Statement by William T. Coleman, Jr. Re: Austin School Desegregation Suit
Press Release
August 4, 1971

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Press Releases, Volume 6. Statement by William T. Coleman, Jr. Re: Austin School Desegregation Suit, 1971. 443ac3ac-ba92-ee11-be37-00224827e97b. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/71889a5a-b5da-49df-934e-79b54880115d/statement-by-william-t-coleman-jr-re-austin-school-desegregation-suit. Accessed July 20, 2025.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AUGUST 4, 1971 STATEMENT BY WILLIAM 1’. COLEMAN, JR. PRESIDENT OF THE NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND, INC. RE: AUSTIN SCHOOL DESEGREGATION SUIT NEW YORK, N.Y. --- I have requested the staff of the Legal Defense Fund to take steps to see that the constitutional rights of Negro children are protected in the Austin, Texas desegregation case. When the Supreme Court last term in the Charlotte case held that school districts must integrate completely, even if that requires busing, the President of the United States announced that was the law of the land and would be enforced by him. Following that, the Department of Health, Education and Welfare submitted a complete desegregation plan for Austin. After that plan was rejected by the U.S. District Court, the Department of Justice announced yesterday that it would appeal. We had at the appeal would seek to implement the administration's own HEW plan. Apparently, however, political "southern strategy" considerations immediately took over. And now the administration announces that it is opposed to the plan which it submitted to the courts pursuant to the Supreme Court decision. In view of the fact that as a result of the change in the administration's position only the Legal Defense Fund represents the rights of black children in Austin, Texas, we will be doing whatever is appropriate to see that those rights are preserved. ACP 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-Counse