Greenberg's Review of School Desegregation Cases
Press Release
January 7, 1974

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Press Releases, Volume 6. Greenberg's Review of School Desegregation Cases, 1974. a5cf60dd-ba92-ee11-be37-00224827e97b. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/682421e9-fbfd-486d-8586-367d3eed20a2/greenbergs-review-of-school-desegregation-cases. Accessed April 29, 2025.
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: 23] - PressRelease B ae ae <a FROM: The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund 10 Columbus Circle New York, New York 10019 (212) 586-8397 Contact: Norman Bloomfield RELEASE AT WILL NEW YORK, N.Y. - School desegregation forces chalked up modest gains in 1973 throughout most parts of the South and in some Northern communities despite the busing controversy and sustained attempts to hinder or negate the law, it was reported { today by Jack Greenberg, Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal i Defense and Educational Fund. Reviewing a year of the organization's accomplishments, Mr. Greenberg noted that six Southern states are now in full or nearly full compliance with the Constitution in respect to school desegregation, and that many rural systems in South Carolina, ] Louisiana and Tennessee have become completely unitary. In Mississippi, he said, an increasing number of white students are returning to the schools they abandoned after the 1968-69 integration orders. But, he added, these salutary developments must be seen in a context of demographic movement which, in Many areas, tends toward segregation and certain second generation school desegrega- tion problems, such as teacher discrimination and arbitrary discipline against black students. These trends are reflected in major court decisions made | in suits brought by the Legal Defense Fund during 1973: | * The Supreme Court in the Denver school case held that specific acts of segregation need not be shown at every school. (more) | NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc. | 10 Columbus Circle | New York, N.Y. 10019 | (212) 586-8397 William T. Coleman, Jr. - President Jack Greenberg - Director-Counsel Rather, the Court suggested that if a substantial number of schools were segregated by official action, then presumably the entire District was illegally segregated -- unless the School District or Board could prove otherwise. The Denver decision opens the door for litigation against school systems in the North and West by making big city litigation manageable. * A successful action against HEW set a series of deadlines for the Government to start enforcing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which directs Federal agencies to act against discrimination in programs receiving Federal aid. An attempt to consolidate Richmond's public schools with two predominantly white school districts in adjoining suburban counties failed when the U.S. Supreme Court, by a four-to-four vote, upheld the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals opinion. Another Supreme Court case is pending on a Detroit urban-suburban case in which LDF and other attorneys represent plaintiffs. Among the 150 school cases handled by the Fund in 1973 were a number of second generation lawsuits -- including cases concerned with discriminatory firings of black teachers and the illegal suspension or expulsion of black students attending desegregated school systems. Commenting on recent developments in these areas, Mr. Greenberg observed that there were fewer incidents during the past year involving firings and more problems related to discriminatory hiring patterns. Student pushouts, which have deprived thousands of black children of an education, also appear to be declining in communities where desegregated systems have functioned for more than two years. (more) Reports filtering in from the Fund's 400 cooperating attorneys, in addition, indicate that continued gasoline shortages may adversely affect school desegregation programs where busing exists. In Memphis, where the busing issue already has been litigated, the District Court and the Court of Appeals have held that gasoline may not be withheld to thwart desegregation. Employment Discrimination During 1973, the Iegal Defense Fund expanded its litigation program in employment discrimination, thereby helping create new employment conditions and job opportunities for thousands of minority workers. Among the more than 200 employment cases on the Fund's docket were King v. Georgia Power Co., which dealt in part with discriminatory employment tests, and a series of three interrelated lawsuits in Birmingham, Ala. against U.S. Steel, three local steelworkers' unions and the United Steelworkers of America. The Fund's lawyers suggest that the ripple effect of the Birmingham cases -- combined with LDF's lawsuits against other major steel companies -- may help improve employment policies throughout the industry. The steel cases outlawed "separate lines" of progression in seniority systems and provided $201,000 in back pay for 61 black workers to compensate for discriminatory employment practices. Remarking on the industry's recent negotiations to develop a voluntary plan, ostensibly directed toward ending racial bias in employment, Mr. Greenberg stressed: "Until an effective and (more) credible back pay doctrine is in effect, discriminatory practices will remain widespread throughout the industry." He also noted that the Legal Defense Fund is developing a major litigation program to enforce equal employment opportunities in municipal, state and federal civil service agencies. In New York alone suits are pending against the Narcotics Addiction Control Commission, the State Correction Authority, the Human Resources Administration, New York City's Police and Fire Departments, the New York City Transit Authority and the Long Island Railroad. The public employment program will be strengthened in the coming year. Capital Punishment and Prison Reform As 1973 drew to a close, 44 individuals were on death row in eight states. Their cases are now at various stages of appeal, with Legal Defense Fund lawyers providing assistance and heavily committed to a new and massive round of litigation. The defendants were convicted and sentenced subsequent to a U.S. Supreme Court decision handed down eighteen months ago. In that decision, arising out of LDF cases, the Court held that the death penalty is unconstitutional when the sentencing authority is free to decide between death and sme lesser penalty. This was termed, "cruel and unusual punishment." Since that time 21 states have reinstituted capital punishment statutes, assuming that the statutes could meet consti- tutional requirements by imposing objective standards, or by making the death penalty mandatory for certain crimes. Some state courts also meted out death sentences under old statutes -- after removing jury discretion. (more) The Legal Defense Fund plans to challenge all death penalties arising out of new state laws -- as well as all convic- tions arising out of older statutes. The Fund's prison program, which prior to 1972 was handicapped by a "hands-off" doctrine imposed by the Courts (an LDF case in the Supreme Court ended that doctrine), last year was able to conduct major cases involving: discriplinary procedures, denial of parole without reason, racial and religious discrimination, decrepit facilities and inadequate medical care, voting rights, press access to prisons, censorship of mail and reading material. Among the 65 prison cases conducted by LDF in 1973 were: A class action case on behalf of all California prisoners which challenged censorship of prisoners' mail and restrictions on law student and paraprofessional assistance to prisoners. The three-judge Court held the regulations unconstitu- tional, and the case has been appealed and argued in the U.S. Supreme Court. * A Boston case in which the Judge ordered State correction officials to replace a 125-year-old jail, reduce the number of inmates and improve food, hygiene, visitation rights and recreation opportunities. Following a Court directive to reduce the number of state prisoners, improve facilities and provide better medical care, Florida's Corrections Director ordered the entire prison system not to admit any new prisoners from local jails until conditions were improved. A class action suit in Rhode Island challenged interstate transfers of prisoners without their consent. The (more) District Court held that such prisoners had been denied due process safeguards, and ordered that they be returned to Rhode Island. This decision was affirmed at the end of December, 1973. A class action case instituted by inmates of the Reidsville State Prison in Georgia on behalf of 1,400 prisoners charging, in part, discriminatory treatment based on race, degrading and inhuman living conditions, capricious administration of punishment, and lack of desegregated prison staff. Other Aspects of LDF's Program The Legal Defense Fund, long termed the legal arm of the civil rights movement, engaged in about 50 fair housing cases during 1973 -- including a California case in which a realtor agreed to spend $20,000 a year for advertising in minority media. The agency also is arguing a series of cases to generate a substantial program in juvenile law. It is concerned about conditions of incarceration in children's institutions and the legal rights of children who are caught up in juvenile courts, often without legal aid. It is, in addition, attempting to limit and define the categories where children can be jailed. Note to Editor: The Legal Defense Fund is a completely separate organization even though we were established by the NAACP and those initials are retained in our name. Our correct designation is NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., frequently shortened to LDF.