A federal suit was filled today in Wilmington, N.C. by Negro citizens who seek the use of James Walker Memorial Hospital…

    PRESS RELEASE 

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

DR. ALLAN KNIGHT CHALMERS THURGOOD MARSHALL 
President Director-Counsel 

July 11, 1961 

NEW YORK ~ A federal suit was filed today in Wilmington, N.C. by 

Negro citizens who seek the use of James Walker Memorial Hospital in 

Wilmington on a racially nondiscriminatory basis. 

The suit was filed by NAACP Legal Defense Fund attorneys in the 

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, in 

Wilmington, 

The plaintiffs in today's action are three Negro physicians, 

Hubert A, Eaton, Daniel C, Roane and Samuel Gray, all of Wilmington, 

who are denied use of facilities at the hospital, Two other plaintiffs 

are Leland M, Newsome and Vernetta E. Hussey, Negro patients of doctors 

Eaton and Roane, who, if admitted as patients, cannot be treated in the 

hospital by their Negro physicians, 

The Negro plaintiffs charge that Walker Memorial Hospital "is in 

the nature of a public utility carrying out functions for the City of 

Wilmington and the County of New Hanover, and is, therefore performing 

state action subject to the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of 

the United States." 

The Complaint points out that the hospital, chartered in 1901, 

receives annual contributions and tax exemptions from the County and 

City. 

"Plaintiffs desire to be admitted to defendant hospital because 

the facilities there are the best in the locality and as residents of 

the locality they desire to have the same right as is accorded to 

white residents...," the Complaint states, 

The Negro physicians had appiied in March, 1955 for "courtesy 

staff privileges” for the treatment of their patients at the hospital, 

but their applications were denied, The physicians sued, but a federal 

district court ruled that it lacked jurisdiction, 

In Aprii, 1960, the physicians again applied for "courtesy staff 

privileges," and on September 7, 1960 their applications were denied, 



no reason given, Today's Compalint states that "in fact, these appli- 

cations were denied because of plaintiffs' race and color...." 

A few Negro patients are now treated at the hospital, but they are 

housed in a separate building, When surgery is required, Negro pa- 

tients are wheeled to the building where surgery is performed, and then 

returned to the segregated building, a practice not followed with re- 

spect to white patients. 

Defendants named are Emory Grubbs, Secretary of the Board of 

Managers of Walker Memorial Hospital and the Board of Managers of 

Walker Memorial Hospital. 

NAACP Legal Defense Fund attorneys for the plaintiffs are Robert 

T. Bond of Wilmington, N.C.; Conrad 0. Pearson of Durham, N.C.; Thur- 

good Marshall and Jack Greenberg of New York City, 

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