A United States Court of Appeals was requested to order the Dallas School Board to stop its stalling…

    -PRESS RELEASE ®@ @ 

NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND 
10 COLUMBUS CIRCLE + NEW YORK 19,N.Y. © JUdson 6-8397 

DR. ALLAN KNIGHT CHALMERS oe THURGOOD MARSHALL 
President Director-Counsel 

January 14, 1960 

Dallas, Texas.--A United States Court of Appeals was requested 

to order the Dallas School Board to stop its stalling and submit a 

plan for the desegregation of its public schools in time for Negro 

children to be enrolled in integrated classes at the beginning of the 

September 1960 term. 

The request was made in a brief filed with the Fifth Circvit 

Court of Appeals in New Orleans on Monday by attorneys for the NAACP 

Legal Defense and Educational Fund in behalf of Negro public school 

children of the City. It is the fourth time the Dallas School Case 

has been brought up to the appellate court in 4% years. 

The district court on April 16, 1958, entered a “final judgment" 

which restrained and enjoined the school board from requiring and per- 

mitting segregation of the races in any school under its supervision. 

The school authorities on July 27, 1959, contended that while 

they have done their best to comply with the state and federal laws, 

it is physically impracticable to desegregate immediately due to a 

state law which provides for the withdrawal of state funds from any 

school district which desegregates without voter approval in a local 

referendum. 

However, at a hearing held July 30, 1959, attorneys for the Negro 

children, despite the court ruling restraining the school authorities 

from permitting segregation, modified their demand for immediate 

desegregation and asked that the school board merely submit "a plan 

for desegregation within a reasonable time which would provide for 

desegregation beginning September 1960." 

The school board, instead of complying, has used every stalling 

method and finally offered to initiate the referendum which calls 

for local voters' approval. 

On August 4 the district court agreed with the school board's 

contentions that its actions constituted good faith in implementing 

all constitutional principles, that more time should elapse before a 



aoe 

definite date for desegregation be set, and that the local referendum 

calling for voters' approval should be invoked. 

In the brief filed in behalf of the Negro children, Legal Defense 

attorneys argue that the district court erred in its decision and 

asked the Court of Appeals to reverse the decision and to instruct 

the district court to order the Dallas school authorities to submit 

a plan for desegregation which would provide for desegregation begin- 

ning September, 1960. 

Attorneys for the Negro children are Thurgood Marshall of New 

York, W. J. Durham and C. B. Bunkley, Jr. of Dallas, Texas. Assistinc 

in the preparation of the brief is Elwood H. Chisolm of New York. 

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