available at Gethsemane? A. 
No.

Q. Mr. Smith, I hand you this paper here. State whether 
or not that paper is the request for the assignment of 
school, signed by Mr. and Mrs. Luther Coppedge? A. Yes, 
sir. This is a copy of the preferential form that we have 
on file in the office of the Board of Education.

Q. Who signed that paper ? A. Christine Elizabeth Cop­
pedge, the mother ; and Luther Coppedge, the father.

Q. In whose behalf! What was the name of the pupil! 
A. In behalf of Harold Douglas Coppedge.

Q. Now, what reason is given there? A. (Reading from 
document) “This school is the nearest one to my home.”

Q. Now, what school did they request assignment to for 
their son, Harold Douglas Coppedge? A. Edward Best.

Q. From what school? A. From the Perry’s High 
School.

Q. Now, Mr. Smith, I’ll ask you this question. State 
whether or not any of the plaintiffs, the parents of the 
minor plaintiffs in this case, ever made any statement to

—108—
you that they desired their child to take a course of study 
offered in the school to which they sought assignment and 
not offered in the school to which their children were as­
signed? A. No.

Q. Did any of them state that they had moved their resi­
dence closer to a school or moved their residence since the 
last school year and for that reason wanting assignment? 
A. No.

Q. Mr. Smith, this paper you have here signed by Chris­
tine Elizabeth Coppedge and Luther Coppedge, state

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Cross



109a

whether or not Mr. Coppedge in those three meetings with 
you stated that was the reason he wanted his child trans­
ferred—nearness to school? A. Yes.

Mr. Fink: May I ask the defendants’ attorney if 
that is going to be placed in evidence?

Mr. Yarborough: Well, we weren’t putting evi­
dence on at the moment. I expect to offer it when 
we put on our evidence.

Mr. Fink: Since he is testifying to it, it might 
help if we have that marked for identification.

The Court: Yes, let’s mark it for identification.
—1 0 9 -

Document referred to above marked for identifi­
cation as Defendants’ Exhibit 1.

By Mr. Yarborough:

Q. Mr. Smith, I believe you signed an affidavit yesterday 
for presentation here today? A. Yes, sir.

Q. I believe you verified the answer to the interroga­
tories? A. Yes.

Q. Now, Mr. Smith, it may be in evidence here but, if not, 
under what date did the Franklin County Board of Educa­
tion receive final approval? A. August 31,1965.

The Court: Final approval from whom?
Mr. Yarborough: Office of Education of the De­

partment of Health, Education & Welfare.
The Court: I just wanted to get that in the record.

Q. State if you know, between the draft submitted on 3 
May 1965 and the final approval dated 31 August 1965 by 
HEW of the Franklin County plan, how many amendments

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Cross



110a

were made pursuant to conversations with HEW? A.
— 110-

Nine amendments.
Q. State whether or not, Mr. Smith, the final amendment 

was set forth in the letter from HEW dated 31 August 1965? 
A. Yes.

Q. Mr. Smith, how many conferences did you have with 
officias of HEW ?

Mr. Chambers: Your Honor, I object. That doesn’t 
seem to be material to this inquiry.

Mr. Yarborough: We think it is. Our answer is 
based—

Mr. Chambers: It seems that the only material 
thing here would he if they would like to introduce 
the first plan and the amendments they submitted, 
and the final plan approved.

Mr. Yarborough: I think Mr. Chambers, himself, 
asked Mr. Smith about these telephone conferences 
and if he told them in some of those conferences. I 
think that happened, as Mr. Chambers will probably 
recall.

The Court: Well, I don’t know whether it is rele­
vant or not. I will hear the testimony, and I will ex­
clude all irrelevant matters.

Mr. Yarborough: All right, your Honor. I will 
strike that question.

— Ill—
Q. Mr. Smith, who had most of the conferences in be­

half of the Board of Education with officials of HEW? 
A. Our attorney to the Board of Education, Mr. Yarbor­
ough?

Q. Me? A. Yes.

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Cross



111a

Q. Do you have any idea how many conferences were had?

The Court: Well, objection sustained. That is in the 
realm of speculation.

By Mr. Yarborough:

Q. Mr. Smith, it has been suggested that possibly this 
wasn’t clear. On the pupils seeking reassignment in grades 
2, 9, and 12, it wasn’t made clear as to whether or not those 
pupils or the parents or legal guardians of those pupils 
were required to fill out the form printed at the bottom 
of Form B-3. A. Yes, the parent or legal guardian were 
required to.

Q. Were required to sign that? A. Yes.
Q. None were assigned until they had filled this out? 

A. That’s correct.

Mr. Yarborough: Your Honor, that will be all, I 
think, for the moment, sir.

— 112—

#  #  *  *  #

—1 1 5 -
Pur suant to adjournment at Clinton, North Carolina, on 

February 8, 1966, the hearing was resumed on February 
10, 1966, in the courtroom of the United States Courthouse 
and Post Office Building, Baleigh, North Carolina, before 
Honorable Algernon L. Butler, Chief Judge. The parties 
being present and represented by counsel as heretofore 
noted, the following proceedings were had:

The Court: I believe at the time of recess Mr. Smith was 
on the stand being examined by the plaintiffs. Is there any 
further examination?

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Cross



112a

Mr. Fink: No further examination by the government, 
your Honor, but I think Mr. Chambers wanted to have a 
chance to redirect.

The Court: Besume the stand, Mr. Smith.

W arren W. Smith, having previously been duly sworn, 
resumed the witness stand and was examined and testified 
further as follows:
Redirect Examination by Mr. Chambers:

Q. Mr. Smith, you testified in answer to some questions 
propounded by Mr. Yarborough that the regulations of the 
Department of Health, Education and Welfare required

- 1 1 6 -
grades 1, 2, 9 and 12 to be open for transfer? A. In our 
plan, in our agreement with HEW they were the grades— 
1, 2, 9 and 12.

Q. The regulations in fact required, did they not, Mr. 
Smith, that the board open all grades unless the board was 
able to show some administrative problem which would 
prevent it from doing so!

Mr. Yarborough: If your Honor please, we object 
as to what the regulations require. They are in evi­
dence, I think. Mr. Fink put them in evidence.

The Court: Yes, I think the regulations will speak 
for themselves.

By Mr. Chambers:

Q. Mr. Smith, you testified of your discussions with the 
Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Did you 
at any time during those discussions present any adminis­

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Redirect



113a

trative problem which would prevent you from opening all 
grades for transfer for this year? A. No.

Q. Now, you testified further that in the grades affected, 
that is, grades 1, 2, 9 and 12, the students were required to 
indicate a choice of schools and that 90% of those students 
in grades 2, 9 and 12 indicated a choice of schools? A. Yes,

—117— 
sir.

Q. What happened to the other 10% of those students? 
A. The other ten were assigned to the school previously at­
tended.

Q. Did you have any students moving from one school 
unit to another school unit? A. You mean from one ad­
ministrative unit into our administrative unit?

Q. Oh, no. From, say, elementary school to high school. 
A. Yes.

Q. And where were those students—how were those stu­
dents assigned? A. Well, most of our schools are union 
schools or feeder schools to this particular union school.

Q. They were assigned by your feeder pattern? A. Yes.
Q. From an elementary to a high school? A. Yes.
Q. And this feeder pattern was the pattern in existence 

prior to 1954? A. Yes.
Q. And resulted in students attending predominantly 

white elementary schools being assigned to predominantly
—1 1 8 -

white high schools? A. Yes. But that is where the stu­
dents or their parents presented them for the initial enroll­
ment.

Q. No. If a student was not enrolled in the high school 
but in the elementary school, and if a student was moving 
from the elementary school to a high school, the students in 
predominantly white elementary schools went to predomi­

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Redirect



114a

nantly white high schools; is that not correct? A. They 
would follow the same pattern that had been (followed) in 
past years.

Q. You testified also that students in grade 1 were re­
quired to indicate a choice of school, but if they had en­
rolled in a pre-school clinic, they were assigned to the 
school in which they enrolled in the pre-school clinic whether 
they indicated their choice or not; is that correct? A. 
They had the right to make a free choice where they went 
for the pre-school clinic or beginner’s day to the school 
they chose. If they did not choose another school then, 
they were assigned to that school.

Q. When were your pre-school clinics held? A. I believe 
they were in March. These pre-school clinics were set up by 
the Franklin County Health Department.

—119—
Q. And how were they set up ? A. They were set up in 

the individual schools, to the best of my knowledge, by the 
Franklin County Health Department.

Q. That’s the state or county health department? A. 
Yes.

Q. You are not talking about the Department of Health, 
Education and Welfare? A. No. I ’m talking about the 
Franklin County Health Department.

Q. Now, in any of these pre-school clinics did you have 
Negro students—

Mr. Tucker: Your Honor, I want to object on the 
ground that it is not pertinent to the inquiry on pre­
liminary injunction. I know we have gone into it, 
but I think it ought to stop, because the only issue 
really before the court is these lateral transfers on 
the preliminary injunction.

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Redirect



1.15a

Mr, Chambers: Your Honor, our basic contention 
here is that the whole pattern followed by the school 
board is pertinent to show the pattern or practice in 
trying to maintain separation of students in the 
schools, and that the denial of the lateral transfers 
here were mere perpetuations of the pattern or prac­
tice of the school board, and we think the practices

— 120—

used by the school board in initial enrollment are 
pertinent here on the question of whether the school 
board justifiably denied the transfers of these plain­
tiffs here.

The Court: Objection overruled.

By Mr. Chambers:

Q. Mr. Smith, I will repeat my question. Did you have 
for the 1965-66 school year any Negro students enrolling 
in predominantly white schools at pre-school clinics? A. 
Yes.

Q. At what school? A. The Bunn School and the Louis- 
burg School.

Q. Now, how many Negro students enrolled at these 
pre-school clinics? A. Pre-school clinics? I don’t know 
about the pre-school clinics. I was thinking you were 
talking about the registration period. I do not know.

Q. In the March period of pre-school clinics you do not 
know whether you had any Negro students to enroll at 
these pre-school clinics? A. No, I do not know.

Q. And you testified that you had how many Negro 
students assigned to predominantly white schools in the 
first grade? A. Three.

— 121—

Q. And how many requested assignment to predominant­
ly white schools? A. Three.

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Redirect



116a

Q. Now, did you advertise prior to March or during the 
month of March that students in the school system could 
enroll at pre-school clinics at any school! A. Did I? This 
is left to the health department.

Q. To to the health department? A. Yes.
Q. And this is a process used in enrolling students for 

school—the pre-school clinics? A. The pre-school clinics— 
sometimes, yes.

Q. And do you know of your own knowledge of any ad­
vertisement advising parents in the community that they 
could enroll their children in any pre-school clinic they 
desired? A. I don’t know exactly how the advertisement 
was made, but I do know an advertisement was put in the 
paper by the Franklin County Health Department.

Q. And did it advise the parents to enroll their children 
at any pre-school clinic? A. Well, it stated where the 
clinics would be held.

Q. But did not state that the parents could enroll their
— 122-

children in any pre-school clinic? A. Well, I don’t know 
exactly whether it stated it in so many words, hut they 
gave the locations and the hours that they would have 
the pre-school clinics.

Q. And is that all that you recall of the notice? A. 
That’s all that I recall of the notice.

Q. Now, you testified about supervisors working in all 
schools. How many Negro supervisors do you have? A. 
We have one.

Q. And what is the name of this supervisor? A. Mrs. 
Davis.

Q. And what does she supervise? A. Elementary.
Q. Elementary education? A. Yes. We have two ele­

mentary supervisors.

Warren W. Smith— for Government—Redirect



117a

Q. And what is the name of the other elementary super­
visor? A. Mrs. Holmes.

Q. Is she white or Negro? A. White.
Q. Now, does Mrs. Holmes supervise the white schools 

or predominantly white schools?

Mr. Yarborough: If your Honor please, we would 
like to object. I don’t want to bother the court, hut 
I understood we were hearing today two motions

—123—
for preliminary injunction, and all that is set forth 
in the original plaintiffs’ preliminary injunction is : 
they respectfully pray the court to preliminarily 
enjoin the defendants, and so forth, to admit the 
minor plaintiffs to enlist in the school—they say in 
the school of their choice for 1964—that’s the 1965 
school year—to notify all such plaintiffs of the right 
to enroll effective at the beginning of the second 
semester of the 1965-66 school year.

Now, that is set forth. Now, they served notice 
of motion to amend their motion for preliminary in­
junction, but they did not pursue it at the hearing 
and withdrew it at the hearing day before yesterday. 
We are prepared, what we thought, to answer, to 
hear, on what they are seeking at this hearing, not 
the trial of the case.

Now, I think getting into the supervisors is an­
other thing, if your Honor pleases, and gets far 
afield from either the original plaintiffs’ motion for 
preliminary injunction or the government’s motion 
for preliminary injunction which did not go into 
the teachers at all. I grant that those matters are 
raised in the main suit but not in here. The original

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Redirect



118a

plaintiffs ask and spell out the names of those ask-
—124—

ing to get admitted at the beginning of what they 
call the second semester of the 1965-66 school year; 
and there is nothing else mentioned about any teach­
ers or anything else in this hearing.

The Court: Well, I have allowed some latitude 
in this hearing because its being a matter before 
the court, I didn’t want to foreclose or preclude any 
relevant testimony as to the motions before the 
court. But, frankly, I do not see the relevancy of 
this on these motions.

Mr. Chambers: Your Honor, I will gladly with­
draw the question if the court does not think it 
pertinent here, but the defendants did go in—

The Court: Well, now, do you think it’s pertinent 
to the pending motion?

Mr. Chambers: Yes, sir, because we include in 
our complaint and motion and allegations something 
similar to the problem of Rogers v. Paul out of 
Arkansas where the court there talked in terms of 
an Equal Educational Opportunity offered by the 
school board in the Negro schools. Now, certainly 
the supervisors of the particular school system would 
be quite essential to a sound educational system.

—125—
The Court: Do you have the opinion in that case?
Mr. Tucker : I have, your Honor. It uses the 

words “ certain courses taken: * * * but also because 
petitioners are thereby prevented from taking cer­
tain courses offered only at another high school 
* * * ” it doesn’t identify—

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Redirect



119a

Mr. Fink: But at the bottom of the page, sir, it 
goes on to say:

“Even the Court of Appeals’ requirement for 
standing would be met on remand since petitioners’ 
transfer to the white high school would desegregate 
their grades to that limited extent. Moreover, we 
reject the Court of Appeals’ view of standing as be­
ing unduly restrictive. Two theories would give stu­
dents not yet in desegregated grades sufficient in­
terest to challenge racial allocation of faculty: (1) 
that racial allocation of faculty denies them equality 
of educational opportunity without regard to segre­
gation of pupils; and (2) that it renders inadequate 
an otherwise constitutional pupil desegregation plan 
soon to be applied to their grades.”

So I agree with Mr. Chambers that there is some 
relevancy to it. In my instance and the government’s

- 1 2 6 -
instance I would have asked the same question; I 
wanted to ask this same question for a different 
reason.

On cross-examination on Tuesday by Mr. Yar­
borough, Mr. Smith testified to this very set of 
facts, and it was left unclear as to whether or not 
Negro personnel supervised either white personnel 
or white students in any way. It was just simply 
stated that whereas there were no teachers teaching 
children of another race, that is, in schools that were 
predominantly attended by children of another race, 
there were administrative personnel and supervisory 
personnel in this situation.

Mr. Chambers: Your Honor, in order to expedite

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Redirect



120a

the proceeding I will withdraw the question and 
reserve it, if I may, for the trial on the merits.

The Court: Very well.

By Mr. Chambers:

Q. Mr. Smith, you testified also about credit courses 
and time required for a student to stay in school in order 
to receive unit credit? A. Yes.

Q. Did you state that a student must stay in a course 
for 180 days before receiving credit? A. I stated that was

—127—
the regulation from the State Department of Public In­
struction.

Q. Now, is that a requirement; that is, that a student 
stay in school for 180 days, or is it less than 180 days? A. 
Well, a unit of credit ordinarily is given for a subject pur­
sued one hour a day for 180 days.

Q. Isn’t it really two-thirds that is required, two-thirds 
of the 180 days rather than the 180 days? A. I doubt if 
a student would get credit for a course if he missed one- 
third of the school year. That would be 60 days.

Q. Do you have a copy of the regulations of the state 
department? A. No, I don’t.

Q. You don’t? A. Not with me. I can give you where 
this regulation is.

Q. Where is the regulation? A. It’s in the Handbook 
for Elementary and Secondary Schools issued by the State 
Superintendent of Public Instruction, Raleigh, North Caro­
lina, 1953.

Q. That’s the handbook for public instruction? A. For 
elementary and secondary schools, issued by the State 
Superintendent of Public Instruction, Raleigh, North Caro­
lina, 1953.

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Redirect



121a

Warren W . Smith—for Government—Redirect

— 128—

Q. Thank you, Mr. Smith. You do have students trans­
ferring into your school system in the middle of the 
school year? A. Coming from another administrative unit.

Q. Coming from another community? A. Yes.
Q. And how are they accommodated for the 180 days? 

A. Well, if they transfer, the number of days they have 
been in the previous school system.

Q. And you do have students in your school system 
moving from one school district to another? A. Yes.

Q. And how are they accommodated? A. In our school 
system, one district to another?

Q. Yes. Say from Bunn School to another school in 
your school system, how are they accommodated for the 
180 days? A. Well, all the schools run the same number 
of days unless a boiler were to burst or something like 
that and we could not have school in a particular school, 
but thus far—

Q. They would ordinarily be accommodated, however, by 
transferring their school days from the old school to the 
new school? A. Yes.

—129—
Q. Now, Mr. Smith, do you know now the courses taken 

or being taken by the plaintiffs involved in this proceeding? 
A. Yes, I have this information.

Q. The records that they have would be records you 
would like to keep in your file and not leave with the court? 
A. They are Register Sheets, which would be the record 
for the student in the individual schools.

Q. Do you have those now? A. Yes.
Q. May I see them a moment?



122a

Mr. Yarborough: I f your Honor please, these 
records are in the nature of confidential records 
within the Board of Education. They are not re­
leased to any person as a rule, or ever, except to 
the student himself or his parents or upon written 
permission such as transcription to a college or 
something. We have no objection if the court says, 
but I want it clear that the Board of Education 
does not free-handedly pass out this information.

The Court: I do not know what these reports
—130—

contain. There may be some information on there 
that for some reason might not be wise to make 
public. I do not know that that’s true; I do not 
know the facts. I understand, however, that counsel 
has only asked this witness as to the record of the 
courses of study that the plaintiffs in this case are 
now pursuing. Is that correct!

Mr. Chambers: That is correct.
The Court: And in view of the fact that his 

question is restricted to the parties to the suit and 
he is counsel for those parties, his request for this 
information the court will hold is a waiver of any 
privilege that his clients may have.

Mr. Yarborough: That’s quite all right, if your 
Honor please. We weren’t objecting to it, but we 
wanted the people to know that the reason they 
were made public was upon the court’s order or 
request. But the Record Sheets contain more infor­
mation, as I understand it, than just a list of the 
courses taken. They contain the grades they have 
made and maybe some other information regarding 
them; I do not know.

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Redirect



123a

The Court: I will direct the witness to furnish 
the information as it relates to the courses of study

—1 3 1 -
now being pursued by the plaintiffs in this action. 

By Mr. Chambers:

Q. Mr. Smith, I will call the name of the plaintiff in­
volved and if you would tell the court the courses presently 
being taken by the plaintiff, this is the only information 
that we would want from the records that you have. A. 
Which? Each plaintiff?

Q. Yes. I am going to call the plaintiff’s name. Harold 
Douglas Coppedge.

Mr. Yarborough: If your Honor please, may I 
say this while Mr. Smith is looking for those rec­
ords? That these records were brought pursuant to 
a telephone conversation from plaintiffs’ counsel 
yesterday and at their request. Mr. Smith just 
wasn’t carrying them around in his pocket. He 
brought them at their request.

Mr. Fink: I want the record to show that I thank 
them for doing this. I called them, and they did 
this under very difficult circumstances. We appreci­
ate that.

A. I have his record now.
Q. Would you state the courses that he is taking for this

- 1 3 2 -
school year? A. English II, Algebra I, Biology, World 
History, French I, Home Economics 712—ordinarily the 
second year of Home Economics.

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Redirect



124a

Q. And what grade is Harold Coppedge in? A. The 
10th grade,

Q. He requested assignment to which school? A. The 
Edward Best School.

Q. Do you have the record of Frances Noreen Driver? 
A. Yes, sir.

Q. Would yon state the courses she is taking? A. Bead­
ing, Language, Spelling, Writing, Arithmetic, Science, Ge­
ography, History, Health, Physical Education, Music, and 
Art.

Q. And what grade is she in? A. Grade 8.
Q. And do you know the school to which she requested 

transfer? A. The Bunn School.
Q. Jacquelyn Bose Driver. A. Beading, Language, 

Spelling, Writing, Arithmetic, Science, Social Studies, 
Health, Physical Education, Music, and Art.

Q. And what grade is she in? A. The seventh grade.
—133—

Q. Do you know the school to which she requested trans­
fer? A. Bunn School.

Q. Booker T. Driver Jr. A. Beading, Language, Spell­
ing, Writing, Arithmetic, Science, Geography, History, 
Health, Physical Education, Music, and Art.

Q. And what grade is he in? A. The sixth grade.
Q. And did he request transfer to Bunn also? A. Yes.
Q. Jesse L. Driver. A. Beading, Language, Spelling, 

Writing, Arithmetic, Science, Social Studies, Health, Physi­
cal Education, Music, and Art.

Q. Do you know the grade that Jesse is in now? A. 
The third.

Q. And did Jesse request transfer to Bunn also? A. 
Bunn School.

Warren W. Smith—for Government—-Redirect



125a

Q. Charles I). Grill. A. English II, Algebra I, Biology, 
United States History, Agriculture 702.

Q. What grade is Charles in? A. The tenth.
Q. And what school did he request transfer to! A. 

Louisburg School.
--- 134r—■

Q. Martha D. Gill. A. English II, Algebra I, Biology, 
History 421—I assume that is U.S. History, Home Eco­
nomics 711.1—that is ordinarily Home Ec. I.

Q. What grade is Martha in? A. Tenth.
Q. And what school did she request transfer to? A. 

Louisburg School.
Q. James Gill. A. English, Reading, Language, Spell­

ing, Writing, Arithmetic, Science, Social Studies, Health, 
Physical Education, Music, and Art.

Q. What grade is James in? A. Fifth.
Q. What school did he request transfer to? A. Louis­

burg School.
Q. Mr. Smith, maybe we can shorten this. Could you 

state at this stage whether the schools to which the plain­
tiffs have requested transfer offer the same courses that 
they are now taking at the schools to which they have 
been assigned? A. Yes, I can state that. They would not 
be able to get all the courses they are now taking.

Q. They would not be? A. Would not be.
—135—

Q. And would this be true of all of the plaintiffs? A. 
I doubt that it would be true of all of the plaintiffs.

Q. Do you know those who would be the exception, that 
is, who would be able to get all the courses they are now 
taking? A. No, not without a thorough investigation.

Q. Would you state the courses taken by Patricia K. Gill. 
A. English III, Geometry, United States History, French 
511 and Typing I.

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Redirect



126a

Q. What grade is she in? A. Eleventh grade.
Q. And what school did she request transfer to? A. The 

Louisburg School.
Q. Now, does Louisburg offer the courses that Patricia 

Gill is taking? A. Yes. But I might bring this out: even 
though a school offers the subjects, there is always the 
scheduling problem.

Q. What do you mean by the “ scheduling problem” ? A. 
Well, it might be that two of these subjects would be 
offered at the same period.

Q. Two of the subjects that she is taking? A. Two of
—136—

the subjects would be offered at the same period.
Q. That’s a possibility? A. Yes.
Q. Would that be true of the students in elementary 

school? A. No.
Q. It would not be true? A. No.
Q. And, also, all of your elementary schools teach the 

same courses anyway, do they not? A. Basically the 
same courses, yes.

Q. So, certainly, for the students in the elementary 
schools there would be no problem so far as the courses 
are concerned? A. So far as getting the course. But once 
again, as I said the other day, each teacher does not teach 
at the same rate, and the amount of work covered would 
be different.

Q. But insofar as the courses are concerned there would 
be no conflict, and all of the students would be able to 
take or continue the same courses they are now taking? 
A. Yes.

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Redirect

Mr. Yarborough: If your Honor please, may I
—137—

interrupt? I understood that question was directed



127a

to the elementary grades. I just wanted to clarify 
that. Is that correct?

Mr. Chambers: Yes, sir.

Q. Now, you stated there might be some conflict in the 
high school so far as scheduling is concerned? A, Yes.

Q. Now, what courses is Marjie J. Kelley taking? A. 
Reading, Language, Spelling, Writing, Arithmetic, Science, 
Geography, History, Health, Physical Education, Music, 
and Art.

Q. What grade is Marjie Kelley in? A. Eighth.
Q. And would she be able to transfer without any diffi­

culty as to courses? A. Be able to get the subjects.
Q. She would be? A. Yes.

By the Court:

Q. WTiat school is she seeking transfer to? A. The 
Bunn School.

By Mr. Chambers:

Q. Gwendolyn E. Kelley. A. English Reading, Mathe­
matics, Spelling, Writing, General Science, Health, Geog­
raphy, Art, History, Music, and Physical Education.

—138—
Q. What grade is she in? A. Fifth.
Q. And she, too, would be able to transfer without any 

difficulty as to courses ? A. Being able to get the subjects ? 
Q. Yes. A. Yes.

By the Court:

Q. What school is she seeking transfer to? A. Bunn 
School.

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Redirect



128a

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Redirect 

By Mr. Chambers:

Q, What grade is Jean Carol Satterwhite in! A. The 
eleventh.

Q. What school is she requesting transfer to! A. The 
Bunn School.

Q. And does the Bunn School offer the courses that she 
is presently taking! A. No.

Q. What course is she taking now that is not offered at 
the Bunn School! A. Well, I can see one—French I.

Q. Bunn does not offer French I !  A. No.
Q. Does Bunn offer any French! A. Second year 

French. —139—
Q. Is that French II ! A. French II, yes.
Q. Where is French I offered in the Bunn School unit! 

A. It’s not offered at all this year.
Q. Not offered at all this year! A. They are teaching 

Spanish.
Q. They rotate each year from French I to French II ! 

A. It is my understanding that they will be teaching Span­
ish from now on out. They are teaching the second year 
of French for those students who had French I. The next 
year will be all Spanish.

Q. Carl Lee Saterwhite is in what grade! A. Tenth 
grade.

Q. And is he requesting transfer to Bunn! A. Yes.
Q. Would he be able to take all the courses he is pres­

ently taking, at Bunn! A. The courses are offered. I do 
not know whether there would be a conflict in scheduling.

Q. But they are offered at the Bunn School! A. Yes.
Q. All of the courses he is presently taking! A. Yes.

—140—
Q. What grade is Bertha Engram in! A. The eleventh 

grade.



129a

Q. What school is she requesting transfer to? A. The 
Louisburg School.

Q. Would she be able to take all the courses she is 
presently taking, at the Louisburg School? A. I believe 
the subjects would be offered. I do not know whether there 
would be a conflict in schedules.

Q. The subjects are offered? A. Yes.
Q. Going back to Jean Carol Satterwhite, how many units 

of foreign languages are required in order to complete a 
high-school course? A. Well, usually they have—if you 
take it one year, it would take the second year to get 
credit—to get into college.

Q. But one unit is all that is required to get a high- 
school diploma? A. Yes.

Q. What grade is Paul Engram in? A. Eighth.
Q. And what school is he requesting transfer to? A. 

The Louisburg School.
Q. And, as you have stated, he would be able to take 

all the courses at the Louisburg School that he is presently 
taking? A. Yes.

—141—
The Court: Who is this now?
The Witness: Paul Engram II.

By Mr. Chambers:

Q. There would be no conflict so far as Paul Engram is 
concerned? A. No.

Q. Norine Arrington is in what grade? A. Seventh 
grade.

Q. And what school is she requesting transfer to? A. 
The Louisburg School.

Q. She, too, would be able to transfer without any con­
flict as to courses? A. Yes.

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Redirect



130a

Q. What grade is Carrie C, McKnight in? A. Eighth 
grade.

Q. What sehool is she requesting transfer to? A. The 
Louisburg Sehool.

Q. She, too, would be able to transfer without any con­
flict as to courses? A. Yes.

Q. What grade is Nathaniel McKnight in? A. Seventh.
—142—

Q. And the same would be true as to him? A. Yes.
Q. He would be able to transfer without any conflict as 

to courses? A. Yes.
Q. And he is requesting transfer to Louisburg? A. 

Louisburg School.
Q. Charlie Jones is in what grade? A. Seventh grade.
Q. What school is he requesting transfer to? A. The 

Louisburg School.
Q. He, too, would be able to transfer without any con­

flict as to courses? A. Yes, sir.
Q. What grade is Kegena 0. Woodson in? A. The sixth 

grade.
Q. What school is she requesting transfer to? A. The 

Louisburg School.
Q. And she, too, would be able to transfer without any 

conflict as to courses? A. Yes, she would be able to get 
the courses; but, once again, I don’t know whether the 
amount of work covered in one school would be the same 
amount of work.

Q. At least she would be offered the courses and there 
would be no conflict in time? A. Yes.

—143—
Q. Now, do you have with you, Mr. Smith, a copy of the 

bus routes? A. Yes.

Mr. Chambers: May I see that copy?

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Redirect



131a

Mr. Yarborough: If your Honor please, I would 
like for the record to show that these copies of the 
bus routes were brought pursuant to their telephone 
request also, made yesterday.

The Court: Very well. Without objection the 
record will so indicate.

By Mr. Chambers:

Q. Mr. Smith, do you know anything about the residences 
of the plaintiffs? A. Yes. Not exactly, but pretty near.

Q. Would you be able to state whether the bus routes 
you have presently adopted would provide transportation 
for these plaintiffs to the schools to which they have re­
quested transfer? A. As the routes now stand, I could 
not say.

Q. You could not say? A. I could not say.
Q. Do you know whether or not all of the plaintiffs re­

side more than one and a half miles from the schools to 
which they requested transfer?

—144—
Mr. Yarborough: Your Honor, I think that infor­

mation is related in the interrogatories.
The Court: Well, if it is, let’s don’t go into it 

again.
Mr. Chambers: I just don’t recall seeing it. Yes, 

it is. I will withdraw the question.

Q. Mr. Smith, would you take out the bus routes for 
Bunn, Louisburg High School, and Edward Best Elemen­
tary and High School? A. I have the Bunn School here— 
their route.

Mr. Chambers: Your Honor, I ’m sure that Mr. 
Smith would like to keep those maps and we would

Warren W. Smith—for Government—-Redirect



132a

like to tender them only for the purpose of the 
court’s seeing that it would be possible, if these 
plaintiffs be permitted to transfer, for them to take 
the bus to school. We would have no need for them 
in the subsequent hearing, and we request the de­
fendants and the court to permit us to introduce 
them solely for the purpose of the court’s consider­
ing our motion here.

The Court: Well, could the subject of this testi­
mony with respect to bus routes be covered by stipu­
lation?

Mr. Yarborough: Whatever the facts are we will 
stipulate, if they agree.

—145—
The Court: Suppose we take a five-minute recess 

and let you see what you can do with respect to a 
stipulation.

(A short recess was taken.)
The Court: Gentlemen, were you able to reach 

any stipulation with respect to the bus routes?
Mr. Chambers: Your Honor, after conferring, I 

think we agree to stipulate that with respect to all 
plaintiffs, with the exception of the Jones children, 
the Kelley children, and the Arrington children, 
there would be no problem of bus transportation. 
With respect to the three sets of children named, 
that is, Jones, Kelley, and Arrington, the school 
board would be providing bus transportation within 
a mile of their home.

Mr. Yarborough: That is correct, your Honor; 
that is. assuming* that our locations of the places

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Redirect



133a

of residence on the map are correct, and I believe 
they are.

If your Honor please, just in thinking on the stip­
ulation, several of those people live within a mile 
of the school and transportation is not involved. I 
wouldn’t want the board to get in the fix that it is 
stipulated they would provide them (transportation)

—146—
if they live within walking distance of the school. 
I don’t recall the wording of the stipulation.

The Court: Well, as I understood the stipulation 
—and counsel can now correct me if I ’m in error— 
the stipulation in substance is that all of the plain­
tiffs except the Jones, Kelley, and Arrington chil­
dren would present no problem as to bus trans­
portation; and as to those three sets of children, 
Jones, Kelley, and Arrington, transportation is now 
available within one mile of their homes. Is that 
correct?

Mr. Chambers: Yes, sir.
Mr. Yarborough: Yes, I think so.
Now, if your Honor pleases, Mr. Smith has men­

tioned in the conference that there is a possibility 
that five or six children in one family may over­
crowd that bus, but so far as the bus passing or 
being close to the house would be no problem; but 
what would happen on the crowding of the bus, I 
do not know. There is that problem as I understand 
it from Mr. Smith.

The Witness: Yes.
Mr. Yarborough: Some of them are quite loaded 

when they get to a particular place, and the State

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Redirect



134a

—147—
has regulations regarding the amounts of passengers 
that can be put on a bus.

Mr. Chambers: Mr. Smith did indicate that. He 
also indicated, however, that if there is overcrowd­
ing, the school follows the policy of allowing the 
bus drivers to make a return trip to pick up the 
children.

Mr. Yarborough: That is correct, your Honor. 
But that would require rescheduling certain people 
who are now getting no buses at a certain time if 
the buses had to come back for them due to over­
crowding. It would present some problem, as Mr. 
Smith says.

The Court: Well, I understand that that is a 
problematical situation. Do you have the informa­
tion now as to whether or not the buses would or 
would not be overcrowded?

Mr. Yarborough: You do not know now, Mr. 
Smith?

The Witness: No.
The Court: I understand, I think.

By Mr. Chambers:

Q. Mr. Smith, just one final question. In reference to 
the statements just made, do you of your own knowledge

- 1 4 8 -
know of any of the buses that would be involved if the 
plaintiffs here would be permitted to transfer—which are 
presently overcrowded? A. Maybe I can answer it tins 
way—

Q. Do you know of your own knowledge of any of the 
buses being overcrowded? A. No. But we did have to

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Redirect



135a

do a lot of rescheduling the first of the year to take care 
of situations where the buses were overcrowded.

Q. And did your rescheduling alleviate the problem of 
overcrowding? A. Eventually we were able to do it.

Mr. Chambers: No further questions.
Mr. Yarborough: If your Honor pleases, on Tues­

day the question arose about the notice published 
in the Franklin Times concerning the pre-school en­
rollment of first graders, and your Honor asked me 
to get a copy of that ad, and I have it and I would 
like for Mr. Smith to identify it.

(Ad from Franklin Times marked for identifi­
cation as Defendants’ Exhibit 2.)

Mr. Chambers: Your Honor, we might shorten 
that. I ’m not sure about the government’s position,

—149—
but the plaintiffs will stipulate that that notice was 
published.

Mr. Yarborough: I f your Honor pleases, accord­
ing to the publisher’s affidavit, it was published in 
the issue of May 4, 1965, and May 6, 1965, in the 
Franklin Times, the newspaper published in Louis- 
burg with general circulation in Franklin County.

Mr. Chambers: We will so stipulate.
Mr. Fink: So will the government.
The Court: All right. Now, that is a notice with 

respect to what?
Mr. Yarborough: Your Honor, I will read it. It’s 

a notice which looks like about six by eight inches, 
I guess, approximately a quarter of a page.

Warren W. Smith—for Government—-Redirect



136a

(Mr. Yarborough read into the record Defendants’ 
Exhibit 2 as follows):

PRE-SCHOOL ENROLLMENT OF 
FIRST-GRADE CHILDREN FOR 1965-66 

FRANKLIN COUNTY SCHOOLS

Pre-registration of pupils entitled to attend the 
schools of the Franklin County Administrative Unit, 
planning to enroll in the first grade for the 1965-66 
school year, will take place for a period of five days, 
from May 17, 1965 to May 21, 1965 between the 
hours of 3 :30 p.m. and 5 :00 p.m. Under policies 
adopted by the Board of Education, parents or legal

—1 5 0 -
guardians of such children shall register them dur­
ing this period at the school of their choice for 
assignment to such school, without regard to race, 
color, or national origin. Those whose choices are 
rejected due to overcrowding will be notified within 
thirty days and permitted to make a second choice 
of another school where space to accommodate them 
is available. The choice is granted to the parent or 
legal guardian of children who are entitled to at­
tend the schools of the Franklin County Administra­
tive Unit. Preference will be given according to 
geographic proximity without regard to race, color, 
or national origin.

Teachers, principals, and other school personnel 
shall be prohibited from advising, recommending, 
or otherwise influencing* the decision. School person­
nel shall neither favor nor penalize children because 
of the choice made.

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Redirect



137a

C h ild ren  E n titled  T o A ttend  T h e  S chools O e 
T h e  F r a n k l in  C o u n ty  A d m inistrative  U n it , E n ­
tering  T h e  F irst  G rade, AYho  H ave B een  P re- 
R egistered F or T h e  1965-66 S chool Y ear A t T he  
S chool C hosen  B y  T h e  P arent  Or L egal G uardian  
On B egin n ers ’ D ay  A re N ot R equired  T o R e- 
R egister P u rsu an t  T o T h is  A n n o u n c e m e n t . 
Parents or legal guardians of children entitled to 
attend the schools of the Franklin County Admin­
istrative Unit, not pre-registered in the spring, may 
register them at the school of their choice on August 
23, 1965, between 9 :30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., prior to 
the opening of schools for the 1965-66 school year; 
but first preference in choice of schools will be given 
to those who pre-registered in the spring period.

Recross-Examination by Mr. Yarborough:

Q. Mr. Smith, this notice refers to “beginniners* day.” 
Now, what is that? A. Beginners’ day would be a day or 
an afternoon set aside where the parents or legal guardians 
would bring the child to school and they would get some

—151—
instruction. The parents would be instructed mostly as 
to what to expect when the children came to school the 
next fall. Also, usually they take a short bus ride to ac­
custom the children to ride the bus—the parents rather.

Q. Something of an orientation? A. Orientation, yes.
Q. Who sets those beginners’ days ? A. The supervisors 

and principals.
Q. And some beginners’ days had been held prior to 

the publication of this notice? A. Yes.
Q. That is the reason, is it not, that they were not re­

Warren W. Smith, —for Government—Recross



138a

quired to re-register if they had picked a school to go to 
on beginners’ day? A. That’s correct.

Mr. Chambers: Objection to that question on the 
ground the question calls for a conclusion.

Mr. Yarborough: It calls for the witness’ conclu­
sion, if the court pleases.

Mr. Chambers: That’s why “ they” didn’t do it.
The Court: I am not able to hear you gentlemen. 

Will you speak just a little louder, please?
—152—

Mr. Chambers: I will withdraw the objection.

By Mr. Yarborough:

Q. Mr. Smith, a good deal was said awhile ago on your 
redirect-examination by Mr. Chambers about the pre-school 
clinics. State whether or not those clinics are required by 
state law—or certain examinations? A. Certain examina­
tions are required by state law, and as a matter of con­
venience the health department will set these pre-school 
clinics up, and for the most part in individual schools.

Q. Now, Mr. Smith, you say “certain examinations.” 
State whether or not certain physical examinations or cer­
tain immunizations are required by state law before the 
pupils can enter the Franklin County school system? A. 
That is correct.

Q. And state whether or not these health clinics are 
set up by the board of health to perform those physical 
examinations and render the required immunizations? A. 
Yes, the health department does this.

Q. And as such that has nothing or had nothing to do 
with registering them in a school in the first grade. A. No.

Warren W. Smith —for Government—Recross



139a

Mr. Chambers: Objection, your Honor. The wit-
—153—

ness testified earlier that the students who enrolled 
in these pre-school clinics but did not indicate a 
choice at the subsequent enrollment were assigned 
according to the school in which they enrolled for 
the pre-school clinic.

Mr. Yarborough: I understood him to say—I don’t 
know whether he was referring to beginners’ day, 
but I understood him to say—I want him to clarify 
that matter as to whether they consider that an 
enrollment or only as a list in making assignments.

The Court: Well, of course, the record will show 
exactly what the witness has testified to. If there is 
any clarification that counsel on either side desires 
to make, they can go to that.

By Mr. Yarborough:

Q. Mr. Smith, state whether or not frequently children 
enroll in the first grade without previously having taken 
the required health examinations and immunizations? A. 
Have they—

Q. Do they appear for enrollment without having taken 
those? A. Yes, we do have some.

Q. What do you do then? A. Well, this past year
—154—

when some of the students had taken the polio immuniza­
tion and there was some conflict between that and the other 
immunizations, they did give them some leeway—the health 
department.

Q. I mean state whether or not they were required to 
take them after they returned to school? A. Oh, yes, they 
are required to take them.

Warren W. Smith —for Government—Recross



140a

Colloquy

The Coart: What is the relevancy now of this 
particular line of testimony about the immuniza­
tions ?

Mr. Yarborough: I f your Honor please, only to 
clarify what Mr. Chambers brought out. He went 
into considerable detail about pre-school clinics and 
I wanted the record to show what they were, that 
they were not a requirement to get into school, that 
sometimes children appeared and were enrolled and 
then required to go out to the health department and 
take them. It was only a board of health matter 
and not a school matter.

The Court: Well, now, am I correct in my im­
pression that although these pre-school clinics are 
arranged by the state health department for the pur­
pose of physical examination of children prior to 
their entrance in the school system for the purpose 
of giving such immunizations as the law requires,

—155—
that nevertheless when the parents of children or 
guardians or others who stand in loco parentis to a 
beginner takes a child to some particular pre-school 
clinic, that unless there is some subsequent request 
by the parents or guardians for entrance of the child 
into a different school, that the child would nor­
mally be admitted to the school at which he attended 
this pre-school clinic1?

Mr. Yarborough: Yes, that was up until this 
year. This year they required them all to make a 
choice, and I understood him to say that about 90% 
made choices. But where a child’s parent or guard­
ian did not make such a choice and the board of edu­
cation had a list of those who had attended, they



141a

assigned that child to the school to which pre-school 
clinic the child has been carried by his father or 
mother or guardian, assuming that that was indica­
tive of his choice of schools in absence of any other 
request. Ten per cent of the people of Franklin 
County, I ’m sorry to say, did not honor the require­
ment that they make a free choice, and the board of 
education had to do something—and for whatever 
reason they didn’t honor it— so they used the next 
best thing, assuming that the parents took the child

—156—
to the pre-school clinic of which he or she wanted 
the child to enter.

The Court: All right.
Mr. Chambers: Tour Honor, in connection with 

the question that was propounded by the court, I 
would like to call the court’s attention to the notice 
that the defendants have just introduced in evidence, 
reading:

“ Children entitled to attend the schools of the 
Franklin County Administrative Unit, entering the 
first grade, who have been pre-registered for the 
1965-66 school year at the school chosen by the parent 
or legal guardian on beginners’ day are not required 
to re-register pursuant to this announcement.”

By Mr. Yarborough:

Q. Well, of course, beginners’ day and pre-school clinic 
were two entirely different things, were they not, Mr. 
Smith? A. Yes.

Q. I mean pre-school clinics were conducted by medical 
personnel. A. In some cases it might be that they would 
have pre-school clinic and beginners’ day all together when

Warren W. Smith —for Government—Recross



142a

the children came, but the pre-school clinic itself was done
—157—■

by the health department, and it might be that that same 
afternoon or day they would have beginners’ day.

Q. And this notice said that they were not required to 
re-register; that’s correct, isn’t it? A. Yes.

Q. Now, Mr. Smith, a good deal was brought out regard­
ing individual students about whether or not they could, 
on account of your existing schedules, take certain courses 
in certain schools. Have you made something of a study 
of the high-school applicants involved in this case? A. 
Yes.

Q. Could you tell the court which of the plaintiffs, in the 
short time you have had, you have found could not con­
tinue to take the same courses if they were transferred at 
this time? A. Harold Coppedge has a conflict in schedules.

Q. What is that conflict, do you have it there? A. It 
would either be a conflict between English II and World 
History or Algebra I and English II.

Q, Between English II and World History or Algebra I 
and English II? A. That’s right. In other words, World 
History in the Edward Best School would be taught during

—158—
the fourth period, and also English II would be taught dur­
ing the fourth period. There is another section of English 
II during the third period, but at that time Algebra I is 
being taught.

Q. So if he transferred, he would have to give up Alge­
bra I, English II, or World History? A. That’s correct. 
And I do not know about Home Economics; I found out 
about that at the very last minute and I have not checked 
that to see if it could be worked in the schedule. I do not 
know whether Home Economics could be worked in or not.

Warren W. Smith —for Government—Recross



143a

Q. All right, sir, do yon have any other! A. Carl Sat- 
terwhite. I notice that he is taking a special course in 
Reading in the Gethsemane School and no such course is 
offered in the Bunn School.

Q. All right, sir, do you have any more! A. Jean Carol 
Satterwhite. I believe this was brought out before. French 
I is not offered in the Bunn School.

Q. All right, sir, any more that you have had an oppor­
tunity to make a study of? A. Martha Gill has a conflict 
between English II and Biology. In other words, a section 
of English II and a section of Biology is taught during the 
fourth and fifth periods, the only two sections of each 
would be taught during the fourth and fifth periods. Let’s

—1 5 9 -
see—Algebra I—the only section of Algebra I and World 
History is taught during the first period. So there would 
be definitely one conflict and possibly two.

Q. All right, sir. A. Charles Gill is now taking Agri­
culture in the Riverside School; this course is not offered 
in the Louisburg School. And there is also a possibility 
that there are other conflicts, but I can just look at this 
and glance and tell there’s a conflict there.

Q. Mr. Smith, I believe they ŵ ere made hurriedly pur­
suant to a last-minute investigation? A. Yes.

Q. At their request.

Mr. Chambers: Objection.
Mr. Yarborough: That’s all right, we’ll withdraw 

the question.

Q. Now, Mr. Smith, what is Louisburg School—is it a 
union school? A. Yes.

Q. All twelve grades? A. Twelve grades.
Q. How about Riverside? A. A  union school.

Warren W . Smith —for Government—Recross



144a

Warren W. Smith —for Government—Recross

—160—
Q. All twelve grades? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Bunn School? A. Union school.
Q. Gethsemane School? A. Union school.
Q. Perry’s School? A. Union school.
Q. Epsom School? A. Union school.
Q. Edward Best School? A. That actually is one unit, 

grades 7 through 12 in one building and six in another.
Q. You consider it as one school unit? A. Yes.
Q. Now, Mr. Smith, with reference to Riverside School 

some of these pupils, I believe, or maybe one or two are 
attending what is designated as Cedar Street School. What 
is that—is it a branch of the Riverside School? A. It’s a 
branch of the Riverside School.

Q. State whether or not it’s under the jurisdiction of the 
principal of Riverside School? A. Yes.

Q. And how many grades are taught at Cedar Street?
—161—

A. Seven grades, one through seven.
Q. Where is the eighth grade ? A. It goes to the River­

side location.
Q. Mr. Smith, there are no organized junior high schools 

in the county school system, are there? A. No, we do not 
have junior high schools as such.

Q. Now, Mr. Smith, Mr. Chambers questioned you some­
what about the first-graders. State how many requests for 
assignment to previously white schools were made in be­
half of colored first-graders? A. Three.

Q. And where were those children assigned? A. Two 
were assigned to the Bunn School and one to the Louisburg 
School.

Q. State whether or not they were assigned exactly pur­
suant to the parents’ request?



1 4 5 a

Warren W. Smith —for Government—Recross

Mr. Chambers: Your Honor, we have gone into 
this.

The Court: I think that has been over.
Mr. Yarborough: They have been in it even on re­

direct. I just wanted to clarify whether or not they 
got in the school their parents asked for.

A. Yes.
—162—

Q. Now, Mr. Smith, Mr. Chambers asked you about 
whether the elementary transfers as a rule can get the 
same subjects in any elementary school in the same grade? 
A. Yes.

Q. Now state whether or not different teachers on the 
different stages of the year are ahead of others in the text­
book course?

The Court: I think he has been into that.
Mr. Yarborough: Well, all right, sir. But, if your 

Honor please, all of that came from Mr. Chambers’ 
questioning.

The Court: Well, I know. But since it’s in evi­
dence, there is no need to put it in twice. It is my 
understanding that the witness testified that different 
teachers taught at a different rate of progress and 
that at different times of the year one grade, though 
teaching the same subject, would be either behind or 
ahead of some other grade.

By Mr. Yarborough:

Q. Mr. Smith, at this time of year state whether or not 
any new courses were started in the month of February? 
A. I do not know of any.



146a

Mr. Yarborough: That’s all, if your Honor please.
—163-—

Mr. Chambers: I have just one or two questions.

Redirect Examination by Mr. Chambers:

Q. Mr. Smith, you stated that Harold Coppedge would 
have a conflict in either English II and World History or 
Algebra I and English II? A. If he took English II the 
third period, he could not take Algebra I during the third 
period; if he took English II during the fourth period, he 
could not take World History which is offered during the 
fourth period.

Q. These are the only periods that English II would be 
offered? A. That’s correct.

Q. And the only periods that World History would be 
offered? A. Just one period.

Q. And the only period that Algebra I would be offered? 
A. Yes.

Q. Isn’t Harold Coppedge in the tenth grade? A. Yes.
—164—

Q. Now, is World History a requirement to receive a 
high-school diploma? A. No.

Q. Is Algebra I a requirement to receive a high-school 
diploma? A. No.

Q. But English II would be, would it not? A. Yes.
Q. Now, Algebra I is a continuing course, is it not? I 

mean it will be taught next year? A. Yes.
Q. Is World History a continuing course, will it be taught 

next year? A. Yes.

Mr. Tucker: Objection to that, your Honor. We 
are talking about this year.

The Court: Objection overruled.

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Redirect



147a

Warren W. Smith—for Government—Redirect 

By Mr. Chambers:

Q. It is possible, isn’t it, Mr. Smith for Harold Cop- 
pedge—

Mr. Yarborough: Object to what is possible, if 
your Honor pleases.

The Court: Well, let him finish his question. Go 
ahead, Mr. Chambers.

Q. Harold Coppedge could complete the requirements
—165—

of the high school set by the North Carolina State Depart­
ment even if he transferred this year, could he not!

The Court: Can you answer that question!
The Witness: I could not specifically, but I was 

going to say it’s possible.
The Court: All right, objection overruled.

Q. I ’m talking about if he passed the course. A. He 
could get in another 16 units before—

Q. And if he gets in the 16 units and completes the speci­
fied required courses in high school? A. Yes.

Q. And Algebra I and World History are not specified 
courses that are required to complete a high-school educa­
tion? A. No. But, of course, college entrance require­
ments are very, very important.

Q. Very, very important? A. Yes.
Q. But it’s not even a requirement for college entrance ? 

A. Not in every college, but I don’t know of but very few.
Q. Is reading a requirement for a high-sehool diploma?

—166—
A. No.



148a

Q. Do you recall the grade that Carl Satterwhite is in! 
A. I believe it’s the tenth grade.

Q. Now, did you check to see how many units he already 
has! A. No.

Q. Do you know the grade that Jean Satterwhite is in! 
A. Well, she’s taking some tenth-grade subjects and some 
ordinary, eleventh-grade subjects.

Q. She would not be going to the twelfth-grade this year! 
A. No.

Q. And you testified that only one unit of a foreign 
language is required for a high-school diploma? A. I don’t 
believe I testified only one unit.

Q. How many units are required? A. No units.
Q. Now, is Agriculture a required course for a high- 

school diploma? A. No.
Q. Is Home Economics a required course for a high- 

school diploma? A. No.
—167—

Mr. Chambers: No further questions.

Recross Examination by Mr. Yarborough:

Q. Mr. Smith, all of these courses that these children 
are now taking are being taken at their request or the 
parents’ request, aren’t they—I mean with the parents’ 
consent? A. Yes, sir.

Q. Courses that were picked in their behalf or by the 
pupils themselves at the beginning of the school year? A. 
Yes.

Mr. Yarborough: That’s all.
The Court: Are there any further questions of 

this witness ?
Mr. Fink: I just have one question, your Honor.

Warren W. Smith —for Government—Recross



149a

Redirect Examination by Mr. Fink :

Q. Mr. Smith, at what time is Agriculture I, the first 
course in agriculture, taught at Edward Best High School?

- 1 6 8 -
Do you know that?

Mr. Yarborough: If your Honor please, I don’t 
think anything has been said about agriculture at 
Edward Best High School on any of these pupils. 
I have no particular objection, but it’s something 
new.

The Court: Well, there is testimony that Charles 
Gill is taking agriculture now but it is not taught in 
the school to which he requested transfer.

Mr. Yarborough: That’s right. But Edward Best 
is not involved with him.

The Court: That’s all right. Objection overruled. 
Go ahead.

The Witness: I don’t know whether I have the 
question.

Mr. Yarborough: Will you please read the ques­
tion.

Q. (Read by reporter) “Mr. Smith, at what time in Agri­
culture I, the first course in agriculture, taught at Edward 
Best High School? Do you know that?” A. I don’t know 
whether I have any information to give that or not. If 
Agriculture 701 is “Ag-I” , it would be the first period.

—169—
Mr. Fink: That’s all, your Honor. No further 

questions by the government.
Mr. Yarborough: No further questions from the 

defendants.

Warren W. Smith— for Government-—Redirect



150a

Colloquy

Mr. Chambers: No further questions from the 
plaintiffs.

(A  recess for lunch was taken from 1 :00 p.m. until 
2:30 p.m.)

A fternoon  S ession

Mr. Fink: Your Honor, the government now rests 
in this preliminary injunction hearing.

Mr. Chambers: Your Honor, with respect to the 
plaintiffs I would like to state that I have discussed 
the matter with the plaintiffs and each of the plain­
tiffs is still interested in transferring at this stage 
of the proceedings if the court so orders, and I would 
tender them here if the court would like to ask them 
any questions or if the defendants would like to ask 
them any questions; and if not, the plaintiffs will 
rest.

The Court: Do the defendants desire to cross- 
examine any of the plaintiffs?

Mr. Yarborough: No, sir, if your Honor please.
—170—

The Court: Any evidence for the defendants?
Mr. Tucker: I think, your Honor, we ought to 

make a motion at the present time. I don’t know 
whether we want to argue it right at this moment, 
but we want to move that the motion of the plain­
tiffs not be allowed, that it be denied.

The Court: The record will show the motion.
Now, do you have any evidence?
Mr. Yarborough: Your Honor, may we check with 

the clerk a moment about what exhibits were put in ?
The Court: All right.



151a

Colloquy

Mr. Tucker: Your Honor, I always assume that 
all pleadings are a part of the record.

The Court: That is my understanding.
You don’t have depositions hut interrogatories!
Mr. Tucker : Yes, sir. We have answers to inter­

rogatories. They have been introduced.
The Court: You may introduce the entire record, 

if you want to, at one time if you have any question 
about it.

—171—
(Discussion off the record concerning affidavits of 

Mr. Smith and Mr. Fuller.)

Mr. Chambers: I didn’t understand they had been 
offered in evidence. If the defendants propose to do 
so, we want to object to certain parts of them.

The Court: Well, suppose you offer in evidence 
whatever you want to then. Let the record be out­
side the record.

Mr. Tucker : We desire to introduce all of the 
affidavits filed.

Mr. Yarborough: We desire to offer Defendant’s 
Exhibit No. 1. That is the request for transfer filed 
by Christine Elizabeth Coppedge and Luther Cop- 
pedge. This was identified on the 8th of February.

We desire to offer Defendant’s Exhibit No. 2. That 
is the notice presented here this morning regarding 
pre-school enrollment of first-grade children for 
1965-66.

Mr. Tucker: And, your Honor, Defendant’s Ex­
hibit No. 3 which is the affidavit of Warren W. Smith 
which was filed with the court on February 8, 1966; 
and as Defendant’s Exhibit 4 the affidavit of Albert



152a

Colloquy

Clinton Fuller which was filed with the court on Feb­
ruary 8, 1966 at Clinton.

—172—
Mr. Chambers: Your Honor, as to both affidavits, 

Defendants’ Exhibits 3 and 4, plaintiffs would like 
to enter an objection at this time.

The Court: All right, sir, I will hear from you. 
What is the objection?

Mr. Chambers: Directing your Honor’s attention 
to Paragraph 2 of Defendants’ Exhibit No. 3, the 
affidavit of Mr. Warren W. Smith, at about the third 
complete sentence beginning:

« # # # That under the provisions of guidelines is­
sued by the Office of Education of the United States 
Department of Health, Education & Welfare . . . the 
Franklin County Board of Education was required 
to provide that any pupil in any of the other eight 
grades shall have the right . . . ”

We objected to this testimony by Mr. Smith on 
Tuesday, and our same objection would be raised at 
this time.

The Court: Now, will you state for the record the 
basis of that objection.

Mr. Chambers: That the government has intro­
duced Government’s Exhibit No. 3 which sets forth 
the requirements of the Department of Health, Ed­
ucation and Welfare as to the requirements of the 
school board in complying with the Title 6 provision; 
and that the statement here is a conclusion of law,

—173—
and that the matter should be left to the court to



153a

Colloquy

determine rather than be testified to by the witness 
for the school board.

The Court: You are saying, in other words, the 
regulations speak for themselves!

Mr. Chambers: Yes, sir.
And on Page 3 of Defendants’ Exhibit 4, Para­

graph 4, Mr. Fuller’s affidavit, the last phrase:

“ . . . The undersigned had some doubt that the 
incidents were necessarily a result of the aforesaid 
applications for school transfers . . . ”

This is not from the personal knowledge of the 
witness or the affiant. The same with respect to the 
last sentence of Paragraph 5 on Page 3:

“ . . . That in the opinion of the undersigned, the 
publication of said names did not cause the above- 
mentioned cross burning and other allegations of 
harassment to said Luther Coppedge.”

And also, your Honor, with respect to the affidavit 
of Mr. Fuller we would like to reserve our right to 
cross-examine with respect to this at the hearing of 
the cause on the merits.

The Court: Any further evidence for the defend­
ants?

—174—
Mr. Tucker: It depends on your Honor’s ruling.
The Court: Well, I am going to reserve my ruling 

on these motions.
I will say this: that an opinion of a witness, 

whether it is by affidavit or by testimony, is worth 
just as much as the foundation upon which it is 
predicated.



154a

Colloquy

Mr. Tucker : We desire, your Honor, to introduce 
the answer of the defendants. That will be Defend­
ants’ Exhibit No. 5.

Mr. Fink: Your Honor, the government has no 
objection to putting in a complaint or an answer, but 
I don’t know why that is necessary. I am from out­
side the district, however.

The Court: Well, as a rule if a pleading is verified 
and contains an admission, the relevant part of one 
pleading and the corresponding admission or denial 
of the other can be put in. I don’t see, normally, any 
need for putting in an allegation in the pleading. 
Certainly if it is not verified, I  don’t think it would 
be evidence; if it is verified, I don’t think it is neces­
sary unless it is in the nature of an admission.

Mr. Fink: Well, your Honor, as far as the govern­
ment is concerned we have a verified complaint and

—175—
we just assume it is a part of the record.

Mr. Tucker: Our answer is not verified, and the 
original complaint is not verified.

The Court: Oh, it’s certainly a part of the plead­
ings. I don’t know that the pleadings ever attain the 
dignity of evidence unless it’s offered in evidence 
for some recognized, legitimate purpose.

Mr. Chambers: Your Honor, would the objection 
be proper if the pleadings here, the answer, is being 
offered for the purpose of evidence if it’s not being 
verified?

The Court: I don’t know what he is going to offer 
—the entire answer in evidence?

Mr. Tucker: Yes, sir.
The Court: Upon what theory?



155a

Colloquy

Mr. Tucker: Well, it has some exhibits—
Mr. Pearson: May it please the Court, I think the 

court’s inquiry was whether or not the defendants 
intended to introduce any further evidence. I haven’t 
heard them answer.

Mr. Yarborough: If your Honor please, with those 
exhibits, the defendants rest.

The Court: I want to clarify one matter, and that 
is this last Exhibit No. 5 which I believe was referred 
to as the answer of the defendants.

—176—
Mr. Tucker: I withdraw my offer of that.
The Court: Then there is no further evidence for 

the defendants?
Mr. Yarborough: No, sir.
The Court: Any further evidence for the govern­

ment or the plaintiffs?
Mr. Fink: No, your Honor.
Mr. Chambers: No, your Honor.

#  #  #  *  #



156a

Order Denying Motion for Preliminary Injunction

(Filed February 24, 1966)

T h is  Cause coming on to be beard upon the application 
of plaintiffs for a preliminary injunction restraining the 
defendants from denying the immediate admission of plain­
tiffs to the schools of their choice in Franklin County, 
North Carolina;

And the court having conducted hearings upon plaintiffs’ 
application for an order directing defendants to show 
cause why the preliminary injunction should not issue;

Now, therefore, upon the testimony adduced at the hear­
ings and from an examination of the pleadings and ex­
hibits filed in this action, the court makes the following 
findings of fact:

1. That plaintiffs, minor Negro children now enrolled 
at schools attended only by Negroes, seek immediate ad­
mission to certain Franklin County Schools which are 
presently attended only by white students.

2. That pursuant to the Civil Eights Act of 1964, the 
Department of Health, Education and "Welfare [hereafter 
HEW] published a “General Statement of Policies Under 
Title VI of The Civil Eights Act of 1964 Eespecting 
Desegregation of Elementary and Secondary Schools.”

3. That the HEW statement of policies requires the 
“ freedom of choice” plan for Grades 1, 9 and 12 in the 
Franklin County System, and one other grade for the 
school year 1965-66.

4. That the Franklin County Board of Education sub­
mitted to HEW a plan of compliance with the Civil Eights



157a

Act of 1964, and that the said department approved the 
plan on August 31, 1965.

5. That the Franklin County plan of compliance pro­
vided for the immediate application of the so-called “free­
dom of choice” plan for Grades 1, 2, 9 and 12 in all schools 
in the county for the school year 1965-66.

6. That the HEW statement of policy requires the ex­
tension of desegregation by the fall of 1967 to all grades 
in school systems not fully desegregated in 1965-66.

7. That the Franklin County plan provides for the 
desegregation of all grades in every school of the county 
by the fall of 1966, one year earlier than the deadline 
required by HEW and only 16 school weeks from the 
date of this order.

8. That the “Statement of Policies” published by HEW 
permitted the lateral transfer of a pupil attending a school 
to which he was originally assigned on the basis of color, 
race or national origin, to another school—irrespective 
of whether or not the grade concerned had been desegre­
gated—in order to (1) take a course of study for which 
the pupil is qualified but which is not available in the school 
then being attended, or (2) upon a showing that the pupil 
either had entered the school system for the first time or 
became eligible to attend some other school in the system 
by reason of a change of residence into a new geographic 
attendance zone.

9. That the Franklin County plan approved by HEW 
on August 31, 1965, provided for the lateral transfer of

Order Denying Motion for Preliminary Injunction



158a

students in grades other than Grades 1, 2, 9 and 12 for 
the school year 1965-66.

10. That a condition for lateral transfer within the 
Franklin County system was that the applicant show 
either (1) his desire to take a course of study not available 
in the school he was then attending, or (2) that he had 
either entered the school system for the first time, or 
became eligible to attend another school in the system 
by reason of his change of residence into a new geographic 
attendance zone.

11. That the defendants caused the plan as approved 
by HEW to be published in the public press, but that the 
plan as published did not recite the two criteria applicable 
to lateral transfers.

12. That plaintiffs applied for lateral transfers in grades 
other than 1, 2, 9 and 12, but were denied their requests 
on the ground that none had alleged as a ground for such 
transfer either of the two criteria.

13. That after school assignments were made for 1965-66 
and before school began, plaintiffs were informed that 
they were denied admission to the school of their choice 
under the lateral transfer provisions because they met 
neither of the two criteria prerequisite to such transfers.

14. That notwithstanding that this information was 
given to plaintiffs before the 1965-66 school year began, 
they neither then nor at two later meetings, in October 
1965, indicated their desire for lateral transfers on either 
of the two grounds required by defendants.

Order Denying Motion for Preliminary Injunction



159a

15. That the Franklin County schools operate on a nine- 
month, rather than a semester, curriculum, and that the 
State of North Carolina requires one hour of attendance 
in each class for 180 days in order for a student to earn 
credit.

16. That some of the plaintiffs are now pursuing courses 
of study which would not be available to them upon trans­
fer, and that where fields of study could be continued 
there is a probability of differing stages of advancement 
in the course material at schools which plaintiffs now at­
tend and to which they seek lateral transfers.

17. That teacher loads and allocations are made before 
the opening of each school year on the basis of the enroll­
ment anticipated, and that bus routes and bus loads are 
determined before each new school year.

The court now concludes as a matter of law:

1. That the United States Congress, while bound by the 
rule of Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954), 
yet cognizant of problems encountered in desegregation, 
intended by the Civil Bights Act of 1964 to effect racial 
desegregation in public schools over a reasonable period 
of time.

2. That Congress invested HEW with a limited dis­
cretion to implement the intent of Congress by requiring 
a showing of good faith efforts to desegregate in order to 
qualify for federal aid.

3. That HEW, exercising its discretion, has provided 
for the desegregation of public schools pursuant to the

Order Denying Motion for Preliminary Injunction



160a

congressional mandate and lias specifically approved the 
plan adopted by defendants.

4. That defendants’ plan effects total desegregation of 
public schools one year earlier than the deadline set by 
HEW, and will give freedom of choice in all grades be­
ginning in September 1966.

5. That defendants have shown their good faith by 
providing for total desegregation one year earlier than 
required by HEW.

6. That although the court does not sanction the failure 
of defendants to give proper notice of the criteria for 
lateral transfers, the conditions adopted by defendants 
were cited by HEW in its statement of policies which 
served as the guideline for defendants’ plan, and which 
was available to the public.

7. That plaintiffs did not base their request for lateral 
transfers upon either of the grounds embraced in the 
criteria, and therefore have not been prejudiced by the 
failure of defendants to give proper notice of said criteria.

8. That there has been no showing of a clear constitu­
tional right to the immediate admission of plaintiffs to 
the schools of their choice, and that plaintiffs have not 
shown irreparable injury from a denial of their requests 
for transfer.

9. That plaintiffs as well as students whom they would 
join in the new classes to which transfer is sought would 
suffer from a transfer at this time, when the current 
school year is nearly two-thirds completed, when course

Order Denying Motion for Preliminary Injunction



161a

advancement is not on a parity, and when plaintiffs could 
not continue in all the courses which they are now pur­
suing ; that such transfers by students in the upper grades 
could result in failure to complete the prescribed courses 
for graduation from high school, or in failure to meet 
college entrance requirements, and that it is not in the 
best interest of the minor plaintiffs to transfer to other 
schools in mid-term.

10. That the guidelines adopted by HEW do not deny 
plaintiffs their constitutional rights, nor are they con­
trary to the intent of Congress.

11. That defendants have in good faith adopted and 
applied a valid plan of desegregation approved by HEW, 
and plaintiffs therefore are not entitled to the relief 
prayed for.

Now, therefore , it  is ordered that the motion for a 
preliminary injunction be and it is hereby denied.

This 21st day of February, 1966.

/ s /  A lgernon  L. B utler  
Chief Judge, U. S. District Court

Order Denying Motion for Preliminary Injunction



162a

This Cause having come on for a hearing on July 25 
and 26, 1966, the Court, on the basis of the testimony and 
exhibits herein and the statements of counsel on behalf 
of the respective parties, but without a full trial on the 
merits, makes the following Findings of Fact, Conclusions 
of Law, and enters the following Interim Order to supple­
ment the Order of February 21, 1966 and the Findings 
and Conclusions contained therein.

F indings  of F act

(1) The Franklin County School Board, beginning with 
the 1966-67 school year, is operating a “freedom of choice” 
plan for all grades for all students in the system, in ac­
cordance with its Desegregation Plan of August 3, 1965, 
as amended by its HEW Form 441B, executed by the 
Franklin County School Board on April 15, 1966, which 
incorporates the HEW Revised Guidelines of 1966. The 
Plan, the Form 441B, and the Revised Guidelines are 
attached hereto as Appendices A, B and C respectively.

(2) At the conclusion of the 1965-66 school year, 6 of 
the 3,488 Negro students in the system were attending 
schools attended predominantly by white students and 
staffed exclusively by white teachers and staff members. 
The remaining Negro students were enrolled at schools 
attended exclusively by Negro students and staffed ex­
clusively by Negro teachers.

(3) Following the spring 1966 “ free choice” period, the 
Franklin County School Board notified the Department of 
Health, Education and Welfare, in its “Estimated Fall

Findings of Fact; Conclusions of Law; Interim Order



163a

Enrollment of School System as of September 1966” , that 
23 Negro students had chosen to attend predominantly 
white schools and all other Negro students had elected to 
attend predominantly Negro schools. In the same docu­
ment, the School Board notified said Department that no 
white classroom teachers were assigned as of May 16, 
1966 to teach at predominantly Negro schools in 1966-67 
and no Negro classroom teachers were assigned as of the 
same date to teach at predominantly white schools. One 
white supervisor is to work with all high schools in the 
system and one Negro supervisor is to work with all ele­
mentary schools in the system.

(4) The defendants’ past practice with respect to staff 
and faculty assignment has been to assign teachers to the 
school to which the teachers have applied. No Negro 
teacher has been assigned to a predominantly white school. 
No white teacher has been assigned to a predominantly 
Negro school.

Conclusions of L aw

(1) The plaintiffs and plain tiff-intervenor are entitled 
to an order enjoining the defendants from racial discrim­
ination in staff and faculty assignment and employment 
in accordance with the decision of the Court of Appeals 
for the Fourth Circuit in Wheeler v. Durham City School 
Board, No. 10,460, decided July 5, 1966.

(2) The plaintiffs and plaintiff-intervenor are entitled 
to an order prohibiting racial discrimination by the defen­
dants in operating the Franklin County School System.

Findings of Fact; Conclusions of Law; Interim Order



164a

I n terim  Order

It is O rdered as follows:

(1) That the defendants, their employees, agents, suc­
cessors, and all persons in active concert or participation 
with them shall not engage in any act, practice, or policy 
of racial discrimination in the operation of the public school 
system of Franklin Cunty,

(2) A new freedom of choice period beginning August 1, 
1966 and ending August 16, 1966 shall be afforded all 
Negro children attending, or eligible to attend, the public 
schools operated by the defendants for the 1966-67 school 
year. Except as herein expressly provided, the choice 
period shall be conducted in accordance with the Eevised 
Guidelines promulgated by the Department of Health, Edu­
cation and Welfare in March 1966.

(3) The defendants shall, no later than July 30, 1966, 
mail to the parent, or person acting as a parent, of each 
Negro child attending or eligible to attend any school in 
the Franklin County public school system, a freedom of 
choice application and associated papers in the form at­
tached hereto, together with a copy of the portion of this 
document entitled “Interim Order” . The defendants shall 
further cause to be published in each edition of the Frank­
lin Times during the choice period the terms of the new 
choice period and the text of the portion of this order 
entitled “Interim Order” .

(4) Freedom of choice applications made pursuant to 
this order shall be treated as if they had been made during 
the spring 1966 choice period.

Findings of Fact; Conclusions of Law; Interim Order



165a

(5) All persons eligible for free choice shall be notified 
by the defendants that any interference with the exercise 
of free choice shall be reported to Robert H. Cowen, United 
States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Caro­
lina, Post Office Building, Raleigh North Carolina, tele­
phone 828-9031, for prompt submission to the Court. Pro­
vision shall be made for reasonable notice to all parties 
in the case of any application by any party for modification 
in this order.

(6) The freedom of choice provided for herein is being 
conducted under order of this Court. Any person or per­
sons who interfere with any person exercising or seeking 
to exercise rights hereunder will be dealt with pursuant 
to federal law. The Court retains full jurisdiction over this 
action for purposes of modifying this decree in the interest 
of justice. In the event of interference by any person 
or persons with the implementation of this order, or with 
the exercise or enjoyment of rights thereunder, the Court 
shall take such action as it deems appropriate under the 
circumstances to achieve the orderly and effective elimina­
tion of segregation in the Franklin County school system.

(7 ) It is further Ordered : that the defendants, their 
employees, agents, successors, and all persons in active 
concert or participation with them are hereby restrained 
and enjoined as follows:

That race, color or national origin shall not be a factor 
in the hiring or assignment to schools or within schools 
of teachers and other professional staff. Vacant teacher 
positions in the future shall be open to all applicants, and 
each filled by the best qualified applicant regardless of race. 
The Franklin County School Board shall encourage trans­

Findings of Fact; Conclusions of Law; Interim Order



166a

fers by present members of the faculty to schools within 
the system in which pupils are wholly or predominantly 
of a race other than such teacher’s. The Franklin County 
School Board shall set up and file with the Court on or 
before August 10, 1966, definite objective standards for 
the employment, assignment and retention of teachers and 
professional staff in a manner not inconsistent with this 
order and compatible with the requirements of the Due 
Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Constitution,

(8) This order shall not be construed to limit in any 
manner the obligations of the defendants under the provi­
sions of the HEW Form 441B and the HEW Guidelines 
of March 1966, except to the extent, if any, that they may 
be modified by this order.

(9) The defendants shall file a report with the Court 
on or before September 12, 1966, with copies of said report 
being served upon counsel for all parties, advising the 
number of Negro students requesting reassignment to 
predominantly white schools and the schools to which such 
students have been assigned. Said report shall also advise 
of the number of Negro and white teachers and school per­
sonnel assigned for the 1966-67 school year to schools in 
which the majority of the students are of another race 
and of the schools to which such teachers and personnel 
have been assigned.

This the 27th. day of July, 1966.

/ s /  A lgernon  L. B u tler  
Chief Judge, U. S. District Court

Findings of Fact; Conclusions of Law; Interim Order



167a

F r a n k l in  C o u n ty  B oard op E ducation  
Louisburg, North Carolina

July 30, 1966

Findings of Fact; Conclusions of Law; Interim Order

Dear Parent:

The United States District Court has ordered changes 
to the plan for the desegregation of the schools of the 
Franklin County administrative unit. A copy of the Court’s 
order is enclosed.

The Court has ordered that every Negro student or his 
parent must make a new choice of the school the Negro 
students will attend in the coming school year. It does 
not matter that you have already made a choice of school. 
You must choose again. You and your child may choose 
any school you wish, and it does not matter whether that 
school was formerly a Negro or a white school.

The free choice period is being conducted under the 
order of the court, so that your right to choose your child’s 
school, including a desegregated school, will be protected. 
If any attempt is made to interfere with the choice you 
make, or to harass you because of the choice you have 
made, you should report the matter to local authorities 
and to the United States Attorney, Mr. Robert H. Cowen, 
at the Post Office Building in Raleigh (Telephone 838- 
9031).

The choice form you should use to make your new choice 
is enclosed. It should be mailed in the enclosed envelope 
or delivered by you or your child to the Superintendent’s 
Office on Pickett Boulevard in Louisburg. You should make



168a

the choice as soon as possible, BUT NOT LATER THAN 
AUGUST 16.

Your school board and all the school staff will do every­
thing within their power to comply with the order of the 
Court, to protect the rights of all its students to a truly 
free choice, and to carry out successfully the desegregation 
plan.

Findings of Fact; Conclusions of Law; Interim Order

Sincerely yours,
Superintendent



169a

F e a n k l in  C o u n t y  B oaed of E ducation  
Louisburg, North Carolina

July 30, 1966

Choice of School Form

This form has been sent you to make a new choice of 
the school your child will attend for the coming school year. 
It does not matter that you have already chosen. You must 
choose again. You may choose any school of the schools 
listed below which have your child’s grade, regardless of 
whether the school is predominantly white or Negro. This 
form must be returned to the Superintendent’s office NOT 
LATER THAN AUGUST 16. If a student is 15 years 
old by the date he makes the choice, or will be entering 
the ninth or higher grade, either he or his parent may make 
the choice.

1. Name of Child ....... ............................................................
Last First Middle

2. Age ......................

3. School attended last year ................................................

Grade entering in coming school year ..................

4. School Chosen (Mark X  beside school chosen)

Findings of Fact; Conclusions of Law; Interim Order



1 7 0 a

Findings of Fact; Conclusions of Law; Interim Order

N a m e o f  S c h o o l

□ Bunn Elementary & High School
□ Cedar Street Elementary School
□ Edward Best Elementary School
□ Edward Best High School
□ Epsom Elementary & High School
□ Gethsemane Elementary & High School
□ Gold Sand Elementary & High School
□ Louisburg Elementary & High School
□ Perry’s Elementary & High School
□ Riverside Elementary & High School
□ Youngsville Elementary School

□ Youngsville Elementary & High School

G rad es L o c a tio n

1-12 Bunn, N.C.
1-7 Rt. 3, Louisburg, N.C.
1-6 Rt. 2, Louisburg, N.C.
7-12 Rt. 4, Louisburg, N.C.
1-12 Rt. 1, Henderson, N.C.
1-12 Bunn, N.C.
1-12 Rt. 3, Louisburg, N.C.
1-12 Louisburg, N.C.
1-12 Rt. 2, Louisburg, N.C.
1-12 Louisburg, N.C.
1-8 Hillsboro Street,

Youngsville, N.C.
1-12 College Street,

Youngsville, N.C.
This form is signed by (mark
proper box) : Signature
Parent □ Address
Other adult person acting as 
parent □ Date
Student □

This block is to be filled in by the Superintendent’s office, not by person 
signing.

Is student assigned to school chosen? □ Yes □ No
If not, explain: ..........................................................................  _____



171a

P lan  F oe C o m plian ce  W it h  T h e  C iv il  E ights  A ct of 1964 
A dopted B y  T h e  F r a n k l in  C o u n ty  B oard of E ducation , 

W it h  “ E xh ib its  A, B and  C”
The Franklin County Board of Education, Franklin 

County Administrative Unit, Franklin County, North 
Carolina, in order to comply with the Civil Eights Act of 
1964, adopted the following policies contained herein at a 
meeting of the Board on May 3, 1965. (N ote) P lease see 
ex h ibit  “ c”  for statem en t  of adm in istration  pla n  by  de­
fen dan ts  FOR 1966-67 SCHOOL YEAR.

I. A  summary statement of present racial situations in 
the Franklin County Administrative Unit, Franklin 
County, State of North Carolina is attached.

II. Type of plan for Franklin County Administrative 
Unit, is based on freedom of choice as hereinafter 
stated on the part of parents or legal guardian of chil­
dren who are entitled to attend the schools of the 
Franklin County Administrative Unit. The Board of 
Education gives its assurance that the freedom of 
choice plan will be carried out in good faith and that 
no students will be excluded from participation in, be 
denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimina­
tion under any program or activity on the ground of 
race, color, or national origin. All facilities in any 
school are available to all pupils within that school 
without regard to race, color, or national origin. 
There shall be no discrimination based on race, color, 
or national origin, with respect to services, facilities, 
activities, and programs sponsored by the schools of 
the system.

Appendix A



172a

III. Plans and procedures for compliance with the Civil 
Eights Act of 1964 in the operation of the schools of 
the Franklin County Administrative Unit, Franklin 
County, State of North Carolina.
A. Pre-registration of pupils planning to enroll in 

the first grade.
1. During the first week in May in two publica­

tions of a newspaper having general circulation 
in Franklin County the announcement below 
shall be conspicuously published as a legal 
document. The P lan  F ob C om pliance  W it h  
T h e  C iv il  R ig h ts  A ct op 1964 will be covered 
as part of a series of news articles now being 
run in this paper. Copies of said plan will be 
available in all schools of the Franklin County 
Administrative Unit.

P re-registbation  of F irst Grade P upils  for F all  1965 
S chools of F r a n k l in  C o u n ty  A d m inistrative  U n it

Pre-registration of pupils entitled to attend the 
schools of the Franklin County Administrative Unit, 
planning to enroll in the first grade for the 1965-66 
school year, will take place for a period of five days, 
from May 17, 1965 to May 21, 1965 between the hours 
of 3:30 P.M. and 5:00 P.M. Under policies adopted 
by the Board of Education, parents or legal guardian 
of such children shall register them during this period 
at the school of their choice for assignment to such 
school, without regard to race, color, or national origin. 
Free choices that are denied because of overcrowding 
will be notified promptly and permitted to make a 
second choice of another school where space to ac-

Appendix A



173a

commodate them is available without regard to race, 
color, or national origin. In the event more choices 
are made for a particular school than can he accom­
modated due to overcrowding of facilities, preference 
will be accorded to the students choosing that school 
who reside closest to that school, without regard to 
race, color, or national origin, or to prior attendance 
at the school. The choice is granted to the parent or 
legal guardian of children who are entitled to attend 
the schools of the Franklin County Administrative 
Unit. Preferences will be given according to geo­
graphic proximity, without regard to race, color, or 
national origin.

Teachers, principals, and other school personnel 
shall be prohibited from advising, recommending, or 
otherwise influencing the decision. School personnel 
shall neither favor nor penalize children because of 
the choice made.

Children entitled to attend the schools of the Frank­
lin County Administrative Unit, entering the first 
grade, who have been pre-registered for the 1965-66 
school year at the school chosen by the parent or legal 
guardian on Beginners’ Day are not required to re­
register pursuant to this announcement. Parents or 
legal guardian of children entitled to attend the schools 
of the Franklin County Administrative Unit, not pre­
registered in the spring, may register them at the 
school of their choice on August 23, 1965, between 
9 :30 A.M. and 11:00 A.M., prior to the opening of 
schools for the 1965-66 school year; but first prefer­
ence in choice of schools will be given to those who pre­
registered in the spring period. Parents or legal 
guardian will be given the opportunity to re-register 
at the school of their choice.

Appendix A



174a

2, Annually after 1965, similar practices will be 
followed with respect to registering and enroll­
ing children for the first time in the first grade.

B. All other children newly enrolling in Franklin 
County Administrative Unit:

At appropriate times there will he furnished to the 
parents or legal guardian of children entitled to at­
tend the schools of the Franklin County Administra­
tive Unit, who are newly enrolling, the forms and 
instructions necessary to complete registration and 
enrollment, along with information of the P lan  F or 
C o m plian ce  W it h  th e  C ivil  E ights  A ct op 1964 F or 
t h e  F r a n k l in  C o u n ty  A dm inistrative  U n it .

C. P upils  B eing  P romoted to t h e  S econd , N in t h , 
and  T w e lp t h  G rades

1. The initial assignment of pupils being promoted 
to the second, ninth, and twelfth grades of 
schools in Franklin County Administrative 
Unit will be handled in the following manner: 
All pupils in the first, eighth, and eleventh 
grades will be furnished by their classroom 
teachers on a date fixed by the Board of Edu­
cation, prior to the end of the school year, the 
appropriate instructions and forms on which 
parents or legal guardian of children who are 
promoted to the second, ninth, and twelfth 
grades and entitled to attend the schools of the 
Franklin County Administrative Unit, are re­
quired to make their choice of the school to be 
attended by such pupils. A period of ten days

Appendix A



175a

from and after the date of distribution will he 
allowed for the return of free choice forms. 
Parents or legal guardian are required to ex­
ercise their choice of school, and no pupil will 
be admitted or re-admitted to any school until 
such a choice has been made as herein specified.

D . L ateral T ransfers B y  P upils  E ligible  to Con ­
t in u e  I n  a S chool W here  C u rren tly  E nrolled .

At the end of the school year, pupils eligible to con­
tinue in the same school except where covered by Part 
A  and Part C above, will be assigned thereto for the 
forthcoming year. At a date fixed by the Board of 
Education and appropriately in advance of the time 
that assignments for the forthcoming year are made, 
there shall be made available in all schools and at 
the office of the superintendent, appropriate instruc­
tions setting forth in detail the procedure by which 
parents or legal guardian of a child entitled to attend 
the schools of Franklin County Administrative Unit 
may exercise their right to apply for a transfer of 
such child to a school of their choice. Classroom teach­
ers will furnish all pupils information stating that in­
structions for lateral transfers are available at the 
office of the school principals and the Franklin County 
Superintendent. Such instructions will set forth in 
detail the Board of Education’s policies respecting 
transfers without regard to race for the forthcoming 
year as set forth in Part A  and Part C above and will 
state that each child will be assigned to the school 
currently attended in the event the right of lateral 
transfer is not exercised within the time fixed in the 
instructions. The instructions may also provide for

Appendix A



176a

lateral transfer at other times of the year under spe­
cial circumstances as may be fixed by the Board of 
Education.
E. Freedom of choice will be offered to all students 

in all grades for the school year 1966-67 and each 
school year thereafter.

IY. The exercise of free choice will not be restricted by 
transportation policies and practices. Transportation 
will be provided for all pupils in a school on the same 
basis, and without segregation because of race, color, 
and national origin.

Y. The Board recognizes that staff desegregation has been 
declared necessary under the provisions of the Civil 
Bights Act of 1964. Joint faculty meetings, in-service 
programs, workshops, demonstrations, and other pro­
fessional meetings are being held. Meetings and con­
ferences will be held to inform staff members of the 
provisions of the Board of Education’s Plan for Com­
pliance with the Civil Bights Act of 1964. Principals, 
teachers, and other staff members will not be dis­
charged or demoted on the basis of race, color, or 
national origin because of actual or expected loss of 
pupils in a school where the pupils they serve or have 
been serving choose or are assigned to a school of 
their choice. No faculty or staff member of this dis­
trict during the school year 1964-65 was refused re­
employment or was demoted for the school year 1965- 
66 on account of race, color, or national origin, or be­
cause of actual or expected loss of pupils in a school 
where the pupils they serve or have been serving chose 
or were assigned to a school of their choice.

Appendix A



177a

A ssurance of C o m plian ce  W it h  th e  R evised S tatem en t  
of P olicies foe S chool D esegregation P lan s

U nder T itle  YI of t h e  C iv il  R ights  A ct of 1964 
Franklin County Board of Education (hereinafter called 

(Name of Applicant)
the “Applicant” )

HEREBY AGREES THAT it will comply with all re­
quirements in the Revised Statement of Policies for School 
Desegregation Plans under Title YI of the Civil Rights 
Act of 1964, issued by the U.S. Commissioner of Education 
(hereinafter called the “ Commissioner” ), March, 1966' 
(45 CFR Part 181), which are applicable to plans of the 
same type as the Applicant’s voluntary plan for the deseg­
regation of its school system. The Applicant also agrees 
that it will comply with any amendment of such Revised 
Statement, unless after the publication of any such amend­
ment the Applicant shall notify the Commissioner that it 
does not intend to operate a voluntary plan for desegrega­
tion in accordance with such an amendment.

If any real property or structure thereon is provided or 
improved with the aid of Federal financial assistance ex­
tended to the Applicant in reliance on this assurance, this 
assurance shall obligate the Applicant, or in the case of 
any transfer of such property, any transferee, for the 
period during which the real property or structure is 
used for the purpose for which the Federal financial as­
sistance is extended or for another purpose involving the 
provision of similar services or benefits. I f any personal 
property is so provided, this assurance shall obligate the 
Applicant for the period during which it retains ownership

Appendix B



178a

or possession of the property. In all other cases of exten­
sion of Federal financial assistance in reliance on this 
assurance, this assurance shall obligate the Applicant for 
the period during which the Federal financial assistance is 
extended to it.

The Applicant has adopted and is implementing a voluntary 
plan for desegregation of its school system based on Free­
dom of Choice.............................................................................

(specify whether freedom of choice, geographic attend­

Appendix B

ance zones, a combination of both of the foregoing, or other type of plan).
Applicant should check the applicable box below:

lX| Such plan was accepted by the Commissioner prior to 
the submission of this form and is hereby modified to the 
extent necessary to comply with the applicable require­
ments of the Revised Statement of Policies for School 
Desegregation Plans Under Title VI of the Civil Rights 
Act of 1964 (45 CFR Part 181).

or

□  Such plan is submitted herewith.

THIS ASSURANCE is given in consideration of and for 
the purpose of obtaining any and all Federal grants, loans, 
contracts, property, discounts or other Federal financial 
assistance conditioned upon the acceptance by the Com­
missioner of a Voluntary Plan for Desegregation if such 
assistance is extended after the date hereof to the Ap­
plicant, directly or through an intervening State agency, 
including installment payments after such date on account 
of applications for Federal financial assistance which were



179a

approved before such date. The Applicant recognizes and 
agrees that such Federal financial assistance will be ex­
tended in reliance on the representations and agreements 
made in this assurance, and that the United States or the 
State agency through which Federal financial assistance 
is extended, jointly or severally shall have the right to 
seek judicial enforcement of this assurance. This as­
surance is binding on the Applicant, its successors, trans­
ferees, and assignees, and the person or persons whose 
signatures appear below are authorized to sign this as­
surance on behalf of the Applicant.

Appendix B

Dated March 30, 1966

Franklin County, North Carolina 
(County and State in which 

Applicant is located)
Franklin County Board of Education 
Box 6
Louisburg, North Carolina 
(Applicant’s mailing address)

Franklin County Board of Education 
(Applicant)
Mrs. T. H. Dickens 
(President, Chairman of Board, or 

comparable authorized official)
If any grades are covered by free­
dom of choice for the 1966-67 school 
year, state grades so covered: 1-12 
and choice period dates: 4-4-66 to 
5-4-66
State grades covered by any other
type of plan for 1966-67: ...........
Specify type of plan: -...............



180a

Plaintiffs’ Response to Defendants’  Standards for the 
Employment, Assignment and Retention o f Teachers

(Filed August 18, 1966)

Come now the plaintiffs, by their undersigned counsel, 
and, in response and objection to defendants’ Standards 
for the Employment, Assignment and Retention of Teach­
ers and Professional Staff, respectfully show the Court:

1. That the standards proposed in paragraph III of the 
section on Initial Employment of defendants proposed 
plan are subjective.

2. That the areas of evaluation of paragraph Y  of the 
section on Initial Employment in which the Advisory 
Committees and Principals are to judge applicants are 
subjective and patently vague in that no rating scale is 
set forth by which to judge the areas of evaluation and 
no minimum evaluation is established.

3. No standards are proposed in paragraph VI of the 
section on Initial Employment as bases for the required 
nomination and selection.

4. That paragraph III of the section on Assignment is 
subjective and designed to perpetuate segregation of staff 
and faculties in the Franklin County School System.

5. That paragraphs IY and V of the section on Assign­
ment provide no standards as bases for the required 
recommendation.

6. Paragraph III of the section on Retention is ob­
jectionable in that:



181a

Plaintiffs’ Response to Defendants’ Standards for the
Employment, Assignment and Retention of Teachers

(a) The areas of appraisal are vague and contain no 
standards for determining the teacher’s fitness 
for retention;

(b) No scale of rating is set forth by which appraisals 
are to be made;

(c) No minimum rate of appraisal is established;

(d) No provision is made for periodic appraisals 
from which a cumulative appraisal can be de­
termined ;

(e) No provision is made for appraisals by more 
than one person.

7. That paragraphs IV and V of the section on Reten­
tion provide no standards for the required recommenda­
tions.

W hebefobe, plaintiffs pray that the Court reject the 
proposed standards filed by the defendants and order that 
defendants submit new, objective and definitive standards 
which will accord due process and equal protection of the 
law to the teachers and school personnel of the Franklin 
County School System.



182a

Plaintiff-Intervenor’ s Objections to 
Defendants’ “ Objective Standards for  

State and Faculty Employment”

(Filed August 22, 1966)

Plaintiff-Intervenor, United States of America, respect­
fully files the following Objections to the “Objective Stan­
dards for the Employment, Assignment and Retention of 
Teachers and Professional Staff Adopted by Franklin 
County Board of Education,” dated August 6, 1966.

1. In general, the Standards proposed by defendants, 
while objective with respect to criteria for hiring, assign­
ment and retention of teachers and staff members, make 
no provision for the disestablishment of presently existing 
total racial segregation of staff and faculty members in 
the Franklin County system. There is no provision in the 
Standards for a public expression by the defendants to 
all prospective teachers and staff members and to citizens 
of Franklin County that the Board of Education recog­
nizes, and proposes to carry out, its obligation to employ, 
assign, promote and discharge teachers and staff members 
without regard to race and to take all reasonable steps 
to eliminate racial segregation of staff and faculty which 
has resulted from the operation of a dual system based 
on race or color.

2. The Standards provide that “vacant positions shall 
be open to all applicants,” but do not make it clear whether 
this refers to applications to a particular school or to 
applications to teach in the system as a whole. To assign 
teachers pursuant to applications to a particular school, 
or to encourage applications to be made to a particular 
school tends, under the segregated conditions now existing,



183a

Plaintiff-Intervenor’s Objections to Defendants’
“ Objective Standards for State and Faculty Employment”

to perpetuate the dual system by requiring the individual 
teacher to take the initiative in desegregating the faculty. 
The responsibility for disestablishing faculty desegrega­
tion is placed by the law on the defendants and the initia­
tive for measures to accomplish this end should come 
from them.

3. The Standards do not provide, either with respect 
to initial employment of teachers and staff members, nor 
with respect to retention of teachers and staff members 
previously employed, that willingness to teach at a school 
in which most of the teachers and students are of another 
race, shall be treated either as a qualification for employ­
ment or for retention, or even as one of the considerations 
relevant thereto.

4. The Standards provide, with respect to assignment, 
that “ the choice of assignment expressed by teachers or 
members of professional staff will be honored to the extent 
practicable.” The words “to the extent practicable” are 
not defined and do not acknowledge the Board of Educa­
tion’s constitutional responsibility to desegregate the fac­
ulty. The Standards include no provision that teachers 
may be assigned to schools in which the majority of the 
teachers and students are of a different race, in order that 
the Franklin County Board of Education may meet its 
constitutional obligation to accomplish faculty desegre­
gation. The Standards likewise fail to implement the 
provision of Paragraph 7 of this Court’s Order of July 27, 
1966, that teachers and staff members are to be encouraged 
to accept assignment at schools in which the majority of 
the teachers and students are of a different race from the



184a

Plaintiff -Inter venor’s Objections to Defendants’ 
“ Objective Standards for State and Faculty Employment”

teacher to whom the request is being made, and they do 
not disclose what specific steps, if any, defendants are 
taking to encourage teachers to transfer to such schools.

5. With respect to the employment of new teachers and 
staff members, the Standards do not provide that each 
applicant for a position will be advised that Franklin 
County operates an integrated school system and that all 
teachers are subject to assignment in the interest of the 
system without regard to their race or to the race of 
most teachers and pupils at the school to which they may 
be assigned.

6. With respect to assignment, the Standards provide 
that “race, color or national origin shall not be a factor 
in the assignment of teachers and professional staff.” 
This sentence should be qualified to express the proposi­
tion that race, color or national origin may be considered 
by the Board for the purpose of disestablishing and cor­
recting existing segregation.

7. With respect to the employment of new teachers 
and staff members, the Standards do not provide that all 
recruiting shall be done on a non-racial basis. Under the 
Standards as written, principals and other persons en­
gaged in recruiting would be able to continue to engage 
in their activities in a traditional manner, with white prin­
cipals recruiting at predominantly white teacher’s colleges 
and Negro principals recruiting at predominantly Negro 
teacher’s colleges, etc. Continued recruitment on such a 
basis would tend to perpetuate racial segregation of the 
staff and faculty of each school.



185a

Motion to Require Defendants to Eliminate
Educational Disparities

(Filed October 7, 1966)

Plaintiff-Intervenor, United States of America, respect­
fully moves this Court for an order preliminarily and 
permanently enjoining the defendants, their agents, em­
ployees and successors, from failing or refusing to take 
all necessary and reasonable steps to eliminate educational 
and other disparities between the predominantly white 
and predominantly Negro schools in the Franklin County 
school system.

This motion is based on the attached affidavit of Frank 
E. Schwelb, on the pleadings and other papers on file 
herein, the testimony and exhibits introduced into evidence 
herein and on evidence to be introduced upon the hearing 
of this motion.



186a

Affidavit of Frank E. Schwelb

W ash in g to n ,
D isteict  of C olu m bia , s s

F e an k  E. S ch w elb , being duly sworn, deposes and says:

1. I am an attorney with, the Department of Justice 
and counsel for the Plaintiff-Intervenor in this case. I 
make this affidavit in support of Plaintiff-Intervenor’s 
“Motion to Require Defendants to Eliminate Educational 
Disparities.”

2. In preparation for the hearing in this cause from 
July 25-28, 1966, attorneys and a Research Assistant of 
the Civil Rights Division, working under my supervision, 
examined portions of the Educational Directory of North 
Carolina for 1965-66 applying to Franklin County and 
records filed with the North Carolina State Department 
of Public Instruction by the defendant Board of Educa­
tion and by principals and other employees of the defen­
dant Board, for the academic year 1965-66. Copies of these 
records were introduced into evidence by the United States 
as Plaintiff-Intervenor’s Exhibit 29. The contents of this 
affidavit are taken from the materials introduced into 
evidence as Plaintiff-Intervenor’s Exhibit 29.

3. During 1965-66, the defendants operated the follow­
ing schools in Franklin County, North Carolina:

P red o m in a n tly
W h ite  N eg r o

N a m e G rad e N a m e G rad e

Bunn 1-12 Cedar Street 1-7
Edward Best Ele. 1-6 Gethsemane 1-12
Edward Best H.S. 7-12 Mapleville 1-6



187a

P red o m in a n tly

Affidavit of Frank E. Schwelb

W h ite N eg r o
N a m e G rade N a m e G rade

Epsom 1-12 Perry’s 1-12

Gold Sand 1-12 Riverside 1-12

Louisburg 1-12 Youngsville Ele. 1-8

Youngsville High 1-12

I am advised that Mapleville School was closed by the
defendants for the 1966-67 school year but that all other
schools in the system continue in operation. The formerly 
Negro schools remain all-Negro in their student bodies 
and the formerly white schools remain predominantly or 
wholly white. Fewer than 1.5% of the Negro pupils in 
Franklin County are attending previously white schools.

4. The records described in paragraph 2 of this Affi­
davit and introduced into evidence as Plaintiff-Intervenor’s 
Exhibit 29 disclose the following:

A. A ccreditation by State of North Carolina

All of the predominantly white elementary schools in 
the system, but none of the Negro elementary schools, are 
accredited by the State of North Carolina. All of the high 
schools in Franklin County are accredited, but the pre­
dominantly white high schools have been accredited for a 
longer time than the Negro schools:

P red o m in a n tly
W h ite

Ye-ar
N eg r o

Ye<ar
S ch oo l A c c r e d ite d S ch oo l A c c r e d ite d

Bunn 1922 Gethsemane 1961

Edward Best 1924 Perry’s 1960



188a

Affidavit of Frank E. Scliwelb

P red o m in a n tly
White

S ch oo l
Ye-ar

A c c r e d ite d S ch oo l

N e g r o
Ye<ar

A c c r e d ite d

Epsom 1928 Riverside 1933
Gold Sand 1927
Louisburg 1920

Appendix “A ” to this Affidavit reflects the accreditation 
status of each public school in Franklin County.

B . C apital  V alu ation  op S chool B uildings

According to the Principals’ Final Reports for 1965-66, 
the capital valuation of school property per pupil enrolled 
in the Franklin County School System, by race, was as 
follows:

Predominantly White Schools $913.44 per pupil
Negro Schools $285.18 per pupil

Appendix “B” to this Affidavit reflects a breakdown, by 
school, of the statistics reflecting capital valuation and 
enrollment.

C. A creage op S chool P roperty

According to the Principals’ Final Reports for 1965-66, 
the acreage of school property per white pupil enrolled in 
the Franklin County school system was approximately four 
times the acreage per Negro pupil enrolled:

P u p ils A c r e s
A c r e s  

p e r  p u p il

Predominantly White Schools 2,688 107.7 .04
Negro Schools 3,457 36.5 .01



189a

Appendix “C” to this Affidavit reflects a breakdown, by 
school, of acreage per pupil.

D. P u pil -C lassroom E atio

On the basis of the Principals’ Final Reports for 1965-66, 
the number of pupils classroom, by race, during 1965-66 was 
as follows:

Predominantly White Schools 22.8 to 1

Negro Schools 34.9 to 1

Appendix “D” to this Affidavit reflects a breakdown, by 
school, of the pupil-classroom-ratio.

E. L ibrary V olum es P er P u pil

On the basis of the Principals’ Final Reports for 1965-66, 
the number of library volumes per pupil at predominantly 
white schools was more than double the number of library 
volumes per pupil at Negro schools:

Affidavit of. Frank E. Schwelb

N o. o f  
P u p ils N o . o f V  olum es
( A D A ) V olu m es p e r  P u p il

Predominantly White Schools 2,469 22,347 9.05
Negro Schools 2,809 11,324 4.0

Appendix “E” to this Affidavit reflects a breakdown, by 
school, of the number of library volumes per pupil.

F. P u pil  T eacher  R atio

According to the Principals’ Final Reports for 1965-66, 
the pupil-teacher ratios at predominantly white schools 
in Franklin County were lower than the corresponding



190a

ratios for Negro schools, whether based on enrollment or 
an average daily attendance:

N o. o f  P u p ils  N o . o f  P u p ils  
p e r  T ea ch er  p e r  T ea ch er  
E n ro llm e n t ( A .D .A . )

Predominantly White Schools 24.9 22.9
Negro Schools 31.8 26

Appendix “ F” to this Affidavit reflects the pupil-teacher 
ratio for each public school in Franklin County.

6 . T ransportation

According to the Personnel Budget for 1965-66, sub­
mitted by the defendants, the pupil per school bus ratio 
for Negro schools in Franklin County is approximately 
one and a half times as great as the pupil-school bus ratio 
for white students:

N o. o f  S tu d en ts

Affidavit of Frank E. Schwelb

N o. o f A s s ig n e d  to S tu d en ts
B u ses B u ses p e r  B u s

Predominantly White Schools 44 1,931 43
Negro Schools 37 2,373 64.1

Appendix “ Gr” to this Affidavit reflects the number of buses, 
and students transported for each public school in Franklin 
County.

F ran k  E. S chw elb



School (Grades)
E n r o l l
Eleffi.

. s e n t
High

Year % Elem Students % High Std 
Accredited Accredited Accredited

Bunn (1-6) 364* 1942 100%
Bunn (7-12) 357* 1922 100%
Edward Best (1-6) 157 1952 100%
Edward Best (7-12) 190 1924 100%
Epsom (1-6) 119 1942 100%
Epsom (7-12) 106 1928 100%
Gold Sand (1-6) 178 1939 100%
Gold Sand (7-12) 168 1927 100%
Louisburg (1-6) 380 1940 100%
Louisburg (7-12) 306 1920 100%
Youngsville H. (1- 6) 149 1943 100%
Youngsville H. (7r 12) 195 1926 100%
White Schools 1347 1322 100% 100%

Cedar Street (1-7) 123
Gethsemane (1-6) 442
Gethsemane (7-12) 279 1961 100%
Mapleville (1-6) 106
Perry (1-6) 474*
Perry (7-12) 400* 1960 1 0 0 %

Riverside (1-6) 791*
Riverside (7-12) 703* 1933 100%
Youngsville El. (1 -8) 201

2137 1382 0% 100%
♦Students not classified by grade are not included in these figures.
Total Elementary Enrollment 3484 61% attend'g non-accred. s~hs
Total High School Enrollment 2704 0% attend’g non-accred. schs.

APPENDIX A



191a

Appendix A



192a

Appendix B

(See Opposite) Bgr*



xt-'j.-rt.i-.. -
OF 3 U l- ,J lN G S ________ ENROLLED______________ EN R O L L D

Edward Best Elem. $ 85,393 157 $ 543.50

Edward Best High $191,700 225 $ 852.00

Epsom $219,500 190 $1,,155.26

Gold Sand $331,700 346 $ 958.67

Y o u n gsville Hig h $309,840 344 $ 900.69

Bunn $595,200 740 ' $ 804.32

Louisburg $722,000 686 $1,052.47

Total White $2,455,333 2,688 $ 913.44

Cedar Street $ 16,420.00 123 $ 133.49

Gethsemane $262,000.00 721 $ 363.38

H apleville $ 6,700.00 106 $ 63.20

You n g s v i l l e  Elem. $ 18,848.34 201 $ 93.77

Perry $241,977.08 895 $ 270.36

Riverside $470,177.98 1,517 $ 309.93

Total Negro $1,016,123.40 3,563 $ 285.18

Total Negro 
and W h i t e $3,471,456.40 6,251 $ 555.34

A D D lA in T Y  t?



193a



1 9 4 a

Appendix C

(See Opposite) ESP



SCHOOL ENROLLED ACREAGE ACRES PER PUPIL-

Edward Best Elem. 157 6 .0382
Epsom 225 18 .0800

Edward Best High 190 10 .0526
Youngsville High 344 8.2 .0238
Gold Sand 346 11 .0317
Louisburg 686 40 .0583
Bunn 740 14.5 .0195

Total White Schools 2,688 107.7 .0400

Youngsville Elem. 201 3 .0149
Mapleville 106** Not Given

Cedar Street 123 3 .0243
Riverside 1,517 10.5 .0069
Perry 895 10 .0111
Gethsemane 721 10 .0138

Total Negro Schools 3,457 36.5 .0105

Total white & Negro 6,145 144.2 .0234

*These figures are based 
**Not included in total.

on enrollment.

APPENDIX G



195a



196a

Appendix D

(See Opposite) 1®"



SCHOOL CLASSROOMS ENROLLED PUPj.i,3 PER CLASSROOM}'''

Gold Sand 15 346 23.1

Epsom 17 225 13.2

Edward Best Elem. 6 157 26.2

Edward, Best High 9 190 21.1

Youngsville High 16 344 21.5

Bunn 29 740 25.5

Louisburg 26 686 26.4

Total White 118 2,688 22.8

Cedar Street 4 123 30.8

Gethsemane 20 721 36.1

Youngsville Elem. 7 201 28.7

Mapleville 4 106 26.5

Perry 24 895 37.29

Riverside 43 1,517 35.3

Total Negro 102 3,563 34.9

Total white and Negro 220 6,251 28.4

*These figures based on enrollment.

APPENDIX D



197a



198a

Appendix E

(See Opposite) ISSr1



s c io c h u ENROLLED ADA WIMBEft QfF LIBRARY VOLUMES**

Edward fleet Elea* 157 1A3 1,302

Epson* 225 209 2,842

Edward Best High 190 176 1,724

Tmmgeville High »%4t 322 2,634

Gold Sand 31*6 321 2,641

Bunn 740 672 5,016

Inuisburg 686 626 6,138

2 tk69 22,347

Youngsville Elem. 201 157 1,011

Mapleville 106 74 624

Cedar Street 123 102* Hot Given

Riverside 1,517 1,240

Perry 895 724 4,034

Gethesesaane 721 614 1,911

2,809 11,324

Ratio of books to whitest 9,05 books per white pupil 

Ratio of books to Negroes* 4.0 books per Negro pupil 
Ratio of books to ell pupils* 5*7 per pupil

♦Mot included in total 
♦♦Ratio computed using the AHA.

;
APPSKDIX S



199a



200a

Appendix F

(See Opposite) 83^



f N S TV-V C " i  A i~ 

INSTRUCTIONAL
SCHOOL PERSONNEL ENROLLED P-T RATIO ADA P-T RATIO
Epsom 10 225 22.5 209 20.9
Edward Best Elem. 6 157 26.2 143 23,8
Edward Best High 9 190 21.1 176 19.6
Youngsville High 14 344 24.6 322 23.0
Gold Sand 14 346 24.7 321 22.9
Bunn 28 740 26.4 672 24.0
Louisburg 27 686 25.4 626 23.2

Total White 108 2,688 24.9 2,469 22.9

Cedar Street 4 123 ' 30.8 102 25.5
Gethsemane 23 721 32.8 614 26.7
Youngsville Elem. 7 201 28.7 157 22.4
Mapleville 4 106 26.5 74 18.5
Riverside 45 1,517 33.7 1,240 27.6
Perry 29 895 30.9 724 25.0

Total Negro 112 3,563 31.8 2,911 26.0

APPENDIX F



201a



Appendix G

(See Opposite)



Schools
Busses assigned 

to schools
Students assigned 

to busses
Students 
per bus

Bunn 13 599 46
Edward Best Schools 8 279 34.8
Epsom 5 152 30.4-
Gold Sand 6 298 49.6
Louisburg 6 361 60.1
Youngsville High 6 242 40.3

White Schools 44 1931 43

Gethsemane 8 552 69
Perry 11 613 55.7
Riverside, Cedar Street

and Mapleville 16 1144 71.5
Youngsville Elem. 2 64 32

Negro Schools 37 2373 64.1

All Schools 81 4304 53.1

APP£ G



203a



2 0 4 a

Motion for Further Relief

(Filed April 10, 1967)

Come now the plaintiffs, by their undersigned counsel, 
and respectfully move the Court for further relief in the 
above-entitled cause and, as grounds therefor, show the 
Court as follows:

1. This cause was initially filed by plaintiffs on Decem­
ber 8, 1965, seeking a temporary restraining order, and 
preliminary and permanent injunctive relief against further 
racially discriminatory practices by the defendants in the 
operation and administration of the Franklin County Pub­
lic Schools.

2. On January 11, 1966, a motion for leave to intervene 
in the proceeding was filed by the United States, along 
with a complaint in intervention.

3. Answers to plaintiffs’ complaint and to plaintiffs’ 
motion for temporary restraining order and preliminary 
injunction were filed on January 14, 1967, following the 
order entered December 16, 1966, extending the time for 
defendant to answer.

4. On January 20, 1966, the Court entered an order 
allowing the Government to intervene, to file its complaint 
in intervention and to add additional parties-defendant. 
On the same date, the Government filed an application for 
defendants to show cause why they should not be required 
to immediately enroll all Negro students, who had been 
denied the right to transfer, in the school of their choice.

5. Answer to the Government’s complaint in interven­
tion was filed on February 21, 1966, and on the same day,



205a

following hearings, the Court denied plaintiffs’ motion for 
temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction.

6. The cause came on for hearing on July 25 and 26, 
1966, following which the Court entered an Interim Order, 
enjoining defendants from further practices of discrim­
ination in the operation of the Franklin County Public 
Schools, ordering a new freedom of choice period to be 
conducted in accordance with the Revised Guidelines of 
the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, re­
straining further consideration of race or color in the 
employment and assignment of teachers and school per­
sonnel and ordering defendant to present a plan of definite, 
objective standards to govern the employment and assign­
ment of teachers. The Court retained jurisdiction of the 
course to consider any interference, threats or intimida­
tions of parents, children or others seeking to exercise 
their rights under the Court’s order.

7. On August 6, 1966, the defendant Board filed its 
standards for the employment, assignment and retention 
of teachers, objections to which, have been filed by the 
plaintiffs and by the Government.

8. The defendants filed a report of the progress of de­
segregation on September 10, 1966, indicating that 49 
Negro students requested reassignment and were assigned 
to predominantly white schools and that two white teach­
ers and one Negro teacher had been assigned to schools 
in which their race was in the minority.

9. On October 1966, the Government moved for an order 
requiring defendant to eliminate the educational dispari-

Motion For Further Relief



206a

ties between the white and Negro schools in the Franklin 
County School System.

10. In their complaint, plaintiffs alleged that the defen­
dant Board pursued a policy and practice of maintaining 
racially separate schools, that Negro and white students 
have been assigned on a racially separate basis; that Negro 
and white teachers and school personnel are assigned on 
a racially separate basis, that Negro students and parents 
have consistently been intimidated and threatened when 
they seek to exercise their rights to attend school without 
consideration of race. The Court’s order of July 27, 1966, 
sought to eliminate these practices, but without success. 
Negro students and parents who seek to exercise their 
right to obtain a desegregated education are still intimi­
dated and threatened; teachers and school personnel have 
continued to be assigned on a racially discriminatory basis; 
the defendant has continued to perpetuate inferior schools 
and school facilities for Negro students.

11. The responsibility for desegregating the public 
schools of Franklin County has clearly been placed upon 
the defendants. Plans or programs which fail, for what­
ever reason, to eliminate racial discrimination or segrega­
tion are constitutionally inadequate and defendants should 
be required to adopt a different plan or to take additional 
steps which will in fact desegregate the school system.

12. The plan followed by defendant Board has proven 
wholly inadequate to meet defendant’s constitutional duty 
of completely desegregating the school system. Defendant 
Board proposes no changes which might correct the in­
adequacies of its plan.

Motion For Further Relief



Motion For Further Relief

Specifically:

(a) The fear of Negro parents and children, caused by 
threats and intimidations, prevents them from exercising 
a choice under the freedom of choice plan, the lack of a 
substantial increase in the number of students attending 
desegregated schools as required by the “Revised State­
ment of Policies for School Desegregation Plans Under 
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964” of the Depart­
ment of Health, Education and Welfare, Section 181.54 
[hereinafter referred to as Revised Rules].

(b) Defendant has continued to employ and to assign 
teachers and school personnel on the basis of race and 
color so as to perpetuate racial identities of schools and 
has failed to take the steps as outlined in the Court’s 
order of July 27, 1966 and by the Revised Rules to elim­
inate the racial compositions of staffs resulting from past 
racial assignments. See Section 181.13.

(c) Defendant has continued to perpetuate its inferior 
schools for Negro students. See Revised Rule Section 
181.15.

(d) Defendant has continued its dual transportation 
system for Negro and white schools.

13. By failing to institute measures for faculty deseg­
regation and by failing to take the affirmative steps neces­
sary to implement an effective desegregation plan, defen­
dants have continued to violate the rights of plaintiffs and 
others of their class.

W herefore, the plaintiffs pray that the Court advance 
this cause on the docket and order a speedy hearing of 
plaintiffs motion for further relief and o f the other mo­



208a

tions and objections heretofore filed in this cause, and, 
upon such hearing, enter a decree:

1. Ordering the defendants to present a new plan, with­
in a period of time which will permit its implementation 
at the beginning of the 1967-68 school year, reorganizing 
the Franklin County school system into a unitary, non- 
racial system, which will provide for all students, without 
consideration of race, being assigned to school pursuant 
to geographical zones, for all teachers, new and old, being 
assigned to the various schools without consideration of 
their race or the race or color of the students attending 
the particular school, for the elimination of inferior schools 
or school facilities, previously designed for Negro students, 
for the elimination of the racially separate transportation 
system, for the elimination of racially separate programs 
and extra-curricular school activities, and for the elim­
ination of any other discrimination in the operation of the 
school system based on race or color;

2. Ordering the defendants to pay the costs of this ac­
tion and reasonable counsel fees;

3. Retaining jurisdiction of this cause pending full and 
complete compliance by the defendants with the Court’s 
order.

Motion For Further Relief



209a

Plaintiffs request that the defendants answer under oath, 
pursuant to Rule 33 of the Federal Rules of Civil Pro­
cedure, the following Interrogatories:

1. For the 1966-67 school year, state for each school:
(a) The number of Negro students, by grades, in each 

school;

(b) The number of white students, by grades, in each 
school;

(c) The number of Negro teachers in each school;
(d) The number of white teachers in each school;
(e) The planned pupil capacity for each school;
(f) The difference in course offering between predom­

inantly Negro and predominantly white schools.

2. For the 1967-68 school year, state for each school:

(a) The number of Negro students, by grades, who 
have requested reassignment or assignment to 
predominantly white schools;

(b) The number of white students, by grades, who 
have requested reassignment or assignment to 
predominantly Negro schools;

(c) The number of Negro teachers assigned or to be 
assigned to predominantly white schools and the 
grades or subjects to be taught;

(d) The number of white teachers assigned or to be 
assigned to predominantly Negro schools and the 
grades or subjects to be taught;

Interrogatories



2 1 0 a

(e) The planned pupil capacity for each school;

(f) The difference in course offerings of formerly all- 
Negro and all-white schools.

3. For the 1967-68 school year, in connection with the 
freedom of choice period, attach a copy of all correspon­
dence or information sent to parents and state how the 
correspondence or information was delivered or brought 
to their attention.

4. State the number of students, by race, who reside in 
the Franklin County school unit and have been assigned 
to a school outside the Franklin County school unit for 
the 1966-67 school year and the number, by race, projected 
to be so assigned for the 1967-68 school year.

5. State the number of students, by race, who reside 
outside the Franklin County school unit and have been 
assigned to a school within the Franklin County school 
unit for the 1966-67 school year and the number, by race, 
projected to be so assigned for the 1967-68 school year.

6. State in detail the specific steps taken by the Board, 
prior to and during the 1966-67 school year, to desegre­
gate the teachers and school personnel. If representatives 
of the Board conferred with teachers, state the name and 
race of each such teacher. If correspondence or other in­
formation was sent to teachers, please attach a copy of 
all such correspondence or information.

7. State in detail the specific steps taken by the Board 
to desegregate teachers for the 1967-68 school year. If

Interrogatories



2 1 1 a

representatives of the Board conferred with teachers, state 
the name and race of each such teacher. If correspondence 
or other information was sent to teachers, please attach 
a copy of all such correspondence or information.

8. State the number of new teachers, by race, employed 
by the Board for the 1966-67 school year and for the 1967-68 
school year.

9. State in detail the steps to be followed by the Board 
to desegregate the school system for the 1967-68 school 
year.

10. Attach a copy of or state the planned future use of 
each school in the school system.

11. Attach a copy of or state any planned construction 
of schools in the school system.

12. State in detail the specific steps to be taken by the 
Board to eliminate the educational disparities among the 
various schools. Please attach a copy of the Board’s plans 
in this regard and refer to minutes of the Board by dates 
and pages where such plans have been considered and 
adopted by the Board.

13. State what changes, if any, have been made in the 
bus routes at each school, specifically referring to Board 
minutes, by dates and pages, where such changes have been 
considered and adopted by the Board.

14. State what steps, if any, have been taken or planned 
by the Board to eliminate the racially separate programs,

Interrogatories



2 1 2 a

Interrogatories

activities, and athletics at predominantly Negro and white 
schools.

P lease take  notice that a copy of snch answers must be 
served upon the undersigned within fifteen (15) days after 
service of the foregoing Interrogatories.

This ..........  day of April, 1967.



2 1 3 a

Defendants’ Answers to Plaintiffs’ Interrogatories

(Filed April 26, 1967)

The defendants, answering the numbered interrogatories 
served herein upon it by the plaintiffs, state:

1. (a) See Exhibit “A” attached hereto.

(b) See Exhibit “A ” attached hereto.
(c) See Exhibit “A ” attached hereto.
(d) See Exhibit “A” attached hereto.

(e) Most of the schools in the Franklin County Ad­
ministrative Unit were erected between 30 and 40 
years ago, and affiant has been unable to locate any 
figures showing what the planned pupil capacities for 
such schools were.

(f) Basic courses are the same in all schools. For 
courses and programs which are not given at every 
school in this school system, see Paragraph 6 of Ex­
hibit “B” attached hereto.

2. (a) See Exhibit “ C” attached hereto.
(b) See Exhibit “ C” attached hereto.

(c) As of this date, no teachers have been employed 
for the 1967-68 school year.

(d) As of this date, no teachers have been employed 
for the 1967-68 school year.

(e) Most of the schools in the Franklin County Ad­
ministrative Unit were erected between 30 and 40 
years ago, and affiant has been unable to locate any



214a

figures showing what the planned pupil capacities for 
such schools were.

(f) Basic courses are the same in all schools. For 
courses and programs which are not given at every 
school in this school system, see Paragraph 6 of Ex­
hibit “D” attached hereto.

3. See Exhibit “ E” (1), (2), (3), and (4). On the first 
day of the choice period, there was distributed, by first 
class mail, a letter, an explanatory notice, and a choice 
form, to the parent or other adult person acting as parent 
of each student who was then enrolled, except high school 
seniors expected to graduate, together with a return envel­
ope addressed to the Superintendent. The texts for the 
letter, notice and choice form used were in a form prescribed 
by the United States Commissioner of Education, and copies 
are set forth in Exhibit “E” (1), (2), and (3) hereto at­
tached. Each prospective student known to defendants, in­
cluding students planning to enter the first grade, have been 
furnished a copy of the prescribed letter, notice and choice 
form, either by mail or in person.

4. None.

5. For the 1966-67 school year, fifty-four (54) students, 
white, who reside outside of the Franklin County School 
Unit, were assigned to a school within the Franklin County 
School Unit, pursuant to Freedom of Choice applications; 
for the 1967-68 school year, forty-two (42) students, white, 
who reside outside the Franklin County School Unit, have 
been assigned to a school within the Franklin County School 
Unit, pursuant to Freedom of Choice applications.

Defendants’ Answers to Plaintiffs’ Interrogatories



2 1 5 a

6. Race, color or national origin was not a factor in the 
hiring or assignments to schools or within schools, of 
teachers and other professional staff for the 1966-67 school 
year. The defendants having fully complied with Para­
graph (7) of the Interim Order entered in this action on 27 
July 1966 by Honorable Algernon L. Butler, Chief Judge 
of the United States District Court for the Eastern District 
of North Carolina.

7. Race, color or national origin shall not be a factor in 
the hiring or assignment to schools or within schools of 
teachers and other professional staff for the year 1967-68 
school year. The defendants will fully comply with Para­
graph (7) of the Interim Order entered in this action on 27 
July 1966 by Honorable Algernon L. Butler, Chief Judge 
of the United States District Court for the Eastern District 
of North Carolina.

8. Race, color or national origin was not a factor in the 
hiring of teachers by the Franklin County Board of Educa­
tion for the 1966-67 school year. Forty-nine (49) new 
teachers were employed for the 1966-67 school year, of 
which twenty-four (24) were of the Negro race and twenty- 
five (25) were of the white race. No teachers as of this 
date have been employed for the 1967-68 school year, but 
race, color or national origin shall not be a factor in such 
employment.

9. The schools of the Franklin County Administrative 
Unit are desegregated. The Franklin County Board of Ed­
ucation is following in detail the “Revised Statement of 
Policies for School Desegregation Plans Under Title VI 
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964” , dated December 1966, as 
amended, for the school year 1967-68, issued by the United

Defendants’ Answers to Plaintiffs’ Interrogatories



216a

States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Of­
fice of Education.

10. Interrogatory No. 10 is subject to “ Objections to 
Interrogatories” filed herein by defendants.

11. Interrogatory No. 11 is subject to “Objections to 
Interrogatories” filed herein by defendants.

12. Interrogatory No. 12 is subject to “ Objections to 
Interrogatories” filed herein by defendants.

13. Transportation is provided for all pupils in a school 
on the same basis, without regard to race, color or national 
origin. Any changes made in bus routes were administra­
tive changes to provide, to the extent permitted by North 
Carolina law, transportation of pupils to the schools chosen 
by said pupil or the parent or other person standing in re­
lation of parent. The administrative changes were not re­
flected in the Board minutes.

14. There are no racially separate programs, activities 
and athletics within any of the schools of the Franklin 
County Administrative Unit.

This the 24th day of April 1967.

Defendants’ Answers to Plaintiffs’ Interrogatories



ENROLLMENT TOTALS BY GRADES FOR THE 1966-6? SCHOOL TERM 
October 3, 19 6 6

SCHOOL l
Gr«

n -ided Grad e 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade L Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7 Grade 8 1 Grade 9 j Grade 10 Grade 11 Grade 12 Total Teachers

W «w W NW W NW W NW W NW W NW W NW w HU w NW y HU W fiW w NW W m W NW W NW

Sunn
6 7 7 2 2 5 5 6 3 1 4 9 i 5 7 1 5 4 1 6 4 1 6 4 3 5 6 1 5 ; 1 4 9 2 8 1

W a rStreet 1 2 1 4 1 3 1 1 12 9 13 4.
Ed. lest Elec 2 3 2 4 2 2 2 2 2 8 2 4 6

Ed. Best High 35 33 2 ? 1 2 ? 2 7 1 2 7 9
Epsoc

2 3 1 1 9 2 1 2 0 1 9 1 7 2 4 15 1 9 1 2 2 2 1 9 1 0
Gethseeane

16 60 61 5 9 7 1 6 8 60 5 2 4 6 5 4 3 5 3 6 32 2 7
Gold Sand

2 4
32

2 1 2 9 31 2 9 3 3 3 5 31 2 7 2 2 2 0 1 5
Leuisborg

5 2 5 3 1 65 3 4 6 2 5 6 6 8 3 65 5 5 6 2 5 8 3 5 5 2 4 1 6 3 6 3 2 ? t

Perry’s
15 57

56 9 3 5 1 7 3 80 61 7 8 6 5 5 9 5 8 39 30.Riverside
18 137) 1 2 9 1 3 3 1 2 2 108 12 3 1 2 7 1 2 1 1 2 5 1 4 c 9 1 5 8 2 5 0Voungsville

Elea* 16
15 2 0 1 2 1 2 15 1 5 2 4 2 1 7Votmgsville

2 0 2 2 2 3 2 1 2 4 31 1 9 33 3 0 3 5 31 2 6 1 5



217a

Exhibit “ A”



2 1 8 a

Exhibit “ B”

(See Opposite) 1®“



Franklin County Board of Education, Louisburg, North Carolina

N O T IC E  OF SCHOOL D E SE G R E G A T IO N  PLAN  U N D E R  T IT L E  VI OF T H E  C IV IL  R IG H T S
A C T  OF 1964

(Required by § 181.46 of the Statement of Policies issued by Office of Education, U S, Department of

Health, Education, Welfare)

THIS NOTICE IS M ADE A V A IL A B L E  TO IN FORM  Y O U  A B O U T  T H E  D ESEG R EG AT IO N  OF OUR SCHOOLS. KE E P  A 
COPY OF THIS N O T ICE. IT W IL L  A N S W E R  M A N Y  Q U EST IONS A B O U T  SCHOOL D ESEG R EG AT IO N

1. Desegration Plan in Effect
The Franklin County public school system is being desegregated under a plan adopted in accordance 

with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The purpose of the desegregation plan is to eliminate 
from our school system the racial segregation of students and all other forms of discrimination based on 
race, color, or national origin.

2. Thirty-Day Spring Choice Period
Each student or his parent, or other adult person acting as parent, is required to choose the school 

the student will attend next school year. The choice period will begin on April 4, 1966, and close 
May 4, 1966.
3. Explanatory Letters and School Choice Forms

On the first day of the choice period, an explanatory letter and this notice will be sent by first-class 
mail to the parent, or other adult person acting as parent, of each student then in the schools who is 
expected to attend school the following school year. A school choice form will be sent with each letter, 
together with a return envelope addressed to the Superintendent. Additional copies of the letter, 
this notice and the choice form are freely available to the public at any school and at the Superintendent’s 
office.
4. Returning the Choice Forms

Parents and students, at their option, may return the completed choice forms by hand to any school 
or by mail to the Superintendent’s office, at any time during the 30-day choice period. No preference 
will be given for choosing early during the choice period. A  choice is required for each student. No 
assignment to a school can be made unless a choice is made first.
5. Choice Form Information

The school choice form lists the names, locations and grades offered for each school. The reasons 
for any choice made are not to be stated. The form asks for the name, address and age of the student, 
the school and grade currently or last attended, the school chosen for the following year, the appropriate 
signature, and whether the form has been signed by the student or his parent. The race, color, or national 
origin of the student is requested for purposes of recordkeeping required by the U. S. Office of 1 Education. 
The information will not be used in any way to discriminate against the student. Any letter or other written 
communication which identifies the student and the school he wishes to attend will be deemed just as 
valid as if submitted on the choice form supplied by the school system. The names of students and 
the schools they choose or are assigned to under the plan will not be made public by school officials.
6. Course and Program Information

To guide students and parents in making a choice of school, listed below, by schools, are the courses 
and programs which are not given at every school in this school system.
Cm££>: Bunn, Ed. Best High, Epsom, Gethsemane, Louisburg, Perry’s, Riverside
World History; Bunn, Ed. Best High, Gethsemane, Gold Sand, Louisburg, Perry’s, Riverside, Youngsville High
Economics & Sociology: Bunn,Epsom, Gethsemane, Louisburg, Riverside, Youngsville High, Perry’s
Geography: Bunn, Riverside
Negro History: Gethsemane, Perry’s
General Business: Bunn
American Government: Louisburg, Riverside 
Advanced Algebra & Trigonometry: Bunn, Epsom, Louisburg 
Agriculture: Bunn, Edward Best. Gold Sand, Riverside, Youngsville High 
Business Math: Louisburg, Bunn
General Math: Edward Best High, Epsom, Gethsemane, Louisburg, Perry’s, Riverside 
Spanish 1: Bunn, Epsom
French 1: Bunn, Gethsemane, Louisburg, Perry’s, Riverside,.Youngsville High 
EtEachjj: Edward Best High, Gethsemane, Louisburg, Perry’s, Riverside, Youngsville Rich 
Spanish 11: Bunn, Gold Sand
Physical Education & Health II: Bunn, Perry’s, Youngsville High 
Advanced~BxoIogy: Riverside
Chemistry: Bunn, Epsom, Louisburg, Gethsemane, Perry’s, Riverside, Youngsville High 
Physics: Bunn, Edward Best High, Gethsemane, Gold Sand, Louisburg, Riverside 
Shorthand: Bunn, Epsom, Louisburg
TyI UJIK L .H: Bunn, Edward High, Epsom, Gold Sand, Louisburg, Perry’s, Riverside, Youngsville High 
Bookkeeping: Bunn, Gold Sand, Louisburg 
Music 1. H: Riverside 
Band: Louisburg, Riverside
Special Education: Bunn, Perry’s, Youngsville Elementary, Riverside 
Special Education for Accelerated: Louisburg



Page 2 of Notice

7. Signing the Choice Form
A choice form may be signed by a parent or other adult person acting as parent. A student who 

has reached the age of 15 at the time of choice, or will next enter the ninth or any higher grade, may sign 
his own choice form. The student’s choice shall be controlling unless a different choice is exercised by 
his parent before the end of the period during which the student exercises his choice.
8. Processing oj Choices

No choice will be denied for any reason other than overcrowding. In cases where granting all 
choices for any school would cause overcrowding, the students choosing the school who live closest to 
it will be assigned to that school. Whenever a choice is to be denied, overcrowding will be determined 
by a uniform standard applicable to all schools in the system.
9. Notice o f Assignment, Second Choice

AH students and their parents will be promptly notified in writing of their school assignments. 
Should any student be denied his choice because of overcrowding he will be promptly notified and given 
a choice among all other schools in the system where space is available.
10. Students Moving Into the Community

A choice of school for any student who will be new to the school system may be made during the 
spring 30-day choice period or at any other time before he enrolls in school. An explanatory letter, this 
notice and the school choice form will be given out for each new student as soon as the school system 
knows about the student. A t least seven days will be allowed for the return of the choice form when a 
choice is made after the spring 30-day choice period. A choice must be made for each student. No 
assignment to any school can be made unless a choice is made first.
11. Students Entering First Grade

The parent, or other adult person acting as parent, of every child entering the first grade is required _ 
to choose the school his child will attend. Choices will be made under the same free choice process used 
for students new to the school system in other grades, as provided in paragraph 10.

12. Priority o f Late, Choices
No choice made after the end of the spring 30-day choice period may be denied for any reason other 

than overcrowding. In the event of overcrowding, choices made during the 30-day choice period will 
have first priority. Overcrowding will be determined by the standard provided for in paragraph 8. 
Any parent or student whose first choice is denied because of overcrowding will be given a second choice 
in the manner provided for in paragraph 9.
13. Tests, Health Records and Other Entrance Requirements

Any academic tests or other procedures used in assigning students to schools, grades, classrooms, 
sections, courses of study, or for any other purpose, will be applied uniformly to all students without 
regard to race, color or national origin. No choice of school will be denied because of failure at the 
time of choice to provide any health record, birth certificate, or other document. The student' will 
be tentatively assigned in accordance with the plan and the choice made, and given ample time to 
obtain any required document. Curriculum, credit, and promotion procedures will not be applied in 
such a way as to hamper freedom of choice of any student.
14. Choices Once Made Cannot he Altered

Once a choice has been submitted, it may not be changed, even though the choice period has not 
ended. The choice is binding for the entire school year to which it applies, except in the case of 
(1) compelling hardship, (2) change of residence to a place where another school is closer, (3) the 
availability of a school designed to fit the special needs of a physically handicapped student, (4) the 
availability at another school of a course of study required by the student, which is not available at the 
school chosen.
15. All Other Aspects of Schools Desegregated

All school-connected services, facilities, athletics, activities and programs are open to all on a 
desegregated basis. A student attending school for the first time on a desegregated basis may not be 
subject to any disqualification or waiting period for participation in activities and programs, including 
athletics, which might otherwise apply because he is a transfer student. All transportation furnished 
by the school system will also operate on a desegregated basis. Faculties will be desegregated, and no 
staff member will lose his position because of race, color or national origin. This includes any case 
where less staff is needed because schools are closed or enrollment is reduced.
16. Attendance Across School System Lines

No arrangement will be made, or permission granted, by this school system for any students living 
in the community it serves to attend school in another school system, where this would tend to limit 
desegregation, or where the opportunity is not available to all students without regard to race, color or 
national origin. No arrangement will be made, or permission granted, by this school system for any 
students living in another school system to attend school in this system, where this would tend to limit 
desegregation, or where the opportunity is not available to all students without regard to race, color or 
national origin.
17. Violations To Be Reported

It is a violation of our desegregation plan for any school official or teacher to influence or coerce any 
person in the making of a choice or to threaten any person with penalties or promise favors for any 
choice made. It is also a violation of Federal regulations for any person to intimidate, threaten, coerce, 
retaliate or discriminate against any individual for the purpose of interfering with the free making of a 
choice of school. Any person having any knowledge of any violation of these prohibitions should report 
the facts immediately by mail or phone to the Equal Educational Opportunities Program, U.S. Office of 
Education, Washington, D.C., 20202 (telephone 202-962-0333). The name of any person reporting 
any violation will not be disclosed without nis consent. Any other violation of the desegregation plan 
or other discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in the school system is also a violation of 
Federal requirements, and should likewise be reported. Anyone with a complaint to report should first 
bring it to the attention of local school officials, unless he feels it would not be helpful to do so. I f  local 
officials do not correct the violation promptly, any person familiar with the facts of the violation should 
report them immediately to the U.8. Office of Education at the above address or phone number.



219a



2 2 0 a

Exhibit “ C”

(See Opposite) 35?"



* tASSIGNMENT TOTALS BY GRADES FOR THE 1967-68 SCHOOL TERM

A p r il  14, 1967

JL., d/ 6,

SCHOOL lGra0-
ided

Grade 1 Grade l Grade 3 Grade ^ Grads 5 Grade 6 Grade 7 Grade 8 Grade 9 Grade 10 Grade 11 Grade 12 l o t a l T e a c h e r s

W NVJ W m VI HW VI HW w HW W HW W m W Htl W HW w NW V/ HW W HW W NV/ tf HW W HW
0 •'n

57 67 70 2 56 64 1 48 51 1 53 t 61 i 60 2 53 1 51 2 II
CedarStreet 6 13 15 14 8 i i 8
Cd. Best Elea 19 21 25 2 2 19 26
Ed, Bast 
High

1 1 1
24 34 34 28 29 2 5 1 i

cpsai
18 21 1 17 19 20 20 19 20 17 '

““
18 — 14 21 /

Gethseaane
L3 51 47 54 49 64 63 58 56 48 47 36 35

Gold Sard
24 24 32 21 30 29 31 35 35 33 27 21

Louisburg
65 1 54 50 1 65 3 42 2 55 65 4 62 5 57 4 54 4 51 3 42 5 3 ^ry*s

15 39 55 56 93 52 67 75 56 78 67 ] 60 53
Riverside

16 85 123 121 125. 127 106 120 138 127 102! 128 83

mm,*m.***m

Youngsville
Elea, 13 13 - 15 17 13 12 15 20 25
Youngsville
High 21

1 17
20 22 21 21 31 19 32 28 37 | 30



221a



2 2 2 a

Exhibit “ D”

(Same as Exhibit “B” )

Exhibit “ E”  (1 )

(See Opposite) BSP



LETTER TO PARENTS

F or U se D uring A nnual 30-Day  C hoice P eriod 

(Required by §181.46 of the Statement of Policies issued by Office of Education, Li S, Department of

Health, Education, Welfare)

Franklin County Board of Education, Louisburg, North Carolina

Dear Parent: March 1, 1967

Your school system's desegregation plan under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is being continued for 
the coming school year. The purpose of the plan is to eliminate the dual structure of separate schools 
for children of different races.

The plan requires every  student or his parent to choose the school the student will attend in the coming 
school year. It does not matter which school the student is attending this year, and it does not matter 
whether that school was formerly a white or a Negro school. You and your child may select any school 
you wish.

A  choice of school is required for each student. A  student cannot be enrolled at any school next school 
year unless a choice of schools is made. This year there will be a 30-day choice period, beginning 
March 1, 1967, and ending March 31, 1967.

A  choice form listing the available schools and grades is enclosed. This form must be filled out and 
returned. You may mail it in the enclosed envelope, or deliver it by hand to any school or to the address 
above any time during the 30-day choice period. No one may require you to file your choice form before 
the end of the choice period. No preference will be given for choosing early during the choice period.

No principal, teacher, or other school official is permitted to influence or dissuade anyone from choosing 
a school where a desegregated education can be obtained. No one is permitted to favor or penalize 
any student or other person because of a choice made. Once a choice is made, it cannot be changed 
except for serious hardship.

Also enclosed is an explanatory notice giving full det ails about the desegregation plan. It tells you how 
to exercise your rights under the plan, and tells you how teachers, schoolbuses, sports, and other activities 
are being desegregated.

Your School Board and the school staff will do everything we can to see to it that the rights of all 
students are protected and that our desegregation plan is carried out successfully.

Franklin County Board of Education



223a



224a

Exhibit “ E”  (2 )

(Same as Exhibit “B” )

Exhibit “ E”  (3 )



CHOICE OF SCHOOL FORM

£
tf

(Required by §181.46 of the Statement of Policies issued by Office of Education, U. S. Department of

Health, Education, Welfare)

Franklin County Board of Education, Louisburg, North Carolina

March 1 1967

C h o ic e  o f  S c h o o l  F orm

This form is provided for you to choose the school your child will attend for the coming school year. It  
does not matter which school the child has been attending, and it does not matter whether the school 
you choose was formerly a white or a Negro school. No student can be enrolled without making a 
choice of school. This form must either be brought to any school or mailed to the Superintendent’s 
office at the address above by March 31, 1967. If the student is 15 years old by the date of choice, or 
will be entering the ninth or a higher grade, either the student or his parent may make the choice.

1. Name of C h i ld ____________ ______ _______________
Last

2. A g e ----------------------  R ace.......................................

3. School and grade currently or last attended___

4. School Chosen (Mark X  beside school chosen)

na□□n□□□□□□
□

Name of School

Bunn Elementary & High School.

Cedar Street Elementary School 
Edward Best Elementary School 
Edward Best High School 
Epsom Elementary & High School 
Gethsemane Elementary & High School 
Gold Sand Elementary & High School 
Louisburg Elementary & High School 
Perry’s Elementary & High School 
Riverside Elementary & High School 
Youngsville Elementary School 
Youngsville Elementary & High School

Grades

1 - 1 2  
1-7  
1-6 
7-12  
1-12  
1 - 1 2  
1-12  
1 - 1 2  
1 - 1 2  
1 - 1 2  
1-8 
1 - 1 2

First Middle

Grade

Location

Bunn, N. C.
Rt. 3, Louisburg, N. C.
Rt. 2, Louisburg, N. C.
Rt. 4, Louisburg, N. C.
Rt. 1, Henderson, N. C.
Bunn, N. C.
Rt. 3, Louisburg, N. C.
Louisburg, N. C.
Rt. 2, Louisburg, N C.
Louisburg, N , C.
Hillsboro Street, Youngsville, N. C. 
College Street, Youngsville, N. C.

This form is signed by (mark Signature
proper box):

Parent □ Address
Other adult person acting as
parent □ Date . . .
Student □

This block is to be filled in by the Superintendent’s office, not by person signing. 
Is student assigned to school chosen? □  Yes □  No

If not, explain:..................... . ............................................................



225a



226a

Defendants’ Answers to Plaintiffs’ Interrogatories

(Filed July 25, 1967)

The defendants, answering Interrogatories Numbers 10, 
11 and 12 heretofore served upon defendants by plaintiffs 
state:

Interrogatory No. 10. It is the plan of the Franklin County 
Board of Education when funds shall be available, to con­
solidate the nine existing high schools into four high 
schools, grades 9-12; it is anticipated that one of these four 
high schools will be located at the present site of Louisburg 
High School and will be part of a union school, grades 1-12; 
the three other high schools will be located in areas of the 
then centers of population, and with regard to the feasibility 
and economy of transporting pupils to these high schools. 
The existing facilities, with needed improvements and ad­
ditions, of one or more, up to three, of the following schools 
may be utilized for the three high schools in addition to 
Louisburg, namely: Bunn, Edward Best High, Epsom, 
Gethsemane, Gold Sand, Perry’s, Riverside, Youngsville 
High. In the alternative, one or more of the three additional 
high schools may be constructed on new sites, depending on 
the factors of population and feasibility and economy of 
transportation.

Upon the completion of the high school consolidation 
program, the existing facilities, with needed improvements 
and additions, at Bunn, Edwrard Best High, Epsom, Geth­
semane, Gold Sand, Perry’s Riverside, Youngsville Ele­
mentary and Youngsville High Schools may be utilized for 
elementary schools, grades 1-8.

Upon the completion of the high school consolidation pro­
gram, the present facilities of Cedar Street and Edward



227a

Defendants’ Answers to Plaintiffs’ Interrogatories

Best Elementary Schools will not be utilized for school 
purposes.

Interrogatory No. 11. See answer to Interrogatory No. 10.

Interrogatory No. 12. See answer to Interrogatory No. 10. 
In the judgment of the defendant Board of Education, there 
are no “educational” disparities among the various schools. 

This the 21st day of July 1967.



228a

Defendants’ Response to Plaintiffs’ Motion 
for Further Relief

(Filed May 9, 1967)

Now c o m e  the defendants, through their counsel, and file 
this Response to Plaintiffs’ Motion for Further Relief dated 
6 April 1967 as follows:

1. It is admitted that this cause was filed by plaintiffs on 
or about 8 December 1965, but the defendants deny that 
they were at that time or are now committing racially dis­
criminatory practices in the operation and administration 
of the public schools of the Franklin County Administrative 
Unit.

2. It is admitted that on or about 11 January 1966 a 
Motion for leave to intervene and a complaint in interven­
tion were filed by the plaintiff-intervenor, but it is denied 
that the defendants were at that time or are now operating 
a racially discriminatory system in the Franklin County 
Administrative Unit.

3. Admitted.

4. Admitted.

5. Answering Paragraph 5, the defendants admit that on 
21 February 1966, Honorable Algernon L. Butler, Chief 
Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern 
District of North Carolina, entered an Order denying plain­
tiffs’ Motion for a preliminary injunction and concluding 
as a matter of law that the defendants had in good faith 
adopted and applied a valid plan approved by the United 
States Department of Health, Education and Welfare; that



229a

said Order entered on 21 February 1966 is respectfully 
asked to be taken as a part of this Response, as if the 
same were here copied verbatim.

6. Answering Paragraph 6, the defendants say that on 
27 July 1966, Honorable Algernon L. Butler, Chief Judge 
of the United States District Court for the Eastern District 
of North Carolina, entered an Interim Order and caused 
the same to be filed on said date. That said Interim Order 
dated 27 July 1966 is hereby referred to for its terms, and 
the same is respectfully asked to be taken as a part of this 
Response, as if the same were here copied verbatim. Fur­
ther answering said Paragraph the defendants say that they 
have complied with each and every provision of said In­
terim Order conscientiously and in good faith.

7. Admitted.

8. Answering Paragraph 8, the defendants say that un­
der date of 10 September 1966 they filed with the United 
States District Court for the Eastern District of North 
Carolina, a Report of the Number of Negro Students As­
signed to Predominantly White Schools and Number of 
Negro and White Teachers and School Personnel Assigned 
Duties in Schools in Which Majority of Students are of 
Another Race. That said Report showed that 49 Negro 
students requested assignments to predominantly white 
schools and were assigned to such schools. That two white 
teachers were assigned to a school in which the majority 
of the students were of a race other than such teachers’, and 
that two Negro teachers were assigned to schools in which 
the majority of the students were of a race other than

Defendants’ Response to Plaintiffs’ Motion
for Further Relief



230a

such teachers’, that two Negro and four White Staff Mem­
bers were assigned duties in all schools in the Franklin 
County Administrative Unit, including all schools in which 
the majority of students were of a race other than such 
Staff Members’, and that three White Staff Members were 
assigned duties in schools in which the majority of students 
were of a race other than such Staff Members’ That said 
Report dated 10 September 1966 is respectfully asked to 
he taken as a part of this Response, as if the same were 
here copied verbatim.

9. It is admitted that in October 1966 the plaintiff- 
intervenor moved for an Order requiring the defendants 
to eliminate certain alleged disparities, but the defendants 
deny that they were then or are now operating any racially 
discriminatory schools in the Franklin County Adminis­
trative Unit.

10. That Paragraph 10 does not contain a true state­
ment regarding the matters and things therein alleged, and 
paragraph 10 is therefore denied. Further answering said 
Paragraph the defendants say that they are operating in 
good faith a non-racially discriminatory school system, in 
full compliance with the Orders of this Court and Rules and 
Regulations issued by the Office of Education of the United 
States Department of Health, Education and Welfare.

11. Answering Paragraph 11, the defendants say that 
they are operating a desegregated school system, and that 
there is no racial discrimination or segregation in said 
school system. Therefore, Paragraph 11 is denied.

Defendants’ Response to Plaintiffs’ Motion
for Further Relief



231a

12. Answering Paragraph 12, the defendants say that 
they are operating a desegregated school system wholly in 
compliance with the Orders of this Court, and with Rules 
and Regulations issued by the Office of Education of the 
United States Department of Health, Education and Wel­
fare. Specifically answering the sub-sections of Paragraph 
12 these defendants say:

(a) That each student in the schools of the Franklin 
County Administrative Unit is attending the school selected 
by said student or his or her parent or person acting as 
parent, without regard to race, said selection having been 
freely and voluntarily made by such student or parent or 
person acting as parent, under the freedom of choice plan 
in effect in said Administrative Unit, without threats or 
intimidations by any defendant or other school personnel, 
and without any threat or intimidation by any other person, 
to the knowledge of the defendants.

(b) That the allegations of sub-section (b) are untrue 
and are denied, the true facts being that the defendants 
have fully complied with each and every provision of the 
Order entered on 27 July 1966.

(c) That the allegations of sub-section (c) are untrue 
and are denied.

(d) That the allegations of sub-section (d) are untrue 
and are denied.

13. The allegations of Paragraph 13 are wholly untrue 
and are denied.

W herefore, the defendants pray that the relief sought 
in Plaintiffs’ Motion for further relief be denied, and that

Defendants’ Response to Plaintiffs’ Motion
for Further Relief



that defendants he permitted to operate the schools of the 
Franklin County Administrative Unit in compliance with 
Orders heretofore entered by Honorable Algernon L. But­
ler, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for 
the Eastern District of North Carolina.

Respectfully submitted, this the 9th day of May 1967.

232a

Defendants’ Response to Plaintiffs’ Motion
for Further Relief



233a

Baltimore, Maryland 
April 20, 1967

Before the Honorable A lexander Harvey, II, U. S. 
District Judge, In Chambers, at 3 :4Q p.m.

P r o c e e d i n g s  

(In Chambers)
The Court: The present action arises on the motion for 

further relief filed by the plaintiffs on April the 10th, 1967. 
The defendants have not as yet filed an answer to the 
motion but it will be filed shortly.

In addition, there is presently pending before the Court 
plaintiffs’ response to defendants’ standards for the em­
ployment, assignment and retention of teachers and also 
plaintiff-intervenor’s objections to defendants’ objective 
standards for state and faculty employment, both filed on 
or about August 22, 1966.

Thirdly, there is pending before the Court motion to re­
quire defendants to eliminate educational disparities filed 
on October the 7th, 1966.

The defendants have filed no response to the pleadings 
last mentioned.

At a preliminary pre-trial conference held in Baltimore, 
Maryland, the following were present: Mr. E. F. Yar­
borough and Mr. Wilbur M. Jolly, representing the de­
fendant; and Mr. Julius Chambers, representing the plain­
tiff ; and Mr. Frank E. Schwelb and Mr. Francis H. Ken­
nedy, of the Department of Justice, representing the plain- 
tiff-intervenor.

The following issues are presented by the pleadings 
presently before the Court:

Hearing in Baltimore, Maryland



2 3 4 a

1. With reference to teachers:
I. , The question whether race has been a factor in 

assignments of teachers to schools in accordance with 
the order passed by Chief Judge Butler on July 27, 
1966.

2. The question whether the Franklin County School 
Board has encouraged transfers by present members 
of the faculty to schools within the system in which 
pupils are wholly or predominantly of a race other 
than such teachers, also in accordance with the provi­
sions of Judge Butler’s order.

3. Whether the objective standards for the employ­
ment, assignment and retention of teachers and pro­
fessional staff as previously filed by the school board 
with the Court satisfy constitutional and other ap­
propriate legal standards. A portion of Judge But­
ler’s order also deals with the filing of these standards.

II. With Reference to Students:
1. The issue of intimidation, coercion, community 

pressure, or the like, which might prevent students 
from exercising a freedom of choice.

2. The question, whether the freedom-of-choice sys­
tem in Franklin County satisfies constitutional and 
other legal standards.

III. Whether the schools attended by white children 
and negro children are basically unequal, in other 
words, the disparity issue.

The parties have stipulated that the evidence in this 
case can be taken by way of deposition. It is further under­

Hearing in Baltimore, Maryland



2 3 5 a

stood and agreed that the plaintiffs and the plaintiff-inter- 
venor will take their depositions during the week of April 
24th and that the defendants will take their depositions 
during the week of May 1st. This case is scheduled for 
hearing in Raleigh on May 9th and the case will remain in 
the assignment for that date.

The Court is not requiring that all depositions or all 
evidence be completed before the May 9th date. However, 
it is expected that both parties will make a conscientious 
effort to complete as much of the evidence as possible be­
fore the May 9th date and will report to the Court with 
reference thereto. At the hearing on May 9th, further deci­
sions will be made concerning the case, including the taking 
of live testimony, the taking of further depositions and 
dates for final decision.

It is agreed by all parties that there is some urgency to 
completing this case since plans have to be made by the 
school board based on the rulings of the Court.

Each of the parties is requested to file with the Clerk of 
the Court in Raleigh, by May 5, 1967, a memorandum set­
ting forth the principal legal authorities relied on in this 
case.

A copy of this preliminary pre-trial order shall be sent 
to all counsel.

(Thereupon, at 4:05 p.m., the aforecaptioned proceedings 
were concluded.)

Hearing in Baltimore, Maryland



236a

Raleigh, North Carolina 
May 9, 1967

Before the Honorable A lexander Harvey, II, U. S. 
District Judge, In Chambers, at 9:40 a.m.

P r o c e e d i n g s

The Court: On April 20, 1967, this Court entered a pre­
liminary pretrial order following a conference in Balti­
more, Maryland with counsel for the various parties. In 
that order, certain dates were set for the taking of deposi­
tions by the plaintiffs and plaintiff-intervenor, and by the 
defendants, specifying that the plaintiffs could take their 
depositions during the week of April 24, and that the de­
fendants would take their depositions during the week of 
May 1st; and the ease was scheduled for hearing in Raleigh 
on May the 9th, that being later changed to a conference 
with the Court on May the 9th.

It was indicated in the previous order that the Court 
was not there requiring that all depositions be completed 
by the May 9th date. However, the order stated that both 
parties were to make a conscientious effort to complete as 
much of the evidence as possible before the May 9th date 
and report to the Court with reference thereto; and that 
on May the 9th, further decisions would be made concern­
ing the case, including the taking of live testimony, the 
taking of further depositions, and dates for final decision.

The parties met with the Court on May 9th in Raleigh 
and a further discussion of these questions followed.

It is now understood and agreed that the plaintiffs and 
the plaintiff-intervenor will complete the taking of their 
depositions by May 20th.

Hearing in Raleigh, North Carolina



2 3 7 a

The Court further orders that the defendants will com­
plete the taking of their depositions by May 31st.

Subsequent to May 31st, either party may apply to the 
Court—and that would be whatever judge is sitting in the 
Eastern District of North Carolina—for a further confer­
ence to arrange to set this matter down for trial on some 
date in June.

It is further ordered that at the trial each side will be 
permitted to call no more than 5 witnesses. The plaintiffs 
and the plaintiff-intervenor are to have 5 witnesses between 
them. Either side may call bona fide rebuttal witnesses.

The plaintiffs have served interrogatories on the defend­
ants, filed April 6, 1967. Defendants have excepted to In­
terrogatories Numbers 10, 11 and 12. The Court has con­
sidered the exceptions filed by the defendants, and such 
exceptions are overruled. The defendants should answer 
these three interrogatories by May 31, 1967.

It is further ordered that each side must give the other 
side notice of the names and addresses of witnesses to be 
deposed, at least one day before the taking of the deposition 
of such witness.

A copy of this further Pretrial Order shall be sent to all 
counsel.

Hearing in Raleigh, North Carolina



Appendix C to Plaintiff-Intervenor’ s Proposed Findings

(Filed July 26 , 1967)

(See Opposite) B5F*



m a x v m m . * s

IMS.

i§63;

January 24

September 15

1964:
May

June- 1 6  

June

June 23

October 10 

Daeember 5

A p w m x x  c

CHRCKOtOGY OF ISTIMIMTIOh

laS M m U  & « « *

E*v. Dunaten and lev, grodi* (both Boaatoa, dap. p. 29 
Kagroes) sent a petition, signed by 
130 peraoiw to the Franklin County 
School Board ragardiag desegregation.

On that data a church w «  bombed in Dun*tun, dap. §
Birmingham. Os the following Monday, ihum, dap. p. 5f
after a meeting with the school
hoard regarding the petition for
desegregation, m bomb threat vaa
telephoned to Rev, Dunston'a hosae.
Alonso Dunn, a Megro feater child, 
confirmed th® story.

A crosa was burned at the Courthouse 
In Louisbwrg. E n s & k w  .1,4

V SR S 7 3 R

Eight Segro children sack to 
transfer to white schools. .Franklin Timas. 

6 /16 /64 , Arrington
dep. Ex. 1

St. Clarence Arrington, one of the Arrington dap.,
Ragroes who tod applied for a p. IS, 58
transfer of his children to * white
school, came to Mrs. Irene Arrington,
a plaintiff In this action, who tod
also made such an application, to
tell her, on his whit# landlord's
behalf, to stay off the landlord's
land or suffer the consequence#.
to. Arrington also told Mrs.
Arrington that he tod withdrawn 
his application because of fear 
hia landlord would evict him.
Transfer request# are denied. 
Discriminatory signs still waln- 
talced in Courthouse la Losaisburg; 
taken down by request of civil 
rights leader.

6 /2 3 /6 4 , Arrington 
dep. Ex. 2
Anderson dep. p. 116

Rally of Kw Klux Elans 600 attended.
8/20/64, fix. 3

John Echols, chairman of Christmas Echols, dep. p. 135-136 
Parade in Franklisten, receives 
telephone threat to put 'niggers"
U  beak of parade, and hia store 
windows ara broken by gunshots.

realgnad as chairman.



239a



240a

Appendix C to Plaintiff-Intervenor’s Proposed Findings

(See Opposite) BSP



1963 s

February 13

March

May

May 28 

Jvsnc 4

Jane 8

<3mm  8-14
(approsc.)

Arne 14 

June 14

lock throw through window of tame Massentwrg dap. p. 6* IS
of 8. Messenburg, a Wage®, md
threatening letter uaa put in hie
sail box. the note threatened hi®
for allegedly leading a Megro uareh.

la the spring, school hoard sent Duns ton, step. p. 37
actf.ce to parent# concerning SMlgu* 
wants for 1965*66.

Oil was put la eh® well of ^mmnie Worth*® dap., p. 38, 53
Worths®, a Negro and tack* throw
la her driveway, after her two
daughter# were the flrat Negro®* to
secure previously all-vhit* job#.
Her awployar later told her lie 
thought that these incident# were due 
to her sending her child to a white 
school.

House of Irene Arrington, a Negro, Arrington dap., p, 19 
ahot into. Ste had again applied 
for a transfer for her children.
list of names of Negro children FrankIla T i m s ,
requesting transfer to white 1/13/66, fist. 10
schools broadcast over local radio 
station.

Masses of Negro students requesting 
transfers to white schools published 
in HEiakl.ia. Tim a newspaper of which 
Clint Fuller, a aseefeer of the county 
school beard, ia the editor.

Dtsistcn dep. p. 9} 
First Latham dea. 
PP- 16, 38, 56; 
jfajgakila lias a , 
8/8/65, Ex. 1 to 
©waston's dep.

Irene Arrington receives numerous Arrington. dep. pp. 26-27
telephone call# threatening bar
life and saying ’‘Cold gaud School
calling.M there would be four or
five calls a night.

House of Irene Arrington, was again Arrington dep. p. 18
ahot into, and both house and ear j in
were <ias«ged by gunfire. Photographs 6/17/65, E x ™ 3 thereto
are in evidence.

Houae of Sandy Janes, a Negro, father Arrington dep. p. 23, 
of Iran# Arrington, ahot into. He ry a ^ l r .
lives next door to her. One of hia 6/17/65, Ex. 3 thereto
grandchildren had applied to attend 
« desegregated school.



241a



242a

Appendix C to Plaintiff-Intervenor’s Proposed Findings

(See Opposite) IKS?3



l?6i! (coat'd)
Bate Ittfeldift£»

Following fcfe® pub l its* ties of hi* saws 
la the paper concerning a request to 
transfer his son t© a white school,
Rev. Coppedge receives harassSag phone 
calls every fe w  hoar* for two w e e k s ,

Following newspaper publication of 
Megro transfer applicants» tew. Banston 
receives anonymous, silent or abusive, 
phone calls; these calls continue all

A cross *@s# burned at booker Driver's 
house; his children's application 
for transfer to a white school bed 
been published.
Letter referring, to child applying to 
white school, end threatening to kill 
parents, received a t the Crttdup 
residence. The Crudnp's daughter ted 
applied to attend illidiltt Yotmgsvlll© 
Sigh School.
Cecil Macon, a Megro cs>;ioyer, received 
a phone call demand that Macon force 
Sidney Manley, a Negro, to withdraw 
his ward's transfer application, or 
else fire hi®. lie cooaaaieated this 
to Manley who withdrew his child's 
application.

July On a day around July, oil was put in
Rev. Suasion's well.
Horae© Bali, whit®, told Joseph Branch, 
Hegro, to get hi# grandchild out of 
the whits school because the Kiaa 
might blow up his (lull's) building.
The grandchild's application was 
withdrawn.

July 2? franklin Times reports that s *lan
rally was held near Loulsburg, with 
2J300 persons reported in attendance. 
The next day 80 Klanaraan in Elan 
regalia staged a walk in Louiaburg.

Source

First L. Coppudge de».
p.  118

Dunstoo dep. p. 10

Driver dep.» p. 58

Crudup d«p., p. 89

Macon dep,, p. 84; 
Manley dep., p. 94, 96

Dunst o n  dap., p. 15 

Branch d*p., pp, 143*4

ia sM ia J E tiffii.7/27/65, Cx. 6



243a



244a

Appendix C to Plaintiff-Intervenor’s Proposed Findings

(See Opposite)



In®Ideat» Source

1965: (coat’ 
August

August 

August 19

August 23 

August 24

August 23

September 1

la August, lev. Dana ton led « march Dunston d«p., p. 41
ia Louisfmrf to open voter rug Is* Anderson dep., p. 114
trstlon.

Michelle Hutchinson, a legr® civil Anderses dep., pp. 117-118
rights worker was kicked by a white
»««« during the. voter registration
»«rch. Rev. Dunston end Mtrnm Anderson,
e Negro active in voter registration
end other civil rights activity,
accompanied Mis# Hutchinson to sake &
cotroialnt. A large explosion occurred
that night at the. house of Jesses Anderson.

A cross was burned at Rev. Coppedge’s Luther Coopedge dep., p. 120
hotBe- sl*jlum  7 ^ % ,8/17/45; Ex. 1 thereto
A friendly white neighbor advised Luther Coppsdge den. ,  p. 121
Rev. Coppedge: that other neighbors
are upset about his sending his son
to Bdvard Best, tell* him they will
stop helping him financially.
Lateral transfer application# of Negro
children for whit# schools were denied.

Xhc JQaU&jUia&t reports that a cross P ra n k lin Times.
was burned at the- £aajcUn.JEiae» 8/24/65. Gx. 8
office ia Louisburg. The Times
attributes burn Lag to the fact that
the Times also printed a Negro
newspaper.

Three whit© men in truck drove into Dunstoo pp. U, o
Rev. Dunston’s driveway and shouted- Geddi© dep., 0 . 59 
threat# to Rev. Dunston. These men 
also scattered tacks in the driveway.

Following the truck incident, Dunstoo DunstMi d ep .,  p. U  
receives two phone threats; one 
threat referring to the Arrington 
shoot logs.

Telephone call* were made to luck Norwood dep., p. 195
Norwood, c Negro, warning him to 
withdraw his grandchildren from 
all-white frankl;.ntoe High School.



245a



246a

Appendix C to Plaintiff-Intervenor’s Proposed Findings

(See Opposite)



Date
1965! (Coat'd)

October

1966.*

January

March

April

Spring and
Steamer

flsitea. somcB
A Negro woman, Annie Satterwhite,
«bo had enrolled her children in 
a white school, tins fired because 
her employer did not believe in
race-mixing. Mrs. Alveretta Moore, 
a witness, substantiates this 
conversation.

Annie Satterwhifce 
dep., p. 58 
Alveretta Moore
Dep. 58.

Oil or kerosene is put in Buck Starwood dep,,
Norwood's well. p. 199
A bomb was exploded near Buck
Norwood's house, Norwood dep., p. 201
A cross was burned and dynamite Norwood dep. p. 204
exploded at Mary Jangsbevry's
house, mother ©f two children at
predomiramtly white schools.
later, a fire was started on her
land. She is the daughter of Buck
Norwood and lives across the street
from him.
airing the period May 1965, to July, First L. Coppedgc 
1966, nails were put in Rev. Coppedgeh p.122 
driveway about thirteen times, 
causing two flat tires.

the house of Sanford Johnson, a Kearney dep., p.4 
Negro, was shot into m  night. He had Exs 1 & 2 thereto 
no children in shite schools.
She church of Rev. Plummer 
Alstom, a Negro minister, was 
dynamited. Luther Coppedge is 
the uncle of Rev. Alston's wife.

#•Jerome Cheek, one of six Negroes, 
in all of the predominantly white 
schools, receives two threatening 
racial notes at school.
Oil was put in the well at Jerome 
Cheek's house.
Oil put in the n i l  at Jerome 
Cheek's house a second time.

Alston dep., p.20,44

a a p f f i iw .
L. Coppedge dep. p.126-127 
Cheek dep., p. 52

Cheek dep,, p. 54 

Cheek dep., p. 55

During spring and summer. 1966,large First Latham dep.
nails were put in the driveway at p. 25, 26
the home of Rev. Latham, a white
minister who encouraged the school
board to treat Negro transfer
applicants fairly, and who had
spoken out against the Xian.



248a

Appendix C to Plaintiff-Intervenor’s Proposed Findings

(See Opposite) KiP



Incidents §gg£f
1 9 ^ :

April (Cant’d)

astt

May

May 20

May 22

July 12 

July 14

JUly 16

In spring or summer, 1%*, Mrs. First Latham dap.
Latham advised Rev. Latham that a pp. a, 9, 26
telephone caller threatened her 
life for riding to work with “niggers.fl 
lu rin g th is  period harassing phone 
calls were received at the Latham 
residence. Rev. Latham, a white minister, 
was working for improved race relations 
especially in accepting Degrees to white 
schools.

About May, 1966, the words "no niggers (Morgan d ep., pp. 22-24
are going to this school" were written 
on the street next to all-white
Youngsvilla High School.
On the second Saturday in May, sugar
pc(t i * ĉ a -5 in  r\ K  c» f  (V» j) pecttjcg  ' V'ctc'^c’ V*

Rev. Dunston’s license for a foster 
home was taken away shortly after 
this date.

First L« Coppedge 
dep. p. 125 
JAatston dep. p. 13 
Cfe§^ott§_ OJaerver 
5-20-66, Ex.2 thereto

Ihc...Charlotte Observer published l 
that county health inspector Thilbert i 
Pearce disapproved the Dunston well. 
Pfearce was reported as saying "We 
never expect as much from Negroes 
as shite people , . , the general 
sanitary conditions of the home would 
be more in keeping with the raising 
of Pigs than of children." FBI 
photographs show immaculately kept 
Dunston home.

The chairman of the Centerville Sec * W  k)OOb
Baptist Church Board of Deacons >
told Revs#Wood, a white minister, 
that due to pressures, Wood should 
not have social or business dealings 
with Negroes. Rev, Wood had preached 
for better race relations, and his wife, 
a teacher in another county, had enter­
tained her white and Negro students at

JtaraeRev. Cdppedge complains Coppedge trial 
to Justice Department about racial testimony
signs on county Health Departasent.
Signs later removed.
A cross, 6 feet high, was burned at
Rev, Wood’s house following two 
integrated parties for students 
from a school in another county 
where his wife taught.

First Wood dep., 
p. 76

A cross was burned at the 
residence of Fred Rogers, 
Superintendent of Frariklinton 
schools. The Frw&liit Times 
published that thesame nlgfit, 
a cross was burned at the pre­
dominantly white Pranklinton School, 
iMiere an integrated pre-schoolers 
program was held.

Rogers dep. p. 188



249a



250a

Appendix C to Plaintiff-Intervenor’s Proposed Findings

(See Opposite)



B a t e I n c i d e n t s §assssa

July 17

JUly 27

August 1-15

August 
6 or 7

August 3

August SO

September 3

September 9

Cross burned at Rev. Latham’s house. First Latham dep.
p. 25

Interim Order. Depositions in this 
case taken during week of July 25.
Ihe second choice period for Hegro 
students pursuant to the Interim 
Order was held August 1-15.
Rev. Frank Wood, a white minister, Second Wood dep.,
was fired after commenting favor- p. 7, 13
ably on the court’s desegregation
plan and .after testifying in this
action.
Shots were fired into home of Mrs.
Perry, who had no children in a 
white school. This occurred during 
the court ordered second choice 
period, and the Franklin Times 
immediately associated the incid nt 
with the desegregation suit.
The opening of Franklinton 
schools was delayed after a public 
mooting in Franklinton concerning 
possible further desegregation 
of schools. Comments were made in 
favor of retaining the freedom of choice- 
plan for students, and against the 
proposed transfer of additional Negro 
children to white schools. A petition 
signed by 594 persons In opposition 
to further desegregation was presented 
to the Franklinton Board.

Willie Perry dep.,
p. 220
Franklin Times 
second Rogers dep.

Second Rogers dep., 
p. 157, 4-29-67 
Franklin Timess a r a r grraiBreto

Residence of Brenda Fogg and Margaret Fogg dep., p, 7 
Fogg shot into. They are Negro 
students in Louiaburg High, a white- 
school .
Margaret Fogg, a Negro, is called Fogg dep., p. 12
derisive names at a white school.
Franklin Times reports that 
fr«iiclintcmr'lS chool Board 
rejects plan to transfer ad­
ditional Negroes to white school) 
ecejnnmity disapproval of the plan 
voiced at stormy public moating of 
School Board. Raleigh Mews 6 
^server editorializes SSF"nb 
free choice is possible under the 
unusually heavy community pressure.

'Rogers dep. Raleigh 
News 6 Observer, 9-10-66

# M M S * t «i. to second 
Rogers dep.



251a



252a

Appendix C to Plaintiff-Intervenor* s Proposed Findings

(See Opposite) BSP



Date Incidents Source
1966: (Cont*d.)
November Margaret Fogg was sent a racial

note at school.
November 7 • Threats of damage to Frank-

linton school bus by KKK made;
Franklinton school officials 
suspended use of the bus,

' Franklin Times headline reads,
1 'FRANKLINTON BUS USE SUSPENDED, 
LIFTED FOLLOWING KKK THREATS."

Fogg dep., p, 12

Second Rogers dep.
p. 162
Franklin Times 
12/1/66, Ex the re to



253a



254a

Appendix C to Plaintiff-Intervenor’s Proposed Findings

(See Opposite)



la s^ n ai S£2E££
1967: (cont 

April 11

April 19 or 

April 20

April 21

April 25

May 26 

July 13

July

d)

reports that Fred Rogers
plans not to return as Superintendent 
of Franklinton schools; associates 
matter with his desegregation stand 
and intensive corammity opposition 
thereto. Rogers had te stifie d  on 
behalf of plaintiff once previously.

4 /1 1 /6 7 , Ex. to 
second Rogers dep.

26 Harassing telephone calls are made 
to the Copoedgc residence.
Carolyn Jones, a Negro, * i  called 
obscene and racial names in 
Louisburg High.
Carolyn Jones, a Negro, received 
racial and obscene note® at a white 
school.

Franklin Times reports on HEW 
proceedings against Franklinton; 
Buck Norwood’s testimony about 
intimidatory Incidents; including, 
dynamitings involving his grand­
children at desegregated schools.

Mrs. Coppedge dep., 
p. 35, 4/27/67
C. Jones dep., p. 58

C. Jones dap., p. 51

in Times,
4/25/67, Ex. 33

Shots fired into home of Wiley Davis, Coppedge trial testimony 
whose brother and neighbor, James 
Davis, had two children in desegre­
gated schools.

reports that 20 private Frankl Mi Times, c j tisens visited a Franklinton Board T7l37oT, fix. 35
meeting to voice opposition to transfer 
additional Negroes to predominantly 
white Franklinton School; only five  
Negroes applied this year.

From February to the end of July, Coppedge tr ia l testimony
many anonymous phone calls have been 
received at Rev. Coppedge*s House.
The callers breathe heavily into 
the phone.



255a



2 5 6 a

Appendix C to Plaintiff-Intervenor’s Proposed Findings

( S e e  O p p o s i t e )  H SF



Date Incidents Source
1966;
November 25 

December 1966

1966-67

1967:
February

March

March 5 or 6

Failure of voluntary com­
pliance with desegregation 
guidelines opens enforce­
ment procedures by HEW against 
Franlclinton Schools.

Second Rogers dep. 
;#2', p. 164 
Franklin Times 
12/1/66

Rev. Latham, who testified on Second Latham dep.
behalf of plaintiff-Intervenor
in July, leaves Franklin
County as a result of pressures
and inability to accomplish an
effective ministry, including
better race relations, under
the circumstances
During the year, Alice Clanton, Clanton dep.,
one of two Negroes at a pre- p. 76, 83
dominantly white Edward Best
High School, was called racial
names, and racial names were written
on the classrooms. Alice later
decided to return to an all-Negro
school.

Raleigh newspapers give extensive 
coverage of reprisals against Isham 
High, Wake County Negro.. with 
children in predominantly white 
school, including cross burnings, 
pollution of his well, and warnings 
to him from officers to say his 
prayer about having children in 
desegregated school; Franklin County 
Negroes knew of the case.

A. L. Morgan 
dep. 11, 45-46; 
Exhibits 1-5 
thereto; dep. 
Mattie Harris de
p. 16

1967 freedom of choice period begins
March 1, and enus March 30, 1967. Mrs. Coppedge
Harassing telephone calls, about dep. p. 32
100 during the course of the
1966-67 school year, begin again
at the residence of Harold
Coppedge, the first-named plaintiff
in this action
An explosion occurs at nighttime 
at the Coppedge residence during 
the choice period. Mrs. Bowden, 
Mrs. Gardner, and Miss Ossie 
Spivey, neighbors, all heard 
the noise.

Mrs. Coppedge dep. 
p. 30
Mr. Bowden 
dep., p. 128 
Mrs. Gardner 
dep., p. 161
Ossie Spivey

Dynamite was exploded at the dep., p. 81
house of Leslie Joyner, a white 
man who live across the street from 
Buck Norwood. Norwood’s grand- ^
daughter who attended a white school lM>0®
in Franlclinton City, resides next door to 
Joyner and is his tenant.



257a



2 5 8 a

Appendix D to Plaintiff-Intervenor’s Proposed Findings

(See Opposite) BSP



FRANKLIN COUNTY, 
North Carolina

Occupation Groups of Employed Persons, 1960

Total Employed Persons: 9,285 
White: 5,868 
Nonwhite: 3,417

Number % of % of % of
in Total White Nonwhite

Group Employed Employed Employed

Farmers and Farm Managers
White *

2,403
1,321 14.2 22.5

Nonwhite 1,082 11.7 — 31.7

Farm Laborers, Unpaid Family Workers, & Farm Foremen 
White

1,219
343 3.7 5.8

Nonwhite 876 9.4 - 25.6

Private Household Workers 
White

378
44 .5 .7

%

Nonwhite. 334 3.6 - cc•

cr>

Laborers, except Farm and Mine 494
150 1.6 2.6



259a,



2 6 0 a

Appendix D to Plaintiff-Intervenor’s Proposed Findings

(See Opposite)



Operatives and Kindred Workers 
White 
Nonwhite

Professional, Technical & Kindred Workers 
White 
Nonwhite

Craftsmen, Foremen & Kindred Workers 
White 
Nonwhite

Service Workers, except Private Household 
White 
Nonwhite

Managers, Officials & Proprietors, excl. Farms 
White 
Nonwhite

Clerical and Kindred Workers 
White 
Nonwhite

Sales Workers 
White 
Nonwhite

Occupation not Reported 
White 
Nonwhite

Number % of % of % of
in Total White Nonwhite

Group Employed Employed Employed
1,593
1,303 14.1 22.2 -

290 3.1 - 8.5
533
387 4.2 6.6 -

146 1.6 - 4.3
688
572 6.2 9.7 . -

116 1.2 - 3.4
347
236 2.5 4.0 -

111 1.2 - 3.2
480
459 4.9 7.8 -

21 .2 - . 6
586
573 6.2 9.8 -

13 .1 - .4
382
382 4.1 6.5

0 0.0 - 0.0
182
98 1.1 1.7 -

84 .9 2.5

The above statistics are from the United States Census of Population: 1960,
Final Report PC(1)-35C, "General Social and Economic Characteristics: North Carolina,"
Table 84, p. 35-261 and Table 88, p. 35-294.



261a



2 6 2 a

Motion to Stay Execution o f Opinion and Order 
Dated August 17, 1967

(Filed August 25, 1967)

The defendants in this action having filed notice of ap­
peal to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals from the 
opinion and order rendered by His Honor Algernon L. 
Butler, Chief Judge of the United States District Court 
for the Eastern District of North Carolina, on August 17, 
1967, move the court that the execution of said order con­
tained in said opinion and order be stayed pending the final 
disposition of said appeal as follows:

1. That portion of said order which reads as follows: 
“ The defendants shall prepare and submit to the court, on 
or before October 15, 1967, a plan for the assignment, at 
the earliest practicable date, of all students upon the basis 
of a unitary system of non-racial geographic attendance 
zones, or a plan for the consolidation of grades, or schools, 
or both. In drawing the new plan, the defendants shall 
take into consideration the capacities of the various schools 
based on uniform pupils per classroom ratios, so that, as 
far as possible, assignment pursuant to such plan shall 
result in no school in the system being substantially more 
crowded than any other school. In the event of geographic 
zoning, the zones shall be drawn in such a manner as to 
avoid gerrymandering for any purpose. The defendants 
shall make provision in the plan for the period of time 
over which the conversion to a desegregated school system 
shall be accomplished and shall set forth a schedule of 
steps to be taken to effect this conversion.”

2. That portion of said order that reads as follows: 
“Pending court approval of the new plan, the defendants



2 6 3 a

Motion to Stay Execution of Opinion and Order 
Dated August 17, 1967

shall transfer or cause to be transferred for the 1967-68 
school year a sufficient number of Negro students to pre­
dominantly white schools so that at least ten percent of the 
Negro students in the system will attend predominantly 
white schools.”

3. That portion of said order that reads as follows: 
“Defendants shall take immediate affirmative steps to ac­
complish substantial faculty desegregation in the system 
and in each school therein for the 1967-68 school year, not­
withstanding that teacher contracts for the 1967-68 school 
year may have already been signed and approved. In this 
connection, the defendants shall again promptly meet in­
dividually or in groups with all faculty members in the 
school system and encourage the transfer of faculty mem­
bers so as to desegregate the faculties in the various 
schools. The defendants shall advise all present and future 
faculty members that the Franklin County Board of Edu­
cation operates a desegregated school system, and that all 
teachers are subject to assignment to any school therein in 
the best interests of the school system. If the assignment 
of teachers on a voluntary basis does not result in signifi­
cant faculty desegregation of every school in the system 
for 1967-68, to the extent that at least two teachers of the 
minority race (white or non-white) shall be on each de­
segregated faculty, the defendants shall assign for the 
1967-68 school year a sufficient number of white and non­
white teachers to the several schools in the system so that 
two or more teachers of the minority race shall be on each 
school faculty. The defendants shall establish as an ulti­
mate objective that each faculty contain the same approxi­
mate percentage of non-white teachers as there is in the 
entire system.”



2 6 4 a

Motion to Stay Execution of Opinion and Order 
Dated August 1 7 ,  1 9 6 7

The defendants state that they have filed notice of appeal 
in this action to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in 
good faith and verily believe that serious questions con­
cerning all three of the aforesaid portions of the order will 
be raised on appeal, and it is of great importance to the 
defendants and to all of the parties to this action that a 
final opinion of the appellate court be obtained before the 
three portions of the aforesaid order are enforced against 
the defendants.

That if the aforesaid three portions of the aforesaid 
order are enforced against the defendants prior to the 
opinion of the appellate court the Franklin County School 
System will be deprived of its remedy on appeal.



265a

(filed August 29, 1967)

Statement

The defendants, having noticed on appeal herein, have 
moved the Court to stay the principal provisions of this 
Court’s order of August 17, 1967, pending review by the 
Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. We oppose the 
motion.

For purposes of this motion, the portions of the order 
sought to be stayed fall into two distinct categories—im­
mediate relief which is to be effective for the 1967-1968 
school year (faculty desegregation consisting of at least 
two minority race teachers at each school and sufficient 
pupil desegregation to assure the attendance of 10% of the 
Negro pupils at desegregated schools) for relief to be com­
pleted at a later date (filing of a plan for desegregation 
under unitary system of geographic attendance zones, or 
by consolidation of schools or grades, or both.)

The record in this case is voluminous, and, even if the 
Court of Appeals gave the matter the most expeditious 
treatment, its review would certainly take several months. 
If the “immediate” portions of the order were stayed, this 
would mean in effect that the faculties of the various schools 
would remain almost completely racially segregated at 
least until 1968-1969, and that pupil desegregation would 
remain at the level of less that 1.5% for a like period. If 
the portion of the order requiring submission of a geo­
graphical attendance or similar plan were stayed, and if 
the defendants were not required to institute any prepara­
tion for conversion to a constitutionally acceptable system

P l a i n t i f f - I n t e r v e n o r ’ s  M e m o r a n d u m  i n  O p p o s i t i o n  t o

D e f e n d a n t ’ s  M o t i o n  f o r  a  S t a y



266a

until after full appellate disposition, there is a serious pos­
sibility that even the initiation of such preparations would 
be delayed so long that it would be difficult, upon affirm­
ance by the Fourth Circuit, to begin the conversion in time 
to make it effective even for 1968-1969, In the light of the 
foregoing considerations, and in view of the mounting im­
patience of the Courts with delays in the implementation of 
constitutional school desegregation requirements,1 only the 
strongest showing by the defendants of irreparable injury 
from denial of a stay would entitle them to extend for 
another year the unconstitutional practices which this 
Court has described in its August 17, Opinion and Order. 
In fact, the defendants can make no showing of injury at 
all.

With respect to the “immediate relief” portions of the 
order, Superintendent Smith testified, and the Court con­
cluded, that “a greater degree of faculty desegregation can 
be accomplished without serious practical, administrative 
or other problems,” 2 it is hardly open to defendants now to 
argue that this cannot be done. With respect to the reas­
signment of Negro students to predominantly white schools, 
the evidence showed, and the Court found, that the all- 
Negro schools are far more crowded than the all-white and 
predominantly white schools;3 in fact, Superintendent 
Smith acknowledged that Negro students living near Ep­
som, which is filled to 39.4% of capacity, are based thirteen 
miles to all-Negro Riverside, which is at more than 126%

1 Griffin v. C ou n ty  S ch oo l B oa rd , 377 U.S. 218 (1964); W a ts o n  v. 
M em p h is , 373 U.S. 526 (1963) ; G oss v. B o a r d  o f  E d u ca tion , 373 U.S. 
683 (1963).

2 Conclusion of Law No. 5.
3 See Finding of Fact 17 and footnotes 13 and 14.

Plaintiff-Intervenor’s Memorandum in Opposition to
Defendant’s Motion for a Stay



267a

of capacity. The elimination of this condition by the trans­
fer of Negro students from overcrowded to under-utilized 
schools is a significant educational and administrative bene­
fit, and not an irreparable injury. Finally, with respect to 
the filing of a geographical or related plan by October 15, 
1967, there can be no injury to defendants at all, for, in the 
event that the Court of Appeals should reverse the “ freedom 
of choice” portion of this Court’s decision, all that the de­
fendants need to do is return to their prior mode of opera­
tion, or to any other which the appellate court may permit. 
There is certainly no irreparable injury in the requirement 
that a plan be filed and that the parties be afforded the 
opportunity to litigate its mechanics, so that, if this Court’s 
decree is affirmed, its provisions can be implemented at the 
earliest practicable date.

A rgument

Rule 62(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 
while providing for an automatic 10-day stay of certain 
types of orders, provides, in pertinent part, that

Unless otherwise ordered by the court, an interlocutory 
or final judgment in an action for an injunction . . . .  
shall not be stayed during the period after its entry 
and until an appeal is taken or during the pendency 
of an appeal.

Rule 62(c) provides:

When an appeal is taken from an interlocutory or final 
judgment granting, dissolving, or denying an injunc­
tion, the court in its discretion may suspend, modify, 
restore, or grant an injunction during the pendency of

Plaintiff -Intervenor’s Memorandum in Opposition to
Defendant’s Motion for a Stay



268a

the appeal upon such terms as to bond or otherwise 
as it considers proper for the security of the rights of 
the adverse party.

In Taylor v. Board of Education of New Rochelle, 195 
F. Supp. 231, 238 (S.D. N.Y. 1961), aff’d. 294 F. 2d 366 (2d 
Cir. 1961), cert. den. 368 U.S. 940 (1962) District Judge 
(now Circuit Judge) Kaufman, in denying the application 
of the school board for a stay of a desegregation injunc­
tion formulated the test as to whether or not a stay should 
be granted, and its applicability to school desegregation, 
as follows:

The determination of whether to grant a stay rests 
in the Court’s discretion and requires a balancing of 
the equities of the particular situation It is incumbent 
upon the defendants to prove that they will be irrepa­
rably injured if a stay is not granted. Cf. Eastern Air­
lines, Inc. v. C. A. B., 2 Cir., 1958, 261 F. 2d 830. In 
this instance, this Court is being asked to weigh the 
constitutional rights of the plaintiffs against the ad­
ministrative convenience of the Board of Education 
and to rule in favor of the latter. Merely to state the 
proposition is to reject it.

The Taylor opinion, and Meredith v. Fair, 306 F. 2d 374 
(5th Cir. 1962, aff’d. 83 S. Ct. 10 (1962) both cite numerous 
Supreme Court and other decisions denying stays in school 
desegregation cases. Among these are Ennis v. Evans, 
364 U.S. 802 (1960) (Court of Appeals reversed District 
Court’s gradual desegregation order, ordered instant total 
desegregation; Supreme Court denied stay); Houston 
Indep. School Dist., v. Ross, 364 U.S. 803 (1960) (Supreme

Plaintiff-Intervenor’s Memorandum in Opposition to
Defendant’s Motion for a Stay



269a

Court denies stay after federal court rejected the Board’s 
desegregation plan and entered one of its own); Danner v. 
Holmes, 364 U.S. 939 (1960) (District Court stayed decision 
desegregating University of Georgia; Court of Appeals 
Judge vacated stay; Supreme Court affirmed); Lucy v. 
Adams, 350 U.S. 1 (1955) (Supreme Court vacated District 
Court’s stay of its order desegregating University of Ala­
bama) ; Tureaud v. Board of Supervisors 346 U.S. 881 
(1953) (Supreme Court stayed appellate court’s reversal 
of desegregation order, thereby enabling plaintiff to enter 
university); United States v. Louisiana, 364 U.S. 500 (1960) 
(Supreme Court denied stay of three judge court order 
invalidating Louisiana statutes as preservative of segrega­
tion). In the Meredith case, supra, both the Supreme Court 
and the Fifth Circuit vacated stays granted by a single 
judge of the Fifth Circuit and caused James Meredith to 
be admitted to the University of Mississippi. More re­
cently, on April 17, 1967, the Supreme Court denied a stay 
of the Fifth Circuit’s recent Jefferson decision.4 See Caddo
Parish School Board v. United States, ------ U .S .------, 87
S. Ct. 1342 (1967). Several provisions of this Court’s 
order in the present case have been taken in whole or in 
part from the Jefferson decree.5

This decree presents no unusal or insuperable obstacles 
to the defendants. Other school districts in North Carolina 
have much more desegregation than is being required of 
defendants—the state average for last year was 15.4% !6

4 U n ited  S ta tes v. J e ffe r so n  C ou n ty  B d . o f  E d u ca tion , 372 F.2d 836
(5th Cir. 1966), aff’d en banc ----- F.2d ----- (5th Cir. 1967).

5 See footnote 17 to this Court’s opinion.
6 As the Court said in M ered ith  v. F a ir , su pra , 306 F.2d at 376:

This is a not a Chessman ease. It is not a Rosenberg case. It is 
not a matter of life or death to the University of Mississippi. Texas

Plaintiff-Intervenor’s Memorandum in Opposition to
Defendant’s Motion for a Stay



270a

The rate of teacher desegregation required in this Court’s 
order is the same as that prescribed by Jefferson, by the 
Fourth Circuit in Bowman v. School Board of Charles City
County,------F. 2d-------(4th Cir. 1967), and by the Revised
HEW Guidelines to which North Carolina school districts 
not under court order are subject. The feature of the order 
eliminating so called “free choice” is based on the Bowman 
decision (the Fourth Circuit’s most recent statement on 
school desegregation) and on ample additional authority;7 
defendants have cited no case holding that “free choice” is 
permissible where intimidation prevents it from being 
free in fact as well as theory. In light of the extensive evi­
dence of intimidation in the record, all or most of it undis­
puted, it is hardly arguable that this Court’s findings with 
respect thereto are “clearly erroneous.” Accordingly, the 
probability of reversal on appeal is very slight. In view of 
this, and in view of the public importance of the case and 
the fact that the public interest, as well as private rights 
are involved, the granting of a stay would be inappropriate.8

Conclusion

For the reasons stated, we respectfully request that de­
fendants’ application for a stay be in all respects denied.

Plaintiff-Intervenor’s Memorandum in Opposition to
Defendant’s Motion for a Stay

University, the University of Georgia, Louisiana State University, the 
University of Virgina, other Southern universities are not shriveling 
up because of the admission of Negroes.

7 See conclusion of Law No. 4 and authorities cited in support thereof.
8 See U n ited  S ta tes v. N u tr ition  S erv ices , In c ., 234 F. Supp. 578 (E.D. 

Pa. 1964), aff’d 347 F.2d 233 (3rd Cir. 1965), to the effect that courts 
are reluctant to stay the execution of orders enforcing “public interest” 
types of regulations. The Complaint herein is accompanied by the At­
torney General’s Certificate that this is a case of general publie im­
portance.



271a

Order Denying Stay
(filed Sept. 5, 1967)

The defendants having applied to this Court for an 
Order staying the execution, pending final disposition of 
their appeal to the United States Court of Appeal for the 
Fourth Circuit, of the first two paragraphs of Part I and 
of the first paragraph of Part II of this Court’s Order 
entered herein on August 17, 1967, and said application 
having come on for a hearing on August 31, 1967, and the 
Court having considered the arguments of counsel for the 
respective parties,

I t is h e b e b y  o e d e e e d  that defendants’ application for a 
stay of the enforcement of the aforesaid provisions of said 
order he and it is hereby denied, and

I t is  f u r t h e r  o r d e r e d  that the plan to be filed by the de­
fendants pursuant to the first sentence of Part I of said 
Order, and the report to be filed by the defendants pursu­
ant to the fourth sentence of Part IV of said Order, shall 
each be filed thirty days after March 1, 1968 or 30 days 
after the filing of the decision of the United States Court of 
Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in this cause, whichever is 
earlier, instead of on October 15, 1967.

Ordered this 31st day of August, 1967.

Algernon L. Butler 
Chief Judge

United States District Court



272a

Rev. Sidney Gabfield Dunston, a witness for plaintiffs, 
being duly sworn, deposes and says:

Direct Examination by Mr. Schivelb:
Q. Please state your full name for the record, where you 

live, and state your race. A. My name is Sidney Garfield 
Dunston, I live at Louisburg, North Carolina; I am a 
Negro.

Q. What is your occupation? A. I am a minister of the 
Gospel.

Q. What education have you, Reverend Dunston? A. I 
finished the 8th grade in school, have taken a course in 
Theology at Shat University, completed my studies over 
there in 1951.

Q. Are you active in your community, Reverend Dun­
ston? A. I think so.

Q. What are some of your activities in your community? 
A. Well, I am president of the Ministerial Alliance, presi­
dent of the Franklin County Christian Fellowship Club, 
and I am chairman of our church Work Committee, a 
branch of the NAACP.

Q. How long have you been a member of the NAACP? 
A. I would say approximately 10 or more years.

Q. Have you been active during the time you have been
-— 4—

a member of the NAACP? A. Well, to some extent, yes.
Q. State very briefly what kind of things you have been 

doing in the NAACP. A. Well, I worked awhile on the 
Labor Industrial Committee trying to get jobs for people, 
and I am on the Church Work Committee.

Q. Is the NAACP branch in Franklin County interested 
in the matter of school desegregation? A. Yes, sir.

—3—
Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston



273a

Q. Do you recall any steps taken in 1963 tending toward 
school desegregation? A. Yes, sir.

Q, Can you tell me what steps were taken at that time? 
A. Well, I think, in 1963 w7as when the petition was sub­
mitted to the Franklin County Board of Education for 
school integration, and that was accompanied by a letter 
from the desegregation committee.

Q. Who signed that letter? A. The Reverend Brawley, 
I think, and myself; two of us signed the letter.

Q. Who were the leading figures or forces in that peti­
tion? If you can answer it. A. I would say the leading 
force was the local branch of the NAACP.

—5—
Q. Did you take a leading part in the activity surround­

ing that petition? A. Well, yes, I did.
Q. Did you, following the filing of that petition, have 

any meetings with the school Board with respect to deseg­
regation of the schools? A. That’s right.

Q. Did that result in any desegregation of the schools 
in 1963? A. No, not in 1963.

Q. Now, Reverend Dunston, do you recall any incident 
in the State of Alabama about the time that the desegre­
gation petition was presented and these negotiations were 
being made? A. Yes, sir.

Q. What wTas that? A. Well, on September 15th, 1963 
the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, 
was bombed.

Q. Do you recall any incident that happened in your 
family or your home about that time? A. Yes, sir.

Q. What was that? A. On the Monday following that 
incident we had a meeting with the Board of Education—

Q. Who is “we” ? A. I am referring to the Educational
— 6—

Committee fo the NAACP branch.

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston



274a

Q. Proceed. A. While we were down meeting with the 
Board of Education, well, when I arrived back home from 
that meeting there I found that our four boys there at 
our home were frightened, and they stated to us that while 
we were absent the telephone rang and that one of the boys 
answered it and that someone said on the phone, “There is 
a bomb going off in 30 minutes.”

Q. Reverend Dunston, pause there for a moment. I want 
you to state for the record whether you heard that tele­
phone call personally. A. No, I didn’t hear it, I wasn’t 
present.

Q. Now, did you have any foster children staying at your 
home? A. Yes, we had four boys there, foster children.

Q. How long have you been caring for those foster chil­
dren? A. Our home was licensed, if my memory serves 
me correctly, in 1960.

Q. Is that an approximate date? A. That’s right, it is.
Q. I now direct your attention to the spring of the year 

1965, Reverend Dunston, and ask you whether prior to the
— 7 —

spring of the year of 1965 you had any desegregation of 
the Franklin County schools? A. Did we have any deseg­
regation of the Franklin County schools prior to the spring 
of 1965?

Q. Yes. A. No.
Q. Do you recall whether or not freedom of choice appli­

cations were distributed by the Franklin County School 
Board during the spring if 1965? A. Yes, they were.

Q. How many grades were desegregated with respect to 
that? A. I’m not sure.

Q. Did it apply to all grades, were all grades to be de­
segregated? A. No; I believe it applied to the first, sec­

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston



275a

ond, third, and fourth grades, if my memory serves me 
correctly.

Q. Do you recall whether there was a provision made for 
other grades to be desegregated through transferring? A. 
It was suggested that there would he provision made for 
lateral transfers.

Q. Now, you said you had foster children in your home; 
who were those foster children that you had in your home? 
A. Alonzo Dunn, Jr., Louis, Jerry, and Quther Geddie, 
three brothers.

— 8—

Q. Now, Eeverend Dunston, do you recall whether you 
or your wife made any application for any of these chil­
dren to attend a formerly all white school? A. Yes, sir, 
Alonzo Dunn and Quther Geddie, two of them.

Q. Do you remember what grades they were going into? 
A. No, sir, I don’t.

Q. Do you know whether they were former desegregated 
grades or not? A. No, I don’t remember.

Q. With respect to Quther Geddie were you notified by 
the School Board as to any criteria he would have to meet 
in order to be allowed to transfer at that time? A . No.

Q. For what reason, Eeverend Dunston, did you choose 
the Louisburg school instead of Eiverside for this child? 
A. For convenience; it was nearer, and it was a better 
school, we felt.

Q. Were there any particular facilities you have refer­
ence to? A. Well, the class rooms were better at Louis­
burg, a better auditorium, and better playgrounds, felt that 
it was all more adequate at Louisburg than at Eiverside.

Q. Do you recall whether or not the names of persons 
who had applied to send children, Negroes who had applied

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston



Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston

— 9—
to send their children to schools formerly restricted to 
white students, were published in the newpaperf A. Yes, 
they were.

Q. Do you recall whether their names were read over the 
radio ? A. I don’t know about the radio; I didn’t hear the 
names on the radio, but I read them in the paper.

Mr. Schwelb: I wish the record to show that prior 
to the taking* of these depositions Mr. Yarborough, 
counsel for the defendant, stipulated with me in­
formally that clippings from newspapers could be 
introduced in evidence without further identification 
and that they would be treated for the purposes of 
this trial as being what they purported to be.

Mr. Yarborough: We did not agree that they 
would be accepted in evidence with respect to rele­
vancy or authenticity, just agreed that they might 
be introduced for what they are.

Mr. Schwelb: I wish to introduce in evidence as 
Government Exhibit 1 in this deposition a newspaper 
clipping from the Franklin Times, Louisburg, N. 0., 
date of June 8, 1965, the clipping showing the names 
of the applicants for transfers, and the names of the 
students.

— 10—

Mr. Chambers: Mr. Yarborough, there was a stip­
ulation entered into at the last pretrial conference 
with respect to clippings from newspapers, and so 
on, is this stipulation any different from that one?

Mr. Yarborough: I don’t think so. What was pub­
lished in the newspaper we have no objection to. We 
do not agree as to their relevancy, however.



277a

Q. Reverend Dunston, were the two children for whom 
you applied for transfer accepted into the Louisburg 
school, or were they rejected! A. They were rejected.

Q. Now following the publication of the names in the 
newspaper do you recall any consequences with which you 
are familiar which might have been unfortunate! A. Yes.

Q. What were they ? A. We began receiving anonymous 
telephone calls. The telephone would ring and we would 
answer and there would be no reply. I remember that one 
night the telephone rang just about all night, rang until 
3 :00 o’clock in the morning. I had to take the receiver off 
the hook. And then, also, following this incident, later in 
the year, of course, on the 28th of August, if my memory 
serves me correctly as to the date, it was reported to me

— 11—

that a truck driven by three white men, there were three 
white men on the truck it was reported to me, but I didn’t 
see it, and it was reported to me that this truck had four 
flags on it, two United States flags and two Confederate 
flags. The little foster boys had been playing out there and 
they said one of the men shouted at them and said, “Tell 
him we are going to get him, tell him that we are tired of 
this school issue, tell him he won’t make it until tomorrow.”

Q. You have already testified, I believe, that you didn’t 
personally see this truck? A. That’s right. No, I didn’t 
see it at that time.

Q. Now, for a moment reverting to the telephone calls, 
did you off and on get telephone calls for awhile? A. We 
received them every day, and sometimes they would run 
into the night.

Q. How often in the day, and what were the heaviest 
times? A. Well, as I recall—I am out most of the time—

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston



278a

but as I recall, we received at least one or two, or three, 
at different times of the day, as I remember it.

Q. Did you personally answer any of the calls'? A. 
Sometimes I did, yes.

Q. Were they also like the ones that you have described? 
A. With the exception of one. Following this truck inci-

— 12—

dent the telephone rang one night and I answered it my­
self and someone said, “Who is this?” and I said, “Rev­
erend Dunston” , and he said, “Reverend Dunston, ain’t you 
dead yet?” Says, “Man, you mean to tell me you ain’t dead 
yet?” And that’s what I recall their saying to me.

Q. Now, Reverend Dunston, do you know a lady by the 
name of Mrs. Irene Arrington? A. Yes, sir.

Q. Do you recall any reference being made to Mrs. Ar­
rington in any of the telephone calls? A. Yes, sir, her 
name was in it on two occasions. And following the last 
shooting at her house our telephone rang one night and 
my wife answered it and I heard my wife say “What about 
her?”  And then she turned and said to me, “Someone 
asked me had I heard about Mrs. Arrington” , and when 
she asked What about her the person on the phone said, 
“Well, I want to tell you, you all better watch out.”

Q. Reverting now to the truck incident, you didn’t actu­
ally see them shout to the children, but did you get to see 
the truck? A. Yes, sir. I was in my study and I heard 
the little boy when he ran in and said to his foster mother 
Dunston, said, “A truck just came into our driveway; it had

—1 3 -
four flags on it, two United States flags, and two Confed­
erate flags,” said, “there were three white men on the 
truck and one of them shouted to us and said ‘Tell him 
we’re going to get him, tell him we’re going to get him

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston



279a

tonight, tell him he won’t make it until tomorrow.” And 
there was a neighbor that lives just a few doors from us, 
a widow, and she said that the truck backed out of the 
driveway and drove down in front of her house and some­
one shouted “Be sure to tell him we’re going to get him 
tonight.” And in the meanwhile there were nails found in 
our driveway after the truck left.

Q. Did you call the Sheriff’s office? A. Yes, I did. I 
called the Sheriff’s office and no one answered, and I called 
the Police Department and the Police Department said 
they would send someone out there in a few minutes, and 
it wasn’t long before the High Sheriff and two deputies 
were out there. I also called the FBI.

Q. Did you recognize one of the men in the truck ulti­
mately? A. No, I didn’t.

Q. Did you bring any charges against anybody? A. No.
—14—

Q- Why not? A. Well, the Sheriff told me, and the gen­
tlemen that came with him, as well, and the SBI men and 
the FBI men from Henderson said that in the light of the 
fact that he didn’t call my name that I couldn’t make out 
a good case, that we couldn’t get a good case against him.

Q. As far as you know, has anybody been arrested for 
making anonymous telephone calls to you? A. No, sir.

Q. Or anyone who threatened you? A. Not to my knowl­
edge.

Q. Now, did you have any difficulty with the water sup­
ply at your home? A. At my home we have a well and 
we have running water in the house.

Q. Did anything happen with respect to your well during 
this period following your application for those children to 
go to a formerly all white school, those foster children?

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston



280a

A. Well, with your permission, I’ll go back to the time of 
the licensing of the foster home.

Q. I was not referring to the problem of the licensing of 
the foster home but was referring to the incident involv­
ing kerosene or some substance being put in your well. A.

—15—
All right. Sometime during the year, and I don’t remem­
ber just what date it was, oil had gotten into the well, kero­
sene oil.

Q. Do you know who put kerosene into your well, if any­
body did? A. No, I don’t know how it got in there.

Q. How could you tell there was kerosene oil in it? A. 
Well, it had the odor of oil and the taste of oil, and I called 
the Sheriff out there and he took a sample of it.

Q. Did you manage to clean the well out? A. No, we 
didn’t, because the well had a concrete from around it, a 
concrete top, and the odor and the taste finally died away, 
faded away.

Q. Will you state when that oil got in your well whether 
it was an accident or whether it was done deliberately, in 
your opinion?

Objection, by Mr. Tucker, To the form.
Mr. Schwelb: I ’ll rephrase the question.

Q. What is your judgment as to how the oil go in your 
well?

Objection, by Mr. Tucker, To the form.
The question withdrawn.

Q. Reverend Dunston, do you know of anybody else who
—16—

found oil in his well? A. I heard of a man who lives near

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston



281a

Ycrangsville by the name of Wortham, and I don’t know 
his given name, and that is what caused me to become sus­
picious about my well. When I detected oil in my well I 
probably got suspicious that it might be oil like the oil in 
that man’s well, and I became suspicious and reported it 
to the Sheriff.

Q. Do you know James Keith? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you know anything about his well? A. Oil was 

put in his well later, sometime later this year.
Q. Now, Reverend Dunston, how did you keep your home, 

was it clean or dirty? A. Well, I wmuld think it was kept 
fairly clean.

Q. Prior to the time of the desegregation of schools, 
which began in 1965, did any officials of Franklin County, 
or anybody else in authority, ever criticize your home, to 
your knowledge, on the ground that it was not kept prop­
erly? A. No, not to my knowledge.

Q. At the time when the foster home was licensed who 
inspected the well? A. Well, at the time the foster home 
was licensed we had an open well with a frame wooden

—1 7 -
structure around it and we went on for several months 
under those conditions and finally the sanitary man, Mr. 
Pearce, came over there and said we would have to close 
the well, and he didn’t suggest what kind of closing he 
meant, so I just made a wooden top for it and put it over 
the well.

Q. Did the sanitary man say anything to you with re­
spect to whether or not the well was so constructed as to 
pass his inspection? A. Later he did.

Q. Did he make any objection at that time to the way 
the well was constructed? A. Not at that time.

Q. Did the well remain in that condition? A. No, sir.

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston



282a

Q. Tell us about what happened in connection with it. 
A. Later he called or came over there—I’m away from 
home so much and a lot of these transactions were made 
with my wife—my wife said that Mr. Pearce came there 
and suggested that we would have to eliminate that wooden 
structure altogether and put in a concrete structure with 
a concrete top on it, and this we did.

—18—
Q. Mr. Pearce so instructed you? A. That’s right.

Mr. Schwelb: At this time I offer in evidence as 
Government Exhibit 2 in this deposition a clipping 
from the Charlotte Observer of May 20, 1966.

Q. Do you remember reading any newspaper in which 
there was the quoting of a letter which Mr. Pearce wrote 
and which had anything to do with your home? A. Yes, 
I did read that.

Q. Please read from this newspaper clipping just intro­
duced in evidence this portion of the article which I am 
indicating to you, reading it down through the word “chil­
dren.” A. It reads, “In addition to the well,” he wrote, 
“I would like to mention the general sanitary conditions of 
the home would be more in keeping with the raising of pigs 
than children.”

Q. Now, Eeverend Dunston, are the Geddie children still 
in your home? A. They are there this week because we 
are conveying them to court, but they are not living there 
now.

Q. They are not living with you anymore? A. Our li­
cense of a foster home for them has been taken away.

Q. Your license has been taken away? A. Yes, it has.

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston



283a

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston

—19—
Q. Is there any one of those foster children at your home 

now? A. Yes, one.
Q. Even though the license has been taken away? A. 

Yes.
Q. Which one is that? A. Alonzo Dunn. He has been 

there 7 years.
Q. Now, with respect to the telephone calls you received, 

do you believe that you would have received them had it 
not been for your trying to integrate the white schools and 
your interracial activity?

Objection, by Mr. Tucker, To the form.

A. (No answer).
Q. Prior to your getting into Civil Eights activities did 

you receive any threats of any kind? A. No, sir.
Q. With the exception of the alleged threats at the time 

of the Birmingham bombing do you recall having received 
any threats between that time and 1965? A. No, I didn’t.

Q. To what did you attribute the telephone calls?

Objection, by Mr. Yarborough, as to the form,

A. (No answer).
Q. Do you believe that the various incidents which you 

have related were incident to your desegregation activity?
— 20-

Objection, by Mr. Tucker, To the form.

A. (No answer).
Q. Tell me what you think the reasons were why you got 

these telephone calls and experienced these other incidents.



284a

Objection, by Mr. Tucker, To the form.
Mr. Schwelb: Go ahead and answer the question.

A. Because of my activities in the Civil Rights movement, 
including my request for reassignment of the children.

Direct Examination by Mr. Chambers:

Q. You say, Reverend Dunston, that you were active in 
desegregation of the schools back in 1963? A. Yes, we 
presented a petition to the Board of Education.

Q. That is, the NAACP did that? A. Yes.
Q. Do you recall the requests made in the petition that 

was presented to the Board at that time? A. I don’t recall 
it word by word.

Q. Please state the substance of what was requested in 
the petition. A. Well, in keeping with the Supreme Court 
decision of 1954, as citizens of the County we felt that the

— 21-

Board of Education had in mind the complying with the 
law of the Supreme Court and we were suggesting that. 
We had several parents to sign the petition.

Q. Did the Board of Education take any steps, as a re­
sult of that petition, to desegregate the schools? A. Not 
at that time.

Q. Did you receive a reply from the Board of Education? 
A. Yes, sir.

Q. Do you recall what you were advised by the Board at 
that time?

Mr. Yarborough: We already have the Minutes of 
the Board, so there would be no need for him to 
answer that.

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston

A. (No answer).



285a

Q. Did the NAACP have an Education Committee in 
1963 in respect to the desegregation of the schools? A. In 
1963, yes. In 1963 on August 19th, I think it was, the Com­
mittee wrote the Health, Education and Welfare Depart­
ment in Washington.

Q. Was that in 1963 or was it in 1965! A. I beg your 
pardon, it was in 1965.

Q. Did you and the committee attempt in any way to 
encourage Negro parents at that time to transfer their 
children to other schools? A. Yes.

— 22—

Q. Were you successful in getting Negroes to request 
transfers for their children in 1963? A. I think wre had 
a few that requested assignment, but I’m not definitely 
sure of that, but I do think that we did have a few who 
requested the reassignment of their children.

Q. Do you recall whether or not there were any requests 
in 1963 for transfer of their children, by Negroes, to white 
schools? A. In 1963, I don’t definitely recall.

Q. To your knowledge you had no Negroes attending pre­
dominantly white schools prior to 1965? A. That’s right.

Q. Did you have a chance in 1965 to work with Negro 
parents that had children they were seeking to get trans­
ferred into predominantly white schools? A. Yes, sir.

Q. Did you go about extensively in the community get­
ting parents to request transfer of their children? A. No, 
I didn’t because I didn’t have time to do that.

Q. Were you working on a committee in doing that? A. 
That’s right.

Q. Did you get a chance to meet several Negro parents? 
A. A few, not too many.

—23—
Q. From your experience in working with Negro parents

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston



286a

in the community regarding transfer of their children to 
predominantly white schools what is yonr opinion regard­
ing their desire to exercise free choice of schools in Frank­
lin County?

Objection, by Mr. Tucker, To the form.

A. (No answer).
Q. Do you believe the Negro parents of children in 

Franklin County, or is it your opinion that the parents of 
Negro children in Franklin County can or can not exercise 
their free choice without fear of intimidation or threat?

Objection, by Mr. Tucker, To the form.

A. I doubt very seriously if they will exercise it.
Q. Just what is your opinion in that respect? A. Be­

cause of former intimidation and harassment they have 
heaped upon us I doubt if they will.

Q. Are you speaking of some of the harassment that you 
received at your home? A. That’s right.

Q. And any others? A. That others have received too, 
such as cross-burnings and threats of different kinds.

Q. Now, in the operation of your foster home was there 
other than you one principally in charge of the operation 
of that foster home? A. Mrs. Dunston, yes.

—24—
Cross-Examination by Mr. Yarborough-.

Q. Reverend Dunston, you say that in 1963 you and the 
Reverend Mr. Brawley mailed a letter, or was it a petition 
that you mailed to the Board of Education ? A. There was 
a petition accompanied by a letter.

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston



287a

Q. What time in 1963 was that? A. If my memory serves 
me correctly, it was around January 24th 1963.

Q. Mr. Smith was not Superintendent then, was he? A. 
I don’t remember who was Superintendent, don’t remember 
when Mr. Smith became Superintendent.

Q. You met with the Board of Education following the 
reply to the petition which was filed with the Board? A. 
Yes, following the reply we received from the Board then 
we met with the Board.

Q. Was it the following month or a month or two, or 
about how long was it before you met with the Board! A. 
I think it was in February that we received the reply from 
the Board, and between February and May I think we had 
a meeting with the Board.

Q. You don’t recall whether or not Mr. Smith was then 
Superintendent? A. I believe he was, but I don’t know.

—25—
Q. I want to refresh your recollection, and ask you if he 

didn’t assume office on July 1st 1963, ask you if the other 
man didn’t die in February or March, or maybe in Janu­
ary? A. I said I didn’t remember.

Q. Then I became attorney for the Board in 1963 and I 
had nothing to do with that matter in January, February 
or March, of 1963, did I?

Objection, by Mr. Chambers.

A. (No answer).
Q. Refreshing your recollection I ask you if I was attor­

ney to the Board when you met with them then? A. Mr. 
Yarborough, the first time I remember meeting with the 
Board—I beg your pardon, but I have two Boards mixed 
up. I had been before the Board of Commissioners during

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston



288a

that time, went before the Board of Commissioners and 
the Board of Education, and I just don’t recall who was 
attorney for the Board of Education when I first went 
before the Board.

Q. Then later on in 1963 about the time the schools 
opened in late August or early September of 1963 there 
was a boycott at the Riverside School was there not? A. 
That’s right.

Q. You took part in that march or boycott, did you not?
—26—

A. That’s right.
Q. Along with many others? A. That’s right.
Q. And a committee from that boycott group met with 

the Board of Education and you were present at that meet­
ing? A. Yes, sir, I was present at some of the meetings 
but not at all of the meetings.

Q. And in regard to that boycott along about the first 
of September 1963 and the meeting of the committee from 
that group with the Board of Education you had with you 
Mr. Charles McClain who was Field Secretary of the North 
Carolina NAACP, didn’t you? A. That’s right.

Q. And that committee met with the Board a number of 
times and you were present? A. Yes, most of the time.

Q. And the demands or requests of that committee from 
that group were all resolved through negotiations to the 
satisfaction of Mr. McClain and the committee, it was all 
resolved to the general satisfaction of all of you at that 
time, isn’t that correct?

Objection, by Mr. Schwelb.

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston

A. Most of them were.



289a

Q. Which ones were not resolved! A. Well, at that time
—27—

we were asking for a change of Administrator, a change of 
Principal at the Riverside School, and we were asking for 
more adequate class rooms, and things to do with the buses 
were included at that time, and all of those requirements 
were not met.

Q. Do you know which ones were met? I am not trying 
to confuse you. A. Well, we asked for a cafeteria and 
that requirement was met.

Q. They built you a brand new cafeteria! A. Yes, brand 
new.

Q. And there was a question brought up about the con­
tinuation of the employment of a teacher who was said to 
have a bad moral background ? A. That’s right.

Q. That was resolved, wasn’t it? A. Yes, sir.
Q. And Mr. McClain met with the Board several times 

and I ask you if pursuant to those meetings the boycott 
was not called off? A. Yes, the boycott was called oft’.

Q. The boycott was called off pursuant to agreement? 
A. That’s right, with promises that other requests would

—28—
be met, something done about them.

Q. I ask you if there haven’t been improvements made 
at the Riverside School in recent years?

Objection, by Mr. Chambers.

A. I wouldn’t say there have been too many.
Q. But there have been improvements made at Riverside 

so that Riverside compares generally with the Louisburg 
school, compares favorably? A. I would like to see River­
side up to Louisburg.

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dimston



290a

Q. The Louisburg school up until a few years ago was 
not a new building but was built brand new from funds 
pursuant to a bond issue voted by the people of Louisburg 
Township, isn’t that true? A. I know it was built brand 
new.

Q. Don’t you know that it was built pursuant to a vote 
of the people there, and that there was a lawsuit growing 
out of that election? A. That I don’t remember.

Q. You are paying a special school tax on your property, 
aren’t you? A. I’m paying a special school tax, yes, sir.

Q. There in Louisburg Township? A. That’s right.
Q. You are now paying a special school tax to keep up 

the Louisburg school, are you? A. That I don’t know.
Q. You say you are paying it? A. I don’t know.

—29—
Objection, by Mr. Schwelb, To the form.

Q. Aren’t you paying a special school tax there to pay 
for the Louisburg school? A. I don’t know.

Q. You are a leader of your race in the community and 
you don’t know what the tax was levied for?

Objection, by Mr. Chambers, To the form.

Q. When you all had the boycott in 1963 the Louisburg 
school had been built then? A. I don’t remember when it 
was built.

Q. You know when the Louisburg school was built, don’t 
you? A. I don’t remember the year it was built.

Q. In 1963 when you engaged in the boycott at Riverside 
school you don’t know whether the Louisburg school was 
sitting down by the old standpipe or on the present loca­
tion then?

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston



291a

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston 

Objection, by Mr. Chambers.

A. I don’t remember.
Q. You do not? A. No.
Q. Well, your boycott, the one you engaged in in 1963, 

was not directed at any transfer of any pupils from River­
side to the Louisburg school, was it? A. School integra­
tion was included.

Q. You saw the demands in writing presented by your 
committee to the Board of Education at the time of the 
school boycott? A. I ’m sure I did but I don’t remember 
about it.

—30—
Q. The transfer of pupils from Riverside to Louisburg 

was not included in those demands, was it? A. I don’t 
remember whether they were or not.

Q. Who else was on that committee from the Louisburg 
community at the time of the school boycott other than you, 
do you recall? A. Yes, sir, I think I recall some of them.

Q. Who were they? A. The Reverend Mr. Brawley was 
on the committee, and Willie Neal was on the committee, 
and Otis Gill; I don’t recall all of them.

Q. I ask you, Reverend Dunston, if it is not true that 
every time you or the committee of which you were a mem­
ber sought an interview with the Board of Education or 
any of the officials, ask you if that interview was not 
granted? A. That’s right.

Q. Such interviews were granted every single time? A. 
That’s right, whenever we sought one.

Q. Every time you sought one it was granted? A. That’s 
right.

Q. In order to comply with those demands or requests 
pursuant to the boycott I ask you if a representative of the



292a

Board of Education didn’t even go to your house where 
you had your committee assembled? A. I didn’t quite get

—31—
your question.

Q. I ’ll put it this way: I ask you if I didn’t go there as 
representing the Board of Education, went to your house? 
A. Yes, sir.

Q. You telephoned and had some of your people to come 
there? A. That’s right.

Q. And that was relative to the matter of whether there 
should be a continuation of employment of that teacher 
with whose moral background there was dissatisfaction? 
A. Yes, sir.

Q. At that time I went to your house and we sat in your 
study or living room and I talked with you? A. Yes, we 
did.

Q. Talked with you on cordial terms? A. Yes.
Q. And pursuant to a recommendation of your commit­

tee, of which you were a member, that teacher’s contract 
was not renewed? A. That’s correct.

Q. And she is no longer in the county school system? A. 
That’s right.

Q. Now, in the early part of your testimony you referred 
to the bombing of a church in Birmingham; were you down

—32—
there? A. No, I was not, and I am glad I wasn’t there.

Q. You didn’t state whether or not you were there and 
I just wanted to know. A. No, sir, I was not there.

Q. You say you received that telephone call right about 
then; what was the approximate date of that call? A. As 
I recall it, Mr. Yarborough, that was on September 16th, 
and it was on September 15th when the church was bombed.

Q. What year? A. 1963, the same year that President 
Kennedy was assassinated.

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston



293a

Q. Do you have any idea who made that call? A. No, 
sir. I don’t.

Q. Did you report that call to any law enforcement offi­
cer? A. My oldest son did. My oldest son was driving the 
automobile at the time and the little boys ran out of the 
house and reported to him that I had received this call and 
he called the Sheriff’s Department, and one of them came 
out there and checked and didn’t find anything.

Q. No bomb exploded? A. No bomb exploded.
Q. Now, I believe that it was on the 28th of August that 

you said that you received a message through the boys that 
stayed at your house relative to someone shouting “Tell 
him we’re going to get him”, do you know what year that

—33—
was ? A. That was 1965. August 28th, 1965.

Q. Nobody did get “him” ? A. No, sir.
Q. And the Sheriff investigated it? A. That’s right.
Q. and the SBI investigated it? A. That’s right.
Q. And the FBI? A. That’s right.
Q. All of the higher law enforcement agencies investi­

gated the matter? A. That’s right.
Q. Now, as to those children that were staying at your 

home, you were operating what is known as a licensed 
boarding home, weren’t you? A. A foster home for chil­
dren.

Q. Under the auspices of the welfare department? A. 
That’s right.

Q. And the Welfare Department paid you or your wife 
for operating that foster home, for keeping those children? 
A. That’s right; and my wife has all of that information.

Q. And she did draw money from the Welfare Depart­
ment? A. That’s correct.

Q. And as long as they stayed there you were paid or

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston



294a

she was paid at a contracted rate of payment? A. She
—34—

can explain that to yon. I didn’t have anything to do with 
that.

Q. She got money, the money that she was entitled to 
receive, as long as they were there, didn’t she, as far as 
yon know? A. She can explain all of that to you, Mr. 
Yarhorongh.

Q. Did you ever hear her say that she was owed any­
thing for it that she had not received? A. I had rather not 
quote her, since I am not sure about any of that. She can 
explain all of that to you.

Q. I am just asking you if you ever heard her say that 
they had not complied with their part of the contract, if 
you ever heard her say they owed her any money that had 
not been paid her? A. I don’t think they owed her any 
money. I haven’t heard her say that they do.

Q. Do you know how much she got per child for keeping 
them? A. Well, definitely per child I don’t know.

Q. Do you know how much she got per month for keep­
ing the four children there? A. Well, to be exact, I don’t 
know. She has all of those records and can tell you.

Q. It was a matter of contract between the operator of 
the foster home and the Welfare Department? A. That’s

—3 5 -
right as far as I know.

Q. You remodeled or added to your home when your wife 
was in that line of work, and did that to accommodate those 
children? A. That’s right.

Q. Those children were from Johnston County, weren’t 
they? A. Three of them were from Johnston County but 
the fourth one was from Franklin County. Alonzo Dunn.

Q. And he is still with you? A. That’s right.

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston



295a

Q. And the other children have been returned to John­
ston County? A. That’s right.

Q. Is the Welfare Department still paying you on ac­
count of the Dunn child? A. No.

Q. You do not have a boarding home, a foster home li­
cense now, do you? A. No, we do not.

Q. Who issues such a license? A. I think they are is­
sued by the State through the Welfare Department, I think 
that is correct.

Q. The Board of Education of Franklin County has 
nothing in the world to do with the licensing of such a 
home, does it? A. Not to my knowledge.

—36—
Q. And you never felt that the Franklin Board of Edu­

cation had anything to do with the licensing of such a 
home for you? A. No, sir.

Q. You live, I believe, on highways 401 and 39? A. 
That’s right.

Q. You live close to the Louisburg Oakwood Cemetery, 
the cemetery operated by the City? A. That’s right.

Q. Now, you say that your well now has a concrete slab 
across the top of it? A. That’s right.

Q. And it has a pump in it? A. A pump, but it is not 
in operation now.

Q. It is with an electrically driven pump that you get 
water from your well into your house? A. That’s right.

Q. That is a dug well, a well with a rock casing ?A. I 
think so.

Q. You could look down in its when it had an open top 
and see it? A. That’s right.

Q. You haven’t changed the lining or casing of the well, 
the wall of the well, have you? A. No, sir.

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston



296a

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston

—37—
Q. And that well has a rock wall? A. I think so. There 

wasn’t anything suggested about changing the casing until 
the 13th of October of last year.

Q. But the answer to my question is that the inside of 
the wall casing of that well is stone? A. That’s right.

Q. Stone or cement block or terra cotta? A. It is terra 
cotta part of the way but not all the way.

Q. How long have you had that cement at the top of 
your well? A. I would say maybe five or six years.

Q. Prior to that time it had a wooden curbing? A. 
That’s right, it was an open well with wooden curbing.

Q. You would let the bucket down with chain and boom? 
A. Yes, sir.

Q. Now, in the spring of 1965 the Franklin County Board 
of Education pursuant to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 
adopted a plan of desegregation and sent notices to parents 
and legal guardians of children relative to the assignment 
of children in the county school system for the year 1965-66, 
did they not?

Mr. Schwelb: We will stipulate that the notices 
were sent.

Mr. Yarborough: All right.

Q. Those four children were in your home at that time, 
having been placed there by the Welfare Department? 
A. That’s right.

—38—
Q. They were not your children, were they? A. No, sir.
Q. And you had not adopted them at that time, they 

had not been placed in your custody by any court order, 
as far as you know, at that time? A. Well, that’s what



297a

I don’t know. I heard something about that they had 
been run through the court. As I said, my wife has all of 
that information.

Q. But at that time you had not asked any court to place 
them with you? A. No, I hadn’t.

Q. And your wife had not asked any court to place them 
with you, as far as you know? A. As far as I know, 
she had not.

Q. From what Welfare Department were they assigned 
to be put there with you? A. The Franklin County Wel­
fare Department.

Q. And you signed an application for those children to 
be transferred from what school to what school? A. One 
from Cedar Street to Louisburg High School, and one 
from Riverside to Louisburg High School.

Q. Two of them? A. That’s right.
Q. You applied for how many? A. We applied for two.

—39—
Q. Those two applications were made in what capacity? 

A. Wliat do you mean by that?
Q. You placed them there as guardian or as a parent? 

A. As guardian.
Q. Had you at that time been appointed guardian of 

those children by any court that you know of? A. Had I 
been appointed guardian?

Q. Yes. A. No, sir, but as foster parents. As a foster 
parent I think I had the right to seek the best for them 
just as I would for my own children.

Q. That is your opinion, you thought you had that right? 
A. That’s right.

Q. Did the Welfare Department people tell you that 
you had a right to file an application for the transfer of 
them, signing as guardian? A. No; I didn’t ask them.

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston



298a

Q. Do you remember what grades they were assigned 
to? A. No, I don’t remember that. I know that there 
was a place on the form provided for guardians and I was 
under the impression that foster parents were considered 
guardians for the children.

Q. That was your impression? A. Yes, sir.
— 40—

Q. How did you obtain that impression?

Mr. Chambers: I object and direct the witness 
not to answer the question. The question is not in 
the required form and he is not required to answer 
it.

Mr. Yarborough: I withdraw the question.

Q. And you signed as guardian? A. I think I did.
Q. As guardian? A. That’s right.
Q. Now, whose name appeared on the checks that came 

from the Welfare Department covering those children? 
A. My wife’s name.

Q. In whose name was the foster home licensed to re­
ceive those children? A. It was in both of our names.

Q. You are quite sure of that? A. I am. On the license 
it said “The home of Reverend and Mrs. S. G. Dunston” .

Q. Who dealt with the Welfare Department regarding 
the placement of those children in your home, you or your 
wife? A. My wife did that.

Q. Now, in August of 1965 you began some other Civil 
Rights activities which were not related to schools, isn’t 
that correct? A. That’s right.

— 41—
Q. And you led a march or marched in a march around 

the courthouse square in Louisburg? A. That’s right.

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston



299a

Q. And the objective of that march was to have the 
registration books opened immediately, wasn’t it? A. 
That’s right; to have them opened for the purpose of 
getting more people registered.

Q. You knew that the election on a bond issue was 
scheduled for the first part of November of 1965, and 
you knew that the books would have opened within 30 or 
40 days, didn’t you, and they did open within 30 or 40 
days after that? A. I knew they opened sometime, knew 
that they opened sometime between then and the time 
of election.

Q. Sometime between then and the time of the election! 
A. Yes, sir.

Q. You know that the books usually open a month or 
5 or 6 week prior to an election, did you know that? A. 
I don’t remember what time exactly.

Q. But some several weeks before the election? A. 
Yes, sir.

Q. So at the time you wrnre leading that march or were 
in that march to have the registration books opened you 
knew they would open by law anyway within 30 or 40 days

—42—
or 50 days, didn’t you?

Objection, by Mr. Chambers, to the form.

Q. You knew they would open anyhow sometime prior 
to the November 1st election, didn’t you? A. I knew they 
would open before the election.

Q. And they did open before the election? A. Yes, sir.
Q. The books opened for registration prior to that No­

vember election? A. That’s right, I’m sure they did.

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston



300a

Q. In the course of time the books were opened for 
people to register? A. Yes, sir.

Q. Do you know how many registered for that election? 
A. I don’t remember exactly how many.

Q. Your objective at that time was to make the officials 
open the books for registration a month or two earlier? 
A. Not to make them do it, but to ask them to.

Q. You asked whom? A. The Chairman of the Board 
of Elections; we sent a committee to the Chairman of the 
Board of Elections and asked that the books be opened. 
We had learned that the books were open in other counties 
and we thought we were asking properly.

—43—
Q. And he told you— A. —I didn’t go to him myself, 

Mr. Yarborough.
Q. Anyway you learned that in Franklin County the 

Board of Elections operated under a provision of law 
which provided that the books be opened some 4 or 5 or 6 
weeks prior to each election? A. I just learned that they 
wouldn’t be opened then or couldn’t be opened at that time.

Q. You learned that the books couldn’t be opened until 
the regular time? A. That’s right.

Q. And so far as you know ever since you have been 
voting the books have always opened at the regular time 
prior to every election for registration of voters? A. 
That’s right.

Q. So, in August of 1965 along when some of these 
instances were taking place that you are talking about, 
you were engaged in some activities other than school 
desegregation activity? A. That’s right.

Q. At that time you were also engaged in school deseg­
regation activity? A. That’s right.

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston



301a

Q. You were a member of the Educational Committee 
of the NAACP? A. That’s right.

Q. And you put your signature on a letter that went to 
Washington first complaining about the Franklin County 
Board of Education sometime in the summer of 1965? 
A. Yes, August 19th, 1965.

Q. And you met with some members of the Board of 
Education along about August 27th or 29th? A. On Au­
gust 27th.

Q. And that was a cordial meeting, everybody was 
cordial and pleasant to one another at that meeting, were 
they not? A. I think so.

Q. And were the Reverend Brawley and the Reverend 
Mangrum present? A. Yes, that’s right.

Q. And the application you made in behalf of these two 
children that the Welfare Department had placed in your 
boarding home, which you say was operated by your wife, 
was denied?

Objection, by Mr. Chambers.

Q. Was denied by the Franklin County Board of Educa­
tion and notice sent to you?

Objection, by Mr. Chambers.
—45—

Mr. Yarborough: I will rephrase the question.

Q. You have testified that you sent in to the Franklin 
County Board of Education in behalf of these two children 
residing in your boarding home an application requesting 
that they be transferred to the Louisburg School for the 
1965-66 school year? A. That’s correct.

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston



302a

Q. And you received a notice from the Board of Edu­
cation, addressed to you, denying that application! A. 
That’s right.

Q. Denying that application for reassignment from that 
school to which they had been previously going! A. That’s 
right.

Q. And in denying it the Board stated that they did not 
fit into the grades or were not in the grades specified under 
the freedom of choice plan then in effect, is that right? 
A. I don’t think, Mr. Yarborough, that they were in the 
grades, but the letter stated, as I recall, that they didn’t 
meet the criteria.

Q. What grades were they going to be in that year! 
A. Pardon me, I meant to say the lateral transfer plan.

Q. They were not in a grade provided for under freedom 
of choice? A. That’s correct.

—46—
Q. They were in some other grade or grades for which 

were not afforded lateral transfer application? A. Yes, 
sir, that’s right.

Q. Freedom of choice was open only for four grades 
for the 1965-66 school year? A. That’s right.

Q. You know that! A. That’s right.
Q. And the notice came back to you that they were not 

in the grades for freedom of choice? A. That’s right.
Q. And the notice said that because they wrnre not in 

any of the grades of free choice that for that reason the 
applications were rejected, and that was on the notice 
that you received? A. That’s right.

Q. And you know, of course, that there had been a trial 
on the issue of lateral transfers, you know about that, 
don’t you ?

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston



303a

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston 

Objection, by Mr. Chambers!

A. Yes, sir.
Q. You know at that time there was a hearing on the 

issue of lateral transfers before Judge Butler and you 
were at that hearing, weren’t you! A. I came up here

—47—
but didn’t stay.

Q. Did you go to Clinton! A. No, sir.
Q. You knew that there was a hearing in this case there? 

A. That’s right.
Q. And you know that that hearing was about lateral 

transfers!

Mr. Schwelb: We concede that there has been 
such a hearing, and we concede that the Judge ruled 
that the Board of Education was not required to 
admit those.

Q. Judge Butler ruled on that issue and issued an order 
stating that those children were not to be admitted into 
the school during the 1965-66 year! A. I believe so.

Q. Reverend Dunston, what school is Alonzo Dunn sched­
uled to attend for the coming year? A. Riverside.

Q. Who signed that application? A. We did.
Q. Who is “we” ? A. My wife and I.
Q. Now, you said you attempted to get some Negro 

parents to request reassignment of their children in 1963? 
A. As far as I recall.

Q. Do you remember who those parents were? A. I 
don’t remember the names of the parents.

—48—
Q. You are unable to recall the names of those parents 

at the present time? A. That’s right.



304a

Q. Now, you have stated that the names of the children 
were published in the Frankling Times! A. That’s right, 
the names of the children and their families.

Q. In the issue of the Franklin Times of June 8, 1965! 
A. That’s correct.

Q. You know that the names of those two children that 
resided in your boarding home with you and your wife 
were published in that issue of the Franklin Times! A. 
That’s correct.

Q. And in that issue of the Times there was nothing 
untruthful about those children with whom you were con­
cerned? A. No, sir, there was nothing untruthful about it.

Q. It stated the truth? A. That’s correct.
Q. Now, the Board of Education of Franklin County is 

a public agency, is it not? A. That’s right.
Q. You and others vote on the members of the Board 

and they spend tax money? A. That’s correct.
—49—

Q. And you know that the Minutes of the Board of Edu­
cation of Franklin County are open to public inspection!

Objection, by Mr. Chambers.
Mr. Yarborough: I will rephrase the question.

Q. You know that North Carolina law requires that 
the Minutes of the Franklin County Board of Education 
be open to the public? A. I think so.

Q. When you sent in that application to the Board for 
transfer of those two children residing in your boarding 
home did you present the Board not to make it available 
to public inspection? A. No, I didn’t.

Q. Were you told by any official or any representative 
of the Board of Education at that time that it would be

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston



305a

treated as any other public record, open to public inspec­
tion? A. Not at that time. Later on we were asking 
Mr. Smith, suggesting to him that we didn’t want the names 
published.

Q. That was later on? A. That’s right; and that was 
after we received a letter of intimidation, and that was 
the cause of it.

Q. After the names were published in June and within 
three months of the time they were published you were

—50—
actively engaged in civil rights demonstrations or engaged 
in a civil rights demonstration relating to voting? A. 
That’s right.

Q. And you have been active for ten years in that work? 
A. Something like that.

Q. Has any member of the Franklin County Board of 
Education or any official, agent, or representative of the 
Board ever intimidated or threatened you? A. No, not 
to my knowledge. I received several telephone calls but 
I didn’t know -who they were coming from.

Q. You are not intimating that they were from any 
members of the Board of Education, are you?

Objection, by Mr. Chambers.

A. I don’t think they were.
Q. You don’t think they were? A. That’s right; but I 

don’t know who the telephone calls fame from.
Q. So far as the incidents that you have testified about 

as to threats, and so on, they didn’t come to you from the 
Board of Education, the school Board? A. Not to me.

Q. Not to you? A. That’s right.

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dimston



306a

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston

—51—
Q. So any accusation against the Board of Education is 

based on inference or something gathered from your opin­
ion—

—Objection, by Mr. Chambers.

Q. —as far as any accusation against the Board, as far 
as intimidation is concerned?

Objection, by Mr. Schwelb.

A. I don’t think the freedom of choice plan will work in 
Franklin County due to intimidation, because the people 
are afraid of intimidation, so the people are afraid to 
make a choice.

Q. But you are not blaming the Board of Education for 
any of those things? A. I am not accusing the Board of 
Education of anything. I ’m not blaming anybody but 
those who are responsible for it, and I don’t know who 
they are.

Q. To get the record clear, you are not blaming the 
Board of Education for the intimidation, are you?

Objection, by Mr. Chambers.
Mr. Yarborough: I just do not like to leave the 

inference, but I will go on.

Q. Now, Reverend Dunston, you spoke about Mrs. Ar­
rington; she lives in Cedar Street Township? A. I don’t 
know what township she lives in.

—52—
Q. Don’t you know that she votes in Cedar Street Town­

ship? A. I just don’t know. I don’t know what township 
she lives in.



307a

Q. Have you ever known her to vote in Louisburg Town­
ship? A. No, sir.

Q. She usually votes, doesn’t she? A. As far as I 
know. I never have seen her vote.

Q. Now, as to these children there in your home, the 
Welfare Department put them there, assigned them to you? 
A. I think so.

Q. And the Welfare Department took them away from 
you, didn’t they? A. As far as I know.

Q. Now, you stated that several of these threats, calls, 
that after they came in you called the police or the sheriff, 
and always officers came out, responded? A. That’s right.

Q. And you were never able to give them any informa­
tion at any time as to who made any of those threats or 
any of those calls to you? A. No; because I don’t know.

Q. So, as far as you know, the officers didn’t get any in­
formation, any information that they needed in order 
to arrest anyone or who to investigate? A. That’s right.

—53—
Q. And officers responded to every call you made? A. 

That’s right.
Q. And you have stated, I believe, that people cannot 

exercise their free choice on account of harassment? A. 
That’s right.

Q. Some of the people have exercised free choice in the 
past year, haven’t they? A. Yes, I think there was sup­
posed to have been ten to enter, but it only ended up 
with six; only ten were admitted and it ended up with six.

Q. I know, but some have continued in the school of their 
choice throughout the year? A. That’s correct; but some 
did not.

Q. The Otis G-ill child in the 4th grade? A. That’s 
right.

Deposition of Rev. Sidney Garfield Dunston



308a

Mr, Schwelb: They are all in the record.

Q. The Reverend Brawley’s child! A. Yes.
Q. And there were others in the county, several at 

Bunn? A. Yes, sir.
Q. You know the Reverend Mr. Brawley and you know 

Mr. Gill? A. Very well.
Q. And Mr. Gill is at the present moment president 

of the NAACP in the county? A. That’s right.
—54—

Q. And you and he married sisters ? A. That’s right.

Mr. Yarborough: That’s all the questions I have 
to ask this witness.

Mr. Schwelb: You are excused, Reverend Dunston. 
(Witness Excused)

Deposition of Booker Talefero Driver

- 5 5 -
Booker Talefero Driver, a witness for the plaintiffs, be­

ing duly sworn, deposes and says:

Direct Examination by Mr. Schwelb:

Q. Please state your full name, and your race. A. 
Booker Talefero Driver; Negro.

Q. Where do you live? A. I live in Franklin County, 
Route 4, Louisburg, North Carolina.

Q. How much education have you had? A. I have had 
three years of college.

Q. Were you in the Service? A. Yes, sir.
Q. How long were you in the Service? A. Two years.
Q. What kind of discharge did you get upon leaving the 

Service? A. An honorable discharge.



309a

Q. Do you have any children? A. Yes.
Q. How many school-age children do you have! A. 

Four.
Q. What school do they go to? A. Gethsemane High 

School.
Q. Are the teachers in the Gethsemane High School all 

white or Negro! A. Negro.
—56—

Q. Did you try to get your children into a predominantly 
white school at one time? A. Yes, I did.

Q. In the spring of 1965-66 do you recall whether or not 
there were freedom of choice and lateral transfer forms 
distributed to the parents in your county, including your­
self? A. They were.

Q. Did you attempt to secure lateral transfer for any of 
your children? A. No.

Q. Did you try to transfer any of your children to pre­
dominantly white schools? A. Yes.

Q. Which ones? A. All four.
Q. Why did you want to send them to formerly all white 

schools? A. Well, for one thing, it is nearer.
Q. How much nearer? A. One mile or better.
Q. Did you have any other reasons for wanting to do 

so? A. Yes.
—57—

Q. What were they? A. The second reason was because 
of lunch room facilities; we have none at the present school, 
the Gethsemane School.

Q. You have no lunch facilities at the Gethsemane 
School? A. That’s right.

Q. To what school did you try to transfer them? A. To 
Bunn.

Deposition of Booker Talefero Driver



310a

Q. Were there any courses that you know of that your 
children wanted to take at the Bunn School? A. No.

Q. Now, were your children sent to the Bunn High 
School? A. No.

Q. Do you know why? A. The only reason I received 
was that they were not in those four grades, not in the 
four grades category.

Q. Now, do you recall that the names of the parents re­
questing transfers for their children came out in the news­
paper? A. They did come out in the newspaper.

Q. After they came out in the newspaper do you recall 
any incident happening near your house on the same night 
that another incident happened at Mr. Coppedge’s house? 
A. Yes, the same night that a cross was burned at Reverend 
Coppedge’s house the next morning I noticed a cross was

- 5 8 -
laying in front of my door; it was beside the road.

Q. Was that shortly after the names came out in the 
newspaper, or do you remember? A. I don’t remember.

Q. Do you know Mr. Coppedge? A. Yes, I know him. 
Q. Now, do you know James Cheek? A. Yes.
Q. Do you know of any incident that happened at James 

Cheek’s house, or have you heard of any incident that hap­
pened to him?

Objection, by Mr. Tucker, To the form.

A. I heard that some oil was placed in his well water.
Q. Do you know Mrs. Irene Arrington? A. Yes,
Q. What have you heard happened, any incident, that 

happened to her?

Objection, by Mr. Tucker, To the form.

Deposition of Booker Talefero Driver



311a

A. There were some telephone calls, for one thing.
Q. Have you heard of anything else with respect to her? 

A. That’s all I know about.
Q. What school did you select for your children to attend 

during the coming year? A. Gethsemane.
—59—

Q. Why A. Well, I had such a problem trying to ex­
plain why they were not admitted to Bunn last year I just 
didn’t want to run into the same problem again, this time I 
wanted to make sure before I applied because I was so far 
disappointed.

Q. Which school do you now think better, Bunn or 
Gethsemane ? A. Bunn.

Direct Examination by Mr. Chambers:

Q. Mr. Driver, had you requested reassignment of your 
children prior to 1965? A. No.

Cross Examination by Mr. Yarborough:

Q. You live in the Cross Creek territory? A. Yes, sir. 
Q. Do you live on the north side of the river, do you live 

on the Bunn side or the Maplewood side? A. I live on 
the Maplewood side.

Q. Which is the north side of the river? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you own your own place? A. Yes.
Q. You had four children in school during this past school 

year? A. Yes, sir.
—60—

Q. You know that the free choice plan in operation in 
the school year 1965-66 applied only to four grades, this 
past year? A. Yes, sir.

Deposition of Boolcer Talefero Driver



312a

Q. None of your children was in one of those four grades? 
A. That’s correct.

Q. And yon applied for lateral transfers for those later 
other than the four grades of free choice? A. Yes.

Q. And the Board denied your application? A. Yes.
Q. And the Board sent you a notice stating that those 

children were not in either of the four grades? A. Yes, 
sir.

Q. That was the substance of it? A. Yes, sir.
Q. And then you joined with others in bringing a law­

suit against the Board of Education of Franklin County to 
admit them during the school year? A. Yes.

Q. And you know how that phase of this suit has been 
resolved, do you not? A. Yes.

— 61—

Q. And now, in this year, in April or in the early days of 
May you received through the mail some documents from 
the Board of Education regarding the free choice plan for 
the 1966-67 school year, did you not? A. Yes, sir.

Q. And you were sent an envelope to send back any re­
ply? A. Yes.

Q. And there was an explanation given that all grades 
would be open for the 1966-67 school year on free choice? 
A. Yes.

Q. And it had information in there from the Board that 
the names would not be made public, one of the notices or 
the letter so informed you? A. I don’t remember that.

Q. Anyhow, you have applied for your children to be as­
signed for the 1966-67 school year to the Gtethsemane High 
School? A. Yes, sir.

Q. And you have stated that the reason you did that was 
that you didn’t want to humiliate your children? A. Yes, 
sir.

Deposition of Booker Talefero Driver



313a

Q. Well, you knew last year or knew prior to the opening 
of the 1965-66 school year that the nest year free choice

—62—
would apply to all grades! A. No, I did not.

Q. You didn’t know that the free choice would apply this 
coming year, didn’t know that in September of this year 
free choice would apply to all grades! A. No, I didn’t 
know that.

Q. I ask you if you didn’t attend one or more meetings 
with the Board of Education! A. Yes, I did.

Q. And I ask you if a representative of the Board didn’t 
tell you that it was most unusual, with the number of chil­
dren you had, that none of them fitted the four grades, 
weren’t you told that! A. Yes.

Q. And weren’t you told that for the coming year it 
would be for all grades! A. I don’t recall that.

Q. You knew in April when the forms were sent that this 
year free choice was to be extended to all twelve grades in 
the Franklin County school system! A. Yes, sir.

Q. You know that! A. Yes, sir.
Q. And in spite of that you still selected the Gfethsemane 

School! A. Yes, sir.
—63—

Q. Now, those meetings that you attended with the Frank­
lin County Board of Education, they were amiable meet­
ings, the people were cordial people and all were on good 
terms there? A. Yes.

Q. And you know some of the members of the Board? 
A. Yes.

Q. You know the Superintendent and other representa­
tives of the Board and know them very well? A. Yes.

Q. Do you take the Franklin Times or is it available to 
you for reading? A. I don’t take it, but my father does.

Deposition of Booker Talefero Driver



314a

Q. And you saw the names of the people who had made 
application for transfer for the 1965-66 school year, you 
saw those names in the paper? A. Yes, sir.

Q. At the time that you made application had anybody 
told you that they would not be published? A. No, sir.

Q. You didn’t ask anybody at the time you applied that it 
not be published? A. No.

—64—
Q. Now, you said you found a cross in front of your 

house, did you? A. In front of my house on the same morn­
ing that the cross was burned at Reverend Coppedge’s 
house the night before.

Q. What was the type of cross, what was its condition, 
had it been burned? A. It wasn’t on fire, had been set on 
fire before that, was just a wooden cross about 7 feet tall 
made of pine.

Q. It was a wooden cross and the wood had not been 
burned? A. It had been burned, yes.

Q. Did you see it when it was burning? A. No.
Q. How far was it from your house, how close was it to 

where you lived? A. Approximately 40 feet, I would say.
Q. Was it on the road or in the ditch, or where? A. It 

was beside the road.
Q. Do you remember what month that was? A. No, sir, 

I don’t recall.
Q. Was it before or after these names were published in 

the paper? A. It was after they had been published.
—65—

Q. That is all that has happened to you—I mean, you 
have the same credit you had before? A. Yes, sir.

Q. And you come and go pretty much now as you want 
to, just like you did before, don’t you? A. Yes, sir.

Deposition of Booker Talefero Driver



315a

Q. And yon deal with people in Bunn and Louisbnrg in 
the stores, and lawyers’ offices, and at other places in those 
towns, without being subjected to any intimidation or fear, 
don’t you! A. Yes.

Q. Do you have a telephone! A. Yes, sir.
Q. Have you received any telephone calls that were out 

of the way! A. I don’t recall any.
Q. Mr. Driver, you say there is a difference of a mile 

or a little bit more from where you live to the Bunn school 
than from you live to the Gethsemane school, that is, the 
Bunn school is that much nearer to your home! A. That’s 
right.

Q. It is about the same distance in school travel on the 
same road to get to both schools from your house! A.

— 66—

There is about a difference of one mile.
Q. They do ride the bus! A. That’s correct.
Q. Did you know that the Gethsemane school for the 

coming school year has made arrangements to serve a cafe­
teria lunch in accordance with a government grant, a gov­
ernment program, did you know that! A. I didn’t know 
about that.

Q. Didn’t you know that the Gethsemane school, the 
Biverside School, and Perry’s School—You are familiar 
with those schools, are you not!

Didn’t you know that those schools will be under a 
government program receiving, provided they qualify un­
der government regulations, their meals at 20 cents less 
than other schools, did you know that would be in effect 
this coming year! A. No, I did not.

Q. Have you heard that they were to have that program! 
A. I heard that some schools would have it but I do not 
know definitely which ones.

Deposition of Booker Talefero Driver



316a

Q. You had heard that some schools were to get their 
meals 20 cents cheaper, and that Riverside school had that 
program this past year, you have heard that, haven’t you? 
A. Yes.

—67—
Q. You say that you know James Cheek; he lives how far 

from you? A. Approximately 20 miles.
Q. And Mrs. Irene Arrington lives how far from you? 

A. Approximately 15 miles.
Q. You live on the southeast side of Louisburg, and 

Mrs. Arrington lives on the north side of Louisburg, and 
James Cheek was living on the northwest side of Louis­
burg? A. That’s right.

Q. Usually in traveling from your house to Mr. Cheek’s 
house you would go through Louisburg? A. That’s right.

Q. And to go to Mrs. Arrington’s house from your house 
you would normally go through Louisburg, perhaps go 
otherwise, but that would he the shortest way?

Q. And so far as this school year, this coming school 
year is concerned, and I mean the school year 1966-67 you 
have made a choice of schools, made it during the spring 
period either in April or during the first few days of May, 
freely, didn’t you?

Objection, by Mr. Chambers.

Q. Do you understand what I have asked you? A. Yes, 
sir, I understand.

Q. You exercised a free choice for your children either
- 68-

in April or the first few days of May 1966, didn’t you ?

Deposition of Booker Talefero Driver

Objection, by Mr. Chambers, To the form.



317a

Deposition of Booher Talefero Driver 

A. I wouldn’t care to answer that.

Mr. Chambers: Answer it, if you know, and if yon 
don’t, just say so.

Q. Mr. Driver, didn’t you state a few minutes ago that 
you had a problem last year, that you had to explain to so 
many people why your children were not admitted to Bunn, 
and that they were disappointed and you didn’t want to 
disappoint them again for this coming year, isn’t that the 
answer you gave, in substance? A. That’s correct.

Q. And that is your reason, but it was your choice that 
you made, and you made that decision so as not to disap­
point them? A. Yes.

Q. And that was the reason in April or May of this year 
for the 1966-67 school year why you chose to send them 
back to Gethsemane for the 1966-67 school year? A. Well, 
I felt, figured they might be rejected once more.

Q. But you made that decision? A. I made the decision. 
The 1965-66 letter stated, but I don’t recall the exact words 
but can give you the idea, that my children regardless of 
race or color could go to any school of their choice, so I 
sent that, decided to send my children to the Bunn school.

—69—
Q. But they were not in the free choice grades, and you 

know that? A. Yes, sir.
Q. You stated on direct examination that there were not 

any courses of study offered at Bunn that were not given 
at the Gethsemane school, or words to that effect? A. 
That’s right.

Q. Now, Mr. Driver, you attended a meeting in Louis- 
burg in March of this year which Mr. Fink held in the 
courthouse, sometime in February or March? A. I don’t 
recall that.



318a

Q. Didn’t yon attend a meeting in the courthouse, at 
which time I turned on the lights and left, and Mr. Fink 
from Washington held, in which meeting you stated when 
asked which school you wanted to transfer those children 
to, you stated which one? A. Yes, I remember that.

Q. That meeting was held in the court room in Louisburg 
sometime in February or March? A. Yes.

Q. And you stated to Mr. Fink what you wanted, and you 
now know what I am talking about? A. Yes.

—70—
Q. And even on that day you still wanted to transfer your 

children? A. Yes.
Q. And that was long after the morning that you found 

the cross in front of your house, some 8 or 9 months later? 
A. Yes.

Q. That happened in February or March and this other 
thing happened in June, some time along then? A. (No 
answer)

Q. So, about 9 months after the children’s names ap­
peared in the newspaper you met with Mr. Fink and again 
stated that you wanted to transfer your children in the 
middle of the year? A. Yes, sir.

Q. That’s right? A. Yes, sir.
Q. From Gethsemane to the Bunn school in the middle 

of the school year? A. That’s right.
Q. That was all after that, and you know that all of this 

misunderstanding, your trouble about last year’s school 
assignment is behind us and some parts of it have been 
settled by the Judge, have they not?

Deposition of Booker Talefero Driver

Objection by  Mr. Chambers.

A. (No answer).



319a

Q. You know how the case has come out so far, don’t you!
— 71—

A. Yes.
Q. And you know, don’t you, that the Judge did not re­

quire the Board of Education to admit your children for the 
school year 1965-66!

Objection, by Mr. Chambers, To the form of the 
question.

A. Yes, sir.
Q. And the only complaint you have, the only dissatisfac­

tion that you had with the Board of Education was because 
they did not assign your four children to the Bunn school 
for the 1965-66 school year!

Objection, by Mr. Chambers, To the form.
A. Yes.

Q. Otherwise your relations with the Board of Education 
have been satisfactory? A. Yes.

Q. Nobody advised you before you made the choice for 
your children in April of 1966, nobody advised you not to 
make that, did they, or did anybody advise you not to or 
recommend that you not do it? A. No, none.

Redirect Examination by Mr. Schwelb:

Q. Was it your impression that when you assigned your 
children or requested that they be assigned to an integrated

- 7 2 -
school that that was popular or unpopular among the white 
people of Franklin County?

Deposition of Booker Talefero Driver

Objection, by  Mr. Tucker.

A. Unpopular.



320a

Redirect Examination toy Mr. Chambers:

Q. Did that affect your thinking, was that given due con­
sideration!

Objection, by Mr. Tucker.
A. Yes.

Q. You did consider it! A. I considered it, yes, sir.
Q. How did it affect your decision as to where you would 

send your children to school! A. Well, in that I think some 
of it was that I was thinking of the incidents that were 
happening over the County could happen to me, and I 
noticed I didn’t have any incidents to happen to me until 
after I signed the application for my children to go to the 
white school.

Recross Examination by Mr. Yarborough:

Q. You say that you considered it, but it didn’t affect you 
any, did it, didn’t affect your decision! A. Yes, I would 
say it would.

—73—
Q. Well, you made that decision as late as February, 

March, or April of 1966, stating that you still wanted to 
get them transferred in the middle of the school year, you 
did make that decision at that time! A. Yes.

Q. You signed a paper to that effect for Mr. Fink! A. 
Yes, sir.

Q. Signed that paper to the effect that you still wanted 
them transferred! A. Yes.

Q. Whatever effect it did have on you along in May or 
June of 1965 you did do what you wanted to do in February 
or March of 1966, didn’t you! A. Yes, sir.

Deposition of Booker Talefero Driver



321a

Deposition of Booker Talefero Driver

Q. In May of 1965 you asked for assignment of your 
children, the reassignment of them to the Bunn school! 
A. Yes.

Q. And then you say you heard of some incidents! A. 
Yes, sir.

Q. And then in February or March 1966 you still made 
the same decision, didn’t you! A. Yes.

Q. So hearing about them didn’t change your decision, 
did it!

Objection, by Mr. Chambers.
— 74—

Q. Between May of 1965, soon after May of 1965 and 
March of 1966 you heard of some incidents happening be­
tween those two dates! A. That’s correct.

Q. But what you heard had happened didn’t change your 
decision, did it! A. No.

Q. And after May of 1965 at which time you first asked 
that your children be reassigned to the Bunn school, then 
in February or March of 1966 you again requested that 
your children be assigned to the Bunn school! A. That’s 
correct.

Q. So you did not change any decision you had made then, 
did you! A. No.

Q. And you say now that you prefer that they go to the 
Bunn school! A. Yes.

Q. And you do know that you are going to have an op­
portunity to make another choice and your lawyer has told 
you that, hasn’t he, that you are going to have that op­
portunity within a few weeks! A. No, he hasn’t.

Q. You are a party to this lawsuit, aren’t you! A. Yes,
—75—

sir.



322a

Mr. Chambers: I would like for the record to show 
that at this time the Court has not entered an Order 
as of this time.

Q. Though you say that you had trouble or bother ex­
plaining to your friends why your children were not ad­
mitted you went ahead and made the same decision after 
these incidents had happened that you heard about?

Objection, by Mr. Chambers, To the form.
Question withdrawn.

Q. Though you heard of these incidents happening, that 
didn’t affect your decision, didn’t change your decision, did 
it? A. No.

Q. And you are going to make the same decision that you 
made in May of 1965, that is, you are going to request the 
Board of Education to reassign your children to the Bunn 
school? A. Yes, sir.

Q. You are reiterating or reconfirming, you were doing 
that in February or March of 1966, that your children be 
assigned at this time to the Bunn school? A. Yes, sir.

Q. And you are confirming the same decision that you 
made last year?

—76—
Objection, by Mr. Chambers.

Q. If you get another chance, when you get it under the 
free choice plan, in spite of all of these incidents that you 
say you have heard of, you are going to make the same de­
cision you made in 1965, that is, you are going to request 
the Board of Education to reassign your children to the 
Bunn school? A. Yes, sir.

Deposition of Booker Talefero Driver



323a

Q. You reiterated or confirmed that decision in February 
or March of 1966 that your children be reassigned at that 
time to the Bunn school? A. Yes, sir.

Q. And you reiterated and confirmed that same decision 
in the courthouse at Louisburg when Mr. Fink was there? 
A. Yes, sir.

Q. And you say that in order to avoid possible embarrass­
ment to your children or to you that you decided to let them 
go to the Gethsemane school? A. Yes.

Q. But you say now that if you get another freedom of 
choice within the next few weeks, and the Court has Ordered 
that you will again have that free choice, you will request 
the Board of Education to let your children go to the Bunn

- 7 7 -
school?

Objection, by Mr. Chambers.
Mr. Yarborough: I will rephrase it.

Deposition of Booker Talefero Driver

Q. In May of 1965 you asked the Board of Education 
to reassign your children to the Bunn school, didn’t you? 
A. Yes, sir.

Q. And in February or March of 1966 you asked the 
court to have them reassigned to the Bunn school along 
about the middle of the year? A. Yes, sir.

Q. Then, in April of 1966 pursuant to the receipt of the 
free choice form you asked the Board to reassign them to 
Gethsemane school? A. Yes.

Q. But now, if and when you get this new chance of 
free choice, which you will probably get within the next 
week or two and prior to the opening of the 1966-67 school 
year, you will at that time ask the Board to reassign your 
children to the Bunn school? A. Yes, sir, I will.



324a

Q. So, in spite of all of the incidents you have heard 
of you will ask the Board of Education on that date to do 
exactly what you asked them to do in May of 1965? A. 
Yes, sir.

—78—
Q. That is, you will ask the Board to reassign your 

children to the Bunn school? A. Yes, sir.
Q. You will ask the Board at that time to reassign all 

of your children to the Bunn school? A. Yes, sir.
Q. And you will ask that in spite of all of these incidents 

that you say that you have heard about, the phone calls, the 
oil having been put in Mr. Cheek’s well, the cross burning 
at the Reverend Coppedge’s house? A. Yes, sir.

Re-Redirect Examination by Mr. Chambers:

Q. Mr. Driver, in April of 1966 when you requested the 
reassignment of your children back to the Gethsemane 
school and you stated that this was because of some prob­
lem that you had had and that you had heard that others 
had had who had requested reassignment under the free­
dom of choice plan, were you or have you been motivated 
in your decision with respect to where you requested the 
reassignment of your children because of the freedom of 
choice plan? A. I don’t understand your question.

Mr. Yarborough: I don’t understand it either.
—79—

Q. Mr. Driver, has the freedom of choice plan been ob­
jectionable to you in any way? A. Yes, sir.

Q. In what way has it been objectionable to you? A. 
Well, it looks like instead of the Board making the decision 
the parent has to make the decision and get the responsi­
bility.

Deposition of Booker Talefero Driver



325a

Q. For what? A. For these people that are causing 
these incidents to happen; in other words, having it di­
rected toward their responsibility.

Q .  N ow t, Mr. Yarborough asked you i f  the court ordered 
another free choice period be instituted whether you would 
request your children to go to the Bunn school, that is, 
with the parents exercising free choice for the period that 
might be ordered by the court?

—Objection, by Mr. Tucker.

A. I don’t understand the question.
Q. Well, Mr. Driver, you stated that your objection to 

free choice, the freedom of choice plan, is that it places 
the responsibility upon the parents? A. Yes.

Q. Now, my question is this: If the Court orders a new 
freedom of choice period would this responsibility still be 
placed on the parent if the parent has to exercise choice

—80—
as to whether to send his children to a predominantly white 
school?

Objection, by Mr. Tucker.

A. I think it would still be objectionable. I think the 
Board and the court will be taking the step of taking the 
responsibility away from themselves.

Re-Recross-Examination by Mr. Yarborough:

Q. Mr. Driver, at the time you had a choice you assumed 
that responsibility in spite of the idea that you are express­
ing that the parent ought not to have this responsibility, 
you certainly assumed it in behalf of your children in May 
of 1965 and in February or March of 1966 and in May of

Deposition of Booker Talefero Driver



326a

1966 and yon are willing to assume it again when yon get 
another free choice period, are you?

Mr. Chambers: I object not only to the form of the 
question but it looks as if you were asking him to 
contradict what he has previously testified to.

Mr. Yarborough: I’ll strike that and ask another 
question.

Q. Mr. Driver, in May of 1966 you had a special reason 
for sending your children to the Gethsemane because, as 
I believe you stated, you did not want your children to be 
embarrassed, were afraid that they might not be admitted?

— 81—

A. Yes, sir.
Q. And you made that decision on account of the special 

relationship between you and your children, a special 
matter between you? A. Yes, sir.

Q. So every time you have had the opportunity to exer­
cise a choice as to where you wanted the Board to assign 
your children you assumed the responsibility of exercising 
it, didn’t you?

Objection, by Mr. Chambers.

A. (No answer)
Q. Well, Mr. Driver, you certainly exercised the responsi­

bility of a parent for your four children in May of 1965 
by returning that form? A. Yes, sir.

Q. When you sent that form back to the Board you as­
sumed and exercised that responsibility, took it upon your­
self as their father to exercise that responsibility? A. Yes.

Q. And you did that again in February or March of 
1966, as the father of those four children? A. Yes, sir.

Deposition of Booker Talefero Driver



327a

Q. You undertook to tell the Court where you wanted
—82—

them to go and you assumed and exercised that responsi­
bility in April of 1966 again, didn’t you, when you sent that 
letter back to the Board of Education? A. Yes, sir.

Q. You exercised that responsibility as to where you 
wanted them to assign your children, and you now say that 
you are willing to do it again when the free choice period 
is again offered? A. Yes, sir.

Q. When you get that form you expect to sign it and 
send it back to the Board? A. Yes.

Q. Now, you think that the court or the Board of Educa­
tion should assign the pupils to the school closest to where 
they live and not take into account any desire or wish of 
the parents of those children, is that what you say? A. 
Yes, sir.

Q. And you think that the children should be sent or 
assigned to the school nearest to where they live and re­
gardless of who the pupils are who go there, regardless of 
everything and everybody else and also you have the idea 
that where a man lives ought not to deny him the right to 
have the choice of the school for his children to go to, 
should be able to choose to go to the school where there are 
better services? A. Yes, sir.

Deposition of Booker Talefero Driver

(Witness Excused)



328a

Deposition of Cecil Macon

—83—
C e c i l  M a c o n , a witness for the plaintiffs, being duly 

sworn, deposes and says:

Direct Examination by Mr. Leonard E. Ryam :
Q. Please state your full name, your place of residence, 

and your race. A. My name is Cecil Macon, I live in 
Franklin County, I am a Negro.

Q. Do you live in Louisburg or close to Louisburg, North 
Carolina? A. Yes, sir, I live within a mile or two of 
Louisburg.

Q. Do you work in Franklin County? A. Yes, sir, I 
work in Franklin County.

Q. What kind of work do you do? A. Brick work, ma­
sonry work.

Q. You are a mason, you do bricklaying work? A. Yes, 
sir.

Q. Doing that work do you engage in subcontracting 
contracts? A. Yes, sir, most of my work is in contract 
work.

Q. Now, in the spring of 1965 did you have a man work- 
ink for you by the name of Sidney Manley? A. Yes, sir, 
I did.

Q. How long had he worked for you at that time? A. 
Five or six years. I don’t recall exactly how long right 
now.

—84—
Q. What kind of work did he do for you? A. Labor 

work, mixing mortar mostly.
Q. Is he a Negro? A. Yes, he is.
Q. Sometimes in the spring of 1965 did you receive a 

telephone call with respect to that Mr. Manley that wmrked 
for you? A. I did.



329a

Q, Where were you when you received that telephone 
call? A. I was at home.

Q. Please tell us what, in substance, that telephone call 
was, just tell what was said. A. Well, some man called 
me and asked me was Sidney Manley working for me and 
I told him Yes, and he said, “Have him withdraw his child 
or fire him.”

Q. That was what he said, in substance, in that tele­
phone conversation? A. Yes, sir.

Q. Do you know who it was that made that telephone call 
to you? A. No, I do not.

Q. Was it a man’s voice or a woman’s voice? A. it was 
a man’s voice, sounded like a man’s voice.

Q. Did you speak to Mr. Manley subsequently and tell 
him what that conversation was about! A. Yes, sir, the

—85—
next morning I told him about it, told him what was said 
to me over the phone.

Q. Just what did you say to him? A. I said “Sidney, 
someone called me over the phone last night and asked me 
to have you withdraw your child or either fire you.” And 
he said he didn’t know, said, “I didn’t know he had applied 
to go to another school, but he must have done it.” They 
are the words he told me.

Mr. Ryan: They are all the questions I have.
Mr. Chambers: No questions.

Cross-Examination by Mr. Yarborough:

Q. You say you received a telephone call from some 
unknown person? A. That’s right, I don’t know who it

Deposition of Cecil Macon

was.



330a

Q. You have no idea who it was? A. No, sir, I really 
don’t.

Q. And whoever it was asked you if Sidney Manley 
worked for you? A. That’s right.

Q. And whoever it was told you to have him withdraw 
his child or fire him? A. Yes.

Q. And you told Mr. Manley about it the next day? A. 
Yes, sir, the next morning.

— 86—

Q. And he said that he didn’t know that his child had 
even applied? A. He said he didn’t know, that he must 
have done it.

Q. He didn’t know that he had done it? A. That’s right.
Q. That he must have done it? A. That’s what he told 

me.
Q. How many children does he have? A. I don’t re­

member how many he has, but quite a number, around five 
children, if I make no mistake.

Q. Does he have one child named Sidney A. Manley? 
A. He didn’t say definitely what their names were, to tell 
you the truth, if he did I don’t remember, because I can’t 
always remember the names of mine.

Q. Would you recognize Sidney Manley’s handwriting, 
have you ever seen him write? A. I don’t believe I have 
ever seen him write; I don’t know his handwriting.

Q. Do you know what he did, if anything, as a result of 
your telling him that? A. Well, he kept on working up 
until this year off and on. His wife got sick right after 
then, got sick sometime during the fall and he was off from 
work looking after her, staying around the hospital look-

—87—
ing after her before she died. He came back and told me

Deposition of Cecil Macon



331a

that he thought he was going to have to get a job over 
there around Durham somewhere, and he did.

Q. Do you know whether or not he and his boy had a 
fight! A. No, sir, I don’t know anything about that.

Q. Of course you had a boy attending school, still have 
one or more children attending school! A. I have two 
more attending.

Q. Those who live in the Cedar Street community are 
called parakeeters! A. Yes.

Q. You live close to the Reverend Sidney Dunston! A. 
Yes.

Q. Your children have been attending the Cedar Street 
school or the Riverside school! A. That’s where all of 
them go, at least nine of them or ten, there are twelve in all.

Q. You have put ten through school and you are winding 
up with two more! A. That’s right.

Q. I believe you are on the Riverside School commit­
tee! A. That’s right.

Q. And that committee recommends the principal and 
the teachers! A. Yes, sir.

— 88—

Q. In the operation of the Riverside and Cedar Street 
schools! A. That’s correct.

Q. And everybody on that committee has a child or chil­
dren in school, as far as you know! A. I am afraid to 
say about that, because I don’t know.

Q. Some of them do, then! A. Some of them do, but as 
far as all of them having children in school I don’t know.

Q. You are a patron of the school, your children go there! 
A. That’s right.

Q. You work for both white and colored people in the 
community there! A. Yes, sir.

Deposition of Cecil Macon



332a

Q. You say that Sidney Manley continued to work for 
you off and on until his wife died? A. That’s right.

Q. And he continued to do the same kind of work that 
he had been doing after you received this complaint? A. 
Yes, sir.

Q. And he left you for awhile and went to Durham? A. 
Yes, sir, he said his wife was in the hospital and that he 
had to be with her a good part of that fall and then after

—89—
she died he came back and worked a while longer.

Q. He was just a common laborer in masonry brick 
work? A. Yes, sir. He mixed mortar, things like that.

Q. He was just an ordinary laborer, a common laborer 
working there in the community? A. Yes, sir.

Q. And that’s all you know about this thing? A. That’s 
all I know about it, yes, sir.

Redirect Examination by Mr. Ryan:

Q. If you had your choice would you send your children 
to the white school in Louisburg? A. If they wanted to 
go I would.

Q. For what reasons? A. Well, because they would 
want to go, and there are one or two other reasons, prob­
ably. It might be closer, in other words than between my 
house and the high school where they are going, and of 
course it is probably a better school, as far as that goes.

Recross-Examination by Mr. Yarborough:

Q. You say that the Louisburg school is a better school; 
do you mean by that that it has better teachers or a bet-

—90—
ter principal, or what? A. It is probably better built.

Deposition of Cecil Macon



333a

Q. It’s a newer building? A. That’s right.
Q. I do not want to embarrass you, but since you have 

been on that committee you have nominated a principal 
and a number of teachers! A. Yes, sir.

Q. You have picked out the very best ones you could 
find? A. Yes, sir, to the best of my knowledge.

Q. You have picked the very best ones? A. Yes, sir.
Q. And as far as you know they have all been good 

teachers and you have had a good principal? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Your principal, Mr. Harris, has been over there for 

some 30 years. A. I reckon it has been at least 30 years 
that he has been there.

Q. You have exercised your choice just like you have 
wanted to? A. What the children wanted.

Q. You have exercised your full free choice and nobody 
has intimidated you, have they? A. That’s right.

—91—
Q. And as to Sidney Manley, you had already made your 

choice at that time, you made your choice at the same time 
he did? A. Well, the children had; I left that to their 
mother.

Q. And, as far as you knowr, they went where they wanted 
to go? A. That’s right, as far as I know.

Q. What I ’m getting at Mr. Macon, is this: You have no 
complaint against the members of the Franklin County 
Board of Education, have you? A. Not that I know of.

Q. Well, you would know it if you had, wouldn’t you? 
A. I have none as far as I know.

Q. You know most of the members of the Board, don’t 
you? A. I think so.

Q. Your business has been good for a long time in that 
area? A. That’s right.

Deposition of Cecil Macon



334a

Q. You have had all the business that you could do or 
that you wanted to do and could do, haven’t you? A. Yes, 
sir.

Q. Mr. Macon, I believe you talked with Mr. Ryam just 
before coming over here to testify, didn’t you? A. Yes, 
sir.

—92—
Q. What was your conversation about, what you were to 

testify? A. No, sir.
Q. Didn’t he talk to you about what your testimony would 

be? A. That’s right. He went over it with me, asked me 
about it.

Deposition of Cecil Macon

Mr. Yarborough: They are all the question I 
have.

Mr. Ryam: You are excused, Mr. Macon. 
(Witness Excused.)



335a

Deposition of Sidney Winston Manley

—93—
S i d n e y  W i n s t o n  M a n l e y , a witness for the plaintiffs, 

being duly sworn, deposes and says:

Direct Examination by Mr. Ryam:

Q. Please state your full name, and your race. A. 
Sidney Winston Manley; I am a Negro.

Q. Mr. Manley in the spring of 1965 were you living out­
side of Franklin County? A. No, sir, I was living in 
Franklin County in 1965.

Q. Where were you working? A. I was working around 
in Franklin County?

Q. In the spring of 1965 were you employed by Mr. 
Cecil Macon? A. Yes, sir.

Q. What kind of work were you doing for him? A. I 
was a brick mason’s helper, a laborer, a common laborer.

Q. At that time, that is, in the spring of 1965, how long 
had you been working for Mr. Macon? A. I imagine for 
about five or six years.

Q. Do you have any children? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you have a son named Sidney Manley, Jr.? A. 

Yes, sir.
Q. In the spring of 1965 did you sign a form to transfer

—94—
him from one school to another? A. Yes, sir.

Q. He was attending what school at the time? A. River­
side.

Q. You signed the form for him to be transferred to 
what school? A. To Louisburg school.

Q. Sometime in the spring of 1965 did you have a con­
versation with Mr. Cecil Macon about a telephone call 
that he had received? A. Yes, sir.



336a

Q. Tell us what the nature of that conversation was, tell 
us what Mr. Macon said to you about that telephone call. 
A. Well, he told me that he had received a telephone call 
from somebody but he didn’t give no name, said the people 
that called didn’t give him a name.

Q. What did Mr. Macon tell you about what the person 
who called said? A. He said that my child’s name was 
published in the Franklin Times, that he had been assigned 
to go to the Louishurg school, and he told me that the 
person wanted to know was I working for him, and that he 
told him Yes, and that the person told him that he either 
had to let me go or I had to withdraw my child’s name. 
He explained that to me that the man said that the best

—95—
thing for him to do was either to let me go or withdraw 
my child’s name that was published in the paper or he 
wouldn’t get much work to do around Louishurg.

Q. Subsequent to that time did you send a letter to Mr. 
Smith withdrawing your child’s name ? A. Not right away.

Q. About how long after that was it? A. It was about a 
week afterward.

Q. Look at this copy of this letter I hand you and say 
whether or not that is the letter that you wrote to Mr. 
Smith, with your signature on the letter. A. That’s right, 
this is my signature on it, yes.

Mr. Ryam: I wish to offer this copy of the letter 
in evidence in connection with this deposition as 
Government Exhibit No. 1.

Q. Now, do you know Mrs. Irene Arrington? A. Yes, 
sir.

Q. Do you know Janies Anderson? A. Yes, sir.

Deposition of Sidney Winston Manley



337a

Q. Do you know the Reverend Mr. Dunston! A. Yes, 
sir.

Q. Do you know of any incidents that occurred involving 
either or all of them, in the County? A. I know all three

— 96—
of them. There was suposed to have been some shootings 
into Mrs. Arrington’s house. There was supposed to have 
been a bomb put in James Anderson’s yard. And the 
Reverend Mr. Dunston was supposed to have had some 
kerosene poured in his well. That’s all as far as I know.

Direct Examination by Mr. Scliwelb:

Q. Where are you going to send your son to school in 
the coming year ? A. He will be going to school in Durham 
or in Wake County.

Q. Do you live in Franklin County now? A. T live in 
Durham now.

Cross-Examina,tion by Mr. Yarborough-.

Q. You worked for Mr. Cecil Macon, mixing mortar for 
brick work, doing things of that sort? A. Yes, sir.

Q. And you know most of the people in Louisburg, were 
born and reared in Louisburg? A. Yes, sir, I have lived 
there all my life.

Q. And you moved away recently after the loss of your 
wife? A. Yes, sir.

Q. Have you married again? A. No, sir.
— 97—

Q. And you moved to Durham? A. Yes, sir.
Q. You left Durham when your wife died? A. Yes, sir. 
Q. And you say that Mr. Macon told you that he said 

that your child’s name was published in the Franklin 
Times? A. That was before my wife got sick.

Deposition of Sidney Winston Manley



3 3 8 a

Q. But he had that covnersation with you after the names 
had come out in the Franklin Times? A. The names had 
already been in the paper then.

Q. The names had already been published in the Frank­
lin Times? A. Yes, sir.

Q. At the time that you and Mr. Cecil Macon had the 
conversation about the telephone call made for him? A. 
Yes, sir.

Q. And, then, he told you one day when you came to 
work about the conversation? A. Yes, sir.

Q. And you went to work that day? A. Yes, sir.
Q. And about a week later you wrote a letter to Mr. 

Warren Smith? A. Yes, sir.
—98—

Q. And you thought about it for about a week? A. 
Yes.

Q. You didn’t do anything about it for about a week, the 
best you can get at it? A. Yes, sir.

Q. And that was the first and only time that anybody 
complained to you about your child being transferred, was 
when Mr. Macon told you about the telephone call? A. 
That’s right.

Q. And that came about as a result, so he said, of the 
names coming out in the Franklin Times? A. Yes, sir.

Q. You take the Franklin Times or do you read it? A. 
We take it.

Q. So you saw it in the Times yourself then? A. Yes, 
sir.

Q. You had already seen it when he spoke to you about 
that telephone call? A. He spoke to me after it was pub­
lished in the paper.

Q. You had already seen the publication in there? A. I 
had already seen the names in the Franklin Times.

Deposition of Sidney Winston Manley



339a

Q. And he spoke to you about it? A. Yes, sir. I didn’t 
keep up with the dates.

—99—
Q. But that is your best recollection? A. Yes, sir.
Q. And then it was a week later before you wrote to 

Mr. Smith? A. It might have been a little longer than a 
week.

Q. But it was several days? A. Several days.
Q. You didn’t write him that same day? A. No, sir.
Q. There were several days in there? A. Yes, sir.
Q. I ask you if those names weren’t published in the 

Franklin Times on June 8, 1965, in that issue of that paper? 
A. I don’t know.

Q. That is a copy of your letter, the one introduced here? 
A. I think so. I believe it is. It looks like my handwriting 
and it is, the best I remember.

Q. Look at that copy, this copy that I hand you now, see 
if this paper isn’t your letter. A. I believe it is.

Q. Is this letter (showing witness a letter) identical with 
the copy? A. It was written on paper like that.

Q. Isn’t this your signature? Look at this original and 
see if it isn’t. A. That is my handwriting, yes, sir.

—100—
Q. That is your name, you signed your name on that 

paper in your own handwriting? A. I signed my name to 
it.

Q. And this original is exactly like the copy? A. Yes, 
sir.

Q. And this paper (apparently referring to the original) 
is in your handwriting? A. Yes, sir.

Q. This is the original, isn’t it? A. As far as I know, it 
is my handwriting.

Deposition of Sidney Winston Manley



340a

Q. And this issue is June 8th of the Times in which they 
published the names, and you say you waited some several 
days, a number of days, before you wrote this letter to 
Mr. Smith, explain if you will why this letter is dated June 
9, this letter to Mr. Smith in your handwriting, signed by 
you?

Deposition of Sidney Winston Manley

Objection, by Mr. Chambers.

A. (No answer)
Q. You dated that letter, didn’t you? A. I don’t think 

I dated the letter, the letter was addressed to Mr. Warren 
Smith.

— 101—

Q. Look and see if this isn’t the original of your letter. 
A. My sister written it.

Q. This is the letter that you were talking about pur­
suant to Mr. Ryam’s direct examination, the letter that you 
wrote to Mr. Smith pursuant to the conversation Mr. Macon 
had with you, isn’t it? A. Wait a minute, make the ques­
tion a little bit more plain.

Q. You wrote a letter after Mr. Macon spoke to you 
about the telephone call that he had received about you 
withdrawing your child? A. The names had been put in 
the paper, like I said, before then.

Q. Before then? A. Before I written this letter.
Q. I thought you said your sister had written it? A. My 

sister written it.
Q. It was for you? A. I signed it, yes.
Q. You said you had waited several days? A. I don’t 

remember how many days it was.
Q. You didn’t write it that day? A. I know I didn’t 

write it that day.



341a

Q. Your best recollection is that you wrote it about a 
week later!

Objection, by Mr. Ryam, To the form.
— 102—

Mr. Ryam: Objection to the form of the question.
He testified he doesn’t recall.

Q. You wrote it several days afterward?
Mr. Ryam: I object and I direct him not to an­

swer any more questions along this line.

Q. How many days afterwards was it? A. As I told 
you, I don’t know.

Mr. Ryam: I object to this line of interrogation.
Mr. Yarborough: I have a right to cross-examine 

him, Mr. Ryam. He has said that according to his 
best recollection it was a week.

Mr. Ryam: It is all in the record.

Q. This letter is dated June 9th, isn’t it? Look at it and 
see if it isn’t? A. It’s June 9th on there.

Q. And this is the letter that was written in your behalf 
by your sister, isn’t it? A. Yes, sir.

Q. And this paper that was introduced in evidence here 
is a copy of that letter isn’t it? A. Yes, sir.

Q. Now, did you tell Mr. Cecil Macon that you didn’t 
know your child had applied to be transferred to another 
school? A. I told him that my wife had signed the paper; 
he knowed about it.

— 103—
Q. Tell us what you told him. A. I told him when he 

was telling me about the telephone call, I told him it must

Deposition of Sidney Winston Manley



342a

be because my bid bad signed up to go to the school over 
there.

Q. You knew it? A. Yes, sir, I knowed it. A. Did you 
tell Mr. Macon that you didn’t know it! A. I don’t recall 
telling him I didn’t know it; because I knowed it.

Q. What else did you tell Mr. Macon? A. Well, it wasn’t 
nothing else for me to tell.

Q. What else did you tell him?

Mr. Ryam: Objection. In respect to what?

Q. What else did you tell Mr. Macon, you have told us 
about the telephone call that he said he received. Did you 
state that your kid had done it? A. I don’t remember.

Q. What’s that? A. I don’t remember telling him any­
thing else that I can recall, because he was telling me.

Q. But you answered him, didn’t you, didn’t you give 
him any answer? A. About what?

Q. In answer to what he told you.
—104—

Mr. Chambers: I object to repetition.

Q. Tell what response you gave him? A. I told you 
that I don’t remember telling him anything.

Q. You don’t recall giving him any answer? A. No, be­
cause he was telling me.

Q. Didn’t you give any response to what he told you? 
A. I didn’t say anything to him. We just sat there and 
talked a little.

Q. About what? A. He was telling me it would be a 
good idea not to go walking the streets late at night.

Q. What did you say to him? A. I just took his advice.
Q. What, if anything, did you say to him?

Deposition of Sidney Winston Manley



343a

Deposition of Sidney Winston Manley 

Objection, by Mr. Ryam.

A. (No answer)
Q. I have asked you what you responded to Mr. Macon, 

if you responded anything to him. A. No more than I just 
told him my kid had signed up to go to the school over 
there.

Q. What school are you referring to? A. Louisburg.
Q. And you said that you said nothing to him, said “We 

just sat there and talked awhile” and that you couldn’t
—105—

recall anything you said. I want to make it clear in the 
record, and ask you again, Did you tell him that you didn’t 
know that your kid had signed up? A. I told him—

Mr. Ryam: Objection; don’t answer that.

Q. Do you deny that you told Mr. Cecil Macon during 
your conversation with him, regarding the telephone call 
that he had received, that you did not know that your child 
had applied to enter the Louisburg school ? A. I don’t re­
call telling him that.

Q. After that conversation with Mr. Macon you kept 
working for Mr. Macon and when you left his employment 
you left it voluntarily, so that you could go to Durham? 
A. Yes, sir.

Q. And you have worked with him since from time to 
time? A. I came back from Durham and worked for him 
two days, I think.

Examination by Mr. Chambers:

Q. Mr. Manley, following your letter to Mr. Smith your 
child was withdrawn from the Louisburg school, was he, not



344a

assigned there? A. Well, you see I got a letter from Mr. 
Smith telling me that he was to go back to Riverside.

—106—
Further Cross Examination by Mr. Yarborough:

Q. That was after your sister had written the letter to 
Mr. Smith for you, asking that he go back to Riverside? 
A. Yes, sir.

Q. Did you have any conversation with Mr. Smith, your­
self, or did you have any conversation with any member of 
the Franklin County Board of Education about this matter? 
A. No, sir.

Q. You didn’t have any conversation with any of them? 
A. No, sir.

Q. None whatsoever? A. No, sir.

Mr. Yarborough: That’s all from me.
Mr. Ryam: You are excused, Mr. Manley.
(Witness Excused)

Deposition of Sidney Winston Manley



345a

Deposition of George Vance Floyd

—107—
George V ance Floyd, a witness for the plaintiffs, being 

duly sworn, deposes and says:

Direct Examination by Mr. Schwelb:

Q. Please state your name, and address, and your race, 
for the record. A. George Vance Floyd, Louisburg, North 
Carolina, Route 3, Neg’ro.

Q. Mr. Floyd, what is your occupation? A. Farmer.
Q. Do you work someone else’s land? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you have a family? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Who are the members of your family? A. My wife 

and four children.
Q. Is your wife in good health? A. No, sir, she is sick 

in bed.
Q. Please state the names of your four children, and 

their ages. A. Henry Lee Floyd, age 13; Claude Earl, 12 ; 
Emma Jean, 11; and James Albert, 9 year old.

Q. Mr. Floyd, do any of those four children attend 
school? A. Yes, sir.

Q. What school do they attend? A. Riverside.
—108—

Q. Do you know what school most of the white children 
living in your general area attend? A. Yes, sir.

Q. What school is that? What school or schools? A. 
Louisburg and Epsom.

Q. I would like for you to tell me which of the two schools 
you think is better, Riverside or Louisburg ?

Objection by Mr. Tucker.

A. Louisburg.
Q. That is your opinion?



346a

Deposition of George Vance Floyd 

A. Yes, sir.

Objection by Mr. Tucker.

Q. Why do you believe Louisburg to be a better school? 
A. They have the most subjects at Louisburg, more than 
they do at Riverside.

Q. If you felt entirely free and without any influence 
brought to bear upon you where would you like to send 
your children to school? A. Louisburg; I would like to 
send two of my children to Louisburg, Claude and James.

Q. And the other two, where would you want to send 
them? A. Well, they have a poor ability to understand.

Q. If they had special classes at Louisburg and at River­
side for children with less ability and understanding where

—109—
would you like to send your two children with slow un­
derstanding? A. Riverside.

Q. If you felt entirely free as to where you woud like 
to send your faster learning children where would you 
send them? A. To Riverside.

Q. Did you understand my question that I asked you? 
A. Maybe I didn’t understand you.

Q. Your two quicker learning children where would you 
like to send them to school?

Objection by Mr. Tucker.

A. Riverside—I mean Louisburg.
Q. And if both schools, Riverside and Louisburg, had 

classes for slow learners where would you want to send 
those two children? The slow-learning ones, I mean. A. 
Riverside.



347a

Q. Riverside? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Now let’s go back to the two children you would like 

to send to Louisburg. What was the reason you wanted 
them to go to the Louisburg school? A. They have quick 
ability to learn.

Q. You say they have quicker ability to learn, why would 
you prefer to send them to Louisburg rather than River­
side? A. I feel they wouldn’t be so much embarrassed,

— 110—

wouldn’t be so embarrassing to them.
Q. Perhaps you didn’t understand my question. My ques­

tion was as to the quicker learning children, where you 
would rather send them and why? A. To Louisburg be­
cause I feel like they would get so much better training for 
the future than they would at Riverside.

Q. Now, do you remember that back in the spring of 
1965 free choice forms were sent out to the parents of 
children living in the County asking where the parents 
wanted to send their children? A. Yes, sir, I remember 
that.

Q. When you got those forms where did you assign your 
children at that time, to what school? A. Riverside.

Q. If free choice forms are sent out this spring for this 
year’s school where are you going to send your children? 
A. To Riverside.

Q. Now, this would be in spite of the fact that you think 
Louisburg is the better school? A. Yes, sir.

Q. Why would you do that? A. Because I ’m afraid to 
transfer them.

Q. What is it you’re afraid of exactly? A. Afraid of
— I l l—

Deposition of George Vance Floyd

the night clan, the night riders.



348a

Q. What are you afraid the night riders would do! A. 
They might shoot up my home, might put kerosene in my 
well, and maybe bring a cross and burn the cross in front 
of my house.

Q. Are you a member of the NAACP! A. I am.
Q. Do you know Mrs. Irene Arrington? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Have you heard of any incidents that happened to 

her? A. Yes, sir.
Q. What do you know about that, what have you heard 

about that? A. I heard that somebody shot into her home.
Q. Do you know how many times? A. No, I don’t.
Q. Do you know a man by the name of James Cheek? A. 

Yes, sir.
Q. Have you heard of any incident that has happened 

to him? A. Yes, sir.
Q. What was that? A. Heard that somebody poured 

kerosene into his well.
Q. Do you know a lady by the name of Annabel Me- 

Knight? A. Yes, sir.
— 112—

Q. Have you heard of any incident that happened to her? 
A. Yes, sir.

Q. What was that? A. She lost her job.
Q. Do you know for what reason she lost her job, have 

you heard why she lost her job? A. Because she had a 
child assigned to the Louisburg school.

Q. Do you know anybody by the name of Dunston? A. 
Yes, sir, I know the Reverend Dunston.

Q. Have you heard of any incidents involving him? A. 
Not direct.

Q. What do you mean by “not direct” ? A. I haven’t 
heard him explain them.

Q. You mean what information you got about that was 
gotten from other people? A. Yes, sir.

Deposition of George Vance Floyd



349a

Q. What was the effect of these incidents which you have 
heard of in connection with people who sent their children 
or tried to send their children to desegregate the schools, 
what influence did they have on your attitude ?

Objection, by Mr. Tucker, to the form.

A. Made me feel some of the things might happen to me.

Mr. Schwelb: They are all the questions I have.
—113—

Mr. Chambers: I have no questions.

Cross-Examination by Mr. Yarborough:

Q. You talked to an FBI man, didn’t you? A. Yes, sir. 
Q. And you told him, didn’t you, that you were afraid 

that your landlord, Mr. Smith'witek, or Mr. Leon Spencer, 
might make you move? A. Yes, sir.

Q. Who owns those premises out there where you stay? 
A. I don’t know who owns them.

Q. Who lives on the premises? A. Mr. Spencer lives 
there.

Q. Mr. Leon Spencer? A. Yes, sir.
Q. And don’t you deal with Mr. Robert W. Smithwick 

out there? A. Yes, sir, I deal with both of them.
Q. You don’t know who owns that place? A. No, sir.
Q. Who is in charge of the place? A. Mr. Smithwiek’s 

name is on the transactions.
Q. What transactions? A. All the marketing of the 

crops transactions.
Q. You borrow money from him, do you? A. Yes, sir.

—114—
Q. And he doesn’t charge you any interest, does he? A. 

No.

Deposition of George Vance Floyd



350a

Q. Your relations with Mr. Leonard Spencer and with 
Mr. Smithwick have been very good, haven’t they! A. 
Yes, sir.

Q. You have been living over there for 14 years? A. 
Yes, sir.

Q. Now, why did you tell the FBI man—by the way, who 
was that man, Mr. Goldberg, or who was it? A. I don’t 
remember his name.

Q. You know that last year your children didn’t come 
within the free choice grades? A. Yes, sir.

Q. So you didn’t apply for them? A. That’s right.
Q. And you know that this year the free choice will he 

open to all grades? A. That’s right.
Q. There has been no intimidation at all against you, has 

there? A. No, sir.
Q. There have been no threats against you, or anything 

of that kind, isn’t that right? A. That’s right, there have
—115—

not been any.
Q. And your relations with your landlord and with Mr. 

Spencer, who lives on the premises, have been very satis­
factory? A. Yes, sir.

Q. And yet in talking to the FBI man you used Mr. 
Smithwick’s name, didn’t you, telling him that Mr. Smith­
wick might make you move? A. Yes, sir.

Q. Has Mr. Smithwick ever said anything to you about 
making you move? A. No, sir.

Q. Mr. Smithwick is a friend of yours, isn’t he? A. I 
think so. I  have never talked to him about the school prob­
lem.

Q. Why were you afraid he would make you move? A. 
For fear of what other people might do to his property.

Q. Afraid of what somebody might do to Mr. Smithwick’s 
property? A. Yes, sir.

Deposition of George Vance Floyd



351a

Q. There are many, many, colored people in Franklin 
County, are there not? A. Yes, sir.

Q. Anri the only incidents that you have heard of were
—116—

those to do with James Cheek, Mrs. Irene Arrington, and 
Mrs. McKnight? A. No, sir, they are not the only ones I 
have heard of.

Q. Who were any others that you have heard of? A. 
Well, I heard about Mr. Ball, that if he didn’t fire one of 
his workers.

Q. What Mr. Ball, Mr. M. T. Ball of the Louisburg Mo­
tors? A. Yes, sir.

Q. What did you hear? A. A man told me that Mr. 
Ball, an automobile dealer, was threatened, that his auto­
mobile would be messed up if he didn’t fire one of his 
workers.

Q. Did you hear Mr. Ball make any such statement? 
A. No, sir.

Q. It was just rumor, you didn’t hear Mr. Ball say it? 
A. I didn’t hear him say it.

Q. Who was it that you heard say that ? A. I can’t think 
of his name right now, who told me that.

Q. He was quoting what Mr. Ball had said? A. He was 
working with Mr. Ball and he said Mr. Ball said that he 
was afraid somebody might mess his automobile up, might 
pour ink on his automobile if he didn’t fire him or have him 
withdraw his child from the Louisburg school.

—117—
Q. Do you belong to the NAACP? A. Yes, sir.
Q. How long have you been a member? A. Around four 

years.
Q. Did you ever attend a meeting out there at Rowland’s 

Chapel last February or March? A. I guess I did.

Deposition of George Vance Floyd



352a

Q. Did you attend a meeting at that Chapel in 1966 and 
hear a man from Washington or Raleigh, or from any­
where else, recommend or advise the members present not 
to choose the white schools for this coming year? A. No, 
sir.

Q. You never heard that stated at any meeting that you 
attended at that chapel? A. No, sir.

Q. Was it discussed, as far as you know, among the 
membership that they should not change their children over 
to the predominantly white schools this coming year? A. 
No, sir.

Q. Now, about the FBI man that you talked to, do you 
know how it came about that he called on you for you to 
make a statement! A. Sir?

Q. Did you volunteer to become a witness or make a state­
ment in this case? A. Well, they questioned me.

—118—
Q. Who, the FBI, is that who you are talking about? A. 

Yes, sir.
Q. But why did the FBI man come to your house to ask 

you any questions, do you know. Answer the question if 
you can.

Objection, by Mr. Schwelb.
A. I can’t.

Mr. Schwelb: Do you remember what he told you 
why he came there to see you?

A. Yes, sir.
Q. What was that? A. I can’t think of it right now. 

The man came there trying to investigate, came there in­
vestigating and he chose my name. He showed me my 
name and said it was sent the FBI, a letter.

Deposition of George Vance Floyd



353a

Q. Showed you your name to the FBI! A. Chosen my 
name.

Q. What was the name of the man! A. I can’t think of 
his name now.

Q. Was he a white man or a colored man! A. A col­
ored man.

Q. He called on you and asked you if you would make a 
statement, said he was trying to get the facts from you? 
A. Yes, sir, asked me why I didn’t send my children to 
white schools, and asked was I afraid to, and I told him

—119-
Yes, I was afraid to.

Q. Think hard and see if you can think of that man’s 
name.

Mr. Chambers: Are you referring to the Rev­
erend B. B. Felder?

A. I believe so.
Q. Do you know where he came from to come to this 

County? A. No, sir, I don’t know where he is from.
Q. About when was that? A. I can’t get it all clear, my 

wife has been sick for three or four months and I can’t 
think of anything much.

Mr. Yarborough: 1 am only trying to get the in­
formation into the record. I have been told by dif­
ferent people that your wife is in a very serious 
condition and we are all very sorry about that, and 
I am not trying to embarrass you but am just try­
ing to get the facts.

A. All right, sir. It was in the spring but I can’t think of 
the date it was.

Q. Anyway, a man named B. B. Felder came to see you

Deposition of George Vance Floyd



354a

and asked yon if you were afraid or if you were willing 
to testify? A. Yes, sir.

Q. And that was the first time you ever told anybody 
that you were afraid? A. No, sir, that’s not the first time

— 120—

I ever told anybody I was afraid, no, sir.
Q. When did you become afraid? A. Ever since it 

started.
Q. Ever since what started? A. Integration.
Q. And yet not a single threat has ever been made against 

you? A. No, sir.
Q. Not one threat made against you? A. No.
Q. And no cross war ever burned in front of your house ? 

A. No, sir.
Q. Do you have a telephone? A. No, sir.
Q. Have you ever received a threatening letter? A. No, 

sir.
Q. You are the only colored man within a mile or a mile- 

and-a-half of where you live, aren’t you? A. About half 
or three-quarters of a mile.

Q. And you have been in that same place for 14 years or 
more? A. Yes, sir.

Q. And you have never had a cross word with your land­
lord, Mr. Smithwick, have you? A. No, sir.

— 121—

Q. And you have never had any harsh words with Mr. 
Leon Spencer, either, have you, or the elderly unmarried 
lady that lives on the premises, on the same tract of land 
you live on, have you? A. No, sir; that’s right.

Q. You are the Reverend Herbert Floyd’s son? A. Yes, 
sir.

Q. And you are Johnny Lawrence Floyd’s brother? A. 
Yes, sir.

Deposition of George Vance Floyd



355a

Q. Now you do know that there were some colored chil­
dren that attended previously predominantly white schools 
this past year! A. Yes, sir.

Q. And you know that this past year free choice only 
applied to four grades! A. Yes, sir.

Q. And do you know that for the coming year the Frank­
lin Board of Education has chosen to make free choice ap­
ply to all grades! A. Yes, sir.

Q. Have you been attending meetings regularly of the 
NAACP for about four years now! A. Not attending the 
meetings regular.

Q. And that chapel that we were talking about, Howland’s
- 122-

Chapel, the one that you said you attended some NAACP 
meetings at, is near Rocky Ford in Franklin County! A. 
Yes, sir.

Q. Has that church ever been bombed as far as you 
know! A. No, sir.

Q. Are you a member of that church! A. No, sir.
Q. What church are you a member of! If any. A. 

Gethsemane Church.
Q. Your father moved down there and you moved with 

him, did you, from Parrish Town to the Gethsemane area! 
A. Yes, sir.

Q. Do you still keep your membership down there! A. 
Yes, sir.

Q. And in your Gethsemane Church there are only col­
ored people who are members of your church! A. Yes, 
sir.

Q. And it is a Free Will Baptist Church! A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you know7 where the Reverend B. B. Felder is 

from! A. No, sir, I don’t.
Q. Do you know what church he preaches in! A. No, 

sir, I don’t.

Deposition of George Vance Floyd



356a

Q. Do you know why he came to your house? A. No,
—123—

I don’t ; I can’t explain that.
Q. You don’t understand why he came to your house, is 

that what you mean by saying you can’t explain it! A. 
Yes, sir. I can’t get it clear in my head, so much has been 
through my head I can’t get it clear.

Q. Would you say that he had been or has been to every 
house occupied by a colored person in that area? A. No, 
sir.

Q. He went to your house and skipped some houses as 
far as you know, did he? A. I didn’t go with him.

Q. He didn’t go to all of them? A. That’s right.
Q. He said that he had gone to some of them? A. Yes, 

sir, he said that.
Q. Do you know why he was in Franklin County in the 

spring of 1966?

Mr. Chambers: Do you want us to stipulate why 
he was there? We have nothing to hide with respect 
to the Reverend Felder.

Q. Do you know the month that he came to your house? 
A. No, sir.

Q. Were you expecting him to come there or did he come
—124—

there unexpectedly? A. I wasn’t expecting him.
Q. Did he ask you if he might come to your house, before 

he came there? A. No, sir.
Q. Was that the first time you ever saw him? When he 

appeared there at your house and stated his name. A. 
No, sir, that wasn’t the first time I ever saw him.

Q. When was the first time you ever saw him? A. I 
can’t get it clear in my head now when it was.

Deposition of George Vance Floyd



357a

Q. Was it at a NAACP meeting that you met him for 
the first time? If you recall. A. Yes, sir.

Q. How long was it after that meeting before he came 
to your house? A. I don’t know.

Q. Now, Mr. Floyd, the reason that you fear anything is 
because you have heard of what happened to Mrs. Arring­
ton, and to Mr. Cheek, and the automobile incident of Mr. 
Ball of the Louisburg Motors, and I believe you said they 
were the only incidents that you have known about? A. 
No, sir, there were others.

Q. I believe you did state that there was one more, 
Annabel McKnight? A. I heard about a church being

—125—
bombed in the county.

Q. What church was that? A. I don’t know the name 
of it but it was down there near Centerville, heard that 
a church had been blown up.

Q. It was just several months ago that you had a chance 
to make a choice, along about March of this year, when 
you and other people had to make a choice, just this year, 
several months ago? A. Yes, sir.

Q. Now, as to that church you speak of, have you seen 
that church? A. No, sir.

Q. Did you know that it was not a regular church but 
that it is actually a store building that was being used for 
church purposes? A. I don’t know what sort of place it 
was. I have never seen it.

Q. So your fear had already come up long before then? 
A. I don’t know what time it was now.

Q. But you say that your fear has arisen since integra­
tion started? A. Oh, yes.

Q. So from the very beginning and before any of these 
things happened, that you say that you have heard of,

Deposition of George Vance Floyd



358a

Deposition of George Vance Floyd

— 126—

you were fearful? A. Sir?
Q. Your original fear did not start from any of these 

things that you have told that you have heard about? A. 
It kept building up.

Q. But in the very beginning and before any incidents 
happened you were fearful? A. Yes, sir.

Q. You were just a little bit afraid back yonder and you 
are a little bit more afraid now?

Objection, by Mr. Chambers, To the form.
Mr. Yarborough: He said it was built up, and I 

want to know what he means by that.
Q. You said that your fear arose before any of these 

incidents happened? A. Yes, sir.
Q. But in spite of your fear you were not only willing to 

do so but you volunteered to come into court and testify 
that you were afraid your landlord woud make you move, 
weren’t so fearful but what you volunteered to come into 
open court and tell that? A. Yes, sir.

Q. You have been a spectator in court before, haven’t 
you been in courtrooms before? A. Yes, sir.

— 127—

Q. And courtrooms are usually crowded, a large number 
of people in them? A. Some of them are.

Q. And they are open to the public? A. Well, some of 
them.

Q. Have you ever tried to get into a court that wasn’t 
open to the public, a courtroom ? A. I know I wasn’t ever 
summoned to court.

Q. But I’m asking you this: You never have been barred 
from a courtroom, have you? A. No, sir.



359a

Q. You never have been barred from a courtroom dur­
ing a court trial, have you? A. No.

Q. Do you know that this court has Ordered another free 
choice period for the colored people of Franklin County? 
A. Sir?

Q. Did you know that the colored people of Franklin 
County will be given another free choice period within a 
week or two? A. No, sir.

Q. If and when they are given such a free choice period 
what choice will you make ? A. I don’t know. I don’t know

—128—
how it is.

Q. If another free choice period, like the one that was 
given you last April, if another such free choice period is 
given you what will be your decision? A. I don’t know 
about this question.

Q. I am simply asking you this: If you are given an­
other free choice—you know what free choice means, don’t 
you? A. Yes, sir.

Q. All right. If you are given another free choice period 
to pick the school you want your children to go to, a period 
exactly like that one last April, what will be your choice 
for your children? A. I don’t understand your question.

Mr. Yarborough: I will withdraw the question, 
then.

Q. Now, has anybody ever denied you credit on account 
of any actual activity that you have engaged in yourself 
regarding civil rights? A. No, sir.

Q. Has anybody ever refused you a job on account of any 
such activity? A. I ain’t never applied for nary one.

Q. Now, nobody has made you move from where you are,

Deposition of George Vance Floyd



360a

nor has anybody threatened to make you move, have they! 
A. No, sir.

—129—
Q. Now, have you rented some tobacco acreage for this 

year, have you some tobacco other than that which is on 
the farm that you are on! A. Yes, sir.

Q. Is that from a white or colored person? A. Colored.
Q. You went out on the market and rented some tobacco 

acreage! A. They did.
Q. Who is “they” ! A. Mr. Smithwick.
Q. He is a white man there on that place? A. Yes, sir.
Q. The people there rented some tobacco acreage for 

you? A. Yes, sir.
Q. And you cultivated it on shares ? A. That’s right.
Q. Your relationship with Mr. Smithwick has been a very 

happy one? A. Yes, sir.
Q. You have no complaint whatsoever about your busi­

ness or personal relationship with Mr. Leon Spencer and 
Mr. Robert W. Smithwick? A. That’s right; no, sir.

—130—
Q. You have had a perfect relationship with Mr. Smith­

wick and yet you told the FBI man that your landlord, 
and you mentioned Mr. Smithwick’s name, that you were 
afraid that your landlord would make you move if you 
chose a different school for your children? A. Yes, sir.

Redirect Examination by Mr. Schwelb:

Q. I ask you if you ever intimated that you intended to 
send your children to a predominantly white school? A. 
No, sir, I have not.

Q. You testified, I believe, that your landlord, if you 
sent your children to a formerly all white school, might 
be interfered with by white people? A. That’s correct.

Deposition of George Vance Floyd



361a

Q. In conection with that, do yon believe that the integra­
tion of schools is popular or unpopular with the white 
people of Franklin County?

Objection, by Mr. Tucker, To the form.

Q. I ’ll change my question and ask you this: Are the 
white people of Franklin County, in your opinion, for in­
tegration or against integration, mostly?

Objection, by Mr. Tucker, To the form,

A. I can’t answer that.
— 131—

Q. Do you think the white people of Franklin County are 
for or against integration? A. Against it.

Recross Examination toy Mr. Yarborough:

Q. Can you give me the names of some of the white peo­
ple in Franklin County that you say are opposed to inte­
gration? A. I don’t know them.

Q. You can’t give me the names of any white people in 
the County who are opposed to integration? A. No, sir.

Q. How far do you live from Ingleside? A. I live right 
near Trinity Church.

Q. In that Ingleside section most of the white people 
send their children to Louisburg to school, or lots of them? 
A. That’s right.

Q. And you cannot give me the name here of a single 
white person that you believe or think is opposed to inte­
gration, can you? A. No, I cannot.

Q. Not by name? A. No, sir.
Q. Can you describe anyone by description or place of

Deposition of George Vance Floyd



362a

Deposition of George Vance Floyd

—1 3 2-
residence in Franklin County, even if yon don’t know the 
name or where he or she lives, that is opposed to integra­
tion? A. I don’t know where he lives.

Q. What white people are you talking about when you 
say that you believe they are opposed to integration, since 
you cannot tell me the name of one, cannot tell me any­
one’s name? A. Threats have been made.

Q. Do you know who made any threats? A. No, sir.
Q. Do you know whether any such threats were made by 

a white man? A. I don’t know who they were made by.
Q. Do you know where Mrs. Irene Arrington lives? A. 

Yes, sir.
Q. How far do you live from her? A. Approximately 2 

or 2% miles.
Q. Now, you referred to the time that one of those shoot­

ing incidents occurred; wasn’t there a liquor still found and 
destroyed near her house by law enforcement officers, have 
you ever heard of the operators of a liquor still being caught 
behind her house, and I’m not talking about her having

—133—
operated it, but am asking you if you heard about one that 
was being operated close to her house about the time of 
those alleged shooting incidents ? A. No, sir, I never heard 
of a still be caught there at all.

Q. You never heard of it being reported, never heard 
of that? A. No, sir.

Mr. Yarborough: That’s all I wish to ask the 
witness.

Mr. Schwelb: You are excused, Mr. Floyd.
(Witness Excused)



363a

Deposition of John Echols

—134—
John Echols, a witness for the plaintiffs, being duly 

sworn, deposes and says:

Direct Examination by Mr. Schwelb:

Q. Please state your name, and your address, your 
residence. A. John Echols, 1126 Main Street, Scotland 
Neck, North Carolina.

Q. What is your occupation? A. I own the Western 
Auto Associates store in Scotland Neck.

Q. Have you lived in Franklinton, North Carolina fairly 
recently? A. Yes, sir, I moved from Franklinton, sold my 
business in Franklinton, believe it was the first of April 
of 1965, purchased the store in Scotland Neck, moved to 
Scotland Neck.

Q. In April of 1965? A. Yes, sir.
Q. In 1964 were you designated Chairman of the Christ­

mas parade in Franklinton? A. Yes, sir, I was, and also 
in 1962 and 1963. I resigned from being Chairman of the 
parade in 1964.

Q. All right. That 1964 parade is the one I am concerned 
with. Tell us about that parade and about your Chair­
manship of it. A. I believe the parade was approxi-

—135—
mately on the 5th day December or thereabout. I couldn’t 
give you the exact date of it because all of that has gone 
out of my mind. But approximately the Sunday or Satur­
day night before the parade the window of my store was 
either knocked out or shot out, and I found out about it on 
Sunday morning; at approximately 9 :30 or 10:00 o’clock 
I got a telephone call and the caller stated that as to the 
parade I had better get the white people in the front of 
it, and the caller wanted to know who set up the parade,



364a

and I told him that me and other officials of the parade did 
it. Mr. Woodlief, and Mr. Johnson that worked in Leg­
gett’s, and I don’t know his first name, and the caller 
stated for me to see that the parade would go with the 
white people in front “and niggers behind” .

Q. Did he use the word “niggers” ! A. Yes, sir.
Q. Go ahead. A. And he said that I was to advise the 

merchants to that effect or there would be consequences, 
and he hung up the phone, at which time I called the Mayor 
and the Chief of Police and told them what was going on, 
and the Chief of Police told me, said, “John, don’t resign,” 
so I waited until the next morning and handed in my reg- 
ignation after the Chief of Police checked and assuted me 
that the Ku Klux Klan had nothing to do with the parade; 
that was at the time that the Klan was after the Louis- 
burg parade and the Franklinton parade. I told him that 
if I didn’t resign and if any of the kids got hurt on Main 
Street that I would feel like I hadn’t done my duty. So 
I resigned and turned the parade over to the Mayor and 
the Chief of Police.

Q. The only reference given in that connection was the 
reference made to “niggers” ! A. He said the white should 
be in front and the “niggers” in back, said I had set up 
the parade and I had better change my mind.

Mr. Schwelb: Those are all the questions I have.
Mr. Chambers: I have no questions.

Cross-Examination by Mr. Yarborough:

Q. Mr. Echols, you brought your store to Franklinton in 
October of 1960, I believe, and you left Franklinton in 
April of 1965! A. Yes, sir.

Deposition of John Echols



365a

Q. You stayed there, roughly, 4% years! A. Yes, sir.
—137-—

Q. Arid you catered to both white and colored? A. Yes, 
sir.

Q. In other words, when a man came into your store in 
Franklinton, and it would be the same in Scotland Neck, 
if a man came into your store, a customer, being in busi­
ness you would greet him hoping to sell him something! 
A. Yes, sir.

Q. You didn’t make any difference in waiting on any­
body, didn’t make any difference between white and 
colored? A. That’s right.

Q. You didn’t make any distinction among your cus­
tomers? A. No, sir. If a man came in my store and I 
had an item marked $5.00 it wouldn’t make any difference 
if he was the President of the United States he is going to 
pay $5.00.

Q. You got along well with everybody? A. Yes, sir. 
In other words, when I left Franklinton my colored cus­
tomers came in and would say, “John, why are you leav­
ing?” Or, “Mr. Echols, why are you leaving?”

Q. You got along well with them? A. Yes, sir.
Q. You were asked that by a lot of white people too, 

weren’t you? A. Yes, sir. There was nothing brought
- 1 3 8 -

up about color.
Q. You headed up the parade for the Merchants Asso­

ciation? A. Yes, sir.
Q. And the parade went through about like it was set 

up? A. Yes, sir it went through just the way it was 
lined up.

Q. And you headed up the parade, you were Chairman 
of it in 1962, 1963 and 1964? A. That’s right.

Deposition of John Echols



366a

Q. It is a fact, isn’t it, that most of the merchants in 
Franklinton are white people? A. Yes, most of them 
were operated by white people.

Q. So that it was white people mostly who contributed 
to the cost of the parade? A. Yes, sir.

Q. So that there were more merchants who were white 
people who were responsible for the parade than mer­
chants of stores operated by colored people? A. Thab’s 
right.

Q. There were different kinds of floats in the parade? 
A. Yes, sir. We designated a couple of years ago that 
there would be four floats for the colored and four floats 
for the white.

Q. You have been working with the parade, the Christ­
mas parade through the years? A. Yes, sir. I was the

—1 3 9 -
instigator of the Christmas parade idea. I got the first 
parade going.

Q. During 1962 and 1963 the Christmas parade was a 
mixed parade, wasn’t it? A. Yes, it was mixed right on, 
even the one I resigned from, resigned because I felt it 
was for the betterment of the town and people that I 
resign.

Q. But in 1962 and 1963 it was mixed? A. Yes, sir.
Q. And the parade went off without incident? A. That’s 

right, there were no incidents.
Q. And you say in 1964 somebody called you and told 

you that you had better put the white ones in front and 
the colored ones in the rear of the parade? A. Yes. That 
was a crackpot. And I have been advised that the author­
ities are on the trail of that man right now and, as I stated 
earlier here this morning, when I filled out this paper 
I said I would not divulge that man’s name to anyone.

Deposition of John Echols



367a

Q. And you say he was a crackpot! A. I felt he was 
a crackpot.

Q. And that was the first complaint or threat that any­
body ever made to you! A. Yes, sir.

—140—
Q. And the only one? A. That’s right.
Q. Now, Mr. Echols, you know, of course, that this law­

suit here involves the Franklin County Board of Educa­
tion, you know that! A. Yes, sir.

Q. And you don’t say, I suppose, that the Franklin 
County Board of Education had anything whatsoever to do 
with that threat about the parade, do you! A. The man 
that threatened me I have been told is not a merchant 
and he is not a member of any Board or a member of any 
police enforcement body.

Q. I would like for you to answer my question directly, 
however. Nobody on the Franklin County Board of Edu­
cation had anything to do with that telephone call, did 
they, that you know of! A. No, sir.

Q. No mention of schools was made in that conversation? 
A. No, sir.

Q. And Franklinton has its own school system, a part of 
the Franklin County School System? A. That’s right.

Q. And it is complete and separate? A. That’s cor­
rect, sir.

—141—
Q. Mr. Echols, in 1964 you were the Chairman of the 

Christmas parade in Franklinton, were you? A. That’s 
correct.

Q. And you resigned as chairman of it before the parade 
took place? A. Yes, I resigned. My family went to the 
parade but I stayed at the house because, as I stated here

Deposition of John Echols



3 6 8 a

before, I felt like it was for the protection of the town 
that I resign.

Q. Did the parade take place without any incidents? 
A. Yes, it took place without incident but it didn’t run 
as smoothly as it did before.

Q. Was what was due to, that it did not run as smoothly? 
A. It was due to the lack of knowledge of the people run­
ning the parade, they just didn’t know the procedure 
to make it smooth.

Q. But there was no racial trouble at all? A. No, sir.
Q. And the parade went along in full swing? A. The 

only thing that was pulled out of the parade, that I know 
of, was my truck; everybody else stayed in the parade, 
as far as I know, and I would say it went off as it was 
set up.

Q. You got that phone call from that man about the
—1 4 2 -

parade and also a plate glass window was broken or shot 
out of the front of your store, as you say, and you just 
became disgusted and quit, didn’t you? A. I thought it 
would be to the best interest of the town and the merchants 
for me to resign.

Q. You did quit? A. Yes, I quit. But, as I said, I didn’t 
want any of the kids to get hurt. Suppose your kid had 
got hurt during the parade, suppose I hadn’t quit and your 
kid had got hurt and you found out later about this, that 
I hadn’t let you know about it, then afterward you would 
have said to me “John, you were a sorry civic official” .

Q. Mr. Echols, you stayed in business in Franklinton 
from then until you sold out in April of 1965? A. Yes,

Deposition of John Echols

sir.



3 6 9 a

Q. You were in business there until about 4 months later, 
four months after the parade? A. Yes, sir. And the rea­
son I sold the store and moved to Scotland Neck is because 
Scotland Neck is approximately three times as big as 
Franklinton and my business in Scotland Neck is approxi­
mately three times as big as it was in Franklinton.

Q. And you moved from Franklinton voluntarily when 
you moved to Scotland Neck! A. Yes, sir.

—143—
Q. Do you remember about what it cost to put on such a 

parade as that one in Franklinton? A. It cost between 
$800.00 and $900.00 to run that parade.

Redirect Examination by Mr. Schwelb:

Q. Mr. Echols, this reprint of an article that appeared 
in the Franklin Times under date of 12/8/64 headed 
“Franklinton Parade Still On, Threatened Chairman Re­
signs, you read that at the time, did you? A. Yes, sir.

Q. This article dealt with the parade and your resigna­
tion as Chairman, did it not? A. Yes, sir.

Mr. Schwelb: I offer in evidence as Government 
Exhibit No. 1 in this deposition this article which 
appeared in the Franklin Times under date of 
12/8/64. You are excused, Mr. Echols.

(Witness excused)

Deposition of John Echols



370a

Deposition of J. W. Champion

—144—
J- W. Champion, a witness for the plaintiffs, being duly 

sworn, deposes and says:

Direct Examination by Mr. Schwelb:

Q. Please state your name and place of residence. A. 
J. W. Champion, Route 4, Louisburg, North Carolina.

Q. You are the Sheriff of Franklin County! A. Yes, 
sir.

Q. How long have you been Sheriff of Franklin County? 
A. This makes eight years.

Q. I believe it is correct, isn’t it, that you were defeated 
for reelection recently? A. That’s true, yes.

Q. I want to ask you if you investigated certain incidents 
of violence, certain related incidents in Franklin County 
which have allegedly happened over the past year or two. 
A. All right, sir.

Q. Did you investigate these incidents occurring in 
Franklin County? A. Some of them I did, and some of 
them I didn’t.

Q. Did you investigate the shootings at the home of 
Mrs. Irene Arrington? A. I investigated the last shooting 
there.

Q. Were any arrests made as a result of that investiga­
tion? A. No, sir.

—145—
Q. Did you investigate the shooting at the home of 

Sanford Johnson? A. I did.
Q. Were any arrests made in connection with that shoot­

ing? A. No, sir.
Q. Did you investigate a cross-burning in front of or 

near the home of the Reverend Luther Coppedge? A. 
Yes, I investigated that.



3 7 1 a

Q. Was any arrest made in connection with that! A. 
No, sir.

Q. I understand that you did not investigate the incident 
of the alleged putting of sugar in the tractor of the 
Reverend Mr. Coppedge. A. That’s right, I did not in­
vestigate that.

Q. Did you investigate the alleged putting of kerosene 
oil in the well of the Reverend Dunston? A. I did.

Q. WTas any arrest made in connection with that! A. 
There was not.

Q. Did you investigate the matter of three people coming- 
in a truck into the driveway of the Reverend Dunston’s 
home and allegedly threatening to kill somebody and 
allegedly throwing tacks in his front yard and in his drive­
way! A. I did.

—146—
Q. Was anybody arrested as a result of that investiga­

tion! A. No, sir.
Q. Did you investigate the throwing of rocks at or into 

the home of the Reverend Massenburg! A. Yes, I in­
vestigated that.

Q. Were any arrests made as a result of that incident? 
A. There were not.

Q. I ask you if you investigated the leaving of a threaten­
ing note for James Crudup? A. No, sir.

Q. Did your office, anyone from your office investigate it? 
A. Not to my knowledge.

Q. Did you participate in the investigation of the destruc­
tion of a church which the Reverend Plummer Alston was 
the pastor and which church was called the Redbud 
Church? A. I did.

Q. Did any arrests result from that? A. No, sir.
Q. Did you investigate the throwing of an explosive

Deposition of J. W. Champion



372a

Deposition of J. W. Champion 

device in the vicinity of the home of James Anderson?

Q. Did any arrest occur as a result of that investigation? 
A. No.

Q. Did you investigate the throwing of tacks at the home 
of a man named Wortham or the putting of any substance 
into his well? A. Yes, I did.

Q. Was any arrest made as a result of that investigation? 
A. No, sir.

Q. Did you investigate the burning of a cross near the 
home of Booker T. Driver? A. No, sir.

Q. Did you investigate the shooting into the home of 
Sanday Jones who is the father of Mrs. Irene Arrington? 
A. I did.

Q. Were any arrests made as a result of that investiga­
tion? A. There were not any made.

Q. Now, in connection with the shooting into the home 
of Sanford Johnson did you also investigate a like shoot­
ing in the vicinity of Sanford Johnson’s home? A. I did.

Q. Whose home was that? A. I investigated the shoot­
ing into the home of Sanford Johnson.

Q. Didn’t you investigate also a shooting into a home
—148—

which was about two houses away from there, which 
missed? A. No, sir, I did not.

Q. Did the Federal Bureau of Investigation participate 
in some of these investigations? A. Yes, sir.

Q. Did the State Bureau of Investigation participate in 
some of these investigations? A. Yes, sir.

Q. Would you say the law enforcement agencies investi­
gating these incidents did their best in trying to apprehend 
the culprits? A. Yes.



3 7 3 a

Q. Including the FBI? A. They certainly should have.
Q. You do not doubt that and as far as you know they 

did? A. Yes, sir.

Direct Examination by Mr. Chambers:

Q. Sheriff Champion, in connection with these various in­
cidents that you say you investigated were you ever able 
to determine the purpose of_any of these incidents? A. I 
Avas not.

Cross-Examination by Mr. Yarborough:

Q. Sheriff, in any of these incidents reported to you did 
any of those people who reported them give you any idea

—149-
how or why the shots were fired? A. Well, after I traced 
down two men in a truck I found out there wasn’t anything 
to it. He just gave the license number of the truck and 
I went into that and found that he was looking for another 
house, had started to turn in to this house, was working 
on a pump down the road about half-a-mile away and 
started to turn into this house and backed up and went 
on down the road, so that was the only incident.

Q. Did any of these people follow through in any way 
whatsoever, giving you the name of any person? A. One 
of them did.

Q. Who did that person say he thought it was ? A. He 
turned in the license number of the car, they followed 
after it, the one to do with the throwing of the kerosene 
in the well.

Q. Who was that, if you are at liberty to say. A. One 
of them was M. C. Wilder.

Q. He is now dead? A. Yes, sir. And there was the

Deposition of J. W. Champion



374a

Chase boy that worked at the Allen Oil Company, it was 
his car. And Babiy (?) Land.

Q. Did any of those people during your investigation 
disclose the reason why, if they did, they did it? A. They 
denied it, denied doing it, said they didn’t do it. At that 
time a car was reported stolen and they claimed they

—150—
didn’t know anything about it, about the throwing of the 
oil in the well.

Q. Were any of those people, as far as you know, con­
nected in any way with the Franklin County Board of 
Education? A. No, sir.

Q. Now, M. C. Wilder, he runs stores in Louisburg and 
Bunn? A. That’s right.

Q. And the Mr. Chase (?) that you mentioned, he worked 
for an oil company as a truck driver? A. Yes, sir, he was 
a pump installer.

Q. And Babiy Land, what did he do? A. He worked 
at the U. S. C. S. office.

Q. The U. S. C. S. office is an agency of the United 
States Government? A. Yes, sir.

Q. Now, Sheriff, with those two exceptions, all of these 
things were committed, as far as you know, by unknown 
people and for unknown reasons ? A. That’s right.

Q. Now, there was a man named Ball, some involvement 
about a truck? A. Yes, sir.

Q. And as to the Redbud Church, that is a store build­
ing, was an old store building and was being used as a 
church? A. That’s right.

—151—
Q. It wasn’t constructed as a church? A. No, sir.
Q. How long was it after that church was allegedly de­

stroyed before it was reported to you? A. Well, it was

Deposition of J. W. Champion



375a

destroyed on that Friday night and some people said it was 
around 8 :00 o’clock. I got a report of it at 5 :00 o’clock the 
next day, on Saturday evening.

Q. It was some 21 hours or more later when it was re­
ported to your office, approximately that much later after 
it happened! A. Yes, sir.

Q. Was there some disclosed discrepancy between the 
times given by people who live on either side of it! A. Yes, 
sir.

Q. You never were able to determine "whether it was 
dynamited or what happened to it! A. I wasn’t able to 
find out, but I don’t think it was dynamite ; I couldn’t tell 
what it was. There was a storm that came up about that 
time and I don’t know whether lightening struck it or what 
happened to it but there was a hole knocked in the cement 
floor about this big (indicating), right inside of the window, 
but I didn’t find any fragments of dynamite or either a fuse.

—152—
Q. You do know that the Reverend Austin was the pastor 

of that church! A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you know whether or not the communicants of his 

church solicited funds for the rebuilding of that church 
from both the white and colored people of the community! 
A. Yes.

Q. Funds were solicited from both races! A. Yes, sir.
Q. And so far as you know in regard to the result from 

the solicitation of those funds by those colored people from 
white people no incidents occurred following that solicita­
tion, that you know of! A. That’s right, there were no 
incidents in connection with that.

Q. You do know that some white people of the community 
did contribute, don’t you! A. Yes, sir.

Q. Do you know whether or not the church has been re­
built? A. No, I don’t know.

Deposition of J. W. Champion



3 7 6 a

Q. You talked to the Beverend Austin, did you! A. 
Yes, sir.

Q. State whether or not he gave you any reason why he 
thought it had been done. A. He said he couldn’t give us

—153—
any reason at all.

Q. Did your investigation disclose, or did the Reverend 
Austin tell you that that church is attended solely by people 
of the colored race! A. Yes, sir, it is attended only by 
colored people.

Q. State whether or not as to every complaint about 
these incidents that were made to you, reports to you of 
any of these crimes or any other crimes connected with civil 
rights or anything else, whether or not in each instance you 
made a full investigation within your power and ability 
with the facilities available to you. A. I did, yes.

Q. State whether or not the FBI and SBI frequently 
worked with you? A. Yes, they would come there every 
once in awhile and work with me.

Q. State whether or not out of all these complaints and 
reports made to you, if any one of them reporting com­
plained about or accused anybody who was a member of 
the Franklin County School Board, or anybody who worked 
with the Board, participated in any of these incidents re­
ported to you. A. No, sir.

Q. Have you ever heard any report from any source that 
any member of the Franklin Comdy Board of Education or 
any officer or agent or representative of the Board ever

—154—
participated in or encouraged any unlawful act affecting 
any civil rights? A. No, sir, I have not.

Q. Have you ever had any complaint or heard of any 
act of any member or representative of the Board of Edu­
cation of Franklin County, any criminal act by any member 
of the Board or any representative or agent of the Board

Deposition of J. W. Champion



377a

in connection with the integration of the schools! A. No, 
sir.

Redirect Examination by Mr. Schwelb:

Q. Sheriff, how long did you say you have been Sheriff 
of Franklin County! A. This would make eight years.

Q. You are an experienced law investigator? A. Well, 
I have done the best I could along that line.

Q. And you think the SBI and the FBI have done the 
best they could in the investigation of these incidents? A. 
Yes, sir.

Q. Now, you mentioned that one of the complaints in­
volved a truck and that you investigated it and that you 
found there was not anything to it, the incident at Reverend

— 1541/ 2—

Dunton’s home? A. I might have said that.
Q. So you say, categorically, that you ‘ ‘found out there 

wasn’t anything to it?” A. Well, we didn’t find enough 
evidence. The FBI man, Mr. Lynn Hardin, and myself 
were out there, and after we made our investigation we 
told the Reverend Dunston that w didn’t think we had 
enough evidence to indict these boys, but I told him that if 
he wanted to indict them anyway we would serve the war­
rants on them, but he never did.

Q. Now, if the story told you by the Geddie children and 
the Dunn boy was correct and the story told you by the 
people in the truck was incorrect would you then have 
had enough evidence to indict them, in your opinion? A. 
Well, they told me that they just pulled up in the drive­
way and turned around and went on.

Q. That is what the people who were in the truck told 
you? A. Yes, sir.

Q. And what did the Geddie children and the Dunn child

Deposition of J. W. Champion



378a

tell you? A. The children there told me that the truck 
drove up in the driveway and one of them said, “Tell him 
we’re going to get him” , and that was all.

Q. Didn’t Virginia Macon also tell you something along 
the same lines, about the same thing? A. I don’t know

—155—
about that one.

Q. Anyway, if what the Geddie children said was true 
and what the Dunn boy said was true, there was an actual 
threat, wasn’t there? A. If it was true it would be a 
threat.

Q. You didn’t believe them? A. Well, the others said 
they didn’t do it and I believed the others just as quick or 
quicker than I would the children.

Q. Wasn’t it three or four against two? A. Well, the 
men in the truck said they didn’t do it, and I told the 
Reverend Mr. Dunston that if he wanted to get out warrants 
we would serve them.
Recross-Examination by Mr. Yarborough:

Q. Did the Reverend Dunston take out a warrant? A. 
No, sir.
Redirect Examination by Mr. Chambers:

Q. Sheriff, did you investigate any incidents recently of 
cross-burnings in Louisburg? A. No, sir.

Q. Do you know anything about those incidents of cross­
burning? A. I heard about them.

Q. Do you know where those incidents occurred? A. I
—156—

believe I heard that one of them was in Louisburg and two 
in Franklinton.

Q. Isn’t it a fact that there were five such incidents 
in Franklin County during July? A. Last week, you 
mean?

Deposition of J. W. Champion



3 7 9 a

Q. Or week before last, yes. A. Three is all I heard of. 
Q. Where was the one that occurred in Louisburg? 

A. I heard it was at the Educational Building, that is what 
they said, and I am just telling you what they said.
Further Redirect Examination by Mr. Schwelb:

Q. Did you hear about the cross-burning at the Reverend 
Latham’s house, a white minister who has been there about 
ten years? A. No, sir.

Q. Did you hear about a cross-burning at the Reverend 
Robert Wood’s? A. No, sir, I did not.
Further Redirect Examination by Mr. Chambers:

Q. With respect to the parties inquired about here where 
incidents occurred, weren’t all those people active in civil 
rights activity in Franklin County? A. Who?

—157—
Q. Well, wasn’t the Reverend Coppedge active in civil 

rights matters? A. I don’t know.
Q. Wasn’t Sanford Johnson engaged in civil rights ac­

tivity? A. I don’t know.
Q. Wasn’t the Reverend Massenburg active in civil rights 

activities? A. I don’t know.
Q. How about James Crudup? A. I don’t know.
Q. Wasn’t Mrs. Irene Arrington active in civil rights 

matters? A. I don’t know.
Q. Wasn’t the Reverend Dunston engaged in civil rights 

activity? A. I don’t know.
Q. How about Booker T. Driver, was he active in civil 

rights matters? A. I don’t know.
Mr. Chambers: They are all the questions I have. 
Mr. Schwelb: You are excused, Sheriff Champion.

(Witness Excused)

Deposition of J. W. Champion



380a

Deposition of Jean Carol Satterwhite

—3—
Jean Carol Satterwhite, being first duly sworn, deposes 

and says:
__4 _

Direct Examination by Mr. Schwelb:

Q. I want you to tell us your name, address and your 
race. A. My name is Jean Carol Satterwhite. My address 
is Box 117, Bunn, North Carolina. My race is Negro.

Q. Jean, how old are you? A. Seventeen.
Q. What is your occupation? A. Going to school.
Q. Is Mrs. Annie Satterwhite your mother? A. Yes.
Q. And your father, his name is what? A. Henry Sat­

terwhite.
Q. And are you family plaintiffs in this suit against 

The Franklin County Board of Education? A. Yes.
Q. What kind of average do you have in your school? 

A. About a B average.
Q. Anri what school have you been going to up until now? 

A. Gethsemane.
Q. Now, Jean Carol, did you or your parents make an 

application for you and your brother to attend a school 
for this last year different from the one you attended? A. 
Yes.

—5—
Q. What school was that, please? A. To Bunn.
Q. Where do you want to go, to Bunn or to Gethsemane? 

A. To Bunn.
Q. Tell us something about why you wanted to go to 

Bunn, rather than to Gethsemane, please. A. I wanted 
to go to Bunn because they offer typing, shorthand and 
chemistry, bookkeeping and other subjects that Gethsemane 
don’t offer, and because whenever I get out of school so 
I wouldn’t have to do extra work to be up with my class.



3 8 1 a

Q. What do you mean by extra work! Who is having 
to do extra work that you know about? A. I had an aunt 
who had to do an extra year.

Q. An aunt? A. Yes.
Q. And did she go to a predominantly white or pre­

dominantly Negro school? A. She went to a Negro school.
Q. Now, Jean, you mentioned you wanted to take sub­

jects at Bunn not offered at Gethsemane. You were in a 
grade that had to apply for a lateral transfer last year? 
A. Yes.

— 6—

Q. Now, at the time when you and your family received 
the application for lateral transfer, do you remember any­
body telling you or sending you any word what the criteria 
would be for having your lateral transfer accepted? A. 
No.

Q. Did you know at that time that one of the criteria 
was to take a course that was not accepted at Gfethsemane? 
A. No.

Q. If you had known that, would you have put that in 
the application? A. Yes.

Q. Now, you mentioned some of the things they had at 
Bunn that you wanted to participate in. Can you tell us 
a little bit about Gethsemane, and any comments you had 
about the situations there that you may or may not be 
satisfied with? A. Well, one in particular is the students 
have to sell sandwiches during class. They are brought 
out of class to make sandwiches to sell during lunch hour.

—7—
Q. Where did you eat those sandwiches? A. They usu­

ally go to the classroom.
Q. Don’t they have a lunchroom? A. No.
Q. At Gethsemane they don’t have a lunchroom? A. No.

Deposition of Jean Carol Satterwhite



382a

Q. Now, let me ask you this, Jean Carol: Approximately, 
and I know you can’t remember this exactly, how many 
children were in your ninth-grade class at Gethsemane? 
A. There were approximately between forty-five and fifty- 
two.

Q. This is your best recollection? You don’t know ex­
actly? A. Yes.

Q. And does that number have to sit together in the 
classroom at the same time in some courses? A. Yes.

Q. Which is nearer to your home, Jean Carol, Bunn or 
Gethsemane ? A. Bunn.

Q. Now, Jean Carol, has anybody threatened you at all 
in connection with trying to go to the Bunn School? A. 
No.

— 8—

Q. Apart from threats now, let me ask you this: The 
people in Bunn to you, are they as friendly as they were 
previously? A. No.

Q. Some of the white people? A. No.
Q. Can you give me some examples of that? A. Well, 

in the grocery stores, the clerks, they have changed, and 
where before we put in application we would go in, they 
would have something to joke about, and now since we 
put in the application, you go in and they turn around, 
as if they don’t want to wait on you.

Q. Do you feel among the white people that you know 
in Bunn that they welcome you to attempt to attend the 
Bunn School? A. No.

Q. Now, did you have to serve sandwiches or prepare 
sandwiches sometimes when you were attending Geth­
semane? A. Yes.

Deposition of Jean Carol Satterwhite



3 8 3 a

Q. Now, what kind of time would that be done in? Would 
that be done during your free period, or when? A. Dur-

— 9 —

ing this year it was in my geometry class.
Q. Did you have to do that several times? A. Yes. 

Sometimes two or three times a month.
Q. Did all the children have to do it? A. Yes.
Q. Now, did your little brother attend the first grade at 

Bunn last year? A. Yes.
Q. Did you sometimes walk him to school? A. Yes.
Q. On most instances were there any incidents involv­

ing that? A. No.
Q. Can you remember any incident that sticks out in 

your mind in connection with that? A. One. One morn­
ing we walked, and we were coming on back. My brother 
was behind me, and this car came on up, and about when 
it got to where I was, it ducked out at me.

By Mr. Yarborough:

Q. It did what? A. It ducked out at me.

By Mr. Schwelb:

Q. What do you mean by “ducking out” , Jean Carol?
— 10-

Swerve? A. Yes. It came out of the direction it was 
going. It was going straight up and when it got about to 
where I was, it came out.

Q. What was your impression that he was trying to do?

Mr. Yarborough: We object to the form.

A. Well, I thought he was either trying to hit me. or he 
was playing one.

Deposition of Jean Carol Satterwhite



384a

Deposition of Jean Carol Satterwhite

By Mr. Schwelb:

Q. Did it frighten you a little? A. Yes.
Q. Now, do you have friends in your class that you have 

discussed transferring to Bunn with? A. On occasion, no.
Q. A great many of them stay in Gethsemane? A. All 

of them.
Q. Have they ever told you why?

Mr. Tucker: We object.

A. They just say they don’t want to go.

By Mr. Schwelb:

Q. Have they ever told you why they don’t want to go? 
A. No.

Q. Do you think it is generally known that Bunn has 
a lunchroom at Bunn? A. Yes.

— 11—

Q. And that it has courses not offered at Gethsemane? 
A. Yes.

Q. And they still want to go to Gethsemane? A. Yes. 
Q. Do you have an opinion as to why your friends don’t 

want to go to Bunn, even though it has better courses 
and lunchroom?

Mr. Yarborough: Object to the form.
Mr. Tucker: We object to the form.

By Mr. Schwelb:
Q. You can answer it. A. I think one reason is they 

have never been to another school. They have been there, 
and all their friends are there, and they had just rather 
stay there at Gethsemane.

Q. Do you know Mr. Booker Driver? A. Yes.



385a

Q. Do you know any incident that happened at his house! 
A. I have heard about an incident.

Q. What have you heard? A. I heard that once some 
people started to burn a cross in his yard, and before they 
could get in his yard the dog barked, and that ran them 
away.

— 12—

Q. Have you heard of any other incidents involving 
people who have been trying to send their children to 
white schools? A. Yes.

Q. What other incidents have you heard of? A. At the 
Coppedges, I heard they burnt some crosses there and 
put tacks in his yard.

Q. Have you heard of any others? A. I don’t think so. 
Q. Have you heard of any shooting? A. I don’t think so. 
Q. Do you think the incidents at Reverend Coppedge’s 

house and Mr. Driver’s house relate to the, well, are they 
well known in the Bunn area? A. I don’t think so.

Mr. Schwelb: No further questions.

Direct Examination by Mr. Chambers:

Q. Were you in any organization at Gethsemane? A. 
Yes.

Q. What organization were you in? A. I was in the 
glee club, and I kept scores for the basketball team.

Q. Did you belong to the Homemakers of America? A.
—1 3 -

No. They don’t have a club.
Q. Do they have a 4-H Club there? A. No. The com­

munity has a 4-H Club.
Q. Are you a member of the 4-H Club in the Community? 

A. Yes.

Deposition of Jean Carol Satterwhite



386a

Q. Is this 4-H Club made up generally of your students? 
A. Yes.

Q. From your school? A. From right around in the 
community.

Q. Do all of these attend school? A. Yes.
Q. Members of the 4-H Club? A. (Nods affirmatively). 
Q. How are the 4-H Club members selected or recruited? 

A. When they get nine, they are able to join them.
Q. They are not connected with the school? A. No.
Q. You say you were the scorekeeper for the basketball 

team? A. Yes.
Q. Did your basketball team play Louisburg High 

School? A. Yes. No, Riverside.
Q. Did you play any white school or predominantly white 

school in Franklin County? A. No.
— 1 4 —

Q. Did you play anywhere else? A. No.
Q. Did you ever go to any of the football games? A. 

No.
Q. Of your high school? A. We don’t have a football 

team.
Q. You didn’t have a football team? A. No.
Q. Did you have a basketball team? A. Yes.
Q. I mean a baseball team? A. They started one in 

the spring.
Q. Did you go to any of the games ? A. But they haven’t 

been off to play anyone. Just playing against themselves. 
Q. Among themselves there at the school? A. Yes, sir. 
Q. Did you have a library there at Gethsemane? A. 

Yes, sir.
Q. Did you ever go through it? A. Sometimes.
Q. Do you know how many books they have there? A. 

No.

Deposition of Jean Carol Satterwhite



387a

Deposition of Jean Carol Satterwhite

—15—
Q. Did you have a Future Farmers of America there 

at the school? A. No.
Q. Did you have a vocational school there at Geth- 

semane? A. Vocational?
Q. Did you teach agriculture? A. No, sir.
Q. Did you teach home economics? A. Yes, sir.
Q. But you didn’t have a Future Farmers of America 

there? A. No.
Q. Did you at any time while at Gethsemane participate 

in an activity in which quite a few' of the students were 
involved? A. No, sir.

Q. Did you have distributive education at your school? 
A. What do you mean?

Q. You don’t know what that is?
(Discussion off record)

A. No, we didn’t have that.

By Mr. Chambers:

Q. You didn’t have that? A. No.

Mr. Chambers: No further questions.
—16-

Cross-Examination by Mr. Yarborough:

Q. Jean Carol, your father is named Henry M. Satter­
white, is he? A. Yes, sir.

Q. And who is Alvie Mae Satterwhite? A. That is my 
daddy’s sister.

Q. Your aunt? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Is she the one you are talking about that had to take 

extra courses somewhere? A. No.
Q. Now, this Alvie Mae Satterwhite did go to Bunn this 

past year, didn’t she? A. Yes.
Q. She was in the twelfth grade this past year? A. Yes.



388a

Deposition of Jean Carol Satterwhite 

Q. Did she graduate? A. Yes.
Q. You this past year were in the eleventh grade! A. 

Yes.
Q. You have one more year in school? A. Yes.

— 17—
Q. I believe you did go with your aunt, Alvie Mae Satter­

white, on the Washington trip by the Bunn High School, 
didn’t you? A. It was to New York.

Q. To New York? A. Yes.
Q. You and your aunt. You were not a student at Bunn? 

A. No.
Q. And they had a senior trip? That is what it was, 

isn’t it? A. Yes.
Q. So you did participate in the trip? You are not a 

senior at Bunn and not attending school, but you did go 
on a bus trip to New York about two or three months ago? 
A. Yes.

Q. To New York? A. Yes.
Q. How many went on the trip? A. I think there were 

eight-three.
Q. Eighty-three? A. Yes, sir.
Q. They were all white school children, but you and

— 18—
your aunt, Alvie Mae Satterwhite ? A. No, they were not 
all school children.

Q. All white, anyway? A. Yes.
Q. And the only two colored children on there were you 

and your aunt? A. Yes.
Q. So you did go on one trip with white people, even 

though you are not a member of that school, didn’t you? 
A. Yes.

Q. Now, the Bunn High School doesn’t have a football 
team, either, does it? A. I don’t know.



389a

Q. I beg your pardon? A. I don’t know.
Q. Have you ever beard your aunt say whether it had 

a football team or not? A. No.

(Discussion off record)

By Mr. Yarborough:

Q. Now, you say something about not joining and not 
belonging to some kind of farmers’ club, farm club. Your 
father is a carpenter, isn’t he? A. Yes.

—19—
Q. And your mother is a domestic or housewife? A. 

Yes.
Q. And so you do not live on a farm, do you? A. No.
Q. You live in, what is it—New Bunn or Bunn Annex, 

or real close to the city or town of Bunn? A. We live in 
Bunn City Limits.

Q. You live inside of Bunn? A. Yes, sir.
Q. So now, I want to ask you, you say you have never 

received any threats of any kind? A. No, sir.
Q. Now, I want you, you say that white people have 

been unfriendly and that you have been made unwelcome 
in stores. Bunn is a small town, isn’t it? A. Yes.

Q. And you know most of the people that work in the 
stores, don’t you? A. Yes.

Q. Give me the names, please, of those clerks or owners 
of the stores that have been unfriendly to you, made you 
appear unwelcome. Give me their names. A. Mutt Win­
stead.

— 20—

Q. He works in Mr. Wayne Winstead’s store, doesn’t he? 
A. Yes, sir.

Deposition of Jean Carol Satterwhite



390a

Q. And who else? A. I don’t know his name. I know 
what they call him. They call him by nickname. Hambone 
Pearce.

Q. Where does he work? A. He works in Mr. Wayne.
Q. Mr. Wayne Winstead’s store? A. Yes, sir.
Q. All right. Now, who else? A. Well, that’s about all.
Q. What’s that? A. I say I think that’s about all. Be­

cause they don’t have too many clerks in there.
Q. There are other stores in Bunn, of course? A. Yes.
Q. Mr. Edwards has a store? A. He don’t act that 

way.
Q. And several other stores in Bunn? A. Yes.
Q. The drug store and other places? A. (Nods affirm­

atively).
Q. Now, who else has changed, except Mr. Mutt Win­

stead and Mr. Hambone Pearce in stores that you go into ? 
A. I think that’s all.

Q. Just those two? Now, you say there are unfriendly 
white people. Can you name anyone else that have been 
unfriendly, that you believe have been unfriendly to you 
as a result of from your applying for the Bunn School? 
I’d like to have their names. A. I can’t think of anybody.

Q. You know everybody in Bunn, don’t you? Both white 
and colored? A. No. I don’t know everybody.

Q. Well, a great many? A. I know a great many.
Q. The whole town has only three or four hundred people, 

doesn’t it? A. I don’t know.
Q. You don’t know the population of the town in which 

you live? A. No, I don’t.
Q. Now, on this car, you say you were walking with your 

brother to school and the car ducked out? Who was that
— 22-

man? A. Well, I don’t know his name, but he was a senior 
at Bunn this year.

Deposition of Jean Carol Satterwhite



391a

Deposition of Jean Carol Satterwhite 

Q. This past year? A. Yes.
Q. Well, it was a boy, then, instead of a man? A. Yes. 

It was a boy.
Q. Did you ever ask your aunt, Alvie Mae? She was a 

senior, too. To find out who he was, or his name? A. No. 
I came in home, and I told my mother, and she called Mr. 
Kelly, and he said he would look into it.

Q. Mr. Kelly is the principal of the school? A. Of Bunn. 
Q. Of Bunn School, and your mother reported it to him, 

and he said he would look into it. That boy that ducked 
out to you, did he go on the senior trip? A. Yes.

Q. You were on the same bus with him, weren’t you? 
On the same trip with him, anyhow? A. Yes.

Q. And you didn’t ask Aunt Alvie Mae who he was ? A. 
Not in my remembrance I didn’t.

Q. And did he do anything to you on the trip? A. No.
—23—

Q. Did anybody else? A. No.
Q. You enjoyed your trip, didn’t you? A. It was O.K. 
Q. Well, what was the matter with it, if anything? A. 

There wasn’t anything the matter with the trip.
Q. Nothing the matter with the trip. And you wrere tak­

ing at Gethsemane home economics? A. Yes.
Q. And that has to do, a considerable part of that is 

cooking and serving and so forth, isn’t it? A. Yes.
Q. They teach you to cook and make sandwiches and 

other things, don’t they? A. Yes, to cook, that is, instead 
of making sandwiches.

Q. You did make some in practice in home economics, 
didn’t you? A. No. We didn’t cook this year.

Q. What was it? A. We took some and had a lesson 
out of the book.

Q. You took French at Bunn, didn’t you? A. At Geth- 
semane?



392a

Deposition of Jean Carol Satterwhite

—24—
Q. At Gethsemane. I beg your pardon. You took French, 

there, didn’t you? A. Yes.
Q. Took geometry? A. Yes.
Q. English? A. Yes.
Q. United States History? A. Yes.
Q. And now, you knew your aunt graduated at Bunn? 

You went to the graduating exercises? A. Yes, sir.
Q. You saw her take the stand, just like the other 

students, walked up on the stage and got her diploma? A. 
Yes, sir.

Q. And there were quite a few colored people there at 
the graduation? A. Yes.

Q. And you sat where you wanted to? A. Yes, sir.
Q. And the colored people went into the auditorium, 

and it was pretty full, wasn’t it ? A. I don’t know. I didn’t 
go in when the rest of them went in. I stayed out. I had

—25—
to take some pictures.

Q. When you went in, you took a seat where you wanted 
one? A. I took one where there was one. All the other 
seats were filled up. I took one at the backend.

Q. That was because the others were filled? A. Yes.
Q. You saw other colored people spotted about in the 

auditorium? A. No, sir. They were not spotted about. 
The ushers sat them together.

Q. Did you hear anybody complain about how they 
wanted to sit? A. No.

Q. And so they were evidently satisfied with where they 
sat; that’s right, isn’t it? A. I guess so.

Q. Who was the usher? Do you know? A. No. I don’t 
know any of the ushers.



393a

Q. Don’t you know that at Bunn it has a reserved sec­
tion for the families of the graduates, and they all sit 
together, and the ushers carry those families to those

- 2 6 -
special ■ sections f A. All the parents sit together.

Q. That’s right. Of the families. Not necessarily the 
parents, but the families, isn’t that the ordinary practice? 
They sit together in a special section? A. The family 
members of the graduates.

Q. That’s right. Do you know that they are customarily 
carried to a special reserved section for them? A. No, 
I don’t know it.

Q. You don’t say it is not so, though, do you? A. No.
Q. Did you know any other graduates, except your aunt? 

A. Did I know any others?
Q. Any other students that graduated at Bunn? A. I 

knew a few of them.
Q. Did you see their families there at graduation? A. 

No. I can’t remember. Because if I saw them, I don’t 
remember.

Q. Well, if you don’t remember, please state so. A. (No 
answer).

Q. Now, you were taking French at Gethsemane, and 
you came up to Louisburg sometime in February or March, 
didn’t you? A. Yes.

—27—
Q. Where they had a meeting in the courthouse? A. 

Yes.
Q. And were you there? A. Yes.
Q. And your father, or your mother, or both, signed at 

that time for you to transfer about the middle of the year, 
didn’t they? A. Yes.

Deposition of Jean Carol SatterwJiite



394a

Q. And you knew if you transferred, you would have 
to drop French, because they did not teach it at Bunn? 
A. Yes.

Q, You knew that? A. No. I didn’t know it then. I 
went to see Mr. Cannon that evening after we left the 
meeting.

Q. And found out you couldn’t take French? A. Yes.
Q. Did you tell your people to change that decision? 

A. No.
Q. Did you not tell them? You told them that, didn’t you? 

A. Told who?
Q. Your people, your father or mother, or both? A. 

My mother.
—28—

Q. She found out that if you transferred in the middle 
of the year, you would have to drop your French course? 
A. Yes, sir.

Q. And those courses that you say you wanted to take 
at Bunn, which were not offered at Gethsemane, you named 
several. Did Mr. Kelly tell you you could enter them in 
the middle of the year to make a passing grade? A. No; 
I didn’t ask him about it.

Q. So, if you had transferred in the middle of the year, 
and you say one of your reasons was to take courses which 
you could not get at Gethsemane, you didn’t inquire whether 
you could pick up a half credit? A. No. Mr. Finks told 
me—

Q. (Interposing): Now, he is a government lawyer, 
isn’t he? A. Yes, sir. Told me to go to the white school 
and find out how they were, how far they were in front 
of us and to compare it and see whether I could make the 
adjustment.

Q. Did you do that? A. Yes, sir.

Deposition of Jean Carol Satterwhite



395a

Deposition of Jean Carol Satterwhite

—29—
Q. That was after your father or mother or you had 

signed up to change anyhow, wasn’t it? A. Yes.
Q. Even though before you found out whether or not 

you could make the adjustment, they signed up to change 
anyhow? That’s right, isn’t it? A. Yes.

Q. Did you know that it was against the school rules 
for students to serve anything during a class period, such 
as sandwiches? A. No.

Q. Did you know that Mr. Dodd, he’s your principal, 
isn’t he? A. Yes, sir.

Q. He violated the rule of the school board when he 
took you out of your geometry class to serve sandwiches? 
A. No.

Q. You didn’t know? Well, Mr. Dodd is the principal of 
Gethsemane, isn’t he? A. Yes.

Q. What class was it that you say had how many in it? 
A. Repeat the question, please?

—30—
Q. You said a while ago some class had a large number 

of pupils in it. What class was that? A. That was in my 
ninth grade class.

Q. In your ninth grade class they had what? A. Forty- 
five to fifty-two of us.

Q. Twenty-five to fifty-two? A. From forty-five to fifty- 
two.

Q. That was several years ago? A. No, that was in 
the ninth grade.

Q. You have finished the eleventh now, so it has been 
three years ago? A. It’s been two since I was in the 
ninth grade.

Q. You have finished the eleventh. And you have been 
to Gethsemane so far all of your school year and have



396a

Deposition of Jean Carol Satterwhite

made a B average or better, and been a good student, 
haven’t yon? A. I think it’s about a B.

Q. It is a B average, and you have learned right well, 
haven’t yon? A. Sir?

Q. Yon have made good marks and have learned a right 
much, haven’t you? A. I think so.

Mr. Yarborough: Well, we have no further ques­
tions.

-31-
Mr. Schwelb: I have no further questions.

Redirect Examination by Mr. Chambers:

Q. How many Negro students were in Bunn? A. Three. 
Q. Bo you know whether they were seniors? A. There 

was one senior and two in the first grade.
' Q. The Negroes that you saw at the graduation cere­

mony were all members of the family of your aunt? A. 
No. All of them wasn’t members.

Q. O.K.
Mr. Chambers: No further questions.
Mr. Schwelb: We have nothing further.

Recross-Examination by Mr. Yarborough:

Q. Just a minute. You stated you applied for and have 
been assigned to the twelfth grade of the Bunn School? 
A. Yes, sir.

Q. Pursuant to the Freedom of Choice given to all grades 
in the County School System? A. Yes, sir.

Q. You knew last year the choice was only four grades, 
didn’t you? A. Yes, sir.

—32—
Q. All right.

Mr. Yarborough: That is all.



Deposition of Queen E. Wortham

—36—
Mbs. Queen E, W ortham, being first duly sworn, de­

poses and says:

Direct Examination by Mr. Cannon:

Q. Mrs. Wortham, will you state your name, please! 
A. Mrs. Queen E. Wortham.

Q. And for the record, would you state your race? A. 
Colored.

Q. And could you tell us where you live, please, ma’am? 
A. I live on Louisburg, Route 1, Box 134.

Q. And how many children do you have? A. I have 
two girls and one little son, a foster son.

Q. And what are their names, please? A. The oldest 
daughter is Yardine Wortham.

Q. And the others? A. Esther Mae Wortham. Willie 
Earl Wortham.

—37—
Q. All right. Are any of those children now attending 

schools in Franklin County? A. Willie Earl is attending 
Riverside.

Q. Is that an all Negro school? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Mrs. Wortham, did you receive a Freedom of Choice 

Form in 1965? A. Yes, sir. I received it in May.
Q. Was your daughter, Esther, employed after that 

time? A. Well, yes. She was employed in May, but I 
couldn’t say exactly the date.

Q. Was it after you received the choice form? A. Now, 
I received the choice form in May, too, and she was hired 
in May.

Q. Is there anything unusual about the job that she was 
employed for? A. Unusual?



398a

Q. Is there anything unusual or significant about the 
job she was employed for! A. No, sir.

Q. What was the job that she was employed for! A. It 
was figuring up tobacco acreage.

Q. Were any other Negroes employed at that job! A. 
It was two.

—38—
Q. Had they been employed before here! A. Both of 

them was employed at the same time. Esther and Elaine.
Q. Was that ever mentioned in the paper! A. Yes, sir.
Q. Which paper was that! A. It was in the Franklin 

Times.
Q. Can you tell me what day of the week that was! A. 

Well, they published the paper on Tuesday, and the paper 
comes out on a Wednesday.

Q. What happened Wednesday night! A. Well, on a 
Wednesday night it was some oil put in our well.

Q. Did anything else happen! A. Well, it was some 
tacks thrown in the yard.

Q. Did you see the people that did it! A. Well, I went 
to the window. I got up out of the bed and I went to 
the window, and I saw the car drive off real fast.

Q. Going back to the job that your daughter, Esther, 
took, was she the first Negro employed at this job! A. 
She and Elaine, yes, sir, were the first two Negroes.

—39—
Q. Before that it had been all white! A. I beg your 

pardon!
Q. Before that only whites had been employed at that 

job! A. Yes, sir.
Q. What did the newspaper article say?

Mr. Tucker: I object to the form.

Deposition of Queen E. Wortham



399a

Deposition of Queen E. Wortham 

By Mr. Gannon:

Q. What did the newspaper article say about your daugh­
ter?

Mr. Tucker: I object to the form.

By Mr. Schwelb:

Q. Go ahead and answer. They can object to the form. 
That is among the lawyers, but you can answer the ques­
tion anyway. A. Well, I remember something in the paper, 
it said Esther Mae Wortham, Elaine Brown and Esther 
Mae Wortham was hired, you know, just temporarily. In 
the paper. That’s all. I couldn’t think of all what it said.

By Mr. Cannon:

Q. What made this hiring noteworthy? What was im­
portant about it?

—40—
Mr. Yarborough: Objection to the form.
Mr. Tucker: Objection.

A. I couldn’t tell you.

By Mr. Cannon:

Q. The day after the kerosene was put in the well, what 
happened? Did anything happen on Thursday? A. Well, 
I sent the little boy’s application in to school. To Riverside 
Union, to maintain back at Riverside School.

Q. Did anyone speak to you about which school he was 
going to? A. Well, our bossman came that Frida3r. And 
I was setting on the well. And he asked me. He heard 
that the reason the kerosene was put in the well, said I



4 0 0 a

had signed my little boy to Bunn’s High School, and I told 
him no, sir, I did not.

Q. Is Bunn High School predominantly white? A. Yes, 
sir.

Q. And what was that man’s name that talked to you? 
A. Ellis Bryant, Sr., of Oxford.

Q. And does your husband work for Mr. Bryant? A. 
Yes, sir. We farm for Mr. Bryant.

Q. Are you tenant farmers? A. Yes, sir. We are ten­
ant farmers for him. We have been with him thirty years.

—41—
Q. Did anyone come by after the incident and ask you 

about it? A. Well, neighbors came by and asked.
Q. And anyone else? A. Well, our closest friends and 

came home on a Sunday and asked about it.
Q. How many people altogether would you estimate came 

out to see you about it? A. I ’d say there were about six. 
My neighbors and closest relatives.

Q. How many would you say? A. About six.
Q. Did anyone drive by to look at the place? A. Yes. 

A  lot of them drove by and looked at the well.
Q. Including those people, how many would that be? 

A. I ’d say there were about fifty or seventy-five. I didn’t 
go running to the door, you know, every time, and look. 
I would probably be cooking or doing something, but you 
know, I didn’t run to the door every time and count them. 

Q. Did anyone mention it to you when you went into
- 4 2 -

town? A. They mentioned it when we would go to the 
store. And like I went to Sunday School, and my friends 
at Sunday School would ask me about it. And I just told 
them yes, it was kerosene put in the well. That’s all I said. 
And I didn’t say no more.

Deposition of Queen E. Wortham



4 0 1 a

Mr. Cannon: I don’t think we have any further 
questions.

Direct Examinaiton hy Mr. Chambers:

Q. Mrs. Wortham, how old was your boy that you re­
quested assignment for last year at Riverside School! A. 
Well, last year he was eight years old, and he’s nine this 
year.

Q. And did you request reassignment for him this year 
back at Riverside! A. To maintain back at Riverside, yes, 
sir. I received it.

Q. Why did you send him back to Riverside! A . Well, 
I just rather for him to go back to Riverside, because I 
figure he knows his little friends over there and he knows 
his teacher right well, and so I assigned him back to River­
side. And I know the principal, because he taught me, and 
so he taught my girls and they finished there, and it is a

—43—
family school, and I would just rather for him to main­
tain back at Riverside. That’s my reason.

Q. Did you know anything about the courses offered at 
Bunn! A. At Bunn!

Q. At Louisburg High School! A. Courses! No. I don’t 
believe I do.

Q. Do you know the subjects that were taught there at 
Louisburg High School! A. No, sir. I don’t believe I do.

Q. Have any of your children gone to college! A. Yes, 
sir. My daughter. I have a daughter that went to Eliza­
beth City, two and a half years.

Q. This incident of the kerosene being placed in the well 
had no effect on your choice of your son attending school, 
d id  it!

Deposition of Queen E. Wortham



4 0 2 a

Mr. Tucker: Objection to the form of the question. 

A. I wouldn’t know. I wouldn’t say.

By Mr. Chambers:

Q. You don’t know? A. I don’t know. I wouldn’t say. 
I just don’t know.

Q. You have only one child in school now? A. I have 
only one little foster son in school. He’s nine years old,

-—44—
and he will be in the fourth grade this year. That’s right. 
When he goes back to school.

Mr. Chambers: No further questions.

Cross-Examination by Mr. Yarborough:

Q. Mrs. Wortham, you live where, south of Louisburg, 
near the Caseen Farm? A. I’m joining the Caseen Farm, 
Mr. Yarborough.

Q. And Mr. Bryant from Oxford owns it? A. Yes, sir. 
Q. And looks after it? A. (Nods affirmatively).
Q. And you all have been there for thirty years? A. I 

have been there for thirty years.
Q. And your father lived there before you? A. That’s 

right.
Q. Who was he? A. Sol Williams.
Q. Sol Williams? A. Yes, sir.
Q. And he has been there and you stayed on, you and 

your husband stayed on? A. I stayed right on, and we 
married there, and I still am continuing on there.

—45—
Q. And so far it has been completely satisfactory, be­

cause you have been there a long time, haven’t you? A. 
Well, it’s just like home to me.

Deposition of Queen E. Wortham



4 0 3 a

Q. And Mr. Bryant is a mighty nice man, isn’t he? A. 
Yes, sir. He’s dear to us.

Q. He likes you all because you all have been there a 
good while; so far as you know he likes you all? A. Yes, 
sir. He treats us nice, so far as I know.

Q. And Mrs. Wortham, your daughter, Esther Mae, she 
applied for the job over in the A. S. C. A. Office! She put 
in the application for the job? A. Yes, sir.

Q. She did that voluntarily? She did it because she 
wanted to work? A. She put in the application. That’s 
right.

Q. Who was in charge? A. Mr. John R. Davis.
Q. And he lives out on the same road as you do? A. He 

lives on 401.
Q. And you go out 401 from Louisburg and turn off on a 

dirt road, going to your home? A. That’s right.
Q. And so the job that your daughter, Elaine, or Esther,

—46—
I beg your pardon, worked at, was a job with the United 
States Government, wasn’t it? A. Yes, sir.

Q. The Department of Agriculture, Tobacco Control. 
Figuring tobacco acreage? A. Yes, sir.

Q. And she liked the work and finished on out, didn’t 
she? A. No, sir. She worked a week over there. She 
worked one week.

Q. Then what did she do ? A. She didn’t work any more. 
She said she couldn’t do the work.

Q. Said she couldn’t do the work? A. That’s right. I 
mean the light hurt her eyes. Have to work under a light, 
and it hurt her eyes.

Q. And she voluntarily quit? A. Yes.
Q. It was done all on good terms with Mr. Davis? A. 

That’s right.

Deposition of Queen E. Wortham



404a

Q. You and your husband go in there signing up and 
various things, don’t you? Don’t you and your husband go 
to the farm office ? A. No, sir. Mr. Bryant looks after that. 
We don’t go in there at all.

—47—
Q. He goes in and draws the sales cards and things? A. 

Yes, sir.
Q. In his name and he gives you all the card in time for 

the sale? A. No, sir. He keeps the card himself.
Q. And that is a satisfactory way? You all get along 

with it fine on that, don’t you? A. Yes. We get along fine 
for this many years.

Q. He meets you at the warehouse? A. That’s right.
Q. And this Elaine Brown, who was her father? A. 

Joseph Strickland.
Q. Joseph Strickland that lives down near Stalling’s 

Mill? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Called Joe Leonard Strickland, some of them call him? 

A. That’s right. Yes, sir.
Q. Is she a married girl, woman? A. Yes, sir. She is 

married.
Q. How long has she worked there? Do you remember? 

A. I couldn’t say, Mr. Yarborough. I don’t know, sir.
—48—

Q. I believe Joseph Leonard Strickland ran for the Board 
of Education this spring, didn’t he? A. Yes, sir.

Q. The same time everybody else ran for various jobs 
he was a candidate? A. (Nods affirmatively).

Q. Now, Mrs. Wortham, Willie Earl, I believe you said 
was your foster son? A. Willie Earl.

Q. And you sent him to Riverside and you went there? 
A. (Nods affirmatively).

Deposition of Queen E. Wortham



4 0 5 a

Q. And your daughter is, your daughters have done 
well, and one of them went on to college two and a half 
years? A. My oldest daughter went to college two and a 
half years, and my second daughter went to Riverside 
twelve years.

Q. Who is your second daughter? A. Esther Mae.
Q. She went on to work? A. Yes, sir.
Q. She graduated already. And Professor Carr Harris 

is a good friend of yours? A. Yes, sir.
—49—

Q. And it is a family school? A. It is a family school.
Q. Now, on this house you live in, you say sis neighbors 

came to inquire about, the oil incident? A. Yes.
Q. And you say many of them drove by. How far is the 

well from the road? I know the road well, but I don’t re­
member exactly which house you live in. A. My well is 
close to the road as from here to that door.

Q. Do you call that twelve or fifteen feet? A. I reckon 
so.

Q. Which house do you live in? A. I live in the house 
right in the sharp curve. You know, as you pass the old 
home house?

Q. Yes. A. I live in the sharp curve. Well, the well is 
setting right there.

Q. Right in the curve? Sort of? A. Yes, sir. Setting 
right in the curve.

Q. And you live not so far from the road yourself, do 
you? A. I don’t live hardly nowhere from the road.

Q. And your daughter didn’t have any complaint about
—50—

Mr. John Davis, did she, to you? A. No, sir.
Q. Do you know him, other than the fact who he is? Do 

you know him in person when you see him, to speak to him? 
A. Mr. John Davis?

Deposition of Queen E. Wortham



406a

Q. Mr. John Davis, the A. S. C. manager. A. Yes, sir.
Q. And he knows you? A. Yes, sir. He knows me.
Q. How long did Elaine Brown work there? A. Well, 

I couldn’t tell you how long she worked there.
Q. And you say these people at the store, what store do 

you all usually trade? A. At Lloyd.
Q. Mr. Lloyd’s store? A. Yes, sir.
Q. And how long have you traded with him? A. Well, 

we go up there and buy often. Every other day, you know, 
something from him.

Q. You have done it a long time? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Your dealings with him have always been all right? 

A. Yes, sir.
— 51—

Q. You have always dealt all right with Mr. Lloyd? A. 
(Nods affirmatively).

Q. He is a white man? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Now, Mrs. Wortham, first, a few questions I will ask 

you: In May of sixty-five, when you got these choice forms, 
you filled them out just like you wanted to ? A. I beg your 
pardon?

Q. That school choice form in May of 1965, you filled that 
out and carried it on back to Riverside School? A. Yes, 
sir.

Q. And turned it into the office or somewhere there? A. 
Yes, sir.

Q. And it just so happened that at the same time your 
daughter, Elaine— A. (Interposing): Esther.

Q. Esther, went to work on figuring the tobacco allot­
ments or whatever. There was no connection between the 
two? She went over there when she found out she could go 
to work, and it so happened at the same time the school

Deposition of Queen E. Wortham



407a

board sent out the forms, along in May! A. It was in
- 5 2 -

May. Yes, it was. It was in May.
Q. So far, Mrs. Wortham, as you are concerned, there 

was no connection between the school and the oil in your 
well, was there! A. Well, no, sir. I wouldn’t say. No, sir.

Q. I mean there would be no reason for it, would there? 
I mean you sent your children to the school you wanted 
them to go to? A. That’s right. Yes, sir.

Q. And so far as you know, the school you sent your 
child to didn’t have a thing in the world to do with some 
evil man putting oil in your well, did it?

Mr. Chambers: We object to the form of the ques­
tion.

A. I don’t think so.

By Mr. Yarborough:

Q. Actually, coming into Louisburg from your home, if 
somebody would come looking for a school, they would find 
Riverside first, wouldn’t they? Riverside is closer to your 
home than Louisburg School is? A. Yes, sir. It is.

Q. It is on the south side of the road? A. I ’m not but
—5 3 -

sis miles from Riverside.
Q. And it is the closest school to your home? A. It is 

the closest school to my little son.
Q. And he rides a bus there? A. Yes, sir.
Q. That’s all.

Mr. Yarborough: We have no further questions.

Deposition of Queen E. Wortham



408a

Redirect Examination by Mr. Chambers:

Q. Mrs. Wortham, did you say your bossman talked to 
you about this oil in your well? A. Yes, sir. My bossman 
talked to me on that Friday.

Q. When was this oil put in the well? A. I beg your 
pardon?

Q. When was this oil put in your well ? A. On a Wednes­
day.

Q. And what was it you said your bossman said?

Mr. Tucker: Objection to the form of the question. 

A. My bossman said—

By Mr. Chambers (Interposing):
Q. Go ahead. A. My bossman asked me, said it was told 

to him that the reason the oil was put in the well was be­
cause I had signed my little son to Bunn, Bunn High School.

—54—
I said it wasn’t so.

Q. And that is a white school, isn’t it? A. Yes, sir. I 
told him it wasn’t so. I had not signed my son to it.

Recross-Examination by Mr. Yarborough:

Q. Mrs. Wortham, did you say that the day after the oil 
was put in your well on a Wednesday you carried the form 
back to Biverside? A. That’s right. I sent it in.

Q. Sent it in? A. Like the rule was. Like I sent it in 
this year.

Q. And so in your boss, Mr. Ellis Bryant, Jr., is he Mr. 
Linwood Bryant’s son? A. Yes, sir.

Deposition of Queen E. Wortham



409a

Q. Mr. Linwood Bryant has got some age on Mm now, 
and his hoy is looking after his farms? A. That’s right.

Q. So when he said something to you, you had already 
sent the form back, hadn’t you? A. Yes, sir. I had sent 
the form back.

Re-Redirect Examination by Mr. Chambers:

Q. You had sent the form back before he spoke to you? 
A. Before he even spoke to me.

Q. Was the form sent back after the oil was placed in
—55—

the well? A. The oil was placed in the well a Wednesday 
night, and I sent the form back that Thursday.

Re-Recross-Examination by Mr. Yarborough:

Q. Had you already filled the form out the Wednesday 
night before you found out about the oil? A. Well, yes, 
sir. I had filled the form out, before ever I knew anything 
about the oil.

Q. The oil didn’t have a thing in the world to do with 
the school you picked for your son, did it? A. I don’t think 
so.

Deposition of Queen E. Wortham

Mr. Schwelb: We have nothing further.

By Mr. Yarborough:

Q. That is all. Thank you, Mrs. Wortham. That is all.

Mr. Yarborough: That is all, as far as we are con­
cerned.



4 1 0 a

Stipulated Testimony of Annie Esther Satterwhite,
Alveretta Moore, Cuther Geddie and Alonso Bunn

— 57—

Stipulated Testimony

Mr. Schwelb: The parties in this case have made 
certain stipulations with respect to the testimony of 
four witnesses.

They are Mrs. Annie Esther Satterwhite; Mrs. 
Alveretta Moore; Cuther Geddie; and Alonzo Dunn.

Now, the stipulation is to the effect that they would 
testify in the manner indicated. There is no stipula­
tion as to whether or not the subject matter so testi­
fied to is admissible.

(Discussion off Record)

Mr. Schwelb: The only ground on which defend­
ants reserve the right to object to this stipulated 
testimony is on the grounds of relevancy or compe­
tency or materiality.

Now, the stipulation is that Mrs. Annie Esther 
Satterwhite would testify as follows:

“Mrs. Annie Esther Satterwhite, Negro, would 
testify that she enrolled her son, Donald Ray, in 
the first grade at Bunn High School, pursuant to 
Freedom of Choice in ’65 and ’66, and that two chil­
dren in lateral transfer grades were denied lateral

- 5 8 -
transfers for ’65 and ’66. All three children will be 
attending Bunn for the 1966-67 school year.

“ In about September, 1965, Mrs. Butler Brantley, 
who is not associated with the School Board and 
who had employed Mrs. Satterwhite to tie tobacco



411a

for four days, asked Mrs. Satterwhite if she had a 
child at Bunn, and Mrs. Satterwhite said she did. 
Mrs. Brantley told her that she could no longer use 
her because Mrs. Brantley did not believe in races 
mixing. Mrs. Satterwhite has not worked for her 
since and has not applied because ‘she does not need 
it that bad’.”

Mr. Schwelb: (Continuing) Mrs. Alveretta Moore 
would testify as follows:

“Mrs. Alveretta Moore, Negro, would testify that 
she heard the conversation between Mrs. Satter­
white and Mrs. Butler Brantley and that Mrs. Satter­
white has correctly stated the conversation.

“Mrs. Moore continued to work for Mrs. Brantley 
for the balance of the tobacco-tying season.”

Mr. Schwelb: (Continuing) Cuther Geddie would 
testify as follows:

“ Cuther Geddie, Negro, age fifteen, a former ward 
of the Franklin County Welfare Department, who

—59—
had been placed in the Dunston home, would testify 
that at his request, the Dunstons applied to transfer 
him to Louisburg High School for 1965-66, and his 
application for a lateral transfer, signed by Reverend 
Dunston, was denied.

“A few weeks after June 8, 1965, three men in a 
truck came to the driveway of the Dunston home, 
and called out, “Tell him we’re going to get him 
tonight” , or wrnrds to that effect. They scattered

Stipulated Testimony of Annie Esther Satterwhite,
Alveretta Moore, Outlier Geddie and Alonzo Bunn



412a

some tacks or nails. He understood that the men 
were referring to Reverend Dunston.

“ Geddie would also testify that he was well treated 
at the Dunston home and that it was kept clean.”

Mr. Schwelb: (Continuing) And Alonzo Dunn
would testify as follows:

“Alonzo Dunn, Age seventeen, Negro, a ward of 
the Franklin County Welfare Department, residing 
at the Dunston, home, would testify that in about 
1963, while Reverend and Mrs. Dunston were out one 
evening, the telephone rang, he answered it, and an 
unknown voice said, “The house will be bombed in 
half and hour” , or words to that effect.

Dunn and the three Geddie boys were afraid and
— 60—

ran to a neighbor.

“ The house has not been bombed.”

Stipulated Testimony of Annie Esther Satterwhite,
Alveretta Moore, Outlier Geddie and Alonso Bunn



413a

Nellie Mabgabet K eabney, a witness for the plaintiffs, 
being duly sworn, deposes and says:

Direct Examination by F. H. Kennedy, Jr.:

Q. Please state your name, your place of residence, and 
your race. A. Nellie Margaret Kearney, Route 1, Box 56, 
Louisburg, North Carolina, Negro.

Q. How long have you lived at that address? A. I have 
lived off and on for about four years at that address.

Q. Do you have any children? A. Yes.
Q. How many? A. Two.
Q. How old are they? A. One is 4 years old and the 

other is 5.
Q. Are either of them in school? A. No.
Q. Who do you live with at that house where you live? 

A. I live with my father and mother.
Q. What are their names, your parents? A. Sanford 

Johnson is my father’s name and my mother’s name is 
Betty Johnson.

Q. Do you have any sisters and brothers? A. Yes, sir, 
I have two sisters and one brother.

—4—
Q. What are their names? A. My sister is named 

Mamie Johnson Jones and my brother is named Sanford 
Johnson, Jr., and my other sister is Elva Mary Johnson.

Q. Do you have any brother or sisters in school? A. I 
have one sister that graduated this past June.

Q. Where did she graduate from? A. Riverside High 
School.

Q. Now, has anything unusual happened, any unusual 
event happened at your house this past year? A. Yes, 
it did.

Deposition of Nellie Margaret Kearney

—3—



414a

Q. What was that? A. Well, it was in this last January, 
1966, but I don’t know the exact date but it was on a 
Monday around somewhere in the neighborhood of 11:00 
p.m. someone shot in my father’s house.

Mr. Yarborough: Were you there at the time?

A. Yes, sir.
Q. Were you asleep or awake at the time? A. Well, I 

was in the process of going to sleep.
Q. Were you upstairs or downstairs? A. Downstairs.
Q. Did you hear a noise? A. Yes.
Q. Describe that Noise. A. Well, it sounded like some-

—5—
one was running and banged into the house. That was 
the noise I heard from the outside, and the noise I heard 
on the inside sounded to me as though somebody was falling 
or something was falling, and I figured it was my sister’s 
books that were falling, from it, because she had left them 
there before she went to bed that night.

Q. Did you see any evidence of what you considered to 
have been the result of a shot? A. Yes.

Q. Describe that for us. A. The bullets came through 
the screen, the window, the drapery, through the wall from 
the living room through the den and out the back door.

Q. Can you tell us approximately how high up off the 
floor the bullet holes were in the living room, how many 
feet they were up? A. About 4 feet, approximately 4 feet.

Q. Was anybody in the room at the time? A. No.
Q. Had there been anybody in the room within the pre­

ceding hour or two before the shot? A. Yes.
Q. Who was in there before the time of the shot? A. 

I was.

Deposition of Nellie Margaret Kearney



415a

Deposition of Nellie Margaret Kearney

— 6—

Q. I show you now several photographs. I want you to 
look at them and tell me if you can identify what they 
represent. A. This is the window (indicating on photo­
graph).

Mr. Kennedy: Let the record show that the wit­
ness is pointing to the photograph which is marked 
9-6, which is a photograph of the window located in 
the lower righthand corner of the living room, the 
photograph showing where the bullet entered the 
living room. And the record may show that the wit­
ness is also indicating the photograph marked 9-7.

Q. Proceed. A. This is a picture (indicating) of the 
hole in the living room, from the inside of the living room.

Mr. Kennedy: Let the record show that the wit­
ness is pointing to the photograph marked 9-8.

A. This is the hole in the living room by the door that 
goes into the den.

Mr. Kennedy: Let the record show that the wit­
ness is indicating the photograph marked 9-9. Pro­
ceed.

A. This is where the bullet came through to the dining- 
area in the kitchen.

Q. Photograph marked 9-10 is what! A. This is the 
hole going through the back door in the den.

—7—
Q. And what does the picture marked 9-11 represent! A. 

That is the hole from the back porch in the door.



416a

Q. Who discovered the holes made by the bullets? A. 
my sister.

Mr. Kennedy: I offer in evidence as Government 
Exhibits 1 and 2 in this deposition, the two sets of 
photographs which the witness has been identifying.

Q. I believe I asked you who discovered the bullet holes, 
did I not? A. Yes, sir.

Q. Who was that? A. My sister, Elva Mary Johnson. 
Q. What did she do then, if anything?

Objection, by Mr. Yarborough, “To the form.”

A. She knocked on my door and told me to get up and 
when I did she asked me if the hole was in the wall when 
we went to bed and I told her no, so then we got my 
father and mother up and we discovered the hole came 
from the living room and went on through the back door 
to the back porch.

Q. Were your two children with you in the house at 
the time? A. Yes, sir, the two children were there.

Q. And your father and mother were there? A. Yes.
Q. What effect did it have on you? A. Well, I ’m still

— 8—

nervous from it. Can I explain that?
Q. Yes. A. Because before I went to bed I was stand­

ing up folding clothes and where I was standing the bullet 
came right, you know, by where I was standing, and I 
had been in bed, I guess, about 15 minutes.

Q. Did the Sheriff come out to investigate the happening? 
A. Yes.

Q. To your knowledge was anybody ever arrested as 
a result of that shooting? A. No.

Deposition of Nellie Margaret Kearney



417a

Mr. Kennedy: That’s all.
Mr. Chambers: No questions.

Cross Examination by Mr, Yarborough:

Q. This unknown to you person shot into your father’s 
house for some reason unknown to you? A. As far as I 
know, Yes.

Q. And you say the Sheriff came out and investigated 
the matter? A. Yes, sir.

Q. The Sheriff of Franklin County? A. Yes, sir.
Q. And the FBI investigated it also to the best of your 

knowledge? A. Yes, sir.
— 9 —

Q. And they were unable to turn up anybody that you 
know of? A. Not anybody that I know of.

Q. And you were unable to give them any leads as to 
who it might have been? A. That’s right.

Q. No members of your family were able to give the 
officers any leads ? A. That’s right, we have no idea about 
whom it was at all.

Mr. Yarborough: They are all the questions I 
have.

Mr. Schwelb: I have no questions.
(Witness Excused)

Deposition of Nellie Margaret Kearney



418a

Deposition of Irene Arrington

— 10—

Mbs. Irene A rrington, a witness for the plaintiffs, being 
duly sworn, deposes and says:

Direct Examination by Mr. Schwelb:

Q. Please state for the record your name, your address, 
and your race. A. Mrs. Irene Arrington, address Louis- 
burg, 1ST. C., Route 3, Box 267.

Q. And what is your age! A. I am 45 years old.
Q. You are a Negro! A. Yes, I am a Negro.
Q. How long have you lived in Franklin County! A. 

All my life.
Q. What part of Franklin County do you live in! A. I 

live in the Moulton Community.
Q. Is that community within the city limits of Louis- 

burg, North Carolina! A. No.
Q. How far is that community from Louisburg! A. 

About 7 miles.
Q. Who is your father! A. Sandy Jones.
Q, Where does he live! A. He lives on Louisburg 

Route 3, at the same address I live at, the same address
—l i ­

as mine.
Q. Does he live in an adjoining house to yours! A. 

Yes, he does.
Q. You are a widow! A. Yes, I am.
Q. When did your husband die! A. My husband died 

January 4th 1966.
Q. Mrs. Arrington, do you have any children! A. Yes, 

I do.
Q. How many! A. Three.
Q. Is one of your children named Norine! A. That’s 

right, Norine.



419a

Q. Were you representing her as one of the plaintiffs 
in this case? A. Yes.

Q. She was trying, that is Norine, was trying to get into 
the schools of Franklin County that were not fully—

—Objection, by Mr. Yarborough, “As to form.”

Q. I ’ll put it this way, then: You were trying to get 
the schools of Franklin County fully desegregated! A. 
That’s correct.

Q. Are you a member of the NAACP? A. Yes, sir.
Q. How long have you been a member of that organiza­

tion? A. I have been a member of the NAACP around
— 12—

6 or 7 years.
Q. Have you encouraged Negroes in the community to 

register to vote? A. I have.
Q. Are you interested in the desegregation of the schools ? 

A. Yes, I am.
Q. Do you remember that back in 1963 a petition was 

being circulated by several of the clergy, Negro clergy, 
asking the desegregation of the schools? A. Yes.

Q. Did you sign such a petition? A. I did.
Q. In 1963 was there any desegregation as a result of 

that? A. No, sir, not that I know of.
Q. Do you remember whether or not the year after the 

petition had been signed you applied to try to get your 
children or any of your children placed in a formerly all 
white school? A. Yes, I do; I did.

Q. That was the year before the freedom of choice came 
out? A. That’s right.

Q. Mrs. Arrington, were you the only parent who at­
tempted to do this at that time? A. I was not. There 
were others.

Deposition of Irene Arrington



420a

Deposition of Irene Arrington

—13—
Q. There were others? A. There were others.
Q. Who were they? A. Mr. and Mrs. St. Clarence Ar­

rington, and Mrs. Christine Bodwell.
Q. And St. Clarence Arrington is the husband of Susie 

Arrington? A. That’s correct.
Q. And what are the names of your children? A. Joe 

Bennie, Lenwood, Jr., and Norine Arrington.
Q. What was your husband’s name? A. Lenwood Ar­

rington.
Q. Did he join you in attempting to enroll your children 

at that time? A. He didn’t object, but he didn’t know 
anything about it because he was sick and there was 
nothing he could do.

Q. He was sick how long before he died? A. For 10 
years.

Q. Was he an invalid during any part of that time? 
A. Yes, he were.

Q. How long was he an invalid? A. He was an invalid 
for about 5 years.

Q. Was your application to enroll your children ap­
proved or disapproved? A. It was rejected by the Board 
of Education.

—14—
Q. Do you now know what the reason was that they were 

rejected? A. No, I couldn’t say I know anymore now than 
I did at first.

Q. Do you recall that anyone explained to you that you 
didn’t live in the city limits of Louisburg and that that 
was the reason?

Objection, by Mr. Yarborough, “To the form.”



Deposition of Irene Arrington

A. No.
Q. Was there any explanation given to you that you can 

remember? A. Well, now, do you mean as to either one 
of the applications that I signed?

Q. I ’m talking about the first application before the 
freedom of choice came out. A. No.

Q. Now, do you know whether St. Clarence Arrington 
and his wife persisted in their application or whether they 
withdrew? A. They withdrew it.

Q. Have you been told what the reason was? A. Yes, 
I have.

Q. What were you told about that and by whom! A. 
They were threatened by their landlord, threats were made 
by their landlord that if they didn’t withdraw that they 
would have to move, that they couldn’t stay there; that’s

—15—
what they said.

Q. They told this to you? A. They told this to me.
Q. Were you threatened at that time? A. Yes, I was.
Q. By whom? A. By the same man that he lived with.
Q. Tell us about that. A. He sent word to me that I 

was not to come on his premises no more and that some­
thing was going to happen to me.

Q. Now, Mrs. Arrington, you didn’t actually converse 
with this man did you? A. No, I didn’t, I never had any 
talk with him.

Q. You don’t know about it of your own knowledge and 
you are just relating what somebody else told you? A. 
That is what somebody else told me, correct.

Q. And who told you that? A. One of his tenants named 
Peter Branch and St. Clarence Arrington.



422a

Mr. Schwelb: At this time I would like to offer in 
evidence two articles clipped from the Franklin 
Times, one of them nnder date of June 16, 1964, as 
Government Exhibit No. 1 in this deposition, and 
the other one dated June 23rd, 1964, as Government 
Exhibit No. 2. And just for clarification I will ask 
her another question.

—16—
Q. Mrs. Arrington, regarding the man that came there 

and gave you the message, you did not hear the man make 
the threats and you are only telling what other people 
told you? A. It was what other people told me, and they 
said that “He sent me here to tell you.”

Mr. Yarborough: Objection to the newspaper
items introduced as Government Exhibits 1 and 2 
in this deposition.

Q. I would like for you to tell us, please, Mrs. Arrington, 
what the reason or reasons were that you wanted to enroll 
your children in the Louisburg High School, and you 
might start your answer by saying what school they were 
going to at the time and what you thought about that 
school. A. Well, I wanted it for better education and a 
better school bus. The bus they were going on they would 
have to leave home in the mornings and couldn’t even 
get a lunch over there, not even a package of peanuts or 
nothing that they could have for lunch until after they 
would get back from school.

Q. What school was that? A. Cedar Street Elementary 
School.

Q. They had no lunch room at that school? A. No, there 
was not one there.

Deposition of Irene Arrington



423a

Deposition of Irene Arrington

— 17—
Q. They would get back home about what time? A. 

Around 4:00 o’clock or a little after,
Q. Now, do you remember that back in the spring of 1965 

that a free choice system was adopted by the School Board 
and that free choice applications and applications for 
lateral transfers were distributed in the community? A. 
I do.

Q. In the spring of 1965 did you make any applications 
for Norine to attend the Louisburg High School! A. 
That’s right, lateral transfer.

Q. What grade was she going into? A. The 7th grade. 
Q. You have referred to lateral transfer; were you ad­

vised what the criteria were for admitting people? A. 
No I haven’t been.

Q. You have not been told about that? A. I have not 
been told, no.

Q. Were you told who could apply?

Objection, by Mr. Yarborough, “To the form.”

A. Well, I knew that if they didn’t think she could attend 
they wouldn’t have sent word out and I didn’t know 
nothing else but to apply, and that is what I did.

Q. What was your reason for applying for the lateral 
transfer at that time? A. For a better school for my 
daughter.

— 18—

Q. By that time had your son, Joe Bennie, graduated 
from high school? A. No, he hadn’t.

Q. Had you applied for him to attend? A. No.
Q. Why? A. He didn’t want to.



424a

Q. What about your son Lenwood, Jr.1? A. He didn’t 
want to.

Q. But Norine did! A. Yes, she wanted to.
Q. What school are Joe Bennie and Lenwood, Jr. going 

to now? A. Riverside.
Q. Now directing your attention to the date of May 28th 

1965 I ask you if anything unusual happened at your 
house on that day? A. Yes, it did.

Q. What happened at your house on that day? A. On 
May 28th, on the night of May 28th around 11:25 that is 
the time my house was shot into.

Q. How many times was your house shot into? A. 
Twice.

Q. Do you remember the exact date that your house was 
shot into? A. I remember the date of the last one but 
on the first one not.

—19—
Q. Let’s talk about them one at a time. With respect to 

the first time, and I’m asking about the first shooting now, 
what time of day was that? A. It was about 9 :15 at night, 
and I don’t recall exactly the date of that shooting, but 
they were two weeks apart.

Q. Let’s talk about the first shooting and then we’ll get 
to shooting number two. If you don’t remember the date 
exactly with respect to shooting number one you do say 
that it was at about 9:15 at night? A. That’s right.

Q. Who was in the house at the time? A. My father and 
my three kids and myself.

Q. Was your husband there too? A. No, he was not; 
he was visiting his mother; his mother would send after 
him or would tell me to bring him over there to her ant 
her keep him for three or four days sometimes and he

Deposition of Irene Arrington



425a

would stay until he would get tired and would want to 
come back home and then I would go and get him and 
bring him back home.

Q. At the time what were the children doing? A. They 
were watching TV.

Q. What part of the house were you in as they were 
watching TV? A. There was two bedrooms there in the

- 20-

house, my bedroom and my husband’s bedroom, and I was 
sitting kind of in the doorway and the TV was in my 
bedroom; I was sititng between the rooms.

Q. Tell us where the bullets went. A. Came in the 
window right over the TV, right in the west part of my 
home.

Q. How many shots were there, approximately? A. I 
know there was two loads that came in the window; prob­
ably one or two in the car.

Q. On the first occasion did you call the sheriff? A. Yes, 
sir, I did.

Q. When did you call the sheriff? A. I called the Sheriff 
about 10 minutes after it was done.

Q. Did the Sheriff come there? A. He came there.
Q. When did the Sheriff come there ? A. The next morn­

ing at 7 :30.
Q. Did you have any other conversation with him be­

tween the time you first called him and the time he came? 
A. No, I didn’t. I just called him and he said he would 
be there and he didn’t come then. Then at 7 :00 o’clock 
I called him again and he said he would be there about 
7:30.

Q. Did he come at 7 :30? A. That’s when he came.
— 21—

Q. Did he try to investigate it? A. Yes.

Deposition of Irene Arrington



426a

Q. Do you know, in connection with that first shooting, 
whether anybody has been arrested? A. No they haven’t, 
that I know of.

Q. Do yon recall the names that came out in the news­
paper of people who were applying to send their children 
to formerly all white schools? A. Yes.

Q. Now, after this first shooting happened at your 
house, do you recall the second shooting that took place 
at your house? A. Yes, I do.

Q. Was that second shooting before or after the names 
came out in the paper? A. It was afterward.

Q. If you were to learn that the newspaper came out 
on June 8 th—

Objection, by Mr. Yarborough, “To the form.”

Q. Mrs. Arrington, if the newspaper came out on June 
8th then could you say whether the second shooting was 
before June 8th or sometime after June 8th? A.' The 
second shooting was in May, I think. I think it was in May,

— 22—

if I don’t make any mistake.
Q. Was it after the names came out in the newspaper? 

A. It was after the names came out in the newspaper, yes.
Q. What part of the house were you in? A. I was in 

the bed at that time.
Q. What time was that? A. That was around a quarter 

past eleven, if I make no mistake.
Q. Was your husband at home then? A. My husband 

was there then, just my husband and the three kids.
Q. Describe what happened to the bullets at that time. 

A. Well, I was awakened by the bullets, was sleeping and 
I was awakened by the noise, and the bullets came back

Deposition of Irene Arrington



4 2 7 a

in the same window and went, some of them went all the 
way through the den and went on through the wall in there, 
and one of them went clean through the room at the head 
of my husband’s bed, and then they shot in my front window 
on the porch, the next room, then they shot in the back 
of my car and tore up the back of my car glass and two 
bullets went through the back and came on and hit the 
front windshield.

Q. Do you know whether or not any other home in your 
vicinity was shot into at that same time? A. My father’s 
home was shot into that same night.

—23—
Q. Was he at home at that time? A. No, he wasn’t.
Q. Do you know who was there, if anybody? A. My 

sister was there.
Q. She is now deceased? A. She is now deceased, yes.
Q. Did your father have any grandchildren with him? 

A. Yes, he had one there, Charles Jones.
Q. Had an application been made for Charles Jones to 

be transferred? A. Yes.
Q. Where was Charles Jones supposed to go! A. Louis-/ 

burg high.
Q. Was it elementary or high school? A. He was sup­

posed to go the following year.
Mr. Schwelb : I would like to introduce in evidence 

as Government Exhibit 3 to this deposition this 
newspaper clipping from the Franklin Times of 
June 17, 1965, there being attached as a part of it a 
Times Staff photo showing the automobile in ques­
tion after the shooting had taken place.

Q. Did you read about this shooting in the Franklin 
Times after the shooting happened at your house? A. 
Yes, I read about it.

Deposition of Irene Arrington



428a

Deposition of Irene Arrington

—24—
Q. Would you say that whatever date was stated in the 

Franklin Times would be the correct date!

Objection, by Mr. Yarborough, “To the form” .

A. I would.
Q. Besides the newspaper publicity that has given the 

facts, the newspaper item that has been introduced in evi­
dence here, because of the fact that you had made such 
application for your children to get into the white school, 
did you hear of it on any other news media? A. It came 
out over the radio and it came out in the Franklin Times.

Q. Had anybody ever shot into your home before you 
applied to be allowed to send your child to a white school? 
A. No.

Q. Did you have any other incident to happen to you 
besides the shootings, after you had applied to send your 
children to a formerly all white school? A. Never have.

Q. Did you talk to anybody on the telephone that you 
had never talked to before?

Mr. Yarborough: I object to that.

A. I had a lot of telephone calls in between the two shoot­
ings; that is when I had a lot of threatening telephone 
calls.

—25—
Q. Tell us something about that. A. Well, after the 

first shooting I had a lot of telephone calls; the telephone 
calls started around supper time and would last until 
about 11:00 o’clock, and a lot of them would tell me, asked 
me was I trying to get white, why did I want my children



429a

to go to an all white school. Some of them was telling me 
that something was going “to happen to you, you are going 
to get killed.” And some of them would say they was 
going to bomb my home. Every time I would ask who 
they was, they said “Never mind” . And others would say 
“Gold Sand School calling, Gold Sand School calling,” and 
when I would ask who they was they said “Never mind” . 
They was threatening right between the two shootings 
after the names came out in the paper then they started 
threatening until the last shooting.

Q. What about after the last shooting, did you have 
anymore calls? A. I didn’t have anymore calls after the 
last shooting, that ended the telephone calls.

Q. How frequently would those calls come in! A. Every 
night.

Q. Would there be more than one at night, each night?
—26—

A. There would be at least from four to five every night.
Q. From four to five calls? A. From four to five calls 

every night.
Q. How late would they be calling you? A. After around 

11:00 o’clock I never got another one.
Q. Hid you know any of the people who called you, per­

sonally? A. No, I didn’t.
Q. Could you tell whether they were white people or 

colored people calling by the kind of accent?
Objection, by Mr. Yarborough.

A. No, not definitely.
Objection, by Mr. Tucker.

A. I think they were from white people.
Q. Do you believe that there ought to be desegregation 

in the schools? A. That’s right.

Deposition of Irene Arrington



430a

Q. Was the lateral transfer for your daughter allowed? 
A. No.

Q. And she is still at what school? A. She is assigned 
this year for Riverside.

Q. Have you filled out a freedom of choice form for next 
year? A. Yes.

Q. What school did you ask that she be assigned to? 
A. Riverside.

—27—
Q. Actually, didn’t you fill out one of your two sheets of 

paper for next year and then filled out another? A. I filled 
out the first sheet that was sent to me, and Mr. Smith told 
me to come to the office and I went down there and I signed 
another one.

Q. Explain to us a little bit how that came about, please. 
A. Well, the first form that I filled out I put on there that 
I would like for my children to go to the all white school 
but that I was afraid of being intimidated; that was the 
first form. Then Mr. Smith sent for me to come down to 
Mr. Yarborough’s office and they asked me would I sign 
another form.

Q. Was Mr. Yarborough there at that time? A. Yes, he 
were.

Q. Did he explain to you that you had every right for 
them to go to whatever school you wanted them to go to? 
A. Yes, sir.

Q. Was he polite to you? A. He was very polite to me.
Q. Was he kind to you? A. Yes, he were.
Q. By the way, your window was broken at least on one 

occasion there in your house, wasn’t it, the glass broken?
- 2 8 -

Objection, by Mr. Yarborough, to the form.

Deposition of Irene Arrington



431a

Deposition of Irene Arrington 

A. Both times.
Q. Do you have any friendly white neighbors? A. Yes.
Q. Did they do anything for you in connection with this ? 

A. When my glass was broke in my automobile Mr. George 
Fuller gave me a glass to be put back in which cost $90.00.

Q. Is he a white man, what race is he? A. He is a white 
man.

Q. Did other white people talk to you in a friendly man­
ner about this? A. No one have said anything to me about 
the suit against the Board of Education. A lot of them 
have told me how dirty it is, said it was just a dirty trick, 
things like that, that it was just a shame, a lot of them 
have said that.

Q. Would you still like for your daughter to go to school 
where she could get a desegregated education, to an inte­
grated school, if possible? A. Would I like for her to go 
to a white school ?

Q. Yes. A. I certainly wrnuld.
Q. Can you tell us now, and I want you to be calm and 

honest and free with us about this as you can be, why,
—29—

although you are a plaintiff in this case, you didn’t apply 
for Norine to attend Louisburg High School this year? A .  
I just think it is a better education at the white school and 
their schools are better than ours.

Q. You misunderstood my question. Why didn’t you ap­
ply for Norine to attend the white school this year? A. I 
beg your pardon. It was because I was afraid of being- 
intimidated.

Q. Tell us what the reasons were that you were afraid 
you would be intimidated. A. Well, when it would come 
out in the papers. I have a boy now that is driving my car 
on the road, on weekends dating, and when they found it



432a

out I was afraid that somebody might waylay my boys and 
hurt them. They could be shot at or something while I was 
asleep, and I didn’t want to get hurt anymore.

Q. You have been shot at? A. Yes.
Q. You went to Mr. Yarborough’s office to talk to him 

about this? A. I went to Mr. Yarborough’s office when I 
was sent for.

Q. Did you tell him that you were afraid? A. No. He 
didn’t ask me.

Q. If you weren’t afraid would you want to send your 
child there now? A. To a white school?

—30—
Q. To a formerly all white school, yes. A. Yes.
Q. For the reasons that you have described in this depo­

sition? A. That’s right.
Q. Do a lot of Negroes know about the shootings into 

your home? A. Yes, they do.
Q. Are you claiming that anybody at the Franklin School 

Board was ever less that polite to you?

Objection, Mr. Tucker, To the form of the ques­
tion.

A. Nobody but Mr. Clint Fuller; he was the only one on 
the Board of Education.

Q. What happened about him? A. At the meeting in 
which we were asking them to reconsider and let our chil­
dren go to the white school, and that was after they were 
rejected as to the matter of transfer, he raised his voice 
and said How could he please the Negro and the white race 
and the Klan, if that is what you would call it. And I spoke 
up then and told him that the Reverend Mr. Coppedge was 
the one that was speaking for us, said, “Mr. Fuller, you

Deposition of Irene Arrington



433a

are getting the wrong impression. The Reverend Mr. Cop-
— 31—

pedge is not just speaking for my child now, he is the 
spokesman for the whole group and is concerned about all 
the Negro children, not only his and mine.

Mr. Schwelb: They are all the questions I have
now.

Direct Examination by Mr. Chambers:

Q. Mrs. Arrington, where are you working now, if any­
where? A. I am working in a private home, working for 
Mrs. Parish.

Q. Where were you working at the time that you re­
quested the transfer for your children? A. I was working 
at the same place, working in the home of Mrs. Annie Par­
rish.

Q. Were you working in her home in 1964 when you re­
quested the transfer? A. Yes, I have been working there 
5 years part-time and have been working there 3 years reg­
ular.

Q. In 1965 did you apply for work anywhere; else? A. 
Yes, I did.

Q. Where did you apply? A. I applied for a job in the 
Cedar Street School cafeteria, when they said they were 
going to build one out there I applied for a job there.

Q. Was that after you requested transfer of your child 
to an integrated school? A. That was in the spring, yes.

—32—
Q. Did you get the job in the cafeteria? A. Not at first; 

I was rejected at first. But by being the president of the 
PTA the parents over there got together and said they 
wouldn’t support the program if they wouldn’t hire some­

Deposition of Irene Arrington



434a

body out of the Cedar Stret PTA to work with their chil­
dren, so it went back through again and I was informed that 
everybody on the Board talked well of me excepting Mr. 
Clint Fuller who said some words to the principal that he 
didn’t approve of me but that I could still get the job, but 
after he said that I wouldn’t accept the job then.

Cross-Examination by Mr. Yarborough:

Q. You learned about there being a job open in the Cedar 
Street school, learned that they were going to put in a 
cafeteria there and that they would need some workers and 
you applied for the job through Mr. Battle, the principal 
of the school? A. That’s right.

Q. You knew that that school and you know now that it 
has a committee or advisory council? A. Yes, sir, sure, I 
knew that.

Q. And you know that the policy of the Board of Educa­
tion is that employees of the school be approved both by

—33—
the principal and the local committee? A. Yes.

Q. And you knew, of course, that your name first had to 
be submitted to Mr. Battle and then to the Committee be­
fore the Board of Education took a hand in it at all, you 
knew that was the way it operated, didn’t you? A. I knew 
that my application was filed or given to Mr. Battle, the 
principal of the school, and that then it would be turned 
over to his Committee, and I found out that it was denied 
by his Committee.

Q. You found out that it had been denied by his Com­
mittee? A. By his Committee, yes. And I called Mr. Smith 
and told him that the Cedar Street PTA would not support 
the program unless the parents could have the opportunity 
to work with their own children, told him that we had quali­

Deposition of Irene Arrington



435a

fied people out there that wanted to work, and Mr. Smith 
explained to me that this had come from the Advisory Com­
mittee and that he was expecting them to work something 
out.

Q. And he told you that it hadn’t come before the Board 
of Education up to that time? A. That’s right, that it 
hadn’t come before the Board of Education at that time.

Q. You know Mr. Cecil Macon who was on the Advisory 
Committee? A. Yes, I know him.

—34—
Q. And he was a witness here yesterday? A. I don’t 

know about that.
Q. But you do know him well? A. I sure do.
Q. He lives right next to the Beverend Dunston’s home? 

A. Yes, sir.
Q. And you know Mr. Wilton Perry? A. Yes, sir.
Q. And you know that the Chairman of that Advisory 

Committee is a colored man? A. That’s right.
Q. And you know Mr. Joseph Lewis, who was on that 

Committee? A. I do.
Q. And you know that he is a colored man? A. Yes, sir. 
Q. And you know that Mrs. Esther Loan was on that 

Committee, and you know her? A. Yes, I know her very 
well.

Q. And you know Mrs. Lula Johnson, who was on that 
Committee? A. Yes, very well.

Q. You knew the members of that Committee? A. Yes, 
I knew them.

Q. So when you were rejected, as you say, you weren’t
—35—

rejected by Mr. Smith and you were not rejected by Mr. 
Battle, but you were rejected by the Committee, is that 
correct? A. That’s correct.

Deposition of Irene Arrington



436a

Q. And all of those people on that Committee were col­
ored people? A. That is what Mr. Smith told me.

Q. I want you to answer my question, All of those peo­
ple on that Committee were colored people, is that correct? 
A. Oh, yes.

Q. And you say you were the president of the PTA at 
the Cedar Street School? A. That’s right.

Q. And you had a child there at that school at that time? 
A. I did.

Q. And you and the members of the PTA of the Cedar 
Street School felt that whoever worked over there ought to 
be from that community? A. That’s right.

Q. And you told Mr. Smith that? A. Yes, sir.
Q. And he told you that he hoped that your PTA would 

continue to support the school cafeteria, didn’t he? A. No, 
he said he was hoping that the cafeteria would he run by 
the Cedar Street PTA.

—36—
Q. You mean that he said that he expected the cafeteria 

to be run by the school authorities? A. He said he hoped 
it would be run by the PTA. I told him that the Cedar 
Street PTA would not support it unless they would have 
an opportunity to work with their own children and he said 
that that was what he was planning on, was that the PTA 
members would work in the cafeteria with their own chil­
dren.

Q. That PTA has got how many members? A. Thirty 
or forty.

Q. Who told you that you were rejected over there? A. 
It was wrote to me in a latter.

Q. By whom? A. By the principal of the Cedar Street 
School.

Q. Mr. Battle? A. Yes.

Deposition of Irene Arrington



437a

Q. And Mr. Battle is a colored man! A. That’s right.
Q. And he told yon that you were rejected by the Com­

mittee! A. After the first one was rejected we had another 
meeting.

Q. I am asking you, first, about the letter. A. He said 
in it that I was rejected; and we had another meeting and 
it was carried back through again, carried back to the 
Committee again and at this time there was a letter sent 
to me saying that everybody had approved of me working

—3 7 -
in the cafeteria except Mr. Clint Fuller.

Q. Who wrote that letter? A. It came to me from Mr. 
Battle, the principal of the Cedar Street School, that Mr. 
Fuller said that he did not approve of me.

Q. Do you have that letter with you? A. No, I do not.
Q. But you still have it, do you? A. I looked for it the 

other day and couldn’t find it, but it is around there some 
place. If I have to find it, I can.

Q. After you were rejected by that Committee of colored 
citizens-—That is correct, that they were colored people? 
A. Yes.

Q. After you were rejected by that Committee of colored 
citizens and you got the the letter what did Mr. Battle say 
in that letter, that first letter? A. Oh, the first letter 
was right down the line with my name and Mrs. Dunston’s 
name rejected, and the ones that was hired, showed who was 
approved and that these others were rejected.

Q. Approved by the Committee or by the principal? A. 
By the Committee.

Q. You did get that, in a letter? A. Yes, sir.
Q. A letter from Mr. Battle? A. Yes, sir.

Deposition of Irene Arrington

— 38—



438a

Q. And he told you that your application was rejected by 
a Committee of colored citizens ? A. He didn’t say colored 
or white.

Q. But you knew that all members of that Committee 
were colored? A. That they were colored, yes.

Q. And you knew that the principal, Mr. Battle, was 
colored? A. Yes, sir.

Q. And then after your first application was rejected you 
say it went through again and then did you get a letter 
stating that your application had been approved? A. That 
it had been approved, yes, and that everybody had ap­
proved of me excepting Mr. Clint Fuller and he said some 
remarks that I didn’t approve o f ; that is what the letter 
said, but still when I did get the job then I wouldn’t accept 
it.

Q. You got the job in the cafeteria then? A. No, I 
didn’t ; I am still working at the same place.

Q. Haven’t you applied for a job in a plant at Hender­
son within the last month or so, some job there? A. No, 
1 haven’t.

—39—
Q. You haven’t applied for a job at any other place 

during this last spring except for that school cafeteria job f 
A. When he sent for me I told him I wasn’t able to work 
that I was recommending Mrs. Leland Bullock, and if I 
could I would go to work in the glass plant in Henderson, 
but I never did go there and apply for no job.

Q, So, Mrs. Arrington, you did write a letter to Mr. 
Battle that you had put in for the job in Henderson, didn’t 
you? A. That’s right.

Q. And you expressed your appreciation for all that he 
did for you, thanked him? A. That’s right.

Deposition of Irene Arrington



439a

Q. And you told him that you would be glad to help in 
any ther way that you could? A. Yes.

Q. And this paper that I hand you is a copy of the 
letter that you wrote to Mr. Battle? A. Yes, it is.

Mr. Yarborough: I wish this letter marked De­
fendant Exhibit No. 1 in this Arrington deposition, 
copy of a letter dated April 28, 1966 from Mrs. 
Irene Arrington addressed to Mr. Battle.

Q. So then, Mrs. Arrington, in April of 1966 while this
—40—

lawsuit was pending against the Franklin County Board 
of Education you did apply for a job with that school over 
there and you were willing to work there at the time you 
applied? A. At the time I applied I was willing to work 
there before it came out that Mr. Fuller said some remarks 
about me at the Board that the principal didn’t approve of, 
I really didn’t accept the job.

Q. But you told Mr. Battle in that letter to him that you 
had put in for another job in Henderson? A. That’s 
right.

Q. And you recommended somebody for the job? A. I 
recommended Miss Nellie Bee Perry or Mrs. Bullock, Mrs. 
Leland Bullock, and they accepted Mrs. Leland Bullock.

Q. One of the two whom you recommended? A. That’s 
right.

Q. Will you look again, when you get home, and see if 
you can find the letter that Mr. Bullock wrote you with 
reference to what Mr. Clint Fuller had said? A. I certainly 
will, but after looking if I can’t find it I have got witnesses, 
people that did read the letter, Reverend Dunston read 
that letter, and he can tell you that I had it. When I got 
the letter I let him read it.

Deposition of Irene Arrington



440a

Deposition of Irene Arrington

— 41—
Q. Was that letter written in longhand or was it typed? 

A. It was typed.
Q. Mrs. Arrington, did yon receive free choice forms in 

April of 1966? A. I did.
Q. Did yon fill them ont and return them? A. I did.
Q. Thereby requesting that your children be assigned to 

the Riverside Negro School? A. I did.
Q. And you wrote a statement on the back of each of 

those forms about your wanting your children to go to an 
all white school? A. I did. But I was afraid of being 
intimidated.

Q. And pursuant to that Mr. Smith sent Mr. Dunston 
out there to your house ? A. I know there was a white man 
that came by on my job where I was working.

Q. Where you were working at Mrs. Parrish’s house? 
A. Yes. It was 4:00 o’clock or around 3:30 then when he 
asked me to go down there, and I told him it was too late 
that I had had no notice, that I had taken Mrs. Parrish 
where she was to visit and I had to pick her up and bring 
her home, that I couldn’t get there that day.

—42—
Q. Told you that we would like for you to meet with ns 

at my office? A. Yes.
Q. And you told him that you couldn’t come that day and 

he suggested another time? A. He said if I couldn’t come 
that day would I please come there at 9 :00 o’clock the 
next morning, and I told him I would.

Q. Didn’t he tell you that we would send a car for you? 
A. No, he didn’t say nothing about sending a car for me.

Q. Did you come there in your own ear? A. Yes.
Q. And you met with us in my office ? A. Yes.



441a

Q. And it was explained to you that your statement 
would not indicate a fully free choice! A. That’s right.

Q. And that we would prefer another statement from 
you? A. That’s right; that is what you told me.

Q. And I explained to you at the time about the different 
schools, about the transportation, told you about five schools 
from which transportation was close enough to your house 
to take care of your children? A. Yes, sir.

Q. What five did I name? A. I don’t remember about
—43—

that.
Q. Didn’t I name Louisburg, Riverside, Gold Sand, 

Perry’s and Epsom? A. I wouldn’t say you didn’t, but I 
don’t have any remembrance of that.

Q. Do you recall that you were told by Mr. Smith, who 
was there, that with respect to transportation you lived 
in a place that was a sort of conjunction of bus routes, that 
there was transportation for your children to any one of 
those five schools, you remember that we talked about the 
buses, don’t you? A. I remember that you told me that it 
was my choice, that I could send them to any school that 
I wanted to, but as to the naming the schools I don’t recall 
you naming the schools, but I wouldn’t say you didn’t, 
but I don’t want to tell you nothing wrong.

Q. I told you that you had the choice of any school in the 
county? A. You probably did.

Q. And you said you still wanted them to go to River­
side? A. That’s right.

Q. And therefore you signed another form? A. Yes.
Q. And the nearest all white school was Gold Sand,

—44—
wasn’t it? A. I wouldn’t say that Gold Sand is nearer 
than Louisburg.

Deposition of Irene Arrington



442a

Q. Louisburg was not an all white school this past school 
year, was it, and you know that, don’t you? A. Yes, but 
that is the school I was assigning them for, the Louisburg 
High School.

Q. You assigned them to Riverside, didn’t you? A. Yes; 
but the one I assigned them to was Louisburg, before.

Q. The earlier one? A. Yes, sir.
Q. You know that this past year Louisburg High School 

was not an all white school, you know that, don’t you? A. 
I know there was one or two colored pupils, maybe 3.

Q. If then you had wanted them to go to an all white 
school that meant Epsom or Gold Sand, didn’t it? A. No— 
Yes, but I wanted them assigned to Louisburg High.

Q. You didn’t ask this year for them to go to Louisburg 
High, did you? A. Not this year.

Q. You asked that your children go to Riverside, didn’t 
you? A. Yes, but I would like for them to go to Louisburg 
High.

Q. But you asked that they be assigned to Riverside? 
A. Yes.

Q. Now, Mrs. Arrington, at that meeting we had in my 
office, it was a cordial meeting, everyone was pleasant?

—45—
A. That’s right.

Q. It was a pleasant meeting. No one threatened you 
in any way while you were there, did they? A. No.

Q. Everybody was friendly with each other from the time 
you came until you went out? A. Yes, sir, that’s right.

Q. And you spoke to some people who were there that 
knew you, spoke to them on your way out, I believe? A. 
Yes, sir.

Q. So when you left that office on that date, so far as 
Mr. Smith or myself could tell from you what you wanted,

Deposition of Irene Arrington



443a

you wanted them to go to Riverside School? A. No, I 
never wanted them to go to Riverside School.

Q. But from what we could learn from what you told us 
that day, when I explained to you that they could go to 
any school you picked out, you wanted them to go to 
Riverside? A. Yes, but I wanted them to go to Louisburg 
High but I was afraid of being intimidated and that is 
why I sent them to Riverside, but I didn’t want them to go 
to Riverside.

Q. But from all that we had to go on from what you 
said you wanted them to go to Riverside this coming year ? 
A. That’s right.

—46—
Q. One of your boys I believe was courting? A. That’s 

right.
Q. And you said that he might be out at night riding 

around, while he was courting, didn’t you tell us that? 
A. Yes.

Q. And you filled out another form and in a few days you 
got your notice that they were to go to Riverside? A. Yes, 
sir.

Q. And at that time you were told that the Board could 
not act on the first application because of your statement 
about intimidation, that that wouldn’t look like it was a 
free choice on your part and we told you that that was 
the reason we wanted you to come into the office? A. That’s 
right, you did.

Q. And you don’t have any complaint about what was 
done at that meeting on that date? A. No, I don't.

Q. Mrs. Arrington, with reference to these unfortunate 
shootings, was it a shotgun, or a rifle, or a pistol that was 
used? If you know. A. On the first shooting it was a

Deposition of Irene Arrington



444a

shotgun. On the last shooting it was a shotgun. The FBI 
said it was shotgun shooting, small shot, and then there 
was shooting of buckshots, and some of them said it was

—47—
shooting a rifle, but I don’t know what they were shooting.

Q. Did FBI men come to visit you quite a few times? 
A. Yes, the FBI and the SBI, and the Sheriff came. The 
last time, the last shooting he came that night, but the 
first time he didn’t come that night.

Q. But he did come both times but one time he was late 
getting there, didn’t come until the next day? A. Both 
time he came, but the first time he was late.

Q. The FBI investigated the shootings, did they? A. 
Yes, sir.

Q. But as far as you know they have never been able 
to find any person that could be charged with that crime 
or crimes? A. Not as far as I know, but I have learned 
that they have been told, that the Sheriff had been told who 
they were.

Q. How about the FBI? A. I don’t know whether it 
has been told to the FBI or not.

Q. Sheriff Champion recommended that you tell the 
Fedaral Bureau of Investigation people? A. Yes, sir. 
But I haven’t seen the FBI since this man told it.

—48—
Q. How long ago was that? A. It has been about 2 

months ago, I seen this person, yesterday I seen this person 
Monday morning before I left home.

Q. The person that told the Sheriff? A. The person 
that told the Sheriff.

Q. And you have been here since Monday morning and

Deposition of Irene Arrington



445a

have had a chance to talk to the FBI and yon haven’t done 
so? A. I haven’t talked to no FBI agent.

Q. Have yon told Mr. Sehwelb or any of the other govern­
ment men that you have seen here, walking about here? 
A. I haven’t seen any FBI men.

Q. But have you seen any of the government lawyers that 
are here? A. Sure I have.

Q. Did you tell any of them that yon wanted to get in 
touch with the FBI? A. I give one of them the name.

Q. You did? A. Yes.
Q. So that information is in the hands of the FBI now, 

as far as you know, and is certainly in the hands of the 
government lawyers here, anyhow? A. Yes. It would be 
in there when they give it to Sheriff Champion as far as I

—49—
know.

Q. You know that the name is in the hands of the govern­
ment lawyers now? A. I know I told one of them.

Q. Do you know which one of them it was? A. I don’t 
know his name.

Q. Is he here today in this room now? Was it Mr. 
Sehwelb? A. Wasn’t it you? (Addressing Mr. Sehwelb)

Mr. Sehwelb: I can’t testify for you.

A. I think this is the man, (Indicating Mr. Sehwelb) if I 
don’t make any mistake.

Q. This man sitting here (indicating Mr. Sehwelb) who 
has been asking you questions on this examination, he was 
the one that you told it to, the one that has been asking you 
questions? A. I think he is the man.

Q. And up until you found out the name recently of the

Deposition of Irene Arrington



446a

person yon are talking about you were not able to supply 
the Sheriff or the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the 
State Bureau of Investigation the name of any such suspect, 
were you? A. No, I wasn’t.

Q. And up until 2 months ago you didn’t know of any 
name that you could give to any of them, did you? A. No.

—50—
Q. And no member of your family as far as you know 

could give them any name? A. No.
Q. And you say that one or more of the callers said it 

was Gold Sand School calling? A. That’s right.
Q. Was it a man or a woman calling? A. Sometimes a 

woman would call and then the next time probably a man 
would call.

Q. And they would say that it was the Gold Sand School 
calling? A. Yes, that it was the Gold Sand School.

Q. Did any of your children go to the Gold Sand School? 
A. No.

Q. You lived in Sandy Creek Township? A. That’s 
right.

Q. Did you go to the Gold Sand School to vote? A. Yes.
Q. You had been voting there for a number of years? 

A. That’s right.
Q. And you would give in your taxes to Mr. Perry there 

at the Gold Sand School, too? A. That’s correct.
Q. Do you know why the Gold Sand School was inter­

ested in calling you? A. I would ask why and they just
—51—

said “Never mind” , and I would ask who it was and they 
never would say, just said “Never mind” .

Q. And they never said why the Gold Sand School was 
calling you? A. They never said why, that’s right.

Deposition of Irene Arrington



447a

Q. Now, I believe you said that Mr. Clint Fuller at a 
meeting raised his voice to you? A. He sure did.

Q. And you say that Mr. Clint Fuller was mentioned in 
Mr. Battle’s letter to you? A. That’s right.

Q. And I ask you again, will you try to find that letter? 
A. Yes, I will find it if I can.

Q. Of course Mr. Fuller is the local editor of the local 
newspaper and is a member of the County Board of Educa­
tion? A. That’s correct.

Q. And you have met with the County Board a number of 
times? A. Yes, I have one time.

Q. When school opened in 1963 the NAACP members, 
and others possibly, had a protest demonstration at the 
Riverside School, is that correct? A. That’s correct.

—52—
Q. And Mr. Charles McLean of the State NAACP was 

there? A. That’s correct.
Q. And the Board had a meeting with a committee from 

the people who were protesting and Mr. McLean was 
present? A. Yes.

Q. And were you present at that meeting, that committee 
meeting? A. I was.

Q. I believe the Board had said that it couldn’t meet with 
all of you hut that it would meet with a committee from 
the protesting group, and the group elected or named a 
committee and you were one of them? A. Yes, sir.

Q. Who else was on that committee? A. Mr. Otis Gill, 
and Mr. Willie Neal, and Mr. Herbert Rodwell, and Mr. 
James Cheek, and the Reverend Mr. Dunston and Mrs. 
Dunston, and maybe some more that I can’t remember right 
now, and Mr. Carl Harris.

Q. That meeting was in the early fall right after school

Deposition of Irene Arrington



448a

opened in 1963, wasn’t it, that meeting of protest! A. I ’m 
not sure when it was directly.

Q. Wasn’t it right along about the time that Mr. Smith 
took office and wasn’t it right after I took office! A. Mr. 
Smith was in there, all right.

Q. Mr. Mitchell was in there before and he died some
— 5 3 -

months before? A. That’s correct.
Q. And in those meetings held along in there things were 

finally worked out, things that were the cause of the meet­
ing, and the boycott was called off ? A. After that, yes, sir. 

Q. After we had those negotiations? A. Yes.
Q. And an agreement was finally reached whereby the 

boycott was called off? A. Yes, sir.
Q. And all the students went back to school? A. That’s 

right.
Q. That boycott, that protest, was directed mainly against 

Mr. Carl Harris, the principal? A. Against the Adminis­
trator.

Q. You mean Mr. Harris? A. Mr. Harris, that’s right. 
Q. And you had a complaint about a teacher who was 

accused of having a bad moral character ? A. That’s right. 
Q. And that teacher was not rehired? A. That’s right. 
Q. So that she is gone from there? A. That’s right.

— 5 4 —

Q. And they built a new cafeteria over there afterward? 
A. That’s right.

Q. So that most of the things that were being protested 
against were resolved satisfactorily and certainly to the 
extent that the boycott was called off? A. They were. It 
were.

Q. What meeting was it that Mr. Fuller raised his voice?

Deposition of Irene Arrington



449a

A. The meeting that Mr. Fuller raised his voice in was the 
meeting after the lateral transfer was rejected, and in this 
meeting there was Mr. Booker T. Driver, and Mrs. Cop- 
pedge and the Reverend Mr. Coppedge, and myself, were 
there.

Q. At that first meeting at the time of the boycott it 
looked like the Board of Education was trying the best it 
could to meet all your requests? A. Yes.

Q. And Professor Harris was getting along in years and 
didn’t have but a few years to go before he was to retire, 
and that was mentioned? A. That’s right.

Q. And some of your committee members said that they 
hated to see him leave his job as he was almost ready to 
retire? A. I didn’t hear that.

Q. You wanted an assistant principal, thought that would
—55—

be satisfactory for awhile? A. Yes, sir.
Q. And they did put in Mr. Conway? A. That’s right.
Q. So as a result the Board at those meeting granted 

most of what was requested at that time? A. Yes, sir.
Q. The boycott was really against Mr. Carl Harris and 

it was agreed to put in an assistant principal because Mr. 
Harris was mighty abrupt, was getting deaf, and there 
were some other things that were brought out against him? 
A. That’s right.

Q. And the Board worked on those things to get them 
adjusted and they were there in a meeting one night until 
around 11:00 o’clock. A. I believe so.

Q. And as a result of all that working on the things that 
you requested the boycott was called off? A. That’s right.

Q. And none of those demands at that time pertained to 
any integration at all? A. No.

Deposition of Irene Arrington



450a

Q. They had to with the cafeteria, and a teacher that you 
considered had bad morals, and to the administrator, Mr.

—56—
Harris! A. That’s right.

Q. Now, Herbert Eodwell was not related to Mrs. Chris­
tine Eodwell? A. He was related to her husband. He was 
her husband’s brother.

Q. They all lived in the same community north of Louis- 
burg, beyond you! A. Yes.

Q. And Mrs. Christine Eodwell lived in Sandy Creek 
Township a little further from Louisburg than you live and 
she is an elderly lady! A. She is a widow and is elderly.

Q. She has a lot more age on her than you have? A. Oh, 
yes.

Q. And these children that she was involved in were not 
her children? A. That’s right.

Q. They were not even her grandchildren but were may­
be connected with her in some way? A. She raised them.

Q. And you know that she had a son who lived in Nor­
folk or Portsmouth, lived in some place away from her? 
A. Yes.

—57—
Q. Did you know that her son came down to Louisburg 

and along with Mr. Herbert Eodwell obtained the neces­
sary information and withdrew their applications? A. I 
heard her say they were withdrawed.

Q. And Mr. Herbert Eodwell helped in doing that? A. 
She never told me about him. She said they were with­
drawed.

Q. Now, Mr. St. Clarence Arrington was kin to your hus­
band, you say? A. Yes, they were brothers.

Deposition of Irene Arrington



451a

Q. And you say Ms landlord sent a message; who was 
his landlord! A. Carl Duke.

Q. Do you know where he lived! A. Yes, I do.
Q. Where was it that he lived? A. He lived about a-mile- 

and-a-half from Moulton, between Moulton and Louisburg, 
between Moulton and Eden’s store.

Q. Right near Willie Ballentine’s? A. That’s right.
Q. He lived on Burrough Allen’s place? A. Yes, sir.
Q. So he lived about as far from Louisburg as you did? 

A. I think he lived a little further from there than I do.
Q. You turn off by Eden’s store down there on 561 and 

go by there on the old Allen School road? A. Yes, on the
—5 8 -

old Allen School road.
Q. On a dirt road? A. You go a little ways on the dirt 

road but you don’t have to go very far on a dirt road.
Q. And you say the landlord sent the message by a ten­

ant; was that Mr. Duke’s tenant or Mr. St. Clarence Ar­
rington’s tenant? A. He was Mr. Duke’s tenant.

Q. And his name was Peter Branch? A. Yes.
Q. And he told you that Mr. Duke had told that to Mr. 

St. Clarence Arrington? A. No, he said, “Mr. Duke told 
me to come here and tell you” .

Q. He told Peter Branch to come and tell you? A. Yes, 
to tell me not to put my feet on his premises no more, and 
that something was going to happen to me, that I was try­
ing to get people, Negroes, to enroll their children in the 
white schools and for me not to come there no more, and 
that meant that I couldn’t go to Mr. St. Clarence Arring­
ton’s home.

Q. You had been going there from time to time ? A. Yes, 
to Mr. St. Clarence Arrington’s home, yes.

Deposition of Irene Arrington



452a

Q. And do you know, as far as those applications are
—59—

concerned, that that was before the Civil Rights Act of 
1964 was passed? A. We had signed for integration.

Q. Signed what? A. I think we had signed a petition, 
a lot of us signed a petition.

Q. But that was before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 
wasn’t it? A. It hadn’t passed.

Q. That was in early 1964? A. That’s right.
Q. And the Civil Rights Act wasn’t passed until July 

2nd, 1964, as I remember it, is that correct? A. I don’t 
know; I wouldn’t say because I don’t remember.

Q. And the Board denied or rejected your application? 
A. That’s right.

Q. Mrs. Arrington, you do not know that you pay taxes, 
you do own property and land? A. Yes, sir.

Q. You own real estate? A. Yes, sir.
Q. And you know that the people in Louisburg Township 

—and you do not live in Louisburg Township but live in 
Sandy Creek Township—pay a special tax for having built

—60—
the Louisburg School? A. No, I don’t know about that.

Q. You weren’t told that was the reason? A. No, I 
wasn’t.

Q. Anyhow, you do not pay a special county school tax 
for Louisburg Township, do you? A. No, sir.

Q. You pay just the tax levied in the county as a whole, 
pay the county tax, that’s all, the ad valorem tax, one tax 
bill? A. I think I pay school tax, so much for school tax, 
and so much for road tax, and so much for property tax.

Q. But all of those items are in a countywide tax bill, 
though, aren’t they? A. They are not in there all together.

Deposition of Irene Arrington



453a

It says in one place School Tax, and in another Poll Tax, 
and Dog Tax, and they are in different spaces, have dif­
ferent spaces for them on there, but whether they work 
they together or not I couldn’t say.

Q. It is all one piece of paper, isn’t it? A. Yes, it is all 
one piece of paper.

Q. Now, after yon got notice in the early part of 1964 
you didn’t do anything else about the matter at that time 
did you? A. No, I didn’t.

—61—
Q. You didn’t come back to the Franklin County Board 

of Education, did you? A. No, I didn’t.
Q. When you got the letter rejecting the application you 

didn’t do anything else about it then? A. After I got the 
letter I didn’t do anything else about it until the Civil 
Bights bill passed.

Q. You knew Mr. Smith, didn’t you? A. I had seen him.
Q. You had been over and met with him while you were 

on a committee in 1963, you were over there when he was 
present? A. Sure.

Q. And you knew most of the other members of the 
Board of Education, didn’t you? A. Yes, sir.

Q. And you saw me over there at the meeting and you 
knew who I was? A. Sure.

Q. And you didn’t call Mr. Smith or didn’t call me, didn’t 
call either one of ns and speak to us about anything else 
in connection with the rejection in May of 1964? A. No, 
I didn’t ; I didn’t think there was any need.

—62—
Q. You did not do it, anyhow, did you? A. No, I didn’t.
Q. Then in May of 1965 you got lateral transfer notices? 

A. That’s correct.

Deposition of Irene Arrington



454a

Q. And you put in for a lateral transfer or transfers? 
A. Put in just for Norine.

Q. For what grade? A. She was going to the 7th grade 
then. They teach through the 7th grade.

Q. So, in the spring of 1965 you applied for your daugh­
ter Norine to be transferred to the Louisburg school? A. 
That’s correct.

Q. She was going from the 7th grade? A. Yes.
Q. That was not a free choice grade for that year, was 

it? A. Well, when it came out we didn’t know whether 
it was that way or not.

Q. You mean to say that when you got the transfer no­
tices that you did not know what grades you could ask for 
transfer in and yet you say you were very much interested 
in school desegregation in 1965? A. I don’t know exactly 
wThat you mean.

Q. In 1965 you were a member of the NAACP? A. Yes.
Q. And at that time you were very much interested in

—63—
obtaining school desegregation, weren’t you? A. Yes.

Q. And even though in May of 1965 you were a member 
of the NAACP and had already filed an application for the 
year before and had applied under the assignment act about 
getting one of your children into the Louisburg school, yet, 
when you got those notices in May of 1965 you did not know 
enough about it or did not understand that information that 
for that year free choice was only for four grades ?

Objection, by Mr. Chambers, To the form of the 
question.

A. When I filled out that paper I was thinking about the 
lateral transfer when I filled that out, but nobody didn’t

Deposition of Irene Arrington



455a

explain it to ns that she could not he moved or transferred 
from Cedar Street School to Louisburg.

Q. You mean to say that no one had explained it to you? 
A. No, they hadn’t. When the notices came out I thought 
then that they were supposed to explain it to us and that 
if it wasn’t for her that there was some way that they would 
have notified us that it wasn’t for her.

Q. So you didn’t seek any information, you just took 
whatever was on the notice? A. Just took what came on 
the notice.

—-64—
Q. And made application, applied for Norine, your 

daughter, for the Louisburg school? A. That’s right.
Q. And that was later rejected? A, That’s right.
Q. Norine wanted to get into what grade? A. The 7th 

grade.
Q. You didn’t know that it just applied to four grades 

for that school year, four grades only? A. No, sir, be­
cause it wasn’t on the form.

Q. You didn’t know that it didn’t affect all grades? A.
No.

Q. You know that it does affect all grades now, don’t 
you, for the coming school year, that free choice applies to 
all twelve grades ? A. That is what I have heard.

Q. Did you get a notice about the free choice in April of 
this year? A. I did.

Q. That notice says that it applies to all twelve grades? 
A. Yes.

Q. Have you read the notice or has someone just told you 
about it? A. I read it in the notice.

—65—
Q. Mrs. Arrington where does Peter Branch live now?

Deposition of Irene Arrington



456a

A. He lives at the same place, in the same community, 
lives in the Henry Hicks home house.

Q. Who owns that property? A. I don’t know, to tell 
you the truth.

Q. You know Mr. Henry Hicks? A. Yes, sir.
Q. He is dead now? A. Yes, sir.
Q. He was a white man? A. That’s right.
Q. And some of his people, his widow or his children, 

own that place ? A. I don’t know who owns it.
Q. Didn’t Mr. Thurman Purdie buy part of that land or 

an adjoining tract? A. I don’t know.
Q. You know Mr. Thurman Purdie? A. Yes, sir.
Q. He is a white man? A. That’s right.
Q. Has Peter Branch moved from the Duke place to the 

Purdie place or the Henry Hicks place since the time he 
brought you that message? A. I don’t think so.

— 66—

Q. He was a tenant on Mr. Duke’s place? A. Yes, sir. 
He is living on the same place now.

Q. You say he is living on the same place now? A. Yes, 
sir.

Q. Since he brought you that message he has still been 
living on the same place and is living at the same place 
now? A. If I make no mistake that is correct.

Q. Now as to St. Clarence Arrington, where does he live? 
A. He lives on the Kittrel route.

Q. Do you know who he lives with? A. No, I don’t.
Q. Is he still farming? A. I think he works in a Hen­

derson factory.
Q. At that time, in 1964, he was then working in a tobacco 

factory at Henderson, wasn’t he? A. If he were he was 
supposed to have helped this man house his crop.

Deposition of Irene Arrington



457a

Q. Was he farming? A. He didn’t farm for himself.
Q. Don’t yon know that he was working* in a tobacco 

factory, Taylor’s tobacco factory? A. I know there is a 
glass factory over there, and Taylor’s tobacco factory, and 
a lot of factories, but which one he was working in I don’t 
know.

—67—
Q. He worked in the Taylor tobacco factory part-time 

during tobacco season, didn’t he? A. I believe so.
Q. Now, didn’t St. Clarence Arrington tell you that Pro­

fessor Mangrum brought him that form—You know who 
I ’m talking about, Professor Mangrum of Franklinton? 
A. Yes, I know him.

Q. He used to be a school principal, didn’t he? A. I 
don’t know.

Q. St. Clarence Arrington said that Mr. Mangrum 
brought bim this form and that he thought he was signing 
a petition against the school principal, Carl Harris, didn’t 
he? A. No. Mr. Mangrum didn’t bring it to him.

Q. Who did bring it to him? A. I don’t know, but Mr. 
Mangrum didn’t bring it to him.

Q. You know that Mr. Mangrum notarized it, don’t you? 
A. I do.

Q. Did you go to him? A. That’s right, in Franklinton. 
I took it myself to him.

Q. Did you take St. Clarence Arrington to Franklinton? 
A. Yes, and taken his wife.

Q. St. Clarence Arrington didn’t sign it, did he? A. Yes, 
he did sign it.

Q. He didn’t sign it before the Notary Public, did he? 
A. No, he didn’t sign it before the Notary Public, but he 
signed it.

Deposition of Irene Arrington



Deposition of Irene Arrington

— 68—

Q. But he didn’t acknowledge it before the Notary Public? 
A. No, he didn’t.

Q, You know that, you took his wife over there? A. I 
took him and his wife over there.

Q. How about Mrs. Christine Rodwell, did you take her 
over there? A. She went with me too.

Q. All of you went through Louisburg to get to Frank- 
linton to get to see Mr. Mangrum? A. Mr. Mangrum 
wasn’t in Franklinton; he was in a private home when I 
found him.

Q. In Louisburg? A. Yes.
Q. You say you “found” him, do you mean you had to 

look for him? A. He knewed we was coming.
Q. To sign papers? A. That’s correct.
Q. Now, do you know what happened to the Mayo chil­

dren with respect to the school they were attending? A. 
They dropped out.

Q. Do you know where they are now? A. One of them 
is up here in Raleigh, and one is in Henderson.

— 69—
Q. Are they big enough to work? A. Sure, they are 

large enough to work.
Q. You say they dropped out of school, left Mrs. Rod- 

well’s and that one of them is now in Henderson and one 
is in Raleigh? A. That’s right.

Q. Sandy Jones is your father? A. That’s correct.
Q. And the child named Charles Jones, that is his grand­

son? A. Yes.
Q. Now, Mrs. Arrington, at the time that you were in my 

office last May with Mr. Smith about these forms it was



459a

all right with us, but you signed your father’s name By 
you? A. That’s right.

Q. Did you know that the Department of Health, Educa­
tion and Welfare sent out a form called Guidelines and 
that the Franklin County Board of Education accepted that, 
contracted to abide by the provisions wherein it was pro­
vided that there would be no publication of any names, and 
that as far as the Board is concerned it has done everything 
in its power to prevent such publication of names? A. Yes.

Q. So when you filled out the forms you knew at that
—7 0 -

time that the names would not come out in the newspaper? 
A. I don’t know whether I knowed it or not exactly when 
I filled out the forms but I learned it pretty soon after 
then, if I didn’t know it before, and I think you told me 
in the office that it wouldn’t come out in the paper, wouldn’t 
be published in the paper.

Q. And it hasn’t been published, the names have not 
been published, have they? A. I haven’t seen it.

Q. Do you take the Franklin Times? A. I do.
Q. Do you say that you still want your daughter to go 

to a white school, to attend a white school? A. I want 
her to go to a white school, but I am still afraid of the 
freedom of choice plan. She wants to go.

Q. And the other children they want to go to River­
side ? A. Correct.

Q. And your daughter Norine still wants to go to the 
white school? A. She does.

Q. Do you know that pursuant to meetings held between 
the Judge and the lawyers on both sides of this case that 
it has been agreed that the Judge may enter an Order,

Deposition of Irene Arrington



460a

Deposition of Irene Arrington

— 71—
and that the Judge has entered an Order pnrsnant to that 
agreement—

—Objection, by Mr. Chambers.

Q. That pursuant to a meeting with the lawyers, and 
without a trial, the Judge has entered an Order today say­
ing that there would be a new freedom of choice for all of 
the colored children in the Franklin County school system? 
A. I have heard that.

Q. So when the new freedom of choice forms are re­
ceived by you within the next few days are you still 
going to leave it to your children to pick the schools they 
want to go to? A. I would still send mine to Riverside. 
I wouldn’t change and send them to Louisburg not under 
the freedom of choice plan because it is not going to work.

Q. You have already decided that, in your opinion, it is 
not going to work? A. Yes, I am quite sure it won’t.

Q. You knew that last February or March? A. No, I 
didn’t know it until after I had been intimidated so much 
and then I found out that it really wasn’t going to work.

—72—
Q. The intimidation that you refer to took place in 

1965? A. Yes, and it was after then that I found out that 
it wasn’t going to work.

Q. After 1965? A. After I was being intimidated.
Q. The intimidation that you are talking about is the 

two shootings that took place in 1965 and your getting a 
lot of telephone calls in between the two shootings? A. 
Yes.



461a

Q. And after the second shooting you also got some tele­
phone calls'? A. That’s right.

Q. And that is the intimidation that you are speaking of, 
those things you have stated? A. Yes.

Q. And all of that occurred in 1965, didn’t it! A. Yes, 
sir.

Q. You were willing in March or in February of 1966 
to even then have your child transferred in the middle 
of the year? A. Yes.

Q. You went to that meeting in the courthouse, didn’t 
you, a meeting in the courthouse in Louisburg when Mr.

—7 3 -
Fink, from the Department of Justice, was there? A. Yes, 
I was.

Q. A meeting that was held upstairs in the courtroom 
one morning? A. That’s right.

Q. And at that time Mr. Fink asked each one of you to 
still decide where you wanted your children to go to school ? 
A. Yes.

Q. And you either signed a paper or made a statement 
about that, didn’t you? A. I signed a statement as to 
what?

Q. Did you sign anything there that morning? A. Yes, 
I did.

Q. And that was for one of your children, Norine, to 
go to the Louisburg school? A. That’s right.

Q. And that was even in the middle of the school year? 
A. Yes, it was.

Q. That was in March? A. I can’t remember.
Q. Anyway, that was after you had come here to Raleigh 

for a hearing? A. I had been to Clinton.

Deposition of Irene Arrington



462a

Q. You had been to Clinton, and yon didn’t come here
—74—

to Raleigh! A. I didn’t come here to Raleigh but I 
knew they had a meeting here.

Q. And it was after that hearing here, the meeting with 
the Judge, that Mr. Fink called on you all to meet one 
morning in the courthouse in Louisburg! A. That’s right.

Q. And you first went to the post office and found they 
didn’t have room for you and then you came over to the 
courthouse, do you remember that! A. Yes, I do.

Q. And Mr. Fink explained to you about what the Judge 
wanted to know, about the Judge wanting to know whether 
or not in the middle of the year you wanted to change 
your children from whatever school they were going to 
to Louisburg! A. I don’t remember the exact words that 
he used.

Q. But that in substance was what he told you! A. I 
think so.

Q. Am I stating fairly and accurately about what was 
done on that occasion! A. Oh, yes, at the time of the 
meeting, that is correct.

Q. And I was not at that meeting but a few minutes, was 
I !  A. That’s correct.

Q. I simply turned on the lights and I left there then! 
A. That’s right.

—75—
Q. And at that time you signed a paper or agreed that 

you wanted one of your children to go to Louisburg! A. 
That’s right.

Q. And that was either in February or March, wasn’t 
it! A. Yes.

Q. And then in April, within a month or two later you

Deposition of Irene Arrington



463a

signed for them all to go to Riverside? A. I don’t know 
exactly the date that I did sign for them all to go to River­
side.

Q. Yon don’t know whether it was in April or May, but 
you do know that you signed for them to go to Riverside? 
A. Yes, I signed for them to go to Riverside.

Q. And you signed within the time that you were sup­
posed to after you got the notice, didn’t you? A. I got 
the notice and I kept it about 3 weeks and then I signed it.

Q. You signed it within the 30 days set forth in it? A. 
Oh, yes.

Q. So it was about the 1st of May and before the time 
that it ran out on May 4th that you signed it?

Mr. Chambers: I request that counsel show the 
witness a copy of what she signed.

Mr. Yarborough: I don’t have a copy.

Q. But, Mrs. Arrington, you did sign it during the
—76—

period set forth in that letter or notice, did you not? A. 
Before the time ran out, yes.

Q. Within the time, whatever it was? A. Yes.
Q. And you were of the same mind in February or March 

that you were in April or May, as the case may be?

Objection, by Mr. Chambers.

Q. You were of the same mind in April or May that you 
had been in February or March?

Objection, by Mr. Chambers.

Q. Did you change your mind between those dates?

Deposition of Irene Arrington



464a

Deposition of Irene Arrington 

Objection, to the form, by Mr. Chambers.

Q. Did you change your mind between those dates'? I 
am trying to find out what happened, Mrs. Arrington. A. 
Ask the question again.

Q. You said a few minutes ago that you didn’t think that 
freedom of choice will work? A. That’s right.

Q. Well, did you change your mind about that between 
February or March and April or May? A. You mean did 
I in February or March sign for her?

Q. This is my question: Did you feel the same way about 
it in February and March as you did in April or May?

- 7 7 -
Objection, to the form, by Mr. Chambers.

Q. That is, about the freedom of choice not working. 
A. No, I didn’t.

Q. How did you feel then? A. At the time I didn’t think 
really that so many people had been intimidated until I 
got up here in court this week and saw all these people 
I didn’t think so many had been intimidated until this week, 
didn’t think so many had been intimidated.

Q. But what you thought or felt about school desegrega­
tion or freedom of choice, you felt that before you knew, 
before you knew all this other stuff and all you felt the 
way you did before that, before you found out about all this 
other this week? A. At the time I signed I would have 
let her went there but now I just wouldn’t let her go on 
freedom of choice.

Q. Is that because of what you found out here this week? 
A. Part of it.

Q. And so you are now saying that whatever the court



465a

lias ordered done yon are not going to ask that any one 
of your children he assigned to the Louisburg school this 
coming year? A. Not on the freedom of choice plan, no, 
I wont.

—78—
Q. Do you want freedom of choice to work?

Objection, by Mr. Chambers.
Mr. Chambers: I instruct her not to answer that 

question.

Q. Mrs. Arrington, what positions have you held with 
the NAACP? A. You mean holding office?

Q. Yes. Holding an office or acting on a committee, or 
anything of that sort. A. Not any.

Q. Did you ever go to any of the meetings at Howland’s 
Chapel? A. Yes.

Q. You know where that is? A. Sure.
Q. And you know the Reverend B. B. Felder? A. Sure; 

but I don’t know him too well, but I know him when I 
see him.

Q. He frequently attends meetings there at that Chapel, 
doesn’t he, or didn’t he? A. I don’t know howT many times 
he has been there.

Q. But sometimes he did attend meetings there? A. 
Yes.

Q. Were you in a meeting there at that Chapel sometime 
in March or April of this spring, a meeting of the NAACP 
local chapter at which time someone suggested or said

—79—
that parents of colored children should not choose a for­
merly predominantly white school, because that would

Deposition of Irene Arrington



466a

wreck this case, or something to that effect? A. I never 
heard of it.

Q. You never told that to anybody? A. Are you ac­
cusing me of saying it?

Q. I am only asking you if you ever heard anybody 
make that statement as having heard anything like that 
said at a meeting over there, or did you ever tell anybody 
that it was said there? A. I haven’t ever even heard those 
words before.

Q. What words do you mean? A. What you have just 
said or asked me.

Q. You have never heard anybody make a statement 
that that was said at such a meeting over there at that 
chapel, that such a statement was made ? A. No, I haven’t.

Q. Mrs. Arrington, what position, if you know, does 
the Reverend B. B. Felder hold in the NAACP? A. I 
don’t even know, to tell you the truth.

Q. He doesn’t live in Franklin County, does he? A. I 
don’t know that, either.

Q. Have you ever heard him speak at one of those meet­
ings that you attended there? A. I guess I have heard 
him speak, but what he said I couldn’t tell you.

—80—
Q. You have heard him make a speech to the group? 

A. I have heard him make a speerh.
Q. And you say you don’t remember what he said? 

A. No, I don’t remember.
Q. Now, any intimidation that you were subjected to 

ended with the shootings? A. That’s right.
Q. Now, while I know you had no part in it, I ask you, 

wasn’t there a whiskey still broken up by officers some­

Deposition of Irene Arrington



467a

where near your house? I don’t mean right at it, but in 
that vicinity, in the vicinity of where you house is. A. 
Yes, there were.

Q. And didn’t the officers haul the still out close by 
your house? A. Did they haul it out?

Q. Didn’t the officers come out there and bring it in, or 
whatever happened? A. I didn’t hear them.

Q. How far was it from your house? If you know. 
A. I don’t know how far it was.

Q. It was close to your house out there at a place behind 
your house or east of your house somewhere? A. East.

—81—
Q. Your house generally faces west as it sets beside of 

the road? A. It was north back toward between my house 
and Louisburg.

Q. Mrs. Arrington, how much time was there between 
that and the end of that shooting at your house? A. It 
was over a week afterward, or a week.

Q. The end of the shooting was a week after the still 
breaking? A. I don’t know exactly but I reckon about 
a week or two after then.

Q. Now, you and your husband didn’t own the farm but 
you owned a house on the lot? A. That’s correct.

Q. How much lot did you have, how much land, an acre 
or more? A. An acre of land.

Q. Did you all buy that from the Parrishes? A. Mr. 
Parrish bought it for us.

Q. Made the deed to you? A. Made the deed to us.
Q. And the lady you worked for, you waited on her, 

took care of her? A. That’s correct.
—82—

Q. How long have you lived there at that place? A.

Deposition of Irene Arrington



468a

My husband was 53 years old, and he was born on the 
place.

Q. The same house? A. Not in the same house. He 
was born on the same man’s farm and in another house.

Q. On the Parrish plantation, a part of the Fuller land? 
A. That’s right.

Q. How long have you all had that house? A. Around 
15 or 16 years.

Q. And your father has his house on the same land? 
A. It is on my lot.

Q. And your house is on a one acre lot? A. That’s 
right.

Q. And Mr. Ferrell Parrish and Mrs. Parrish deeded 
that lot to you all? A. That’s right.

Q. And your husband was a carpenter ? A.No, he wasn’t 
anything but a farmer.

Q. Now, after the shootings he and his family expressed 
sympathy, you said that some of your white neighbors 
expressed sympathy for you? A. Some of them, not too 
many.

Q. But some of them did who lived closeby in your 
neighborhood? A. That’s right.

—83—
Q. And some of them had children that were going to 

school, and some were going to the Louisburg schools, 
and some of them spoke to you in sympathy? A. Yes.

Q. Some of your white neighbors? A. Yes.
Q. And one white man gave you a new glass for your 

car that cost $90.00? A. That’s right.
Q. Did any other help come to you in a financial way, 

such as money or anything? A. No, never has.

Deposition of Irene Arrington



469a

Q. So the only thing of a material value that came to you 
was the glass from Mr. Fuller? A. That’s right.

Q. Was your car otherwise damaged except for the 
glass? A. There were bullet holes in it that went in the 
back of it and through it, three or four bullet holes large 
enough for you to stick your finger in them.

Q. Did you get the ear repaired? A. No, I haven’t never 
repaired it.

Q. Now, you are a party to this lawsuit? A. Yes, I 
am.

—84—
Q. And this suit was first brought to compel the Franklin 

Board of Education to put your children in the Louis- 
burg school during the 1965-66 school year? A. That was 
brought in.

Q. I ask you if this suit wasn’t brought to compel the 
Franklin County Board of Education to put your children 
during the 1965-66 school year, or your child, in the Louis- 
burg school? A. I didn’t see it that way. We wTere asking 
for integration and we was rejected. I would say it was 
just because we didn’t think we were getting justice from 
the Board of Education.

Q. Well, you say you didn’t think you were getting justice 
from the Board; they did put some colored children into 
white schools this past year, didn’t they? A. Three I 
think was put in in Louisburg.

Q. Do you know how many were first put in there or 
assigned? A. I think it was around 60 was assigned there 
but a lot of them, or some of them were withdrawed.

Q. I ask you if you don’t know that this suit, if you 
don’t know that this lawsuit, that in the bringing of it

Deposition of Irene Arrington



470a

Deposition of Irene Arrington

one of the main objectives was to compel the Board of 
Education to put your child into the Louisburg school 
during the 1965-66 school year? A. Oh, that could be.

Q. You know that that was what the suit was brought for,
—85—

don’t you? A. Yes.
Q. And you say that you went to one hearing in Clinton, 

and that you knew that another hearing was held here 
in Raleigh? A. That’s right.

Q. And you were called on by a government lawyer, Mr. 
Fink, you remember him, do you? A. Yes, I do.

Q. You were called on by him to make another decision 
in February or March as to whether you still then wanted 
to transfer your child to the Louisburg school, that is cor­
rect? A. I don’t know whether it was in February or 
March.

Q. I ’m not sure either as to the month, but it was in one 
of those months, about that time of year, wasn’t it? A. 
That’s right.

Q. At that time you were called upon then to make an­
other decision, asked whether or not you wanted the trans­
fer then? A. Yes.

— 86—

Q. And you made a decision then that you wanted your 
daughter to go to the Louisburg school? A. To Louis­
burg?

Q. To the Louisburg school? A. That was Riverside, 
wasn’t it?

Q. I ’m talking now about your decision made in Feb­
ruary or March to transfer from Riverside to Louisburg 
in the middle of the school year. A. That’s right.

Q. The one that Mr. Fink was handling? A. Yes.



471a

Q. You made that decision or request to put her in the 
Louisburg school at that time of year? A. Yes.

Q. And a month or 6 weeks later, a short while later, 
freedom of choice to all pupils in all grades was granted 
by the Board of Education, was it not? A. That’s right.

Redirect Examination by Mr. Schwelb:

Q. Mrs. Arrington, I think you have testified that you 
do not think that freedom of choice will work, have you 
not? A. That’s right.

—87—
Q. Why do you say that, why won’t it work? A. It 

didn’t work before.
Q. It didn’t work before because of what? A. Intimida­

tion.
Q. You thought freedom of choice would not work so 

you asked that your children be assigned to Riverside? 
A. Yes, to Riverside.

Q. Now I believe you testified that you know about the 
Judge entering an Order, the Order of the Court? A . 
That’s right.

Q. Have you been told the details of that? A. No, 
I haven’t.

Q. Have you been told, for instance, that the judge has 
issued an order for a new freedom of choice period and 
that during the freedom of choice period the white people 
and the Negroes, the lawyers for all the parties, the negro 
leaders and the white leaders, are asked to work together 
to make the freedom of choice period work, have you 
been told that before? A. No, I haven’t.

Q. Now, if that is the fact, are you prepared to try to 
make the new freedom of choice work, as the Judge has

Deposition of Irene Arrington



472a

asked us all to do, will you do your best to make it work!
— 88—

A. Oh yes, I would do my best.
Q. Do you still have some question as to whether it will 

work even then? A. I still don’t feel like it would work 
but I would try my best, but I don’t feel like it will work.

Q. But you have testified that you woud try? A. I 
would try, but I still don’t feel like it would work, not in 
Franklin County.

Q. Now, Mrs. Arrington, Mr. Yarborough asked you 
some questions about you trying to get your girl into the 
Louisburg school in about February or March and then 
asked you about changing your mind and sending her to 
Riverside in the spring; now, Mrs. Arrington, do you know 
whether the court ruled that your child would be allowed 
to go to the Louisburg school or wouldn’t be allowed, do 
you know which way the Court ruled in the middle of 
the year at that hearing in Clinton or at the hearing here ? 
A. I really have forgot the exact words they said and I 
rather not try to explain that.

Q. Did the Judge say that he would allow your child 
into the Louisburg school or did he say that she wouldn’t 
be allowed to go to the Louisburg school? A. I think 
he said that he wouldn’t allow it.

—89—
Q. Did that discourage you or—

—Objection, by Mr. Yarborough.

Q. Were you pleased or sorry about that? A. I was 
sorry about that.

Q. And you say that since you have been here around 
the court that you have learned of many other intimida­
tions? A. Yes.

Deposition of Irene Arrington



473a

Q. And you also learned about such intimidations when 
you went to Clinton! A. Yes.

Q. Where there were other Negroes, when you went to 
Clinton! A. Yes,

Q. You talked to them and you learned about other in­
timidations! A. Yes.

Q. Learned that from people that were there in Clinton! 
A. Yes.

Redirect Examination by Mr. Chambers:

Q. Mrs. Arrington, what is your objection to freedom of 
choice as a plan for assigning pupils to schools! A. What 
is my objection!

Q. Yes. A. I really think that at the time when they start 
to school and it is put in the papers that we have freedom

—90—
of choice we are going to have intimidation. I just really 
am afraid, and that is my feeling, just afraid to.

Q. What kind of a plan would you like to see the Board 
install, would you like to see it set up on a traffic plan of 
assignment, that is, to go to the nearest school? A. I 
would like to see the School Board assume the respon­
sibility, that is what I would like, I would like for the 
Board to take that responsibility.

Q. You think that would take the pressure off the 
parents ?

Objection, by Mr. Yarborough, To the form.

Deposition of Irene Arrington

A. I do.
Q. This paper that I hand you is a copy of a letter you 

wrote, and which has already been marked as an exhibit 
in your deposition, is that right! A. That’s right, it is.



474a

Mr. Chambers: I wish to introduce in evidence as 
Plaintiffs Exhibit No. 1 in this deposition copy of 
the letter written by Mrs. Arrington, dated April 28, 
1966, which letter has already been identified as 
Defendants Exhibit No. 1, in this deposition, I wish 
it now identified as Plaintiffs Exhibit No. 1 in this 
deposition.

—91—
Q. Mrs. Arrington, did you sign a petition that was 

presented to the Franklin County Board of Education in 
1963 requesting the desegregation of the schools? A. I 
did.

Q. Back in 1963, then, you were attempting to get the. 
Franklin County Board of Education to desegregate the 
schools? A. That’s right.

Q. Did you attempt to get the Franklin Board of Educa­
tion to desegregate the schools of the County in 1964 and 
1965? A. I did.

Q. Was there a written request presented to the School 
Board requesting a change of administrator? A. Yes, and 
there was a lot of things, I guess about 12 or 13 things 
that were carried before the Board, asked them to con­
sider them.

Q. Was that presented in writing to the Board? A. It 
was a written request, yes.

Q. Now, you told about the shootings in June; have you 
heard of any incidents from that June until May of 1966? 
A. I wasn’t in them but I heard of threats and intimida­
tions.

—92—
Q. Did you hear of any in July of this year?

Objection, by Mr. Yarborough, To the form.

Deposition of Irene Arrington



475a

Deposition of Irene Arrington 

A. Some cross-burnings.
Q. You have heard of such incidents in July of 1966? 

A. I have.
Q. What were they? A. I heard of a lot of cross-burn­

ings which were published in the papers, and bombing 
of a church, and shooting, and all that stuff.

Further Redirect Examination by Mr. Schtvelb:

Q. Mrs. Arrington, going back to the incidents connected 
with St. Clarence Arrington, for just a moment, and the 
other man that you said came to see you and brought 
the message, told you that you had been threatened, did 
you believe him?

Objection, by Mr. Yarborough.

A. Yes, I did.
Q. You did believe it? A. Yes.
Q. And when that other person came and told you that 

you weren’t welcome over there you believed him?

Objection, by Mr. Tucker.

A. I did.
—93—

Q. Do you know James Cheek? A. Yes.
Q. Does he have a son that attended the Louisburg 

school? A. Yes.
Q. Did you ever hear of any incident occurring to Mr. 

James Cheek after his son had attended the school in 
Louisburg?

Objection, by Mr. Tucker.



476a

Deposition of Irene Arrington

A. Yes.
Q. What sort of an incident was that? A. I heard about 

oil being poured in his well.
Q. Do you know the Eeverend Mr. Dunston? A. Yes, 

I do.
Q. Do you know whether or not he applied to get his 

children into white schools? A. Yes, he did.
Q. Did you ever hear of any incident that happened to 

the Reverend Dunston after he did that? A. Yes.
Q. Do you know what that was ? A. Ido.
Q. What was it? A. Reverend Dunston had nails put 

in his driveway and he had a truck or a car to come to his 
yard and somebody in it hollered to his children to tell

—94—
h:im that he wouldn’t be living tomorrow, or something 
like that.

Q. Do you know the Reverend Plummer Alston? A. 
Yes.

Q. He is the pastor at the Redbud Church? A. That’s 
correct.

Q. Do you know what happened to his church in March 
of 1966? A. I do.

Q. What happened to it? A. It got bombed out, torn 
all to pieces.

Q. Can you think of any incidents that have happened 
since August of 1965 of that kind? A. I know that the 
Reverend Mr. Coppedge had a cross burned at his house, 
saw in the papers that he had crosses burned at his house, 
and I saw in the paper where a cross was burned on the 
Board of Education lawn. That’s all I can think of right 
now.

Q. You are not sure whether there were others or not, 
is that right?



477a

Objection, by Mr. Yarborough.

A. I didn’t know that there had been such a lot of them 
before I came up here this week.

Recross-Examination by Mr. Yarborough:
Q. In spite of those different things you knew about in

—95—
February or March of 1966 you still requested that your 
child, Norine, be assigned to the Louisburg school in Feb­
ruary or March of 1966, in the middle of the year! A. 
Yes, sir.

Q. You were even then willing, in spite of all the threats 
and in spite of what had been done to the Dunstons, and 
in spite of the threats made against you earlier, and in, 
spite of the threats that you had heard about from other 
people, threats and intimidation of other people, you were 
still willing then to put her in the Louisburg school? A. 
Yes.

Q. You still in February or March, and right in the 
middle of the year, requested that she go to the Louisburg 
school, be transferred there ? A. That’s right.

Q. And then in April you said you wanted her to go to 
Riverside? A. That’s right.

Q. Mrs. Arrington, something has been said here about 
a petition which was presented to the Board of Education 
at the time of the boycott, and I ask you if a list wasn’t 
made up at the committee meeting with the Board of 
Education and in their office, ask you if it wasn’t made up

—96—
there by Mr. McLean and others there in the office and if 
it wasn’t mimeographed there and distributed, the list of

Deposition of Irene Arrington



478a

12 demands or requests! A. I don’t remember about that, 
don’t remember that it was.

Q. Didn’t Mr. McLean do the writing for those meet­
ings and didn’t he preside in behalf of the colored people 
at those meetings as a rule? A. I don’t know, I don’t 
remember where that list was made up at.

Q. You would say, wouldn’t you, that those twelve de­
mands presented at the time of the boycott to the Board 
were resolved to the extent that the boycott was called off? 
A. Yes.

Q. Did you know that the Government through the Office 
of Health, Education and Welfare through their Office of 
Education has issued guidelines allowing desegregation 
over a period of three years, three years of freedom of 
choice over a three year period? A .  I have heard some­
thing about it.

Q. Starting the freedom of choice period in 1965-66 
school year, starting, rather, in 1964, 1965 and 1966? A. 
No, I didn’t know that.

Q. Did you know that the Franklin County Board of
— 97—

Education had adopted those guidelines and has even 
moved it up one year to complete freedom of choice in 
1966-67, did you know that? A. No, I didn’t know that.

Q. You did not know that freedom of choice in Franklin 
County right now is for all grades? A. No, I didn’t know 
that.

Q. Now, you have just been told here that the Judge has 
signed an Order to the effect that all colored parents 
in the Franklin County school system are to have another 
freedom of choice period starting within the next few 
days haven’t you? A. That’s whan I have been told, 
yes.

Deposition of Irene Arrington



479a

Q. Are you prepared now to say what schools you will 
pick for your children when that freedom of choice form 
comes to you! A. Riverside.

Q. You still expect to send them to Riverside school? A. 
Yes.

Q. You are going to send them to Riverside in spite 
of what Mr. Schwelb told you about the Order the Judge 
is signing? A. Yes, because I ’m afraid not to send them 
there.

Re-Redirect Examination by Mr. Schwelb:
Q. Mrs. Arrington, you said you did not know about 

the guidelines issued by the Health, Welfare and Educa­
tion Department covering desegregation over a period of

- 9 8 -
three years of freedom of choice; do you know what the 
court has said about immediate desegregation unless there 
were administrative difficulties?

Objection, by Mr. Tucker.

A. No, I didn’t know about that.
Q. Did you know that Mr. Smith testified at the last 

hearing in this case there were administrative difficulties 
requiring a slower pace of desegregation?

Objection, by Mr. Tucker.

A. No, I didn’t know that.
Q. Mrs. Arrington, Mr. Yarborough asked you just now 

if you knew about the Board of Education of Franklin 
County doing certain things with respect to desegregation 
of the schools in the County; I now show you a copy of

Deposition of Irene Arrington



480a

the Franklin Times for July 26,1966—this is a copy of the 
Franklin Times for that date, isn’t it? A. Yes, it is.

Q. Please read aloud the headlines on this article here 
in this issue of the Franklin Times, just read that headline, 
please.

Deposition of Irene Arrington

Objection, by Mr. Yarborough, “It speaks for it­
self.”

Q. Go ahead and read that headline out loud for the 
record, please. A. “HEW denies school plan approval.”

—99—

Be-Redirect Examination by Mr. Chambers:

Q. Mr. Schwelb told you a little while ago about the new 
freedom of choice plan which is coming out now; did you 
fully understand what he said about it? A. Not fully.

Q. Well, under the plan, as Mr. Schwelb told you, the 
Court is requesting that the litigants in this case, the 
attorneys representing the parties, all parents white and 
negro, cooperate to see if the freedom of choice plan will 
work, and you told him, I believe, that you would cooperate 
to the best of your ability to make it work, did you? A. 
Yes. And, if I may ask you a question, will the forms under 
this new freedom of choice plan be sent out to all white 
and negro parents?

Q. No, the Order requires that the forms will be sent 
only to the parents of Negro children in Franklin County 
during this new period of freedom of choice. A. All right.

Q. And I understand from you now that you will do all 
that you can to make the plan work? A. Yes, I will, but; 
I still would be afraid to send my children to the Louis- 
burg school, my child to the Louisburg High School.



481a

Deposition of Irene Arrington

— 100-

Q. I believe your answer to Mr. Yarborough with respect 
to sending your child during this new freedom of choice 
period to Riverside was based—

—Objection, by Mr. Yarborough.

Question Withdrawn.
Q. You answered Mr. Yarborough to the effect that you 

would again send your child to Riverside during this new 
period of freedom of choice! A. That’s right.

Q. Why will you send your child to Riverside! A. Be­
cause I would still be afraid.

Further Re-Bedirect Examination by Mr. Schwelb:

Q. Mrs. Arrington, after these depositions are over, af­
ter the hearing here, if you get a chance to do so will you 
agree to consider very carefully that decision, after talking 
with the lawyers informerly about what the Court Order 
says! A. I will.

Q. You will think the matter over very carefully before 
you decide, not decide quickly! A. I will.

Re-Recross Examination by Mr. Yarborough:

Q. Mrs. Arrington, you were not afraid to pick the
— 101—

Louisburg school as late as last February or March, were 
you! A. I was afraid then but I had already asked for 
it and they rejected it, and if it was still that I would still 
carry it out the best I could.

Q. You say you were afraid! A. Yes, I was afraid, 
but I was going to do it.



482a

Q. The government lawyer Mr. Fink was there then, 
wasn’t he, when yon made that decision? A. Yes. I made 
that on my own.

Q. When yon made that decision in the courthouse he 
was right there and you all signed those things while he 
was there, didn’t you? A. Yes, we did.

Further Re-Redirect Examination by Mr. Schwelb :

Q. Mrs. Arrington, did Mr. Fink make you do anything?

Objection, by Mr. Yarborough, To the form.

A. No, sir.
Q. Did Mr. Fink put any pressure on you? A. No.

Further Re-Redirect Examination by Mr. Chambers:

Q. Now, Mrs Arrington, when you were advised back in 
February or March by Mr. Fink and the others, as to 
your decision then as to where you wanted your child

— 102—

to go to school, whether you wanted to have her trans­
ferred in the middle of the school year, were you told 
by Mr. Fink or any of them that it would be under pro­
tection of an Order of the Court? A. No, I wasn’t.

Mr. Schwelb : Mrs. Arrington, we are advising you 
now that this new freedom of choice plan will be 
under the protective Order of the Court.

Mrs. Arrington: All right.
(Witness Excused)

Deposition of Irene Arrington



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