Memorandum of the United States

    @ 

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS 
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT 

  

Nos. 28030 and 28042 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 

Appellee 

Yo. 

KEMPER COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD, 

Appellants 

  

MEMORANDUM OF THE UNITED STATES 
  

Pursuant to the invitation of this Court the 

United States submits the following observations with 

respect to the Findings of Fact and Recommendations 

of the United States District Court in the above styled 

action. 

FACTS 

In Kemper County there are five schools located 
1/ 

in three communities. Judge Russell found (p. 9) = that: 

The county, school wise, is divided 

into three natural geographical zones, 

Lynville being in the center of the 

northwest portion, DeKalb and Whisenton 

being in the middle zone, and Scooba 

and Spencer in an eastern zone. 

  

1/ Page references are to Judge Russell's Findings of 

Fact and Recommendations of February 27, 1970.  



Seventy two percent of the 2,900 students in 

Kemper County are Negroes (pp. 4 and 8). There is no 

residential segregation by race in the county (p. 8), 

so that no matter what grade organization or zone lines 

are used, any plan which assigns every child who resides 

in the same part of the county to the same school, 

according to his grade, will result in a majority black 

student body in every school (p. 10). Under these 

conditions white students tend to withdraw from the 

public school system (p. 10), and over 700 of the 800 

white students in Kemper County have dropped out of the 

public schools (pp. 2 and 5). 

DISCUSSION 
  

Four different plans have been employed or 

‘recommended for Kemper County. Each plan has recognized 

the "three natural geographical zones" found by Judge 

Russell. The various plans have differed somewhat with 

respect to the size of each zone, the grade structure 

to be employed at each school, the method of assigning 

students between two schools in the same zone and the 

selection of students to be transported out of the 

zones, but every plan has used the three zones.  



To assist the Court we have summarized each plan 

as 1t relates to the initial assignments contemplated 

for each zone and compared it with the assignments 

under the former dual system. It should be noted that 

-the present court ordered plan, the school board's 

proposed plan and Judge Russell's recommendations each 

include some transfers and exchanges of classes which 

would bring about more integration than the initial 

ass ignaonts. 

Lynville Zone 
  

There is only one school in this zone: 
Lynville (formerly white), cemszcity 360 

White Black 
Plan Grades Students Students 

    

Former dual system 1-8 Lynville Whisenton 
9-12 DeKalb Whisenton 

" HEW plan | 1-9 | Lynville Lynville 
10-12 DeKalb DeKalb 

Present Plan 1-8 Lynville Lynville 
9-12 DeKalb DeKalb 

Board's proposal 1-8 Lynville Whisenton 
an (except enough 

students would 
be assigned to 
Lynville to mak 
up 1/3 of the 
student body.) 

9 DeKalb Whisenton 
10 DeKalb DeKalb 
11-12 DeKalb Whisenton 

Judge Russell's (Same as Board's proposal) 
recommendation 

“3 -  



Scooba Zone 
  

There are two schools in this zone, located 
approximately one mile apart. They are: 

Scooba (formerly white), capacity 270 
Spencer (formerly Negro), capacity 720 

White Black 

Plan Grades Students Students 
    

Former dual system 1-8 Scooba Spencer 
9-12 DeKalb Spencer 

HEW plan 1-7 Spencer Spencer 

8-9 Scooba Scooba 
10-12 DeKalb DeKalb 

Present Plan 1-8 Scooba Spencer (except 
89 students 
assigned to 
Scooba.) 

DeKalb Spencer 

Board's proposal Scooba Spencer (except 
enough students 

would be assigns 
to Scooba to maj 
up 1/3 of the 
student body.) 

DeKalb Spencer 

Judge Russell's (Same as Board's proposal) 
recommendation Spencer Spencer 

 



DeKalb Zone 
  

approximately one mile apart. 

Plan 

Former dual system 1-12 

HEW plan 

There are two schools in this zone, located 
They are: 

DeKalb (formerly white), capacity 660 
Whisenton (formerly Negro) capacity 1380 

White 
Students 

Black 

Grades Students 
    

DeKalb Whisenton 

1-9 Whisenton Whisenton 

Present Plan 

Board's proposal 

Judge Russell's 
recommendation 

10-12 

1-8 
9-12 

1-9 
10 
11-12 

DeKalb 

Whisenton 

DeKalb 

DeKalb 

DeKalb 
DeKalb 

(Same as Board's proposal) 

DeKalb 

Whisenton 

DeKalb 

Whisenton 
DeKalb 
Whisenton 

shortcomings of the HEW plan. 

The school board has pointed out some ligitimate 

For example, as Judge 

Russell found (p. 9), the DeKalb school has insufficient 

sclence and other facilities to accommodate all high 

school students in the district. This is precisely 

the type of problem anticipated by our motion last 

August seeking further HEW review of the plans. 

The District Court's recommendations are designed 

to amend the plan for the present school year so as to 

attract the absent white students back into the public 

We appreciate the need to develop school system (p. 11). 

the widest possible support for the public schools and 

a  



the problem this school board faces. The difficulty 

here is that each of the plans, except the HEW plan, 

uses race as a criterion for student assignments in 

one or more zones and tends to continue the dual 

organization. 

For example the plan recommended by Judge Russell 

only treats white and black students alike in the 10th 

grade in the DeKalb and Lynville zones and in the high 

school Shades (9-12) in the Scooba zone. Otherwise 

the dual system is re-established, except that some 

Negro students are assigned tn the white elementary 

schools in Lynville and Zeoote on a quota basis and 

some classes are exchanged part time in DeKalb and 

Scooba. Under the plan Negro students who live in 

Lynville and who are presently attending the Lynville 

School would be reassigned and transported out of the 

Lynville zone to the all black Whisenton School. In 

DeKalb only 10th grade black students would be permitted 

to enroll full time in the formerly white school. In 

Scooba some Negro students attending the white school 

under the Court's present quota would have to be 

reassigned to the Negro school, unless the white 

enrollment at Scooba doubles.  



Since there are practical problems with the 

HEW plan and constitutional problems with the presently 

avallable alternatives, it is respectfully suggested 

that this Court again seek the assistance of the Office 

of Education of the Department of Health, Education 

and Welfare to work further with the school board and 

its biracial committee in an effort to devise a 

satisfactory plan for Kemper County. 

Respectfully submitted, 

ROBERT E. HAUBERG JERRIS LEONARD 
United States Attorney Assistant Attorney General 

Civil Rights Division 

FRANK M. DUNBAUGH 
BRIAN K. LANDSBERG 
EDWARD CHRISTENBURY 
Attorneys 
Department of Justice 
Washington, D. C. 20530 

  

 



CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 
  

I hereby certify that on this date I served 

copies of the foregoing Memorandum of the United 

States upon all parties by serving copies thereof 

upon the following attorneys: 

Mr. Thomas H. Watkins, Esquire 
P.O. Box 650 
Jackson, Mississippi 39205 

Miss Helen McDade, Esquire 
P.O. Box 112 
DeKalb, Mississippi 

Mr. Melvyn R. Leventhal, Esquire 
538 1/2 North Farish Street 
Jackson, Mississippi 39202 

Mr. Norman Amaker, Esquire 
10 Columbus Circle, Suit 2030 
New York, New York 10019 

Cd 
FRANK M. DUNBAUGH 
Attorney 
Civil Rights Division 
Department of Justice 
Washington, D.C. 20530