Traynham v. County School Board of Halifax County, Virginia Appendix

    APPENDIX

United States Court of Appeals
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 13626

BRENDA LEE TRAYNHAM, etc., et al.,
Appellees,

v.

COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD OF HALIFAX 
COUNTY, VIRGINIA, et al.,

Appellants.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the 
Western District of Virginia, Danville Division

F rederick T. Gray
Williams, Mullen & Christian 
510 United Virginia Bank Building 
Richmond, Virginia 23219

D on P. Bagwell 
Halifax, Virginia

Counsel for Appellants



TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page

Complaint ............................. -..............................................................  1

Plaintiffs’ Interrogatories .................................................................  6

Defendant’s (Committee for Control) Motion to Dismiss and 
Notice ........................................................ - ................................... 7

Defendant’s (School Board of the County of Halifax) Motion to 
Dismiss and Notice .....................................................................  9

Answer of Committee for Control .....................................................  11

Answer of County School Board ................. .................................... 15

Answer to Interrogatories...................................................................  21

Order Dated April 5, 1969 ........................................... ................... 21

Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law .....................................  23

Defendant’s Report With Exhibit “A ” .............................................  33

Notice of Appeal .... ..........................................................................  34

Order Dated May 6, 1969 ....... .............................. ...... ...................  35

Report of Additional Details Concerning Plan of Integration .... 36

Order Dated June 5, 1969...................................................................  38

Defendant’s Motion to Amend Judgment .......................................  40

Docket E ntries.....................................................................................  40

Transcript of Hearing, April 5, 1969 ...............................................  44



COMPLAINT

1. (a) Jurisdiction of this Court is invoked under Title 
28, United States Code Section 1331. This action arises 
under the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of 
the United States, Section 1, and under Title 42, United 
States Code, Section 1981, as hereafter more fully appears. 
The matter in controversy, exclusive of interest and costs, 
exceeds the sum of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00).

(b) Jurisdiction is further invoked under Title 28, 
United States Code, Section 1343(3). This action is au­
thorized by Title 42, United States Code, Section 1983 to 
be commenced by any citizen of the United States or other 
person within the jurisdiction thereof to redress the dep­
rivation under color of state law, statute, ordinance, regu­
lation, custom or usage of rights, privileges and immu­
nities secured by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Consti­
tution of the United States and by Title 42, United States 
Code, Section 1981, providing for the equal rights of citizens 
and of all persons within the jurisdiction of the United 
States, as hereafter more fully appears.

2. Infant plaintiffs are Negroes, and are citizens of the 
United States and of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Dale 
C. Holbrook, James W. Faulkner, Curry R. Nealous, Jr., 
Gregory Green and Sharon Green are residents of and 
domiciled in the City of South Boston. All others of the 
infant plaintiffs are residents of and domiciled in the County 
of Halifax. Said infants are within the age limits or will 
be within the age limits to attend, and possess or upon reach­
ing such age limit will possess all qualifications and satisfy 
all requirements for admission to, public schools.

3. Adult plaintiffs are Negroes and are citizens of the 
United States. They are residents and taxpayers of and



A p p .2

domiciled in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Elsie T. Chap­
pell, Dollie F. Nealous and Lucretia Green are residents 
of the City of South Boston. All others of the adult plain­
tiffs are residents of the County of Halifax. Each adult 
plaintiff who is named in the caption as next friend of one 
or more of the infant plaintiffs is a parent, guardian or 
person standing in loco parentis of the infant or infants 
indicated.

4. The infant plaintiffs and their parents, guardians and 
persons standing in loco parentis bring this action in their 
own behalf and, there being common questions of law and 
fact affecting the rights of all other Negro children at­
tending public schools in the said county; similarly situated 
and affected with reference to the matters here involved, 
who are so numerous as to make it impracticable to bring 
all before the Court, and a common relief being sought as 
will hereinafter more fully appear, the infant plaintiffs and 
their parents, guardians and persons standing in loco 
parentis also bring this action, pursuant to Rule 23(b)(2) 
and (3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, as a class 
action on behalf of all other Negro children attending or 
who hereafter will attend public schools in said political 
subdivision and the parents and guardians of such children 
similarly situated and affected with reference to the matters 
here involved. The interests of said class are adequately 
represented by the plaintiffs.

5. The adult plaintiffs bring this action pursuant to 
Rule 23(b)(2) and (3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Pro­
cedure as a class action on behalf of those of the citizens 
and taxpayers of said political subdivision who are Negroes; 
the tax raised contribution of persons of that class toward 
the establishment, and operation and maintenance of the 
schools controlled by the defendant school board being in



A p p .3

excess of $10,000.00. The interests of said class are ade­
quately represented by the plaintiffs.

6. The defendant school boards exist pursuant to the 
Constitution and laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia 
as administrative departments of the Commonwealth, dis­
charging governmental functions, and are declared by law 
to be bodies corporate. Each of said school boards is em­
powered and required to establish, maintain, control and 
supervise an efficient system of public free schools in its 
respective political subdivision, to provide suitable and 
proper school buildings, furniture and equipment, and to 
maintain, manage and control the same, to determine the 
studies to be pursued and the methods of teaching, to make 
local regulations for the conduct of the schools and for 
the proper discipline of students, to employ teachers, to 
provide for the transportation of pupils, to enforce the 
school laws, and to perform numerous other duties, activ­
ities and functions essential to the establishment, main­
tenance and operation of the public free schools in its 
respective political subdivision. (Constitution of Virginia, 
Article IX, Section 133; Code of Virginia, 1950, as 
amended, Title 22.) The names of the individual members 
of each of the defendant school boards are as stated in 
the caption and they are made defendants herein in their 
individual capacities.

7. Through a committee known as the “Committee for 
Control of the Halifax County High School and the 
Mary Bethune High School” consisting of members of 
both of the defendant school boards, the defendants jointly 
operate and control the said high schools as the public high 
schools for both political subdivisions.

8. The defendant Division Superintendent of Schools, 
whose name as such is stated in the caption, holds office



App. 4

pursuant to the Constitution and laws of the Common­
wealth of Virginia as an administrative officer of the public 
free school system of Virginia. (Constitution of Virginia, 
Article IX, Section 133; Code of Virginia, 1950, as 
amended, Title 22.) He is under the authority, supervision 
and control of, and acts pursuant to the orders, policies, 
practices, customs and usages of the defendant school 
boards. He is made a defendant herein in his official capacity 
as Superintendent of Schools for Halifax County and in 
his official capacity as Superintendent of Schools for the 
City of South Boston.

9. Prior to 1954, defendant school boards and each of 
them established and operated a bi-racial school system; 
racial segregation having been required by Section 140 of 
the Constitution of Virginia and statutes enacted pursuant 
thereto.

10. Racial discrimination in said school systems yet pre­
vails. The defendants have failed and refused and continue 
to fail and refuse to adopt and execute a plan that promises 
realistically and promptly to convert said public school 
systems or either of them to a unitary non-racial system or 
systems. In at least one school in each system they yet 
maintain indicia of a school specially set apart for Negro 
children.

11. In or about the year 1964, petitions signed by several 
persons similarly situated and conditioned as are the plain­
tiffs with respect to race, citizenship, residence and status 
as taxpayers, were filed with the defendant County School 
Board of Halifax County, urging it to adopt and publish 
a plan by which racial discrimination will be terminated 
with respect to administrative personnel, teachers, clerical, 
custodial and other employees, transportation and other



facilities, and the assignment of pupils to schools and 
classrooms.

12. Representatives of the plaintiff class forwarded said 
petitions to the defendant County School Board of Halifax 
County with a letter, copy of which was sent to each member 
of the defendant School Board, part of which is next set 
forth:

“* * * In the light of the following and other Court 
decisions, your duty is no longer open to question:

BrownVi Bd. of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954) 
Brown v. Bd. of Education, 349 U.S. 294 (1955) 
Cooper v. Aaron, 358 U.S. 1 (1958)
Bradley v. School Bd. of the City of Richmond, 317 

F. 2d 429 (4th Cir. 1963)
Bell v. Co. School Bd. of Powhatan Co., 321 F. 2d 

494 (4th Cir. 1963)
“We call to your attention the fact that in the last cited 
case the unyielding refusal of the County School Board 
of Powhatan County, Virginia, to take any initiative 
with regard to its duty to desegregate schools resulted 
in the board’s being required to pay costs of litigation 
including compensation to the attorneys for the Negro 
school children and their parents. We are advised that 
upon a showing of a deliberate refusal of individual 
school board members to perform their clear duty to 
desegregate schools, the courts may require them as 
individuals to bear the expense of the litigation.
“In the case of Watson v. City of Memphis, 373 U.S. 
526 (1963) the Supreme Court of the United States 
expressed its unanimous dissatisfaction with the sloth­
fulness which has followed its 1955 mandate in Brown 
v. Board of Education, saying: The basic guaranties

App. 5



App. 6

of our Constitution are warrants for the here and now 
and, unless there is an overwhelmingly compelling rea­
son, they are to be promptly fulfilled.’ ”

W herefore, plaintiffs respectfully p ray :

A. That the defendants be restrained and enjoined from 
failing and refusing to adopt and forthwith implement a 
plan which will provide for the prompt and efficient elimina­
tion of racial segregation in the public schools operated by 
the defendant school boards or by either of them or by any 
committee composed of members of either board, including 
the elimination of any and all forms of racial discrimina­
tion with respect to administrative personnel, teachers, 
clerical, custodial and other employees, transportation and 
other facilities, and the assignment of pupils to schools 
and classrooms.

B. That the defendants pay the costs of this action in­
cluding fees for the plaintiffs’ attorneys in such amount as 
to the Court may appear reasonable and proper and that 
the plaintiffs have such other and further relief as may be 
just.

INTERROGATORIES

Plaintiffs request that the defendant County School 
Board of Halifax County by Udy C. Wood Division Super­
intendent of Schools for the County of Halifax, answer 
under oath in accordance with Rule 33, Federal Rules of 
Civil Procedure, the following interrogatories:

1. Give the number of white pupils and the number of 
Negro pupils presently enrolled in each school.

2. State the number of white teachers and the number 
of Negro teachers presently employed at each school.



App. 7

3. Furnish a map or maps showing the location of each 
school and the routes of school buses serving such school.

4. Give the capacity of and grades served by each school
5. State with respect to any new school construction 

which is now contemplated:

a. Location of contemplated school or addition;
b. Size of school, present and proposed number of class­

rooms, grades to be served, and projected capacity;
c. Estimated date of completion and occupancy;

d. Number of Negro pupils and number of white pupils 
attending grades to be served by such school who reside in 
existing or projected attendance area for such school.

P lease T ake N otice that a copy of such answers must 
be served upon the undersigned within fifteen ( 15) days 
after service.

MOTION TO DISMISS AND NOTICE OF MOTION 

Motion to Dismiss

The defendants, the Committee for Control of the Hali­
fax County High School and the Mary Bethune High 
School, and the individual members thereof move the Court:

1. To dismiss the action as to them because the com­
plaint fails to state a claim against these defendants upon 
which relief may be granted.

2. While denying the allegations of the complaint, to dis­
miss the action because the action attempts to assert a class 
action against these defendants when by Federal Statutes 
the right and enforcement of such rights of the class re­
ferred to have been placed in the exclusive jurisdiction of



App. 8

a Federal Agency and/or Agencies, which said Agency 
and/or Agencies have and/or are acting for the protection 
and enforcement of any rights which exist; that further 
the plaintiffs have not exhausted their administrative pro­
cedures to protect and/or enforce such rights, if any exist.

3. To dismiss the action as to them because the defend­
ant, the Committee for Control, is a separate and distinct 
entity from the other defendants with separate and distinct 
duties from the other defendants, and the complaint is thus 
multifarious.

4. To dismiss the action on account of the following 
facts:

a. These defendants operate separate schools from the 
other defendants.

b. That pursuant to law these defendants have co­
operated with the United States Department of Health, 
Education and Welfare, Region III, an Agency of the 
United States charged by law with the responsibility of en­
forcing and protecting the right of the alleged plaintiffs, for 
the formulation of a plan which would protect and fully 
guarantee the constitutional rights of all of the citizens 
within its jurisdiction, including all infant Negroes and 
their parents; that an acceptable plan has been adopted by 
said Committee which has been approved by the aforesaid 
United States Department of Health, Education and Wel­
fare.

c. That the aforesaid plan is fair, just and in compliance 
with law, and the complaint charges no violation of the said 
plan.

Please take notice that on January 13, 1969, at 10:30 
A.M., or as soon thereafter as counsel may be heard, at the



App. 9

Courtroom of the United States District Court, Lynchburg, 
Virginia, the undersigned will move the Court as set out 
above in the aforesaid motion to dismiss.

Certificate

This is to certify that the original of the foregoing motion 
to dismiss was mailed to the Clerk of this Court in Dan­
ville for filing and that true copies were mailed to counsel 
for the plaintiffs and counsel for the co-defendants at their 
last known addresses by regular United States mail, postage 
prepaid, on this 13th day of December, 1968.

D on  P . Bagwell

MOTION TO DISMISS AND NOTICE OF MOTION 

Motion to Dismiss

The defendants, the School Board of the County of 
Halifax, and the individual members thereof, and Udy C. 
Wood, as Superintendent of Schools of the County of Hali­
fax, move the Court:

1. To dismiss the action as to them because the complaint 
fails to state a claim against these defendants upon which 
relief may be granted.

2. While denying the allegations of the complaint, to dis­
miss the action because the action attempts to assert a class 
action against these defendants when by Federal Statutes 
the right and enforcement of such rights of the class re­
ferred to have been placed in the exclusive jurisdiction of a 
Federal Agency and/or Agencies, which said Agency 
and/or Agencies have and/or acting for the protection and 
enforcement of any rights which exist; that further the 
plaintiffs have not exhausted their administrative pro­
cedures to protect and/or enforce such rights, if any exist.



App. 10

3. To dismiss the action as to them because the de­
fendant, the School Board of the County of Halifax, is a 
separate and distinct entity from the other defendants with 
separate and distinct duties to separate and distinct citi­
zens, from the other defendants, and the complaint is thus 
multifarious.

4. To dismiss the action on account of the following 
facts:

a. These defendants operate a separate and distinct 
school district from the other defendants.

b. That pursuant to law these defendants have co­
operated with the United States Department of Health, 
Education and Welfare, Region III, and Agency of the 
United States charged by law with the responsibility of en­
forcing and protecting the right of the alleged plaintiffs, for 
the formulation of a plan which would protect and fully 
guarantee the constitutional rights of all the citizens within 
its jurisdiction, including all infant Negroes and their 
parents; that an acceptable plan has been adopted by the 
School Board of the County of Halifax which has been ap­
proved by the aforesaid United States Department of 
Health, Education and Welfare.

c. That the aforesaid plan is fair, just and in compliance 
with law, and the complaint charges no violation of the said 
plan.

Conclusion

W herefore, these defendants move the Court to dismiss 
this action as to them for each of the foregoing reasons.

Please take notice that on January 13, 1969 at 10:30 
A.M., or as soon thereafter as counsel may be heard, at the



App, 11

Courtroom of the United States District Court, Lynch­
burg, Virginia, the undersigned will move the Court as set 
out above in the aforesaid motion to dismiss.

Certificate

This is to certify that the original of the foregoing mo­
tion to dismiss was mailed to the Clerk of this Court in 
Danville for filing and that true copies were mailed to coun­
sel for the plaintiffs and counsel for the co-defendants at 
their last known addresses by regular United States mail, 
postage prepaid, on this 13th day of December, 1968.

ANSWER OF COMMITTEE FOR CONTROL OF THE
HALIFAX COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL AND THE MARY
BETHUNE HIGH SCHOOL AND THE INDIVIDUAL 

MEMBERS THEREOF, AS SUCH

The undersigned defendants for Answer to the Complaint 
exhibited against them say as follows :

1. These defendants deny that the amount in contro­
versy herein exceeds the sum of Ten Thousand Dollars 
($10,000.00) as alleged in paragraph 1(a) of the Com­
plaint.

2. These defendants deny that this Court has jurisdic­
tion under Title 28, United States Code, Section 1331 or 
Title 28, United States Code, Section 1343 (3) or Title 42, 
United States Code, Sections 1981 or 1983 to grant any 
of the relief prayed for in the Complaint.

3. The allegations of paragraphs 2 and 3 of the Com­
plaint are neither admitted or denied.

4. These defendants specifically deny that there are ques­
tions of law and fact affecting the rights of all other Negro 
children attending public schools in the said county and call



App. 12

for strict proof thereof and of the statement that it is im­
practicable to bring all before the Court who desire the 
relief being sought. Defendants further allege, as will more 
fully appear herein, that the allegations of the Complaint 
improperly join and insufficiently plead against two separate 
and distinct political subdivisions. These defendants affirma­
tively allege that, as will hereinafter more fully appear, 
the Constitutional and statutory rights of all children in the 
political subdivision in which they supervise the public 
schools, insofar as public schools are concerned, are pro­
tected by the defendants and the desire for the relief being 
sought is common only to the named plaintiffs and that 
other members of the class have demonstrated a desire to 
maintain the system now obtaining.

5. These defendants deny that grounds for a class action 
exist as alleged in paragraph 5 of the Complaint and deny 
that those constituting the group seeking relief herein con­
tributed taxes in excess of $10,000.00 and call for strict 
proof.

6. The allegations of paragraphs 6, 7, 8, and 9 of the 
Complaint are admitted insofar as they assert the existence 
of various Constitutional and statutory provisions of the 
Commonwealth of Virginia. These defendants are not re­
quired and therefore do not admit or deny the accuracy of 
the plaintiffs’ interpretation of the provisions of law to 
which reference is made. The Committee for Control of 
the Halifax County High School and the Mary Bethune 
High School referred to in paragraph 7 of this bill itself 
actually operates the high schools referred to therein.

7. These defendants deny the allegations of paragraph 
10 of the Complaint. The factual basis for such denial is 
set forth below, to-wit:



App. 13

There is no racial segregation or discrimination existing 
in the schools under the control of these defendants. Infant 
plaintiffs and all others eligible to enroll in pubic schools in 
the county are permitted, under existing policy, to attend 
the school of their choice without regard to race, subject 
only to limitations of space. To the best of the knowledge 
of the defendants, no school child has ever been denied the 
privilege of attending the high school of his or her choice 
as a resident of Halifax County or South Boston, Virginia, 
because of race, color or national origin since the decision 
of the Supreme Court in the case of Brown v. Board of Edu­
cation. Long before the institution of the suit against the 
Halifax County School Board, which is referred to later 
herein, it had been the policy of these defendants to operate 
the schools that they controlled on a freedom of choice 
principle.

In May 1965 suit was instituted in this Court under the 
style of Betts et al v. County School Board of Halifax 
County, as Civil Action No. 65-C-7-D, in which the County 
School Board was required to file their plan for the desegre­
gation of the schools. Said plain was filed and, after several 
evidentiary hearings, the Court rendered an opinion on 
May 9, 1967 in which it quoted said plan at length and ap­
proved the same in its entirety. On May 24, 1967 the Court 
entered its preliminary order of dismissal in the following 
language, to-wit:

“The court, being fully informed of the facts and law, 
rendered an opinion on May 9, 1967.
Consistent with the rationale of that opinion, it is 

A djudged and Ordered

1. That as defendants are operating under a constitu­
tionally valid freedom of choice plan, their motion for



App. 14

summary judgment is granted, conditioned, however, 
upon their compliance with the following provisions 
of this order,

2. The defendants will within 60 days from the date 
of the aforementioned opinion show the court that the 
plan of desegregation has been amended in the follow­
ing suggested particulars:

a. addition of a clause requiring that each pupil 
must exercise annually his choice of a school;

b. addition of a clause containing a statement of 
a goal with respect to faculty integration; and

c. addition of a clause pledging that new school 
construction will not be undertaken in a manner that 
will inhibit integration.

3. Upon the amendment of the plan in the above re­
spects and upon receipt of notice of the amendment by 
the court within 60 days from the date of the opinion, 
this case will be dismissed.”

Said plan of desegregation was amended as directed in 
said order and the suit was accordingly dismissed by order 
of June 14, 1967. While this Committee was not before the 
Court in said suit, it has followed the plan filed therein 
and the directives of the Court’s opinion and order com­
pletely, just as if it had been a party defendant.

An earnest and vigorous effort has been and is now be­
ing made by the defendants to comply with all of the laws 
of this land and at the same time to maintain a school 
system that will provide the maximum benefits to all of the 
children of all races. It is believed and alleged that the de­
fendants are fully complying with all of the applicable laws 
and constitutional provisions that obtain and that if it is



App. 15

permitted to operate its schools without unncessary harrass- 
ment, it can and will provide adequate educational oppor­
tunities for all children. Defendants allege that the free­
dom of choice plan now in effect in its schools is operating in 
a constitutionally satisfactory manner and that no person 
is denied due process of law or equal protection of the law 
under the said plan.

8. These defendants admit that the Halifax County 
School Board received the petitions and letters referred to 
in paragraphs 11 and 12.

9. All allegations of the Complaint not herein admitted
or denied are hereby denied.

10. These defendants move the Court to dismiss the 
Complaint herein for the reason that it combines three 
separate actions against three separate bodies which re­
quire separate evidence and adjudication. In the alterna­
tive, defendants move the Court to sever the three actions 
and direct proper alignment of the parties.

11. These defendants believe it to be appropriate and 
proper to file this their separate answer herein.

12. The defendants deny that the plaintififs are entitled to 
any of the relief prayed for in the Complaint, and therefore, 
respectfully request that all of the relief prayed for be de­
nied and that this action be dismissed at the plaintiffs’ cost.

ANSWER OF COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD OF HALIFAX 
COUNTY AND THE INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS THEREOF

The undersigned defendants for Answer to the Com­
plaint exhibited against them say as follows:

1. These defendants deny that the amount in contro­
versy herein exceeds the sum of Ten Thousand Dollars



App. 16

($10,000.00) as alleged in paragraph 1(a) of the Com­
plaint.

2. These defendants deny that this Court has jurisdiction 
under Title 28, United States Code, Section 1331 or Title 
28 United States Code, Section 1343(3) or Title 42, United 
States Code, Sections 1981 or 1983 to grant any of the 
relief prayed for in the Complaint.

3. The allegations of paragraphs 2 and 3 of the Com­
plaint are neither admitted or denied.

4. These defendants specifically deny that there are 
questions of law and fact affecting the rights of all other 
Negro children attending public schools in the said county 
and call for strict proof thereof and of the statement that 
it is impracticable to bring all before the Court who desire 
the relief being sought. Defendants further allege, as will 
more fully appear herein, that the allegations of the Com­
plaint improperly join and insufficiently plead against two 
separate and distinct political subdivisions. These defendants 
affirmatively allege that, as will hereinafter more fully ap­
pear, the Constitutional and statutory rights of all children 
in the political subdivision in which they supervise the public 
schools, insofar as public schools are concerned, are pro­
tected by the defendants and the desire for the relief being 
sought is common only to the named plaintiffs and that other 
members of the class have demonstrated a desire to main­
tain the system now obtaining.

5. These defendants deny that grounds for a class action 
exist as alleged in paragraph 5 of the Complaint and deny 
that those constituting the group seeking relief herein 
contributed taxes in excess of $10,000.00 and call for strict 
proof.



App. 17

6. The allegations of paragraphs 6, 7, 8, and 9 of the 
Complaint are admitted insofar as they assert the existence 
of various Constitutional and statutory provisions of the 
Commonwealth of Virginia. These defendants are not re­
quired and therefore do not admit or deny the accuracy of 
the plaintiffs’ interpretation of the provisions of law to 
which reference is made. The Committee for Control of the 
Halifax County High School and the Mary Bethune High 
School referred to in paragraph 7 of this bill itself actually 
operates the high schools referred to therein.

7. The defendants deny the allegations of paragraph 10 
of the Complaint. The factual basis for such denial is set 
forth below, to-wit:

There is no racial segregation or discrimination existing 
in the schools under the control of the defendants. Infant 
plaintiffs and all others eligible to enroll in the public schools 
in the county are permitted, under existing policy, to attend 
the school of their choice without regard to race, subject 
only to limitations of space. To the best of the knowledge 
of the defendants, no school child has ever been denied the 
privilege of attending the school of his or her choice in 
Halifax County, Virginia, because of race, color or na­
tional origin since the decision of the Supreme Court in 
the case of Brown v. Board of Education. Long before the 
institution of the suit against the School Board which is 
referred to later herein, it had been the policy of these 
defendants to operate the schools that they controlled on a 
freedom of choice principle.

After passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, in an 
effort to comply with the directives of the Department of 
Health, Education and Welfare promulgated pursuant to 
Title VI of said act and in order to obtain federal funds, 
on March 1, 1965, the defendant board affirmed its purpose



App. 18

to comply with said act and authorized the execution of 
HEW  Form—441 identified as “Assurance or Compliance 
with the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare 
Regulations Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 
1964.” Said form was thereupon executed on behalf of said 
board and delivered to the United States Commissioner of 
Education.

It was only after the foregoing was accomplished and late 
in April 1965, that the defendants received further direc­
tives from the said Department of Health, Education and 
Welfare of the United States indicating that said certificate 
did not suffice and that defendants would be required to 
devise, adopt and promulgate a specific plan for desegre­
gation in order to comply with said act and receive said 
funds. Edward A. Mearns, Associate Dean of the Univer­
sity of Virginia Law School, was designated by the United 
States Commissioner of Education as Special Consultant 
to the United States Department of Health, Education, and 
Welfare to aid said department in obtaining compliance by 
the school boards of the Commonwealth of Virginia with 
Title VI of said Civil Rights Act. Promptly upon receipt of 
said directives, through the joint efforts of the defendants 
and said consultant, the plan required by said directives 
was devised. Said plan in its final form and in a form 
satisfactory to said consultant was completed and placed 
in the hands of said HEW  consultant before the institution 
of said suit. Said plan had been formally approved by the 
defendant board, its members, and superintendent and has 
been submitted to the United States Department of Health, 
Education, and Welfare for its approval in conformity with 
Title VI of said Civil Rights Act, and has been approved.

In May 1965 the suit referred to above was instituted 
in this Court under the style of Betts et al v. County School 
Board of Halifax County, as Civil Action No. 65-C-7-D,



App. 19

in which the defendants were required to file their plan for 
the desegregation of the schools. Said plan was filed and, 
after several evidentiary hearings, the Court rendered an 
opinion on May 9, 1967 in which it quoted said plan at 
length and approved the same in its entirety. On May 24, 
1967 the Court entered its preliminary order of dismissal 
in the following language, to-wit:

“The court, being fully informed of the facts and law, 
rendered an opinion on May 9, 1967.

Consistent with the rationale of that opinion, it is

A djudged and Ordered

1. That as defendants are operating under a constitu­
tionally valid freedom of choice plan, their motion for 
summary judgment is granted, conditioned, however, 
upon their compliance with the following provisions of 
this order.
2. The defendants will within 60 days from the date 
of the aforementioned opinion show the court that the 
plan of desegregation has been amended in the follow­
ing suggested particulars:

a. addition of a clause requiring that each pupil 
must exercise annually his choice of a school;

b. addition of a clause containing a statement of 
a goal with respect to faculty integration; and

c. addition of a clause pledging that new school 
construction will not be undertaken in a manner 
that will inhibit integration.

3. Upon the amendment of the plan in the above re­
spects and upon receipt of notice of the amendment by 
the court within 60 days from the date of the opinion, 
this case will be dismissed.”



App. 20

Said plan of desegregation was amended as directed in 
said order and the suit was accordingly dismissed by order 
of June 14, 1967. Since dismissal of said suit the defendants 
have fully complied with the directions contained in the 
Court’s opinion and order, and said plan.

An earnest and vigorous effort has been and is now 
being made by the defendants to comply with all of the laws 
of this land and at the same time to maintain a school system 
that will provide the maximum benefits to all of the children 
of all races. It is believed and alleged that the defendants 
are fully complying with all of the applicable laws and con­
stitutional provisions that obtain and that if it is permitted 
to operate its schools without unnecessary harassment, it 
can and will provide adequate educational opportunities for 
all children. Defendants allege that the freedom of choice 
plan now in effect in Halifax County is operating in a con­
stitutionally satisfactory manner and that no person is 
denied due process of law or equal protection of the law 
under said plan.

8. Defendants admit having received the petitions and 
letters referred to in paragraphs 11 and 12.

9. All allegations of the Complaint not herein admitted 
or denied are hereby denied.

10. Defendants move the Court to dismiss the Complaint 
herein for the reason that it combines three separate ac­
tions against three separate bodies which require separate 
evidence and adjudication. In the alternative, defendants 
move the Court to sever the three actions and direct proper 
alignment of the parties.

11. The defendants deny that the plaintiffs are entitled 
to any of the relief prayed for in the Complaint, and there­
fore, respectfully request that all of the relief prayed for 
be denied and that this action be dismissed at the plaintiffs’ 
cost.

*  *  *



App. 21

ANSWER OF THE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD OF 
HALIFAX COUNTY, VIRGINIA, TO INTERROGATORIES

Now comes Udy C. Wood, Division Superintendent of 
schools of Halifax County, Virginia, and submits the fol­
lowing answers to interrogatories filed by the plaintiffs, said 
answers corresponding to the numbered paragraphs in the 
interrogatories and exhibits attached, to-wit:

1. The answer to Interrogatory No. 1 is given in Ex­
hibits A and B.

2. The answer to Interrogatory No. 2 is given in Ex­
hibits A and B.

3. The maps requested under Interrogatory No. 3 are 
marked Exhibit C.

4. The answer to Interrogatory No. 4 is given in Ex­
hibit D.

5. The answer to Interrogatory No. 5 is given in Ex­
hibit E.

(Exhibits A, B, D and E are included in Appendix to 
Defendants’ Brief.)

*  *  *

ORDER

Pursuant to the Court’s findings of fact and conclusions 
of law enunciated from the bench at the conclusion of the 
hearing in this cause, and deeming it proper so to do,

It is Adjudged, Ordered and Decreed :
1. That the motions to dismiss filed on behalf of the 

defendants be, and the same are hereby, denied.
It is further Adjudged, Ordered and D ecreed :
1. That the defendants herein, their successors, agents 

and employees, be, and they hereby are, mandatorily en­



App. 22

joined, permanently, to disestablish the existing dual system 
of racially identifiable public schools being operated in the 
County of Halifax, Virginia, and to replace that system 
of schools with a unitary system, the components of which 
are not identifiable with either “White” or “Negro” schools.

2. The defendants are further directed, effective with 
the commencement of the school term beginning in Septem­
ber 1969, to cause the assignment of the faculties of the 
schools in Halifax County, Virginia, in such a manner as 
to dissolve the historical pattern of segregated faculties of 
the public schools.

3. Both plaintiffs and defendants are invited to submit 
to the Court within 21 days from this date a suggested 
plan for the operation of the school system of Halifax 
County, Virginia, both elementary and high school, com­
mencing with the school term beginning September 1969, 
in order to fully comply with the requirements of the Court’s 
injunction heretofore ordered.

4. In the event the defendants cause to be filed with this 
Court for its consideration a suggested plan of operation 
as aforementioned, the plaintiffs shall within seven days 
thereafter file any exceptions thereto.

Let the Clerk send copies of this decree to all counsel 
of record.

It is further Ordered that copies of this order be served 
by the United States Marshal on the individual members 
of the County School Board of Halifax County, Virginia, 
and on J. L. Link, Paul C. Beatty, George P. Smith, T. K. 
McDowell, and Frank M. Slayton, as members of the Com­
mittee for Control of the Halifax County High School and 
the Mary Bethune High School.

Nunc pro tunc 12 :30 p.m. April 5, 1969.
*  *  *



App. 23

FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

T he  Court : Gentlemen, I will dictate my findings of fact 
•and conclusions of law at this time, reserving the right to 
amend them as per the suggestions of counsel, or thoughts 
that may occur to me.

This suit is brought by infant plaintiffs through their 
parents and next friends against the County School Board 
of Halifax County, the individual members thereof, and 
while the pleadings do not show on their face, the Com­
mittee for the Control of the High Schools is a party de­
fendant, and has appeared, filed a motion to dismiss and 
filed an answer. They are admittedly defendants to this ac­
tion.

This is a school desegregation suit. There is an allegation 
of deprivation of Constitutional rights and this Court has 
jurisdiction to hear the matter.

The respective defendants filed answers and separate mo­
tions to dismiss. The gist of the motions, however, are 
identical. Addressing myself to the motions to dismiss filed 
on behalf of all of the defendants, the motions to dismiss 
will be denied. The complaint, in the Court’s opinion, 
states a cause of action on which relief may be and should be 
granted.

The Court finds this to be a class action. The Court finds 
as a matter of law that assertions of defendants that Con­
gress has given the right to bring these suits exclusively to 
a Federal Agency is not legally correct. Section 407 of the 
1964 Civil Rights Act, 42 USC 2000(c)(6) permits the 
Attorney General of the United States to bring or to in­
stitute legal proceedings in those cases in which he is satis­
fied that he has received meritorious equal protection com­
plaints from school patrons unable to initiate legal proceed­
ings themselves. See U. S. v. Greenwood Municipal Separate



App. 24

School Dist., decided Feb. 4, 1969. 37 Law Week 24196. 
This in no way precludes the instant plaintiffs from main­
taining this action. The provisions of the Civil Rights Act 
giving various agencies of the Federal Government power 
to act came about by reason of Congress’ concern over the 
lack of progress in school desegregation. See 42 USC 
§§ 2000 et seq; 2000d et seq; 2000h-2; 42 USC § 2000d. See 
Footnote 2, Green v. County School Board of New Kent 
County, Virginia, et al, 391 U. S. 430.

The Court has considered the pleadings, the interroga­
tories, answers thereto, and all the testimony that has been 
elicited today.

The County School Board of Halifax County operates 
14 elementary schools. The Committee for the Control of 
the Halifax County High School and Mary Bethune High 
School the high schools which are physically located in the 
county, and are jointly owned and operated by the Com­
mittee for the benefit of the high school students who reside 
in the county and the contiguous city. The members of the 
Committee are appointed by their respective school boards.

Whoever has the responsibility to operate these schools, 
whether it is the School Board in one instance and the Com­
mittee in the other, they are going to have to operate them in 
accordance with law. Only by reason of overwhelmingly 
compelling reason can the Constitutional guarantee of a 
desegregated school system be less than, promptly fulfilled, 
as stated by the United States Supreme Court in 1963 in 
Watson v. City o f Memphis, 373 U.S. 528. In any event, 
addressing myself both to elementary and high schools, the 
governing bodies of the school system have been operating 
under a limited freedom of choice plan;—a limited freedom 
of choice in that the transportation system is set up so that 
a child by choosing a school within a certain area can get



App. 25

transportation to a school in that area of the comity, but 
outside that area he may not get transportation, although 
he may choose any school to attend. I don’t think that is 
really significant.

The Court finds that of the elementary schools there are 
three all-white elementary schools in which there are no 
Negro enrollment at all.

There are five all-Negro elementary schools, and the 
balance of the elementary schools are predominantly White, 
with some integration, but a de minimus amount. The school 
that has come the closest to any substantial integration is 
Clover, in which there are forty Negro students and 175 
White students. The Court finds that Halifax County is a 
large county area-wise, having more than eight hundred 
square miles, with a population of approximately 35,000 
people.

The Court should say now that there are no factual find­
ings nor evidence introduced on behalf of the defendant, the 
Committee, to support their affirmatively alleged defenses 
as set out in paragraph four of their answer.

The elementary schools are all controlled by the defend­
ant, County School Board of Halifax County, Virginia.

The bus system that is used, as a practical matter is 
integrated or segregated depending on the school, because 
the busses serve a particular school, so as a consequence if it 
is an all-Negro school only Negro students ride on that 
bus, but if it is an all-White school only white students ride 
on the bus. The Court finds that the longest bus route 
presently in existence is approximately thirty miles, or sixty 
miles round trip. I might say as an aside, gentlemen, that 
whenever we talk about bussing, those of us who' have 
lived in the South really have little argument because we 
have been bussing students since the beginning of schools, 
of both races.



App. 26

There are approximately 8,400 school-age children in 
the county, and the racial composition of these pupils are 
about equal, fifty-fifty.

The Court finds that the County School Board of Hali­
fax County has made an effort to desegregate their faculty 
consistent with the teachers’ qualifications. There is no evi­
dence to conclude that the School Board has not fairly ad­
ministered the freedom of choice plan which had been 
previously approved by this Court.

As a practical matter, there is no hope under the existing 
plan, in the Court’s opinion, that these schools will ever be 
desegrated. One of the high schools, Bethune High School, 
which has an enrollment of over 1,700 students, all Negro, 
is located in a predominantly Negro area of the county. 
The other high school, which is predominantly White, 
there being 1,895 students only 82 of whom are Negro stu­
dents, is only four or five miles from Bethune. The high 
schools operate grades eight through twelve. Insofar as the 
faculties are concerned, there are 40 Negro teachers in an 
integrated situation in the elementary schools out of 222, 
and 20 in the high schools out of 181. While this appears to 
be slow, I am cognizant of the problems that school superin­
tendents have getting teachers. I quite agree with whoever 
said that you ought not to use numbers, and I don’t intend 
to use them unless I absolutely have to.

Now the City of South Boston has about 650 to 665 
children attending the high schools in the county, and while 
it is generally understood that South Boston will ultimately 
have a separate school operation for their high school stu­
dents, there is nothing of a certainty about that situation. 
Of the city students who attend the high schools which are 
physically located in the county, 268 are of the Negro race 
and 297 are of the White race. If and when the city operates



App. 27

its own high schools, the racial balance of students in the 
county will change very, very slightly.

It is true, and the Court finds, that both of the high 
schools are overcrowded. In their stated capacity, Bethune 
School, which is all-Negro, is overcrowded by 388 students, 
and Halifax High School, predominantly White, is over­
crowded by approximately 123 students. The elementary 
schools are not significantly crowded. As a matter of fact, 
a rough calculation from Exhibit “A ” shows that there are 
three schools that appear to have more students than the 
stated capacity, the largest one being by forty students, 
that is Volens; Scottsburg by nine; Sydner Jennings seven­
teen. On the other hand, there are schools that can take 
additional students—as many as 105 students in Clays Mill, 
for example, which has a capacity of 610 and has 505 stu­
dents; Clover has a capacity of 255 and they only have 215 ; 
Halifax Elementary School is in a similar situation.

The Court finds that the elementary schools which are 
all-Negro are generally as good or better than the White 
schools, although I am not certain from the evidence that 
that is factual insofar as Bethune High School is concerned. 
I am really not sure on that, and I don’t think it is really 
material.

The Court further finds that the School Board recog­
nizes or feels there is a need to build additional facilities 
and have commenced steps toward that end. But once again, 
there is no certainty it will be done reasonably soon, if ever. 
The discouraging part about it is, it would affect the high 
schools, which are now overcrowded. The Court finds 
from the evidence it would be to the best educational ad­
vantage of all the students for the county to build one or 
more junior high schools. The difficulty is the Court finds 
that the Superintendent of Schools and the School Board



App. 28

have been trying to get a school built for several years and 
have been unsuccessful. I quote, “And it is very difficult to 
obtain money from local sources because the Board is re­
luctant to talk about raising taxes by reason of the people 
not being favorably inclined toward integration.” This is 
completely understandable. A Board of Supervisors doesn’t 
like to raise taxes. I understand that. The difficulty in mak­
ing any plans for a delay of integration of the high schools 
is based on the fact that if the School Board has not been 
successful in having anything done when they felt they 
have needed it for several years, the Court unfortunately 
has no reason to believe that it is going to be done now.

The Court finds that there are some residential areas 
throughout the county which are predominantly white and 
areas which are predominantly Negro. The Court finds that 
the School board has no plan other than its existing free­
dom of choice plan. There is no question in the Court’s mind 
that there are dual systems presently being operated in 
Halifax County.

The Court has no choice, as it sees the evidence, except 
to rule that the defendants, their successors, agents and em­
ployees, be, and they hereby are, mandatorily enjoined, 
permanently, to disestablish the dual system of racially 
identifiable schools in Halifax, Virginia, and replace them 
with a unitary system, the components of which are not 
identifiable with either White or Negro schools. That will 
be put in a formal order, gentlemen, consistent with the 
mandate of the Green v. New Kent case decided by the 
United States Supreme Court, and Monroe v. Board of 
Commissioners, City of Jackson.

There is no plan before this Court which gives the Court 
any hope at all for meaningful assurance of prompt and 
effective disestablishment. The burden is incumbent upon



App. 29

the School Board to establish that any plan that they have 
promises meaningful and immediate progress for disestab­
lishing what was previously a State-imposed segregation, 
but is now operated under freedom of choice which simply 
has not worked.

The Supreme Court says that it places a heavy burden 
upon the Board. The Supreme Court further stated in the 
Green case that where there are reasonably available other 
ways promising speedier and more effective conversion to a 
unitary non-racial school system, freedom of choice must be 
held unacceptable. And that is the situation in this case.

The facts of this case are such that the factual findings 
are almost identical to the very facts that the United States 
Supreme Court set out in the Green case as proving freedom 
of choice simply has not worked. The defendants will, of 
course, be directed to cause the assignment of their facul­
ties in such a manner as to dissolve the pattern of segre­
gated faculties, and to cause the faculties of each of the 
schools to be integrated. To that extent, Mr. Gray knows 
the Court’s feelings on that. I think we have got to depend 
on the School Superintendents to do the best they can. We 
can’t set numbers out, and I am not going to set any num­
bers out. I would like to point out to all that the orders of 
the Court are subject to review at all times and I would not 
wish to preclude, or have anybody think they are precluded, 
from coming back if and when the construction of addi­
tional facilities for a high school are a certainty. The Court 
will give consideration to it.

The Court does think that unnecessary transfers of stu­
dents are certainly undesirable, to say the least, and to some 
extent detrimental to their education. But I cannot say what 
would happen, because we are on an “if”, and I am under 
a mandate to obey the law, and I am going to do it.



App. 30

An appropriate decree will be entered, gentlemen, re­
questing the School Board of Halifax County to file with 
this Court, within twenty-one days, a suggested plan of 
operation.

Now, that may seem like a short period of time. But the 
Court has got to take into consideration they knew or cer­
tainly should have known since May 1968 that the time was 
coming. The Court will be glad to receive from the plaintiffs 
any suggested plan within the same period. In the event the 
School Board does not file, or cannot submit, a plan in ac­
cordance with the requirements of the United States Su­
preme Court cases, I would ask in the interest of the patrons 
of the school that you notify the Court forthwith. I will not 
order it. I will not order the School Board to submit a plan. 
I think they know more about it than I do, and I think my 
experience with all school boards has been they do have 
the interests of the children at heart, as reluctant as they 
may be to do it, and as much as they may disagree with the 
Court’s ultimate conclusions. But if the Board doesn’t 
feel they can do it, I would ask you to notify the Court 
immediately so that, if necessary, the Court can consider 
such a plan as may be submitted by the plaintiffs, and 
enter up a plan. I wish a plan—a definite plan—to be en­
tered by no later than thirty days from this date, gentle­
men, whether it be one submitted by the defendants, or 
whether it be one submitted by the plaintiffs, or whether 
it be one, unhappily, drafted by the Court. And I just say 
this—I will be available, certainly through July. I am going 
to go out of my way to hear any additional motions, if and 
when there is a certainty concerning the high schools.

I wish to thank all counsel for their help.
M r. Gray: So that there will be no misunderstanding 

with those whom we represent—you have requested that we



App. 31

file a plan, but as I understand what you are saying to us, if 
the School Board does not voluntarily submit a plan, this 
Court is going to find one somewhere.

T he  Court: Yes, sir.
I will give the plaintiff an opportunity to submit one. I 

am not saying the Court will approve either, whether the 
School Board files it or the plaintiffs, but if neither party 
files it, or if both parties file it and the Court does not find it 
acceptable, I will draw my own. I am not good at it, and 
don’t want to, but any plan must conform to Constitutional 
requirements.

Mr. Gray : I would request Your Honor to consider in­
clusion in findings of fact when you formalize, you say you 
have no reason to believe the School Board will be no more- 
successful with its efforts—

T he  Court : I have no evidence before me.

M r. Gray : I ask your Honor to consider the fact we have 
been successful in getting the Board of Supervisors to direct 
us to go forward, which we were unable to do previously.

T he  Court : Well, I will amend it to that extent, Mr. 
Gray, and my findings are so amended.

Mr. Gray : Thank you.

T he  Court: A s I said, I will be available to hear any 
further motions. I don’t  want to consider motions until 
there is a certainty. If there is a certainty—

Mr. T uck er : I don’t think there is any difficulty regard­
ing the Committee of Control, because we did name all of 
the School Board members of each school board when we 
originally brought the suit. We alleged the Committee of 
Control composed of its members, and when South Bos­
ton School Board was dismissed we expressly retained Mr.



App. 32

Slayton, so we do have the Committee Control membership 
of the Committee Control before the Court, and as His 
Honor pointed out—

T he  Court: Let me say this. I consider we have them. 
If anybody thinks I am in error, appeal. And quickly. This 
is one reason I try to decide these things as expeditiously 
as I can so people can get to the Court of Appeals. And 
Mr. Gray knows I will cooperate to that extent. I take no 
offense when cases are appealed. That is what courts are for.

M r. Bagwell: Yes, sir, Judge. We are not saying that 
the Committee for Control is not before the Court. Never 
intended that.

T he Court : I didn’t think so. We ought not to put these 
people in an awkward position. We ought to enjoin the 
proper people. I am not blind to the realities of life. The 
patrons of Halifax County by tomorrow are just going to 
think—well, what all patrons think when the courts do what 
the law requires to be done. I am satisfied I am correct in 
my interpretation of the law, but I invite an appeal from 
anybody that thinks I am in error. Gentlemen, I thank you 
once again.

Mr. Gray : Your Honor, could we have a date—if the 
School Board files a plan that we have a length of time avail­
able for exceptions to the plan, so if exceptions are filed 
we could have a hearing on it ?

T he  Court : Yes. If they are necessary.
Mr. Gray : I wonder if we could have a time limit for 

filing of exceptions.
T he Court: I thought I gave one. If I didn’t I will give 

it now. Seven days,
Mr. Gray : Thank you, sir.



DEFENDANT’S REPORT WITH EXHIBIT “A”

Plan For The Integration Of The Public Schools Adopted Pursuant 
To The Order Of The United States District Court For The 
Western District Of Virginia Entered On April 5, 1969 In Civil 
Action No. 68-C-61-D Under The Style Of Traynham v. County 
School Board Of Halifax County, Virginia, Et Al.

E lementary Schools :
Beginning at the opening of the schools of Halifax 

County for the 1969-1970 session thereof the elementary 
schools will be so paired and the students will be so as­
signed that each school will have substantially the same 
numerical proportion of Negro students and white stu­
dents as exists in the entire elementary school enrollment.

Secondary Schools:
The plans for the complete integration of the secondary 

schools pursuant to the court’s Order are based upon the 
use of two new junior high schools which will be built pur­
suant to existing plans providing for one to be available 
at the beginning of the 1970-71 school session and the 
other at the beginning of the 1971-72 school session. Said 
junior high schools will house the eighth and ninth grades.

At the beginning of the 1970-71 school session the first 
constructed junior high school will be occupied by sub­
stantially the same proportion of Negro students and white 
students as exists in the entire secondary school enrollment.

At the beginning of the 1971-72 school session complete 
racial integration will be made effective throughout the 
entire secondary school system by zoning and assignment 
of the eighth and ninth grade students to the two new 
junior high schools in such a manner that each junior high 
school will have substantially the same proportion of Negro 
and white students that the other junior high school has, 
and by assigning all students enrolled in the Vocational

App. 33



App. 34

Training Program to the Mary Bethune High School, and 
all remaining students to the Halifax County High School.

Pending the foregoing the present plan approved in 
Betts v. Halifax County High School will remain effective.
T eachers :

Effective with the 1969-1970 school session the faculties 
of all schools in the county will be assigned in such a manner 
as to dissolve the historical pattern of segregated faculties 
in said schools, and to that end, Negro and white teachers 
will be assigned so that the racial composition of the faculty 
in each elementary school will be substantially the same as 
that in each other elementary school, and the racial composi­
tion of the faculty in each secondary school will be sub­
stantially the same as that in each other secondary school at 
the earliest practicable date.

Respectfully,
H alifax County School Board,
Committee for Control of the
H alifax County H igh  Schools

*  *  *

NOTICE OF APPEAL

Notice is hereby given that the County School Board of 
Halifax County and the Committee for Control and J. L. 
Link, Paul C. Beatty, Edwin Conner, Armistead Traynham, 
George P. Smith, Logan Young, T. K. McDowell, Thomas 
E. Bradley, Frank M. Slayton and Udy C. Wood, Division 
Superintendent of Schools, being all of the defendants, 
hereby appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the 
Fourth Circuit from the final judgment entered in this 
action of April 5,1969.

*  *  *



App. 35

ORDER

Whereas, under date of April 9, 1969, this Court entered 
an order mandatorily enjoining the defendants, their suc­
cessors, agents and employees, to disestablish the existing 
dual system of racially identifiable public schools being 
operated in the County of Halifax, Virginia; and it further 
appearing to the Court that by leave of Court the defend­
ants have filed what is styled “A Plan for the Integration 
of Public Schools, etc.” ; and the Court having considered 
said plan and deeming it proper so to do,

Doth Adjudge, Order and D ecree that the defendants 
file within 20 days of this date, a detailed plan concerning 
the suggested operation of the elementary schools, to the 
end that the Court be advised as to- whether said plan con­
templates pairing, zoning, etc.

It is further A djudged and Ordered that the said de­
fendants, within 10 days from this date, report to the Court 
the factual basis for their statement to the effect that “Two 
new junior high schools which will be built, etc.”

It is further A djudged and Ordered that the defend­
ants are directed to file with this Court within 20 days from 
this date a detailed plan concerning the desegregation of the 
secondary schools of Halifax County to be effective com­
mencing September 1969, in the event there is, in fact, no 
basis for the statement “Two new junior high schools 
which will be built, etc.”

The plaintiffs shall file any exceptions to the reports to 
be forthcoming within seven days after receipt thereof.

Let the Clerk send copies of this order to all counsel 
of record.

/ s /  R obert R. Merhige, J r.
United States District Judge

May 6,1969.



App. 36

ADDITIONAL DETAILS CONCERNING PLAN 

Elementary Schools

The elementary schools of Halifax County will be paired 
as follows for the 1969-70 session, to-wit:

Jennings and Volens Schools will be paired, with grades 
1,2, 3, and 4 attending Jennings School, and grades 5, 6, 
and 7 attending Volens School.

Rosa and Meadville Schools will be paired, with grades 
1 and 2 attending Rosa School, and grades, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 
7 attending Meadville School.

Clays Mill and Scottsburg Schools will be paired, with 
grades 1, 2, 3, and 4 attending Clays Mill School, and 
grades 5, 6, and 7 attending Scottsburg School.

Halifax and Sinai Schools will be paired, with grades 
1, 2 and 3 attending Halifax School and grades 4, 5, 6 and 
7 attending Sinai School.

South of Dan and Cluster Springs Schools will be paired, 
with grades 1, 2, 3 and 4 attending South of Dan School, 
and grades 5, 6 and 7 attending Cluster Springs School.

Wilson Memorial, Turbeville, Virgilina and Clover 
Schools will not be paired, but will be individually zoned.

Zones will be established for attendance at the aforesaid 
paired schools and for the aforesaid schools that are not 
paired as well, the lines of which zones will be drawn so as 
to achieve, to such extent as is practical, for each school, 
racial proportions similar to those which exist in the overall 
elementary system as set forth in the original plan filed with 
the court herein. The School Board may make specific as­
signments of students to particular schools only in those 
instances where such is practical and only where such as­
signments will bring the racial ratio at the schools to which 
said students are assigned nearer to the over-all county 
wide ratio for the whole school system.



App. 37

Secondary Schools

The following factual basis for the statement in the orig­
inal plan that “two new junior high schools will be built, 
etc.,” is hereby submitted, to-wit:

1. A resolution in furtherance of said purpose was 
passed by this board on February 25, 1969, a copy of which 
has been heretofore filed in this suit.

2. A resolution approving the action of the School 
Board and adopting its plan as a tentative plan of the Board 
of Supervisors of Halifax County was passed by said 
board on March 12, 1969, a copy of which resolution has 
been heretofore filed in this suit.

3. A resolution carrying the plan for the construction 
of two new junior high schools further into effect and 
authorizing acquisition of school sites, preparation of plans 
and the borrowing of funds was passed by this School Board 
on April 30, 1969, a copy of which resolution is hereto at­
tached marked “Exhibit A.”

4. A resolution approving the School Board’s action of 
April 30, 1969 and specifically authorizing the acquisition 
of sites, the preparation of plans, and the borrowing of 
funds from the Virginia Supplemental Retirement System 
was passed by said Board of Supervisors on May 5, 1969, 
a copy of which resolution is hereto attached marked “Ex­
hibit B.”

5. The Commonwealth of Virginia has made available 
the first million dollars required for the contemplated school 
construction from the Virginia Supplemental Retirement 
System, as will appear from a copy of a letter from its 
Treasurer to Udy C. Wood, Superintendent of Schools, 
dated April 17, 1969, a copy of which is hereto attached 
marked “Exhibit C.” Under the procedure provided by



App. 38

state regulations, said funds must be obtained in install­
ments of not more than one million dollars each.

6. Said Superintendent of Schools is now negotiating 
with the Assistant Treasurer of Virginia for the actual 
obtaining of the needed funds for said construction, as will 
appear from an exchange of letters between the Assistant 
Treasurer of Virginia and said Superintendent of Schools, 
both dated May 8, 1969, copies of which are together filed 
herewith and marked “Exhibit D.”

7. Efforts are now in progress to secure both of the 
sites needed for the construction of said schools at locations, 
as indicated in Exhibit A. More than one suitable location 
has been found for each school and while contacts have 
already been made with landowners, deeds or options have 
not yet been acquired. However, suitable sites are believed 
to be available for said schools.

8. Said School Board has authorized the employment 
of an architect to prepare plans and such employment will 
be made forthwith.

In view of the foregoing, the defendants assume that 
nothing more is required of them at this time.

Respectfully,

H alifax County School Board 
and Committee for Control of 
th e  H alifax County H igh 
School 
* * *

ORDER

It appearing to the Court that the defendants herein 
have, pursuant to the Court’s order of May 6, 1969, filed 
a report containing such information as required by the



App. 39

Court, and it further appearing that no exceptions to the 
defendants’ proposed plan for the operation of the public 
schools of Halifax County have been filed, and deeming 
it proper so to do,

It is A djudged and Ordered as follows:
1. The plan of desegregation submitted by the defend­

ants pursuant to the Court’s order of April S, 1969, be, 
and the same is hereby, approved insofar as it refers to 
the elementary schools.

2. Defendants’ contemplated plan for the operation of 
the secondary schools for the semester commencing in Sep­
tember 1969 be, and the same is hereby, approved.

3. The defendants are directed, as soon as practicable, 
to advise the Court as to such zones as have been estab­
lished as contemplated by their report to the Court under 
date of May 15, 1969.

4. The defendants are directed to report to the Court, 
as soon as practicable, the racial composition of the student 
population of each of the schools in the Halifax County 
school system, as well as the racial composition of the 
faculties of each of said schools, commencing with the 
school term beginning in September 1969.

5. The defendants are directed to report to the Court 
by no later than April 1, 1970, regarding the progress made 
in reference to the construction of the secondary schools 
contemplated to be constructed under the defendants’ pres­
ent intentions.

All other motions are continued in this cause.
/ s /  R obert R. Merhige , J r.
United States District Judge

June 5, 1969.
*  *  *



App. 40

MOTION TO AMEND JUDGMENT

Under the provisions of Rule 59e, Federal Rules of 
Civil Procedure, the plaintiffs move the Court to amend its 
order dated June 5, 1969 and filed herein on June 6, 1969 
to avoid any implication that paragraph 2 thereof alters or 
rescinds, with respect to secondary schools, the requirements 
of this Court’s order of April 5, 1969 which enjoins the de­
fendants to disestablish the existing dual systems of racial­
ly identifiable public schools.

The proposals of the defendants are: (1) To maintain 
racial segregation in secondary schools for the 1969-70 
school session; (2) to maintain such segregation in second­
ary schools for the 1970-71 school session except as to ap­
proximately one-half of the junior high school students 
of Halifax County; and (3) to maintain thereafter for “a 
program that will be basically vocational training in nature” 
the Mary Bethune High School (which none but Negroes 
have ever attended) the condition of which, as described in 
the testimony of one of the school officials, is admittedly 
deplorable.

The plaintiffs say that this Court’s orders should un­
equivocally direct the defendants to disestablish the racially 
segregated pattern of enrollment in and attendance at such 
secondary schools as they maintain and to do so now; the 
defendants having the option of assigning the lower grades 
to one school and the upper grades to the other or assigning 
secondary school students on a geographic or some other 
non-racial, objective basis.

*  *  *

RELEVANT DOCKET ENTRIES

11-20-68—Complaint Filed — Summons issued and for­
warded to U. S. Marshal.



App. 41

12-6-68—Filed Plaintiff’s Interrogatories — Copy for­
warded to Judge Dalton.

12-16-68—Filed Answer of County School Board of Hali­
fax County and the Individual Members Thereof. Copy 
forwarded to Judge Dalton.

12-16-68—Filed Answer of Committee for Control of the 
Halifax County High School and the Mary Bethune High 
School and the Individual Members Thereof, as Such. 
Copy forwarded to Judge Dalton.

12-16-68—Filed Motion to Dismiss and Notice of Motion 
of the School Board of the County of Halifax and the 
individual members thereof. Copy forwarded to Judge 
Dalton.

2-16-68—Filed Motion to Dismiss and Notice of Motion of 
the Committee for Control of the Halifax County High 
School and the Mary Bethune High School, and the in­
dividual members thereof. Copy forwarded, to Judge 
Dalton.

12-20-68—Filed Answer of the County School Board of 
Halifax County, Va. to Interrogatories. Copy forwarded 
to Judge Dalton.

1-10-69—Filed Plaintiff’s Interrogatories. Copy forwarded 
to Judge Merhige.

4-9-69-—Filed Order dated 4-5-69 in which it is A djudged, 
Ordered and Decreed that the motions to dismiss filed on 
behalf of the defendants be, and the same are hereby de­
nied. It is further A djudged, Ordered and D ecreed that 
the defendants, their successors, agents and employees be 
and hereby are mandatorily enjoined, permanently, to 
disestablish the existing dual system of racially identi­



App. 42

fiable public schools being operated in Halifax Co. Va. 
and to replace the school system with a unitary system, 
the components of which are not identifiable with either 
“White” or “Negro” schools. The defendants are further 
directed, effective with the beginning of the school term 
in September, 1969, to cause the assignment of the facul­
ties of the schools in Halifax County, Virginia in such 
a manner as to dissolve the historical pattern of segre­
gated faculties of the public schools. Both plaintiffs and 
defendants are invited to submit to the Court within 21 
days from this date a suggested plan for the operation of 
the school system of Halifax County, Va. both elementary 
and high school, commencing with the school term begin­
ning September, 1969, in order to fully comply with re­
quirements of the Court’s injunction heretofore ordered. 
In the event the defendants cause to be filed with this 
Court for its consideration a suggested plan of opera­
tion as aforementioned the plaintiffs shall within seven 
days thereafter file any exceptions thereto.
Copies of this order mailed to counsel of record, and 
sufficient copies mailed to the U. S. Marshal for service 
on each member of the Halifax County School Board- 
Committee for Control of the Halifax County High 
School and the Mary Bethune High School. Civ. O.B. 
8-Pages.

4-15-69—Received Findings of Fact and Conclusions of 
Law as Stated From the Bench marked Filed on 4-14-69 
in the Eastern District. Copies forwarded to Counsel of 
Record.

4- 25-69—Filed Defendant’s Report—copy having been 
mailed to Judge Merhige by defendant’s counsel.

5- 5-69—Filed Defendant’s Report—copy forwarded to 
Judge Merhige.



App. 43

5-7-69—Filed Order entered May 6, 1969 in which the 
Court Doth A djudge, Order and D ecree that the de­
fendants file, within 20 days of this date, a detailed plan 
concerning the suggested operation of the elementary 
schools, to the end that the Court be advised as to whether 
said plan contemplates pairing, zoning, etc. It is further 
A djudged and Ordered that the said defendants, within 
10 days from this date, report to the Court the factual 
basis for their statement to the effect that “Two new 
junior high schools which will be built, etc.” It is further 
A djudged and Ordered that the defendants are directed 
to file with this Court within 20 days from this date a 
detailed plan concerning the desegregation of the sec­
ondary schools of Halifax County to be effective com­
mencing September, 1969, in the event there is, in fact, 
no basis for the statement “Two new junior high schools 
which will be built, etc.” The plaintiff shall file any ex­
ceptions to the reports to be forthcoming within seven 
days after receipt thereof. Copy forwarded to counsel of 
record. Civ. O.B. 8-Pages.

5- 16-69—Filed Defendant’s Report of additional details 
concerning the plan for integration of public schools of 
Halifax County with Resolutions attached.

6- 6-69—Filed Order entered June 5, 1969 wherein it is 
A djudged and Ordered (1) that the plan of desegrega­
tion submitted by the defendants pursuant to the Court’s 
Order of April 5, 1969 be, and the same is hereby ap­
proved insofar as it refers to the elementary schools (2) 
Defendants’ contemplated plan for the operation of the 
secondary schools for the semester commencing in Sep­
tember 1969 be and the same hereby is approved. (3) 
The defendants are directed, as soon as practicable, to ad­
vise the court as to such zones as have been established



App. 44

as contemplated by their report to the Court under date 
of 5-15-69. (4) The defendants are directed to report to 
the Court, as soon as practicable, the racial composition 
of the student population of each of the schools in the 
Halifax County school system, as well as the racial com­
position of the faculties of each of said schools, commenc­
ing with the school term beginning in September, 1969. 
(5) The defendants are directed to report to the Court by 
no later than April 1, 1970, regarding the progress made 
in reference to the construction of the secondary schools 
contemplated to be constructed under the defendants’ 
present intention. All other motions are continued in this 
cause. Copy of order forwarded to counsel of record. 
Civ. O.B. 8-Page 170

6-12-69—Filed defendant’s motion to amend judgment. 
Copy forwarded to Judge Merhige.

6-13-69—Complete record on appeal forwarded to U. S. 
Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

PROCEEDINGS

(April 5, 1969) (Saturday, 9:00)

T he  Cler k : The first case is Brenda Lee Traynham, 
et al., versus County School Board of Halifax. 68-C-61-D.

T he  Court: Good morning, gentlemen, Are we ready?
M r. T uck er : Plaintiff is ready.
T he  Court: Defendants ready?
Mr. Gray : Defendants ready.
T he Court : All right, Mr. Tucker.
Mr. T uck er : If Your Honor please, we have the agree­

ment of opposing counsel that the allegations of paragraph



App. 45

two of the complaint, that is that the plaintiffs are Negroes 
and citizens of the United States and Commonwealth of 
Virginia and residents of school age children and so forth, 
will be conceded by both defendants, by all the defendants.

We also have the further concession of Mr. Bag-well as 
representing the Joint Board of Control that the answer of 
the Superintendent of Schools to interrogatories are factual. 
So on those understandings we offer the interrogatories and 
the answers thereto. I ask they be filed as a part of the 
record.

T he  Court: N ow-, the defendants before the Court are 
the County School Board of Halifax County, is that 
correct ?

Mr. T uck er : Defendants are two now. County School 
Board of Halifax and Joint Board of Control. The School 
Board being the party responsible for operation of the 
elementary schools and the Joint Board of Control com­
posed of representatives of Halifax County and the School 
Board of the town of South Boston is responsible for opera­
tion of the high schools.

T he  Court : But the School Board of the city of South 
Boston is no longer a defendant, is that correct?

Mr. T uck er : The School Board of the city of South 
Boston is no longer a defendant. It has been dismissed.

T he  Court: All right. Now, do we have any motions 
that have to be ruled on before we proceed,

Mr. Bagwell : May I just respond briefly to what Mr. 
Tucker has to say, Of course Mr. Wood, the Superin­
tendent of Schools who filed the interrogatories under oath, 
is Superintendent both of the high schools system and the 
grammer school system. And of course we concede that his



App. 46

answers are correct insofar as he is able to make them 
correct. And insofar as the administration with reference 
to citizenship is concerned, my statement to Mr. Tucker 
which, of course I will stand by, is that upon his personal 
representation that they are such citizens we would accept 
his representation that they are. And we can proceed on 
that basis.

T he  Court : Has the Joint Board of Control been served, 
Are they party defendants ?

M r. T u ck er : Party defendants and have answered.

T h e  Court : All right, sir.
Now, what motions are still pending, if any, gentlemen?
Mr. T ucker : At this stage, just to clear the record, I will 

make the representation that Mr. Bagwell suggests that the 
allegations of paragraph two of the complaint are correct 
in their entirety.

T h e  Court : All right.

Mr. T uck er : Paragraphs two and three. And thereupon 
I assume—

T he  Court: Now, there is a motion to dismiss which 
apparently had never been brought on for hearing. A re­
sponsibility of those who filed it, as I interpret the rules, 
are to bring it on for hearing, but we can hear it now.

M r. Gray : If Your Honor please, it is my understanding 
Your Honor wanted to hear the whole matter at one time. 
You were going to hear the evidence and resolve the mo­
tions. Originally, if Your Honor please, our motion took 
a different form because of the presence in the suit of the 
South Boston School Board and when that South Boston 
School Board was dismissed from the suit at that time we,



App. 47

if Your Honor will remember, decided that took care of 
one of the major arguments that we had with respect to 
the motion and that we would therefor proceed with the 
hearing on the merits and the motions at the same time, 
which was the understanding I had.

T h e  Court: Then rule at the conclusion of all the evi­
dence.

M r. Gray: Yes, sir.

T he  Court : Please don’t let me forget that that motion 
is still here, gentlemen.

Mr. Bagwell : We won’t.

T he  Court : Very well.
Do you wish to make any further opening statement Mr. 

Tucker?

Mr. T ucker : No, sir. I think that with the answer to the 
interrogatories in and the concessions that we have that the 
plaintiffs rest.

T he  Court: Do you offer the interrogatories?

Mr. T u ck er : Offer the interrogatories and answers. I 
have offered them before.

T he Court: Mr. Gray, I thought you taught us that a 
long time ago. Do you wish to make a statement?

Mr. Gray : I think it might be helpful if I put the case 
in prospective very briefly with an opening statement.

We believe, sir, that the evidence will show that Halifax 
County is a very large county in land area having 808 
square miles. It has a population of roughly 35,000 and 
the school population is roughly fifty-fifty as far as racial 
composition of the schools are concerned.



App. 48

We will, for the sake of bringing the full record to this 
Court, will offer to the Court the opinion and order of this 
Court the hearing in Betts versus County School Board of 
Halifax County, which was Civil Action 65-C-7-D. Judge 
Michie heard that case, Your Honor. At that time it was in 
a class action and it was a freedom of choice plan that was 
adjudicated and ordered. And the School Board is under 
a court order of this Court to operate under that plan at this 
time.

T h e  Court : I take it that was prior to Green versus 
New Kent.

M r. Gray : Yes, Your Honor, that was. The order was 
entered in May 1967.

We will show that the School Board has complied with 
that order and is still complying.

Your Honor is already familiar with the composition of 
this Committee of Control which is made up of one member 
of the South Boston School Board and three or four from 
the Halifax School Board who run the high schools in the 
County.

The evidence is going to show, Your Honor, that the 
school buildings, elementary school buildings, for the Negro 
students are better than those for the white. That the high 
school facilities are at the present time over crowded and 
that there are plans in the mill now for the building of a 
junior high school or two junior high schools.

The evidence will show the status of that. The effort the 
School Board is making to get the financing for this.

The evidence will further show there is a very strong- 
private school movement in the county. And that if the 
county at this stage is required to abandon its freedom of 
choice plan it will be a very detrimental effect on the entire 
school system in the county.



App. 49

We would further show that fairly substantial steps have 
been taken with respect to desegregation of the faculty in 
the Halifax County school system.

Then, Your Honor, we would ask that you consider the 
nature of this, and this goes back to the motion more or 
less, I think would also be involved with the evidence, the 
nature of this as a class action in view of the fact that the 
Department of Health, Education and Welfare has now 
been given control over this particular administrative pro­
cedure or of administrative access and is supposed to bring 
about the desegregation of the public school system. Quite 
frankly, sir, I have not found a case which says that when 
the rights of a group of people are given to administrative 
agency of the government—

T he  Court : They haven’t been given to the administra­
tive agency, have they, Mr. Gray? Only if the people want 
the funds. If the people don’t want the Federal funds they 
don’t have anything to do with it.

Mr. Gray : No, sir, but the department can institute suits.
T h e  Court: They can, but the truth of the matter is 

HEW  only gets involved if you want Federal funds and 
the act itself refers to the fact that they anticipate that if 
the Court or if a Court rules, that it is regardless of what 
HEW  says.

Mr. Gray : I think Your Honor, that is guide-lines and 
not the act.

T he  Court : It is a regulation.
Mr. Gray : HEW  said if you comply with a court order 

they do not interfere. The point I am making is the right to 
bring desegregation cases on behalf of the classes have been 
given to the Justice Department.



App. 50

T h e  Court : Very well.
Mr. Gray : And we find ourselves in a position—
T he  Court: Y ou don’t mean HEW, you mean Justice.
Mr. Gray : Justice Department acts on recommenda­

tions of administrative agencies having vested and de­
termined so that they work together, actually. But you 
could find the situation, Your Honor, where you have two 
separate suits being brought at cross purposes, both of 
which seem are allegedly representing the rights of the same 
class of people.

T h e  Court : They have to be brought in the same Court, 
wouldn’t they?

Mr. Gray : Yes. May very well have to.
T he  Court : I suspect if he did.
M r. Gray : The closest thing I have seen of this, Your 

Honor, and later on I will give you as much information 
as I can with respect to it, is a case or whole series of 
cases which were decided last week in South Carolina by 
a District Court. Whether Your Honor—

T he  Court : I am familiar.
M r. G r a y  : —may have seen this, I hope to have avail­

able today the opinion which was entered, or the order 
which was entered in that case in the District Court. It 
has remanded these cases or has these cases and these school 
boards to the Department of Health, Education and Welfare 
to work out a plan with them. They are more, apparently— 
their reasoning is they are better able to look at the schools 
and see what is administratively possible. And if a plan is 
approved by the Department then I am not going to upset 
that plan unless the plaintiff shows that it is improper.

We just submit that, Your Honor.



App. 51

T h e  Court : Don’t you think that contemplates, though, 
whatever plan they work out comes within the mandate of 
the Green versus New Kent ?

M r. Gray : I think that is what the Court is saying.
T h e  Court : I think it is like appointing a commissioner.
M r. Gray: In essence I think it is similar to that, yes, 

sir. But apparently it is now for the Court to relieve itself 
of the task of trying to examine each school district in 
detail and determine all of the ramifications rather than 
let that detail be handled by the administrative agency.

T h e  Court : Of course I have been wanting to get HEW  
for some time. Mr. Gray, and nobody has given me per­
mission to do it. And I don’t dare speak with an outside 
party unless I get authority from counsel. I think it ought 
to be in writing, actually. I have been promised it. I have 
never received it.

Mr. Gray : No, sir, you haven’t received it yet.
I know what you are referring to, Your Honor. It is 

my fault.
T h e  Court: I am not saying the plaintiff hasn’t—the 

plaintiffs in these other cases haven’t jumped to suggest 
that I meet with HEW, but you know, I have been wanting 
to do it.

M r. Gray: Well, I understand that, Your Honor. I 
merely have to say to you, sir, that sometimes defendants in 
these actions have to be convinced as to which one is going 
to bite them the hardest.

T h e  Court : All right. Let’s get down to the evidence.
I take it you rest ?
Mr. T u ck er : Yes, sir.



App. 52

T h e  Court: All right, Mr. Gray. Mr. Bagwell?
M r. Bagwell: May it please Your Honor, it has been 

agreed by stipulation we may present in evidence this opin­
ion that was handed down by Judge Michie in Betts the 
County School Board of Halifax County Civil Action 
6S-C-7-D handed down on May 9, 1967.

T he  Court: We will mark it if you wish. I think the 
Court could take judicial notice of it.

(The document referred to was introduced in evidence as 
Defendant’s Exhibit A 2.)

M r. Bagwell: And the order entered by the Court in 
this case on May 24, 1967.

(The document referred to was introduced in evidence as 
Defendant’s Exhibit A order dated May 24, 1967.)

M r. Bagwell: And the final order dismissed June 14, 
1967.

(The document referred to was introduced in evidence as 
Defendant’s Exhibit A 1 order dated June 14, 1967.)

Mr. Bagwell: So I assume that the appropriate thing 
would be to have the Clerk together initial these as an 
exhibit and we will have them in the record for future ref­
erence.

We would like to call Mr. Wood to the stand, please.
Mr. Gray : Judge, may I just get one point clear before 

we start ?
Mr. Bagwell represents both the School Board and the 

Committee of Control. I represent only the School Board.
T h e  Court : I understand.
M r. Gray : I wonder now whether it would be proper 

if there are questions that I—



T he Court : Oh yes, these matters are too important to 
stand on formality.

M r. Gray : It is easier for me than to try to whisper.

T h e  Court : All right.

Udy C. Wood

was called as a witness by the defendants and, having been 
first duly sworn, was examined and testified on his oath 
as follows:

App. 53

DIRECT E X A M IN A T IO N

By M r . Bagwell:
Q What is your full name, sir ?
T h e  Court : Excuse me, Mr. Bagwell. The rules require 

that you stand.
By Mr. Bagwell :

Q What is your full name, sir ?
T h e  Court: If you examine from the table I think you 

will find that you will have to raise your voice. If you raise 
your voice the witness will raise his.

M r . Bagwell : I really prefer to stand.

T h e  Court : Examine him from the table. Stand at the 
table while you examine the witness then I think the wit­
ness will speak loud enough for all of us to hear.
By M r. Bagwell :

Q What is your name, please ?
A Udy C. Wood.
Q Mr. Wood, what is your capacity with reference to 

the school system of Halifax County ?
A lam  Division Superintendent.



App. 54

Q How long have you served in that capacity, sir ?
A Four years in June, last of June.
Q Were you connected with the public schools in Hali­

fax County prior to your arising to the capacity of Super­
intendent of Schools ?

A Yes, sir.
Q What position did you occupy there ?
A Well, I came to the county in 1948 as principal of one 

of the high schools. Then I came into the Superintendent’s 
office in business administration position in 1953.

Then four years ago I was appointed Superintendent.
Q Mr. Wood, tell us please what the organization of 

the public school system of Halifax County is ?
A You mean relative the different boards ?

Q Yes, sir.
A We have in Halifax County at the elementary schools 

a school board that is appointed by the electoral board to 
operate the elementary schools in the county. Then we have 
a joint high school operation. We have two high schools 
and they are jointly owned and operated by the city and 
the county. And we have a board that is appointed by the 
respective boards, the County Board and the City Board. 
This board is known as the Committee for Control. And 
this board is made up of members of the County Board 
and of the City Board. And their responsibility is operation 
of the two high schools.

Q I believe it is just recently that South Boston has 
been a city ?

A Yes, sir,
Q Prior to that it was a town within the Halifax County 

area but even prior to becoming a city had it constituted a 
separate school district ?



App. 55

A Yes, sir.
Q Now, the grammar schools used by the city of South 

Boston are altogether within the city of South Boston?
A Yes, sir.
Q They are in no way controlled by either the Board 

of Control or by the Halifax County School Board?
A That is exactly right.
Q Therefore we have no interest in them in this pro­

ceeding ?
A That’s right, yes, sir.
Q Now, do I understand that the grammar schools of 

Halifax County are all controlled by Halifax County 
School Board ?

A Yes, sir.
Q And that the high schools used by both the city of 

South Boston and by the County of Halifax are under the 
control of the Committee ?

A Yes, sir.
Q And that its representatives are elected by the two 

School Boards of the two separate districts ?
A Yes, sir.
Q Now, approximately how many grammar schools 

are there in Halifax County ?
A There are fourteen elementary schools in the county.
Q How many high schools ?
A There are two high schools.
Q And two high schools that are used jointly by the 

county and by the city, are they owned jointly by those two 
bodies ?

A Yes, sir.



App. 56

Q Now, Mr. Wood, I have introduced in evidence here 
the final order of Judge Michie handed down in what we 
refer to as the case of Betts versus Halifax County School 
Board, as well as his opinion. You are familiar, I judge, 
with these orders and this opinion ?

A Yes, sir.
Q And I believe that the opinion itself contains in full 

length the entire plan that was approved by Judge Michie 
in that case ?

A Yes, sir.
Q Will you please state whether or not the Halifax 

County School Board is and has been since the entry of that 
order in compliance with the order of Judge Michie?

A Yes, sir. Every effort has been made to comply one 
hundred per cent with Judge Michie’s order.

Q And to the best of your knowledge and understand­
ing have we continued to fully be in compliance with it ?

A Yes ,sir.
Q Now, while the high schools and the Committee for 

Control are not technically under that order, please state 
whether or not the high school has since the entry of that 
order followed concurrently with the grammar schools the 
direction of that order insofar as their operation has been 
concerned ?

A The general operations of the two high schools have 
followed the same philosophy that was set down by the 
Federal Court in Judge Michie’s decision. In other words 
we have followed in the high school the same procedure 
that we did in the elementary.

Q Now, insofar as the high schools are concerned, 
please state whether or not you are in compliance with the 
directives from the HEW  ?



App. 57

A I would say we are, sir. After we got a court order 
we have not any contact, or very little contact, with HEW  
other than some reports that they have asked us to make. So 
we are in compliance with HEW  according to my best 
judgment as long as we are in compliance with the Court.

Mr. Bagwell: Now, this opinion—I recognize there will 
be times, Your Honor, when I will lead this witness to some 
extent.

T h e  Court : That is all right.
Mr. Bagwell : In order to save time. I think it will not be 

upon objectionable matters.
T h e  Court : That is all right.

By Mr. Bagwell :
Q I believe that this opinion given by Judge Michie 

and directing specifically how the School Board shall be 
operated prescribes what we commonly know as freedom of 
choice plan ?

A Yes, sir, for pupils, freedom of choice of pupils.
Q Are we in operation under freedom of choice right 

down to this moment ?
A Yes, sir.
Q Where do we stand now with reference to the free­

dom of choice operation? Where are we now in Halifax 
County with reference to the election of the children as to 
which school they will go to ?

A Well, if I may, the freedom of choice order spelled 
out that each year, each child or his parent would make a 
selection on a form choosing the school which he would 
choose to go or to send his children. And that has been 
followed every year. And it has been followed this year. 
And we have received the freedom of choice forms. They



App. 58

have been sent out in March of each year and returned the 
last of March. They have had thirty days to complete these 
forms. And at this time the forms are in my office.

Now, they have not been gone over so I don’t know 
whether every one is in or not, but the deadline has past.

Q Is it a considerable operation to tabulate?
A Oh, yes, sir.
Q So where you stand now is in the position of having 

offered every child, really required him to make an elec­
tion, and each child has made an election, but you have 
not had the opportunity to know what the results of that 
election are ?

A Yes, sir, that’s right.
Q Now, it has been stipulated here that your answers 

to the interrogatories that were submitted in this case are 
correct insofar as you are able to tabulate the facts and 
figures. I just wish to ask you, have you made a serious 
effort to give to the Court in your answers to interrogatories 
the full and correct answer to these interrogatories that 
were propounded to you ?

A Yes, sir. I believe I made a sworn statement to that 
effect.

Q Now, tell us, Mr. Wood, something about the racial 
make up of Halifax County, and particularly as it relates 
to children of school age and school attendance?

A It is about as near as in round percentages I have 
got it, it is about fifty-fifty.

Q How big is the county ?
A 808 square miles including South Boston. Around 

ten thousand children in the county and the city.
Q Now, the ten thousand children of school age in the 

county and the city, is this it ?



App. 59

A Right, yes, sir. Approximately.
Q Approximately how many in the county ?
A Well South Boston has 1600. That would be 8400.
Q What is your population of the county exclusive of 

South Boston roughly?
A You mean school population ?
Q Yes.
A 8400.

Q Mr. Wood, what, if any efforts have been made in 
the past several years to effectuate a racial integration of 
the faculties of both the grammar schools and the high 
schools that you have control over ?

A In this order that we had, this Court Order under 
Judge Michie it spelled out in there that every effort should 
be made to integrate the faculty reaching towards a goal 
of total integration of faculty. And we have been making 
every effort to. It didn’t say we had to fire anybody or any­
thing like that. But as vacancies occur we have made every 
effort to put white teachers in the predominantly Negro 
schools and Negro teachers in the predominantly white 
schools. And that has been based on our best ability to 
screen and pick competent teachers that will do a good job 
and that can make this integration work. In other words 
it is very important that a teacher that is put into an inte­
grated situation be one that can work in that type of a sit­
uation.

Q Now, of course these precise figures are in an an­
swer to interogatories, but generally—-

A Yes, sir, the numbers.
O —in order to bring it before us now, generally tell 

us to what extent you have been able to accomplish in these



App. 60

two years since this opinion was handed down and this 
order was drawn a racial integration of the faculties of 
these schools ?

A Mr. Bagwell, I believe the answer to interrogatories 
show 222 teachers, and frankly I have not added it up. 
There is about forty of those that are in integrated situ­
ations. And there is 180 teachers in the high school and it 
looks like there is twenty-two high schools. So we have got 
better than sixty teachers or more teachers in an integrated 
situation at the present time.

Q Progressing at the rate at which you have been pro­
gressing for the last two years, approximately, how long 
would it take to complete the racial integration of these 
public schools so that it would be difficult to distinguish 
them from a faculty standpoint on a racial basis ?

A That is a difficult question to answer. Of course it 
depends on how big a turnover we have in teachers and 
how many of them that we can hire to go into an inte­
grated situation. I didn’t state a while ago in this that 
moving teachers from one type of school to another. We 
have done it through a program of selling the teacher on 
the idea rather than a directive saying that the teacher had 
to go. And it has made a very good working situation as 
far as we are concerned in the county. But the progress 
that we have made when you look at ’60, why it could 
easily be figured out if we made that type of progress in 
the future it would take many years to have a fully inte­
grated faculty. But there are many factors that enter into 
that, you see. Unless we dismiss teachers on a wholesale 
basis just to do this it would depend a great deal on turn­
over and availability of teachers.

Q I take it that the integration is achieved mainly 
through employment of new teachers rather than through



App. 61

the forcing of the old teachers to move from one racial—
A There has been no forcing and a great deal of it has 

been obtained through the employment of new teachers, 
young teachers.

Q Mr. Wood, what is the situation that obtains in 
Halifax County now with reference to the development of 
private school or schools ?

A Restate that please, sir.
Q Tell what you can about the situation that exists in 

Halifax County relative to the matter of the development 
of a private school system or systems ?

A There is one private school in operation at the pres­
ent time in the county. And this is an estimate, I believe 
they have around seventy pupils. We have somewhere a- 
round one hundred pupils in private schools at the present 
time.

Now, there is a school in two or three of the adjoining' 
counties where some of these pupils are going. That is 
now. The information that I have gathered by reading the 
press shows that a school, a grade school, g r a d e s  one 
through seven, is in the planning stage. The land has been 
obtained and prints have been drawn and this building will 
be built between now and September which will house 
seven grades one hundred to two hundred fifty pupils. I 
mean that is about the capacity. So there is a big move­
ment on right now in the county to begin a private school, 
I mean a larger private school operation than we now have.

Q These are elementary altogether ?
A That is my understanding. I don’t have firsthand 

knowledge on this. I am quoting what I read in the paper.
Q I understand that. Of course you have no connec­

tion with it whatever, something that is foreign to you, 
but it is something that is covered, been covered fully ?



App. 62

A Oh yes, I think it is quite evident that what I am 
saying is the fact generally.

Q Now, Mr. Wood, please state—I believe you are 
Superintendent of Schools, are you not not only for Hali­
fax County but also the city of South Boston ?

A Yes, sir.
Q Please tell us what situation exists and what plans 

are underway with reference to the operation of the school 
system, of the high school system of the city of South 
Boston that would relate to or affect the operation of the 
county schools, high schools ?

A South Boston has six hundred forty. Now, this is 
within a few of the number of high school pupils grades 
eight through twelve at the present time in the jointly 
owned and operated high schools that we now have. South 
Boston City School Board and City Council has more or 
less agreed to this. I don’t know whether they have offi­
cially or not, but it is generally understood that South 
Boston is going to build a high school, a city high school 
to house all South Boston city high school pupils which 
would result in South Boston having a separate operation. 
Complete separate operation with kindergarten through 
twelve for all of the city children.

O If the matter moves upon this schedule that now 
would be considered reasonably apparent, approximately 
when would such new facilities of the city of South Boston 
be available for use ?

A Well, it is quite possible it could be available for 
use September 1970 and certainly by September of 1971.

Q Now, to make sure that we understand this clearly, 
this plan that is now under way, would this mean that all 
of the city of South Boston high school pupils would with-



App. 63

draw from the present schools and be taught within the 
city-owned high schools, is this the idea ?

A Yes, sir.
T h e  Court: Let me ask. Are all of your county high 

school pupils taught within the county ?
T he  W itness : Yes, sir.
T h e  Court: Really four high schools?
T he  W itness : No, sir, just two high schools.
T he  Court : Two in the county and two in the city ?
T he  W itn e ss : No, the city doesn’t have a high school. 

It has two elementary schools.
T he  Court: I see. I am misinterpreting Exhibit B.
T he  W itness : We broke that down between high school 

and—I mean between city and county children, sir.
T h e  Court: I see you did. It is the same high school?

T he  W it n e ss : Yes, sir.
T he  Court: It refers to the enrollment and that is the 

number of students who live in the city, for example, who 
go to Bethune.

T h e  W itness : T hat’s right.

T h e  Court: T wo fifty six and 1485 are from the 
county. I see. All right sir.

T h e  W it n e ss : Yes, sir.
Mr. Bagwell : If I may further lead the witness to be 

sure we have the picture. The city of South Boston has its 
own grammar schools that we are not involved in in this 
suit at.



App. 64

T he  W itn e ss : Yes, that is exactly right.
By Mr. Bagwell :

Q Halifax County has its own grammar schools that 
we are involved with in this suit ?

A Yes, sir.

T he  Court : Grades eight through twelve ?
T h e  W itn e ss : Grammar school grades one through 

seven.

T he  Court : High school is eight through twelve.
T h e  W itn e ss : Yes, sir.

By M r. Bagwell :
Q Now, in the high school field there are only two high 

schools in either county or city ?
A Yes, sir.

Q Both of which are in the county ?
A Yes, sir.

Q But they are jointly owned by the city and the 
county ?

A Yes, sir.
Q They are operated by this Committee for Control?
A Yes, sir.
Q And it is in this field that you have testified that 

plans are now underway for the city of South Boston to 
withdraw the pupils that it contributes to the high schools 
and to have them taught in a high school that was filed 
within the city of South Boston ?

A Yes, sir.
Q Now, there are about 640 pupils ?
A Well, we show in Exhibit B 397 white children,



App. 65

city children, in Halifax County High School and 12 
Negro. And we show 256 Negro children are from the city 
and Bethune. So that is where I believe we figured the 
other day is somewhere around 606 or 650. I have not 
added it up.

T h e  Court: Don’t depend on me to do it. If I could 
add I wouldn’t have been lawyer.
By M r. Bagwell:

Q You testified, I believe, that the racial composition 
basically of the schools that we are involved with here are 
on a fifty-fifty basis between the Negro and white chil­
dren?

A The elementary schools and the high schools that 
we are involved with now ?

Q Yes, sir.
A Yes, sir, that’s right.
Q Now, what, if any effect, will this plan of the city 

of South Boston have upon this racial situation? Will it 
affect the racial balance either one way or the other ?

A The racial composition in South Boston is about 
64, somewhere near that, and it would affect the racial bal­
ance. As you can see there is 256 and twelve would be 
268 Negro children that would be pulled out of the two high 
schools and 397 white children. So there would be a slight 
change in the racial composition in the county if South 
Boston should build a high school and move their children 
to the city.

T he  Court : Well, really it would be diminimus though, 
wouldn’t it ?

A Be small, yes, sir.
Q Approximately how many would it be, Mr. Wood?



App. 66

A Well, it would be 397 white children and 268 Negro 
children.

T h e  Court: 665?

T h e  W itn e ss : Six from eight and two would be twen­
ty-nine and make a difference of 129 children.

By M r. Bagwell :
Q In other words it would increase ?
A Oh yes.
Q The Negro majority would be 129?
A Yes, sir.
Q Now, what, if any, effect will this private school 

plan that we are involved with have upon the racial ratio?
A That is a hard question to answer, but my opinion 

is that this private school movement at the present time of 
the momentum it is going to have is going to have a tre­
mendous effect on the race or the ratio of black to white. 
I think that a large number of white children are going to 
leave the public school. That is an opinion.

Q Let me ask you. You state that the private school is 
now underway, and it is anticipated this will be in opera­
tion this fall ?

A Yes, sir.
Q You say from fifty to two hundred students. What 

race will they be ?
A They will be white.
Q Altogether ?
A My opinion is they will be, yes, sir. In other words 

I don’t have any idea there will be anything but white.
T h e  Court : It usually works that way.



App. 67

T he  W it n e ss : I would be surprised if they had any 
Negro children.

By Mr. Bagwell :
Q Does it appear that this is really the basic purpose 

of the private school is to enable them to go to a white 
school ?

A I think it is obvious.
Q Well, then, I can see if a possibility of having 150 

to 250—if 200 attend, do I understand that will mean or 
that will also increase the Negro majority over whites in 
the public schools by approximately 200 people ?

A Yes, sir.
Q Now, Mr. Wood, with reference, going back now to 

our school systems that we are involved with here, the 
grammar schools or elementary schools, I will call them, 
on the one hand and high schools, two high schools, on 
the other, tell us what you can about the matter of the 
crowding, if any, of those schools, w h e t h e r  they are 
crowded, unfilled, or what.

A The two high schools, Mr. Bagwell, are crowded to 
the point of approximately 500 each. In other words the 
crowded situation is about the same in the Bethune High 
School as it is in the Halifax County High School. And 
there are about 500 pupils more in these schools than they 
were designed for. In other words the crowded situation 
in the two high schools is real bad.

Q Do I take it you said that means a total of approxi­
mately one thousand students overcrowded ?

A Yes, sir.
Now, let me make one point right here. According to 

this interrogatory here that may not look one hundred per 
cent correct, but we have some mobile units which were



App. 68

figured into this for special purposes. Special education. 
That may paint a little different picture from what I am 
saying here, but the two high schools were actually de­
signed for five hundred each less than they are now hous­
ing and the crowded situation is very substantial.

Q Is that a serious threat to the effectiveness of the 
school system ?

A Yes, sir.
T h e  Court: How long have you been living with it?

T he  W it n e ss : Sir?
T h e  Court: H ow long have you been living with the 

crowded condition ?

T h e  W it n e ss : Well, we built these schools—one school 
was built in 1953 and a part of the other school was built 
in 1953 or ’54 and they were designed, sir, for what was 
anticipated at that time to be a large enough, but with the 
comprehensive type operation, the holding power within 
the high school, it has been considerably more than was 
anticipated. So it has been overcrowded for four or five 
years.

T he Court : What have you done ? Anything ?
T h e  W itness : We have been beating our heads against 

the wall to try to get some money. We have really not done 
anything much.

Mr. Bagwell : I will touch on that in my examination 
in a moment, Your Honor.

T he  Court : I see.

By Mr. Bagwell :
Q Are the grammar schools from the standpoint of



crowding of these, how do these relate? How do they re­
late?

A Nothing like as bad. We have one or two that are 
crowded and we have a couple of mobile units at one or 
two of them, but generally speaking the grammar schools 
are not crowded enough to make a great deal of difference.

0  Now, Mr. Wood, insofar—of course the private 
school situation will, to some extent, help some in the 
crowding?

A That will help in the grammar schools. And of 
course it will help. A while ago I didn’t comment further 
on this, but the private school movement, if it is successful 
and progresses as it looks like it will, it would go right on 
into cover all grades.

Q That is the plan that is contemplated to cover all 
grades ?

A Yes, sir, but it will help the seven grades that are 
anticipated for the private next year, will help to some 
degree the overcrowded condition in some of the elemen­
tary schools.

Q But of course will not touch your high school prob­
lem that you say are one thousand overcrowded?

A That’s right, will not.
Q Now, the proposed plan of the city of South Bos­

ton, when it is effectuated, how will that affect the crowded 
condition ?

A Well, that will take out two thirds of this that are 
approximately of the thousand that we are talking about 
if they pull out six hundred plus pupils out of a thousand, 
so that would help some, but it is still not going to elimin­
ate the problem altogether.

App. 69



App. 70

Q Now, Mr. Wood, I would like for you to tell the 
Court something generally about the character and physical 
facilities involved in your separate schools. First in the 
grammar school side and then on the high school side, re­
ferring to the schools on the one hand that have been pre­
dominantly Negro in attendance and those that have been 
predominantly white in attendance, let’s take the grammar 
schools first. First tell us how many grammar schools are 
there ?

A Fourteen.
Q All right.
Are they fairly equally divided in schools that are pre­

dominantly white and predominantly Negro?
A Let me just take a second. Let me give you the ex­

act figures on that. We have five predominantly Negro 
schools. We don’t have any white children in those schools. 
That leaves nine white schools.

Q Now, let’s take the five schools that you refer to as 
the schools that we will call predominantly Negro in attend­
ance and in faculty. Tell us something about the nature of 
these schools, how modern the facilities are.

A These schools have all been built within the last 
eight or ten years. Before that time there were a number 
of one, two, three and four room elementary schools in the 
county. Frame structures, poor buildings. And the program 
was started several years ago to build new schools. These 
schools were consolidated into a reasonably reasonable size 
school so that a good educational program could be offered 
and modern buildings were built.

Now, they weren’t all built at one time. In other words 
the last one has just been finished two or three years, but 
these five schools that I speak of are first class modern 
buildings.



App. 71

Q Now, let’s put over what period of years have they 
been built ?

A About ten years.
Q Let’s go back. Prior to the ten years during which 

these schools were built I believe that the schools in the 
county that were attended by the Negro children were 
largely very small frame buildings that were then really 
inferior in physical facilities to the one attended by the 
whites ?

A Yes, sir, very much so.
Q Therefore as new buildings had to be constructed 

were they built almost altogether to replace these outmoded 
frame Negro school buildings?

A Yes, sir. Two or three of the buildings, the new 
buildings were built to replace the same type of white 
building, but they were, these five buildings were built to 
replace those outmoded archiac one, two, three room frame 
buildings.

Q All right.
Now, generally how do these schools that are grammar 

schools that are now predominantly Negro compare with 
the grammar schools that are predominantly white in new­
ness and in the excellence of the physical facilities ?

A You mean now ?
Q Now.
A Well, we have two buildings that are predominantly 

white buildings that were built back with WPA money in 
fact in those days, if you can remember about when that 
was. Then we have about three that were built sometime 
many years before that. So that is five buildings that date 
back ’33 or before. Then we have two or three buildings 
that are rather new that were built at the same time we



App. 72

built these predominantly Negro schools. So the white 
buildings now, the predominantly white buildings now are 
generally many years older than the predominantly Negro 
buildings.

O And can it fairly be said that the schools that are 
predominantly Negro have as good, if not better, facilities 
than the white, generally ?

A Yes, sir, no question about that.

0  Now, let’s turn to the high school picture, two high 
schools, I believe ?

A Yes, sir.

Q The one that is predominantly white is called Hali­
fax County High School ?

A Yes, sir.
Q Where is that situated ?
A That is between South Boston and Halifax on SOI.
Q Nearly near the center of the county ?
A Yes, sir.

Q How modern is this building?
A We occupied that September 1953.
Q ’S3. About sixteen years old ?
A Right.

Q Now, the other, the schools that are predominantly 
Negro is called Mary Bethune High School ?

A Yes, sir.

Q Where is that situated ?
A In Halifax only three or four miles, four or five 

miles from the Halifax County High School.

Q How long has that school been at that location ?



App. 73

A You have to ask somebody older than I. It has been 
there a long time. Now, parts of it I am talking about.

Q Well, you know it has been added on to, but the 
schools are thirty or forty years, something like that ?

A Yes, sir, I would say.
Q How is it situated with reference to residential areas 

of any race ?
A It is in a Negro community.
Q Is it completely surrounded by Negro community?
A Yes, sir.

Q And has been there operated as either a Negro 
school or predominantly Negro school for many many 
years ?

A Yes, sir.

Q Now, tell us something about the nature of its phys­
ical facilities.

A Well, it is the same type structure that was being 
contemplated and drawn and built at Halifax County High 
School, apart. There was a building that was on the draw­
ing board and was actually contemplated within the year 
of 1963 of the Halifax County High School. In other 
words at Mary Bethune let me say it like this, at Mary 
Bethune this is a building there that houses approximately 
half of the children. That is the same ages as the one in 
Halifax County High School. The other children are 
housed in buildings, one of them is a four room wood 
structure. That was an old shop building that has been re­
modeled. It is right pitiful. There is about sixteen, four­
teen or sixteen classrooms and what is known generally 
and locally as the H shape building that dates way back 
probably in the thirties and it’s in right deplorable condi­
tion. Then of course a shop building that houses the voca­



App. 74

tional grades. That is the same age as the new building. In 
other words half of the pupils at Mary Bethune, approxi­
mately, are housed in antiquated outdated physical facili­
ties.

Q Now, tell us whether or not the school board has 
initiated any plans in an effort to obtain better high school 
facilities and facilities that will relieve the crowding.

A Yes, sir. The school board has passed a resolution, 
and I don’t know whether that is one of the Exhibits or 
not. Is it? I am asking a question. Is that one of the Ex­
hibits ?

Q Yes.
A The school board passed a resolution resolving that 

all effort be exerted towards the building of a junior high 
school to eliminate the bad situation that we have as far as 
physical facilities at Mary Bethune and to also improve 
the educational program in the county.

Q Did your county school board earlier this year pass 
a resolution in furtherance of its effort to obtain a new 
junior high school?

A Yes, sir.
Q I hand you what purports to be such a resolution 

and ask you if you will just read this to the Court and 
then we will ask to introduce it.

A “Be it resolved Halifax County School Board begin 
at the earliest possible date the construction of a new 
junior high school or intermediate school for Halifax 
County, and be it further resolved that the Halifax County 
Board of Supervisors be requested at the next meeting to 
approve a plan for construction of said school, and be it 
resolved that the chairman of the Halifax County School 
Board immediately appoint a committee with myself as



App. 75

chairman of said committee to begin the study, plans, and 
possible locations for said school, and to take such other 
and further steps necessary to assure the immediate con­
struction of the aforesaid school.”

T h e  Court : What date ?

T h e  W it n e ss : Sir?

T he  Court : What date was it ?
T h e  W it n e ss : February. Let’s see. The special meet­

ing, excuse me. I am sorry, sir, at special meeting of the 
Halifax County School Board held in the school board 
office in Halifax, Virginia Tuesday, February 23 1969 
with all members present. I am sorry I didn’t read that 
part.

T h e  Court : That is all right.
By Mr. Bagwell:

Q That was unanimous, I believe, was it not ?
A Yes, sir.
M r. Bagwell: Your Honor, we wish to introduce as 

Exhibit B or 2 that resolution.
T h e  Court : Do you have an objection?
M r. T ucker : N o objection. I would like to get some­

thing from the clerk.

(The resolution dated February 25, 1969 was received 
into evidence as Defendant’s Exhibit B.)
By Mr. Bagwell :

Q I hand you what purports to be a copy of a later 
meeting held by the Board of Supervisors of Halifax 
County on March 12, 1969 and ask you if you will read 
that to His Honor.



App. 76

A March 12, 1969. A special meeting of the board. 
“There was a special meeting of the Board of Supervisors 
held on twelve March 1969 in the board room together with 
the members of the School Board with all of the members 
of the Board of Supervisors present.” And then he names 
the members. “The meeting was opened with a prayer by 
Mr. B. Louis Compton. Don Bagwell, attorney for the 
School Board, and Fred Gray, special counsel for the 
School Board, gave a report of the present status of the 
suit in which the School Board is involved in the Supreme 
Court. Upon motion of Mr. T. H. Bass, seconded by Dr. 
N. H. Wooding and duly carried the following resolution 
was passed. Be it resolved the recommendation of the Hali­
fax County School Board for construction of New Junior 
High School be approved and adopted as a tentative policy 
of this Board and that Superintendent of Schools is here­
by requested to submit a statement of proposed sites for 
said school and plans for the financing of the same as soon 
as possible in order that this Board may determine whether 
it shall give final approval and authorized financing for 
the school.” This is signed as an official copy. This is not 
our resolution, but to my best opinion that is what was 
passed.

Mr. Bagwell: We wish to introduce that as our Ex­
hibit C.

T he  Court : So ordered.
(The resolution dated March 12, 1969 was received into 

evidence as Defendant’s Exhibit C.)
M r. Bagwell : Reference to your Court as the Supreme 

Court was not intended as subtle flattery.



App. 77

By M r. Bagwell:
Q Have recent developments led the Board to feel that 

the answer may be possibly two junior high schools in­
stead of one ?

A Yes, sir. It is my opinion in talking with the Board 
of Supervisors and the general consensus of thinking at the 
present time that the two high schools can be built and the 
support can be mustered for two high schools.

T h e  Court : Two junior ?

T he  W it n e ss : Two junior high schools, I am sorry. 
This would be about eight or nine hundred each and it 
would be—it is not educationally unsound. It seems to have 
much more—it seems to be the Supervisors seem to buy 
this idea much better than they do one. And it is my opin­
ion that there is a good chance to build these high schools.
By M r. Bagwell :

Q Now, what, if anything, are you doing in further­
ance of this effort ?

A Well, I have met with the architects and committees 
being appointed to work with me and the School Board 
and we are gathering information now as to costs and as 
to the availability of money.

Q Is there any question whatever about the unani­
mous desire and effort of the School Board to build this 
new school or schools as soon as it is possible from a fi- 
ancial standpoint ?

A There is no question. The School Board has been 
very much in favor of this over some period of time.

T he  Court : How long?

T h e  W it n e ss : Well, we have been hollering about a 
school building, sir, for several years.



App. 78

T h e  Court : You haven’t gotten any ?

T he  W itn e ss : N o, sir.

By Mr. Bagwell:
Q Now, with reference to this matter of trying to 

respond to His Honor’s inquiry about how long. I would 
like for you to tell us whether there is any problem existing 
in Halifax County with reference to obtaining the neces­
sary funds for what the School Board needs and some­
thing about the nature of this problem. What are you try­
ing to do about it, Mr. Wood?

A Halifax County is an ultraconservative county 
when it comes to spending money. And it is most difficult 
to obtain money from a local level. For example seventy to 
seventy-five per cent of the total amount of money that 
we have for the operation of the total program comes 
from other than local sources. That is state, federal, and 
sales tax money. And it is the general feeling of the people 
in the county is such that the Supervisors are reluctant 
to talk about raising taxes to raise or get the extra money 
to do this capital investment that would be necessary in 
order to build buildings. So it is most difficult. In other 
words it is like selling sand in a desert to get money, local 
money.

Q Well, I think we might as well touch on it, and let 
me ask you this, whether the problem that has existed 
there in your opinion from the standpoint of the racial 
situation in school integration has made it quite difficult 
to obtain the funds that you have needed, in your opinion ?

A Yes, sir, that has made it much more difficult. In 
other words the people are not favorably inclined towards 
integrating the schools and that causes a feeling. And then 
on top of that you come back and say we need more money



App. 79

to do this and to build up your program. So that is double. 
That is a double load, double barrel gun at the same time, 
you see.

Q But the posture of the racial problem and of the in­
tegration has a constant bearing on what you can do 
about raising money for new investments ?

A Definitely, yes, sir.

Q Now, what, if any desirable results, would come 
from the construction of a new junior high school or two 
junior high schools?

A I would like to be very frank about this, Mr. Bag- 
well. The Mary Bethune School, as I said a while ago, is 
rather outmoded and inadequate. It is an area that is not 
conducive to integration of the white children in the opinion 
of the white parents. In my opinion, and I think I could 
think—I doubt if anybody would disagree with that, that 
it would be much easier to integrate facilities in a new 
structure in a different location. And it would be next to 
impossible to do so in the physical facilities that we now 
have and keep the pupils intact as they are now.

Q Mr. Wood, as matters now stand in Halifax County 
you testified that you are operating under His Honor’s 
mandate in the earlier case, the Betts Case, under freedom of 
choice plan. Please state whether in your opinion from a 
practical standpoint any other type plan other than free­
dom of choice type plan is workable for the schools of 
Halifax County at this time ?

A Mr. Bagwell, since the case I referred to is the New 
Kent Case, I don’t know what the proper name is, we have 
given, my staff, we have given a considerable amount of 
thought and study, prayerful consideration to howT we 
could work this out. And it is a most difficult situation be­



App. 80

cause of the location of the Negro families and the white 
families in the county. Frankly I don’t know how that it 
could be worked out, Mr. Bagwell, so that it would be a 
workable program under the present handicaps that we 
now have.

T h e  Court: You mean you don’t think you could come 
up with a plan, Mr. Wood?

T h e  W it n e ss : If you said to come up with a plan I 
would come up with one.

T he Court: I mean folks in Halifax are going to obey 
the law, aren’t they?

T h e  W itn e ss : Well, sir, I think I could come up with 
one that would be workable under the present difficulties 
if—yes, sir, I can develop a plan with a court order, yes, 
sir, and I think the people would.

T h e  Court: I mean they would—they may be reluc­
tant, understandably so, but you have no reason to believe 
people in Halifax will not obey the law, do' you ?

1 h e  W it n e ss : I don’t know, sir. I look around over 
the country and I see people not obeying the law that I had 
reason to believe would obey it before. It is sort of shock­
ing to me.

T h e  Court: I don’t think there is any problem with 
Halifax.

T h e  W itness : I hope not.

Mr. Bagwell : I will let Mr. Gray examine you further, 
Mr. Wood.

T h e  W it n e ss : All right.



App. 81

D IRECT E X A M IN A T IO N

(Continued)

By Mr. Gray :
Q Mr. Wood, as I now see it I have two questions to 

fill in. With respect to the Betts Case and opinion and 
order of the Court, tell me whether or not it is correct that 
in the original order the Judge required some changes and 
some modifications in the plan that was filed?

A Yes, sir. He required us to write an amendment and 
we wrote that. And he approved it.

Q So that the plan as written in the opinion is not the 
full plan that there had to be some amendments made to 
that?

A Yes, sir.
Q And that the opinion called for those and they were 

written ?
A Yes, sir.
Q All right, sir.
Now, I think this is perfectly obvious from looking at 

the exhibit that you indicated that some sixty teachers were 
teaching in integrated positions. Actually every teacher- 
there is no school in the county-—

A They are all integrated situations. I will stand cor­
rected on that, but you know what I meant.

Q Yes, sir. I understood what you meant, but I wanted 
to clear that that you do have some degree of integration 
in every faculty, is that correct?

A There is some degree of nervousness when you are
sitting up here.

T he  Court : You just relax.
Would you like some water ?



App.82

T h e  W itness : No, sir. No thank you.

T he  Court: There is no need for both of us to be 
nervous.

T he  W itn e ss : I don’t want you to get me for perjury, 
sir.
By M r. Gray :

Q Mr. Wood, since the Judge indicated he will join the 
club, we will make it unanimous and we will all be nervous.

T h e  Court : I get paid for it.

Mr. Gray : I hope I do.

T he  Court : You do too, Mr. Gray. I hope you do.

M r. Gray : No questions.
T h e  W itness : I am working overtime.

T he  Court: Your reputation precedes you. I am sure 
you do.

Let’s take a short break.
Mr. T uck er : I was going to ask the witness if he has 

—was he referring to a map of the locations of several 
schools ?

T he  W it n e ss : Yes, sir.
Mr. T u ck er : I would like to look at that while we are 

at recess.
T he Court : You may step down.
(The witness stood aside.)
(A recess was taken at 10:10, to reconvene at 10:20.)
(The witness resumed the stand.)



App. 83

T h e  Court: Very well, Mr. Tucker.
Gentlemen, are you ready ?
Mr. Bagwell: If I may have one minute please, Your 

Honor.
T h e  Court : All ight.

Mr. Bagwell : We have no further questions.

T he  Court : Very well.
Mr. Tucker?

CROSS E X A M IN A T IO N

By Mr. T uck er :
Q Mr. Wood, am I correct in assuming that the Negro 

people and white people live all over Halifax County ?
A Yes, sir.
Q There is no residential segregation pattern ?
A Not as such. But in some areas there are many more 

Negro people that live in a certain area than white people, 
and vice versa.

Q Little pockets ?
A Well, bigger than little pockets in some areas where 

these schools are located.
Q Well, let’s look at the area of Volens School in the 

northwest part of the county. I note that the V o l e n s  
School, which is predominantly white, and the Jennings 
School, which is all Negro, both are up in the northwest­
ern part of the county and both white and Negro live in 
that area.

A Yes, sir.
Q As a matter of fact those two schools are quite 

close to each other, are they not?



App. 84

A Within a mile of each other.
Q Within a mile of each other.
So that if one of those schools was designated as a 

school for lower elementary and the other for upper ele­
mentary grades and all persons living in the area served 
by those two schools were required to attend these schools 
serving his grade that would desegrate the schools as far 
as the northwestern corner of the county is concerned, 
would it not ?

A As far as that particular area, but that is not true 
throughout the county.

Q Throughout the county. I notice a similar situation 
with Rosa, which is predominantly white, and the other in 
the western part of the county, that is practically true too, 
isn’t it, as to how far are those apart ?

A Five or six miles apart.
Q Five or six miles apart.
Do both these schools serve the same geographical area ?
A Partly, but not exactly. You see the Rosa School 

and the Clays Mill serve some of the same geographical 
area too. In other words it gets to be much more difficult 
in this latter situation than you are talking about.

Q Well, Rosa and Meadville and Clays Mill, those 
three would serve a common area ?

A Generally, yes, sir.
Q Generally speaking.
Well, is your pattern for school attendance for white 

children a geographic pattern ? Do you have zones ?
A We are working under a freedom of choice pattern 

or freedom of choice policy and within certain areas, which 
is the same for the two schools, the children have the



App. 85

choice to go to what was either formerly a white school or 
formerly a Negro school. In other words we don’t have a 
school zoned off by itself.

Q No, but you have an area.
A That’s right, generally speaking. But on the other 

hand if a parent chooses to send his child to one side of the 
county or the other, he can do so.

Q Do you afford bus transportation ?
A Not from one end of the county to the other, but 

they have a choice of more than one school for bus trans­
portation.

Q All right.
So that as far as the School Board’s plan of—the school 

board will take care of transportation ?
A You have a given area within which a child can 

attend school with School X and receive school board trans­
portation. He has a choice there between a white school 
and a Negro school or maybe a choice between two white 
schools and Negro school or vice versa.

T h e  Court: Let me get that straight now. Is there a 
limitation to what school a child may choose now and get 
transportation ?

T he  W itn e ss : Yes, sir.

T h e  Court : There is a limitation ?
T h e  W itn e ss : Yes, sir, but it has been—it was pointed 

out very clearly, Your Honor, that—
T h e  Court: N o discrimination as far as race is con­

cerned in the limitation ?

M r. T u ck er : I don’t think I understood that answer.



App. 86

T h e  W itn e ss : I say it has been pointed out very 
clearly that there is no discrimination as far as race is 
concerned in the choice that they have, in the limitation that 
we have. In other words all Negro children, all white chil­
dren have a choice of a formerly Negro or a formerly white 
school.

By M r. T ucker :
Q So that within a given geographical area there is 

free choice ?
A Right, yes, sir. With transportation.

T h e  Court: And without transportation they can go 
anywhere.

T h e  W it n e ss : Anywhere they want to go, yes, sir. 

By M r. T uck er :
Q There is only one other point that I think is neces­

sary to touch upon and that is, is the School Board’s pur­
pose to build one junior high school or two junior high 
schools ?

A We had a study made on this two or three years ago 
by experts, specialists.

Q And what did they recommend ?
A They recommended intermediate facilities, facilities 

intermediate facilities. They used the term intermediate 
school instead of junior high school but didn’t say how 
many.

Now, it is more economical to build one school than it 
is two schools. And it is more economical for the operation 
to build one school than it is two schools and if you don’t 
get above a certain size why it is better for educational 
purposes. And the size that one school would be is 1,700 or 
1,800 would not be out of bounds in any of these areas. 
The purpose, the original idea that the board had is that



App. 87

we talked in numbers of one school, but as I pointed out 
awhile ago it looks like that the thing now is, as far as 
getting money for it, is more desirable to build schools and 
it most desirable to build some schools.

Q Is the thinking that there should be two schools 
predicated upon geographical convenience or is it predi­
cated upon race ? I mean is the idea to build a white school, 
junior high school and a Negro junior high school, or 
what is the idea? To build one in one part of the county 
and one in the other for convenience of the children that 
attend the schools ?

A I think that undoubtedly it was predicated on the 
basis of convenience. And another thing too. You know 
there is some feeling about locating everything in the court 
house square. And the people would like to have one in— 
one on one side of the river and one on the other side of 
the river. I don’t think race entered into this, Mr. Tucker.

Q Have there been tentative site selections for the two 
schools ?

A The instructions that I had and the board had was 
to look for the use. And we have found several places that 
we think would be desirable. But there has been no options 
made.

0  I am not going to ask you to disclose the site selec­
tions.

T he  Court: Not unless you want to run the price up.
Mr. T ucker : I have no further questions.
T he  Court : Is there any redirect, gentlemen?

Mr. Gray : One second.
T he  Court: Yes, sir.



App. 88

REDIRECT E X A M IN A T IO N

By Mr. Gray :
Q Mr. Wood, just to be certain that we are completely 

clear about this bus transportation situation. Is it correct 
that the plan contemplates that each child has his choice to 
go to the nearest formerly white or formerly Negro school 
and be provided transportation?

A Yes, sir.

O But beyond that you do not undertake to provide 
transportation. Was that consistent with what the federal 
guidelines of the HEW  called for under freedom of choice?

A Yes, sir.

Q Now, I was interested in the three schools that Mr. 
Tucker picked to ask you about, Clays Mill, Rosa, and 
Meadville. Would you say that they—

A They are overlapping.
Q Pretty generally serve the same area ?
A Well, they are overlapping.
Q Yes, sir.
Well, if you combined those three schools together—do 

you have your answer to interrogatories up there? Would 
you tell us what racial composition would be of a student 
body made up of those three schools ?

T he  Court : Which ones now, Mr. Gray.
M r. Gray : Clays Mill, which is the first one on the list.
T he Court: All right.

Mr. Gray : Meadville, which is the sixth one down. And 
Rosa which is the one following that.

T h e  W itn e ss : You would have nine hundred Negro 
students and 184 white.



App. 89

By M r. Gray:

Q Yes, sir. So does this illustrate the fact that while 
you generally have a fifty-fifty racial composition in the 
county that there are very definite areas which are pre­
dominantly one race or the other, is that correct ?

A That is the point that I didn’t volunteer this infor­
mation. Nobody asked me, but some of these schools would 
be predominantly Negro and some would be predominantly 
white unless we bus from one end of the county to the 
other, and this is eight hundred some square miles. So that 
was what I said, sir, a while ago when I said it would be 
most difficult.

T he  Court: Would you really have to do that? Don’t 
you have sufficient numbers of—aren’t they sufficiently 
close enough to take care of that situation ?

T he  W itn e ss : Not to make—not to equalize the race. I 
mean we can mix them, but there are going to be some of 
these schools that are going to be predominantly white and 
some predominantly Negro unless we haul them two differ­
ent ways. In other words it would be necessary to bus 
white children in one direction away from a school and 
Negro in the opposite direction back to the schools in order 
to get an equalization of mixture of the races.

T he  Court: Well, you are talking about fifty-fifty.

T he  W itn e ss : I am talking about anything near it. 
In other words it is difficult, sir, when you get into three 
quarters white and one quarter Negro and three quarters 
Negro and one quarter white it is most difficult.

Mr. Gray : No further questions.
T he  Court : Let me— excuse me, Mr. Tucker.



App. 90

Mr. T u c k e r : That is all right. Go ahead, sir.
T h e  Court: Let me ask you about the bus routes now, 

Mr. Wood.
Are the buses integrated ?
T he  W it n e ss : T o the point that the schools are inte­

grated, sir. In other words all the Negro children in the 
white schools ride the same buses that the white children 
ride.

T he  Court: Well, do some of your buses that serve 
predominantly Negro schools do they pass or come close to 
a predominantly white school enroute ?

T h e  W it n e ss : Yes, sir.

T h e  Court: And students who go to the predominantly 
white school would take that bus, I take it?

T he  W it n e ss : That’s right.
T he  Court: So your bus routes are really to schools.

T he  W itn e ss : Yes, sir.
T h e  Court: Without regard to race. You just serve 

a particular school or perhaps two particular schools, is 
that correct, sir ?

T he  W itn e ss : Right.

T he  Court: Can you tell me the longest route you 
have?

T he  W itn e ss : We have some children that are on the 
bus as much as sixty miles a day, thirty miles one way.

T he  Court: Well, no matter what you did you really 
wouldn’t have any more than that, would you? If you inte­
grated the schools would you contemplate having one any 
more than that ?



App. 91

T he  W itn e ss : I doubt I would, sir. That is not the 
difficult thing I was trying to point out, sir. The difficult 
thing is hauling them out of Danville to the suburban area 
and then from the suburban area back into Danville, if I 
might use that as a reference.

In other words to get the white people over to X school 
on the edge of North Carolina we would haul them out of 
Danville and to get more Negro children back into Danville 
we will haul hem out of X school near North Carolina and 
that is the most difficult thing I see we would be running 
into.

T h e  Court: Your testimony then, if I understand cor­
rectly, is more than just small pockets of racial residential 
areas ?

T he  W it n e ss : Large pockets.
T h e  Court: There are specific areas that are predom­

inantly white and some predominantly Negro ?
T he  W itn e ss : Yes, sir.
T he  Court: All right, sir. Thank you very much, 

gentlemen.
Does that prompt any other questions ?
Mr. Bagwell : May I ?
T he  Court : Yes.

REDIRECT E X A M IN A T IO N

(Continued)
By M r. Bagwell :

Q Just this, Mr. Wood, that I wish to clarify with 
reference to the pockets of racial population, specifically 
Negro in character. What about the area in which the Mary 
Bethune High School is situated? You have testified al­



App. 92

ready that was a Negro settlement. Is it a purely Negro 
settlement completely ?

A I believe, Mr. Bagwell, I am not certain about the 
property one hundred per cent around Mary Bethune, but 
I believe it is all Negro population around the whole prop­
erty. Now, within a short distance there are a few white 
homes, but it is definitely in the middle of a Negro area.

Q Now, is this what you would call the Negro area of 
the town of Halifax in which all or practically every Negro 
in the town of Halifax resides ?

A Yes, sir, that’s right.

Q Now, just one other thing, because I wish to make 
clear that I wish to make certain that that is clear with 
reference to the matter of one or two schools of proposing 
now, or thinking now of there building. I take it the prime 
purpose of the board is to get either one or two, which ever 
it can get, the best and the quickest, isn’t that correct ?

A Yes, sir.

O And you say that race doesn’t enter into the ques­
tion of whether it is one or two at all, it is not a matter of 
favoring either race or the other as to whether you have 
one or two ?

A In my opinion it doesn’t, Mr. Bagwell. The Board 
of Supervisors that are talking about the two schools, it 
has been talked in purely location.

Q Is the prime problem that you have getting the full 
support of the Board of Supervisors ?

A Yes, sir, that is the only problem.
Q Now, please state whether or not you have felt that 

you may get better or stronger support with the two schools 
than with one.



App. 93

A  Oh, unquestionably. Some of the Board of Super­
visor members have indicated to me that they would sup­
port the two school idea but they definitely would not sup­
port the one school idea.

Q All right, sir.
T h e  Court: Do you know the reason for that? It is 

more expensive, isn’t it?
T he  W itn e ss : A whole lot of it goes back, Your 

Honor, to the fact that we have these two schools now that 
is right in the middle of the county and it is right in a area 
that is industrializing and a lot of people are moving into 
the area and the people feel like they don’t want everything 
right in this particular area and there is a feeling a lot of 
them don’t want too many people together, it is not good 
to have too many—

T h e  Court : You mean they like the loneliness.
T he  W it n e ss : Well, probably so.

T he  Court : Let me ask you about the Bethune School 
at Halifax, Mr. Wood. As I understood you the one school 
is in the predominantly Negro residential area.

T he  W itn e ss : That is the Bethune School.

T he  Court: Right, sir.
Well, there must be a predominantly residential area 

within a matter or three or four miles, isn’t there ?
T he  W itness : Yes, sir.
T he  Court : And that school is the Halifax School.

T he  W itness W es, sir.

T he  Court: So you really wouldn’t have to do much 
bussing to get these integrated, would you ?



App. 94

T h e  W it n e ss : N o, sir, bussing wouldn’t be a problem 
there. The problem would be getting the white children to 
go to Mary Bethune. That is the major problem we have, 
sir.

T he  Court : All right, sir. Thank you.

RECROSS E X A M IN A T IO N

By Mr. T uck er :
Q Are you suggesting the white children assigned to 

Mary Bethune, they wouldn’t go?
A Sir?
Q Are you suggesting the white children are assigned 

to Mary Bethune that they wonldn’t go?
A Yes, sir, very definitely so. I don’t think sir, Your 

Honor, you asked me about the law a while ago, I don’t 
believe it is mandatory that these children go to Mary 
Bethune if they were assigned.

T h e  Court : Where would they go ?
T h e  W itn e ss : They could go to a private school. But 

definitely, absolutely, a large portion of them wouldn’t go.
By Mr. T u ck er :

Q In other words the thinking is Mary Bethune is good 
enough for Negro children to attend but not good enough 
for white children to attend ?

M r. Bagwell : Argumentative.

Mr. T u ck er : I withdraw.

T he  Court : I don’t think that is a fair question.
M r. T ucker : I will withdraw the question.
T h e  Court : I sustain the objection.



App. 95

By Mr. T uck er :
Q But as far as the school administration is con­

cerned Mary Bethune and the Halifax school could be 
paired so one would have the lower high school grades and 
one have the upper high school grades ?

A As far as the planning is concerned, yes, sir, on 
paper.

Q All right, sir.
I have nothing further.
T he  Court : Does your contract with the teachers, Mr. 

Wood, give the School Board the right to assign ?
T h e  W itn e ss : Yes, sir. The contract with teachers 

does not designate the school.
T h e  Court : They just work in the system?

T he  W itn e ss : Yes, sir.
T h e  Court: You assign them and I assume you try to 

assign them in the place that they will be compatible ?
T he  W itn e ss : Under Virginia law the School Board 

has the prerogative to assign teachers where they are most 
suited.

T h e  Court : Does this progress that you have appar­
ently made in the integration of the faculty come about 
since the plan was approved by Judge Michie? Did you 
have any integration prior to that ?

T h e  W itn e ss : Yes, sir.

T he  Court: You did have that?

T h e  W itness : Yes, sir.

T he  Court: Well, how much progress had you made?



App. 96

T he  W itn e ss : Most of it has happened since then. A 
year or two before we had two or three children.

T h e  Court : No, I don’t mean the children.
T he  W itn e ss : Most of the teachers progress has been 

too. In other words that we had very little integration be­
fore then.

T he  Court: Well, of course that was in ’67, wasn’t it?

T h e  W itness : Yes, sir.
T h e  Court: Could you tell me how many Negro 

teachers you had in predominantly white schools that year ? 
Do you know that ?

T he  W itn e ss : N o, sir. I could find it, but I don’t have 
those with me, sir.

T he  Court: I am just interested to know how many 
more you had in the year ’68-’69.

T he W it n e ss : Considerably more. But I hesitate to 
say. I could find it.

T he  Court: Well, that is all right.

T he  W itness : It would be a guess, sir.

T h e  Court : Thank you.
Gentlemen ?
Mr. T uck er : Nothing further.
T h e  Court: You may step down, Mr. Wood. Thank 

you, sir.
(The witness stood aside.)
T h e  Court : Call your next witness, please.

Mr. Gray : Mr. Slayton please.



Franklin Marshall Slayton

was called as a witness and, having been first duly sworn, 
was examined and testified on his oath as follows:

DIRECT E X A M IN A T IO N

By Mr. Gray :
Q Would you state your full name please ?
A Franklin Marshall Slayton.
Q Mr. Slayton, what position do you have with respect 

to the school system being considered here this morning?
A I am a member of the Board of Control elected by 

the South Boston School Board to serve on that board.
Q I ask you, Mr. Slayton, if you would tell the Court 

the plans of and the steps that are being taken in South 
Boston relative to its high school facilities ?

A Yes, sir.
Your Honor, several years ago South Boston operated 

its separate and independent school system. C. H. Friend 
was the high school and Washington Coleman was the 
Negro elementary school. And then in addition to that 
South Boston had an old Main Street elementary school, 
that was the grammar school.

After the county began making plans to build a consoli­
dated—well, let me say too, sir, that the Negro high school 
children went to Mary Bethune who lived in South Boston. 
The Mary Bethune High School has been a consolidated 
school in the county for many years and has had a very 
fine reputation as a Negro educational institution. And the 
county operated a large number of small high schools 
throughout the various parts of the county. And the county 
School Board finally was able to raise the money to consoli­
date these small white high schools that were spread 
throughout the length and breadth of the county. South

A pp .97



App. 98

Boston was approached and asked to participate in this 
consolidation. And at that time its high school students 
totaled approximately three hundred. So South Boston 
entered into an agreement with the county wherein the 
city would put up approximately twenty-two per cent of 
the construction costs to build the new high school and to 
make the necessary improvement at Mary Bethune. And 
South Boston was to contribute to the operating cost of 
the two high schools on a formula that represented a pro­
portionate number of city children in the county system. 
This is approximately eighteen per cent of the budget for 
the Board of Control.

Well, the consolidation was affected and reasonably well. 
The school population has grown considerably in the past 
five years. There has been a good deal of industrialization 
in Halifax County in the past five years and most of these 
people who have moved into the area have settled in South 
Boston.

The school population for high school in the city now, 
we now have 409 children in Halifax County High School 
and 235 at Mary Bethune. Several months ago the city 
School Board approached the City Council and asked for 
authority to build a high school for all of the children in 
the city of South Boston.

Now, the reason we did this, Your Honor, was because 
the city children are not oriented toward agriculture. We 
had quite a controversy to develop last year over opening 
and closing days of school. The county people, because so 
many children are engaged in agriculture, want a late 
opening date. This is very unpopular with teachers because 
the school closes late in June and we have a lot of teachers 
who go to summer school and this affects when they can 
get out and the vacation they have between closing of 
school and going to summer school. So the difference is



App. 99

between the educational needs of the children in South 
Boston in the opinion of the city School Board and the 
children in the county which is becoming increasingly diffi­
cult.

So the City Council authorized the School Board to em­
ploy the architects to prepare the plans and to come back to 
the council to request the necessary funds to construct the 
school. We have met with the architects. We have discussed 
several different types of plans. We have scheduled for 
Thursday night of this coming week another meeting with 
the architects and a consulting firm to tell how best to 
build this building that we anticipate building.

The city of South Boston owns ISO acres of land and 
has offered it to date to the School Board whatever acreage 
is necessary on which to construct this building. The 
water and sewage facilities are available.

It is in, we consider, a very desirable part of the city. 
South Boston does not transport any children in its system 
except the high school children. But this school will be 
situated so the children of both races will have it readily 
accessible to them and, of course, all of the children who 
live in the city will attend this one school.

T he  Court: What is the target date?
T h e  W itness : Hopefully September of 1970.
Now, of course Your Honor realizes that we have got to 

work out exactly what this is going to cost.
Now, we do have the land and we do have water and 

sewage facilities there. We have every reason to believe we 
are going to get the land.

Now, the reason we are principally interested in what 
the Court does here today, Your Honor, is that assuming 
that we carry this forward successfully we would have



App. 100

children to be transferred twice in two years. If the Court 
made some decision about that that affected the children at 
Mary Bethune and they went to another school next year 
and then in September of ’70 we put them in our city 
school, this, we feel, would adversely affect their educa­
tional progress. And the reverse of that is true. That would 
be applicable to the children in Halifax County High 
School. But all the indications that the School Board gets 
from the council, from the council which must necessarily 
provide the money for construction of the school, is that 
the council will authorize this construction as soon as the 
final plans are submitted to the council.

By M r. Gray :
Q Mr. Slayton, one question that is quite a good deal 

of the problem. I have stated to you frankly, sir, I have 
done all the looking that I can do in the state board regula­
tions and the code that I want to try to answer, but who 
determines what children will go to the high schools that 
are under control of the joint committee? I understand 
from your regulations that the joint committee runs the 
school, takes care of the repairs and employs the personnel 
and janitor and all, but who decides which children will 
go there ?

A South Boston City School Board.
Q Halifax School Board from its side and South 

Boston from its side?
A Yes, sir. And then the money for the operation of 

the schools is appropriated based on the number of chil­
dren in the overall high school system.

Q And right now this is eight through twelve, is it, in 
the high school?

A In both the high schools, yes, sir.



App. 101

Q But if the School Board decided next year that the 
eighth grades would be taught somewhere else they would 
be the one to make that determination rather than the joint 
committee ?

A Yes, sir. You see, each school board has complete 
control over the children within its jurisdiction.

Q All right, sir.
No further questions.
T he  Court : Gentlemen, do you have any cross ?
Mr. T u ck er : Maybe.

CROSS E X A M IN A T IO N

By Mr. T uck er :
Q Doesn’t the Halifax Board of Control determine 

what grades are taught in the Mary Bethune and the Hali­
fax County High School ?

A No, sir. You see, this thing started out when the 
two schools, when they consolidated the high school. And 
an attempt was made by the attorneys, and I don’t know 
who they were, I wasn’t involved at that time, in an attempt 
at that time which was made to prepare a normal written 
agreement between the two governing bodies. And my 
understanding is that it never was prepared. So the two 
bodies just have gone ahead informally with this agree­
ment that they have just more or less accepted, but the 
boards have made the determination about who goes where, 
you see.

Q For the record you are an attorney ?
A Yes, sir.
Q And are you suggesting now that the Halifax— 

excuse me, that the South Boston School Board, maybe I



App. 102

didn’t understand your answer, it is coming to me now, 
you are saying Halifax County School Board determines 
what grades are taught at the Mary Bethune and the Hali­
fax County High School? You just said that.

A No, the Board of Control runs the two schools. 
They determine what is taught in the schools.

Q All right.
I thought I heard it the other way around.
T h e  Court: You misunderstood.
Mr. T ucker : I am sorry.

By Mr. T uck er :
Q So that the Board of Control has the power of say­

ing, for instance, that grades eight and nine will be taught 
at one school and ten, eleven, and twelve will be taught at 
another school ?

A No, I am not.
Q Who has the power to do that ?
A Are you talking about grades? The Board of Con­

trol runs the two schools. The Board of Control has the 
authority to decide what is going to be taught in two 
schools.

Q Well, assuming that it would be considered desir­
able?

A Or grades.
Q Assuming that it was considered desirable to say 

that the lower high school grades would be taught in one 
school next year and upper high school grades would be 
taught in the other, what agency has the authority to so 
decree ?

A The Board of Control.



App. 103

Q All right.
I have no further questions.
T he  Court : All right.
Can you tell me the racial composition of the Board of 

Control ?
T he  W it n e ss : It is composed of all white members.

T h e  Court: I s that also true of the School Board for 
Halifax County, as far as you know ?

T h e  W it n e ss : For the county, yes, sir, but not for the 
city.

T he  Court : All right. Thank you.
Mr. Gray : Just one, now that I am confused.

r e d i r e c t  e x a m i n a t i o n

By Mr. Gray :
Q The Board of Control couldn’t decide to teach the 

seventh grade in those two schools, could it ?
A No, sir.
Q All right. The control was there but it can’t decide 

that we are going to teach the seventh grade for these two 
counties next year ?

A No, sir. But as I understood the question the Board 
of Control within the limits of what is taught there would 
decide in which facilities these subjects would be offered.

Q I understand that.
Now, if the two school boards decided that the eighth 

grade wouldn’t go to the joint schools next year then the 
eighth wouldn’t go to the joint schools next year, is that 
right ?

A That is my understanding.



App. 104

Q The Control Board has control but as to who goes 
there to begin with it is up to the two school boards ?

A That is my understanding, yes, sir.

Q Now, just one other thing. You say no formal plan 
had been drawn up between the two school boards. There 
is a set of state board regulations that govern how joint 
school boards operate ?

A Yes, sir, that’s right.
Q Are you aware that in the regulations it calls for a 

Board of Control made up of even number from each 
locality and that a special action was taken by the State 
Board of Education to permit the one and four representa­
tions that you have ?

A Yes, sir. The city has one representative on this 
board and the county has four.

Mr. Gray: Your Honor, if you feel that it will be of 
help I will give you a copy.

T he  Court : All right.
Thank you very much.
(The witness stood aside.)
T he  Court : Call your next witness.
You rest?
Mr. Gray : We rest, yes, sir.
T he  Court : Any rebuttal ?
Mr. T uck er : No rebuttal.

T he  Court : Do you wish to argue, gentlemen ?
Mr. T uck er : I beg your pardon ?
T he Court : Do you wish to argue ?



App. 105

M r. T uck er : I will waive opening.

T h e  Court: Gentlemen, do you wish to address your­
selves to the Court ?

M r. Gray: Yes, sir.

(Mr. Gray presented argument to the Court.)
(Mr. Bagwell presented closing argument to the Court.)
(Mr. Tucker presented closing argument to the Court.)
(A recess was taken at 11:25 to reconvene at 12:00 

o’clock.)
(Findings of facts and conclusions of law as given from 

the Bench previously transcribed.)