Oklahoma City Public Schools Board of Education v. Dowell Brief Amicus Curiae Landmark Legal Foundation Center

    Excerpts from an address by 
Constance Baker Motley, Associate Counsel 
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund 
New York Hilton, Wednesday, July 22, 1964 

An extremely interesting pattern of defiance against 

the Civil Rights Act of 1964 has been emerging. For the most 

part businessmen have been willing to comply, but hate groups, 

unorganized thugs, and lawless law enforcement officers have 

been intimidating proprietors who seek to serve--and Negroes 

who seek service--without racial discrimination. 

In some communities Negroes have been physically 

assaulted, stores have been picketed, and threats have been 

made against the businessman. Last Sunday night in Atlanta, 

for example, a white restaurant owner ended up shooting 

another white man when the latter, along with five other 

whites attempted to chase Negroes from the restaurant which 

had been integrated. 

The owner, Mr, Redell Crosby was charged with the 

shooting and released on $1,000 bond. 

This incident outlines the new forces which have been 

thrown into conflict as a result of the new legislation. 

We have filed two cases to enforce the new statute and 

are preparing five others. The first case already has been 

tried. It involves the Pickrick Restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia 

where the proprietor himself, in what has been a rare demon- 

stration of defiance by a businessman, has excluded Negroes 

from his establishment at gun point. At one point those 

seeking service were assaulted with ax handles by the owner 

and his cohorts. 

We are proud to note that this was the nation's first 

suit to enforce Title Two of the new act. 

In the second case, in St. Augustine, Florida, we are 

today arguing a series of cases against 20 restaurants in 

Federal District Court, Jacksonville. 



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These restaurants complied with the Civil Rights Act 

and served Negro citizens without regard to race. But, they 

were immediately intimidated by lawless elements of the St. 

Augustine community and resegregated their facilities as a 

result. 

Our lawyers are today seeking an order to compel these 

restaurants to integrate and to force lawless elements to 

cease interference with enjoyment of other citizens legal 

rights. 

This is what we have termed a "third party suit." It 

is a direct outgrowth of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 

Legal Defense Fund attorneys are preparing a dozen 

such cases in Alabama, Florida and Georgia. 

Thus, the passage of the Act has produced this most 

illuminating result. Staunch and aggressive segregationists 

have for years been able to have the law do their dirty work. 

They have now been stripped of this weapon by the new legis- 

lation, 

But it makes little difference to many of them, They 

now resort to violence to secure their ends since the law now 

works the other way and forbids discrimination. 

Their ugliness shines forth, 

They take the law into their own hands. 

They thwart those who would follow the law. 

The "third party suit" will soon become widespread 

in application. 

To aid in this, we are holding a lawyers training 

institute July 30 through August 2nd at Airlie House, south of 

Washington, D. C, 

We are bringing in top law professors and scholars 

for intensive sessions with many of our 120 cooperating attor- 

neys. These will advise our lawyers how to enforce Section 2 

of the new Civil Rights Act. 

The ultimate solution to the problem as it faces us 

and will continue to confront us is alert, firm and consistent 

law enforcement.