Mississippi Gets its Largest School Integration Lawsuit

Press Release
January 22, 1965

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Press Releases, Volume 2. Mississippi Gets its Largest School Integration Lawsuit, 1965. 2853ba9c-b592-ee11-be37-00224827e97b. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/e4d21d2d-44ee-466f-bbc1-4349f17b836f/mississippi-gets-its-largest-school-integration-lawsuit. Accessed October 31, 2025.

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    10 Columbus Circle 
New York, N.Y. 10019 
JUdson 6-8397 

NAACP 

Legal Defense and Educational Fund 
PRESS RELEASE 

President 
FOR RELEASE 

Dr. Allan Knight Chalmers Friday 
Director-Counsel January 22, 1965 

Jack Greenberg 
Associate Counsel 

Constance Baker Motley 

MISSISSIPPI GETS ITS LARGEST 
SCHOOL INTEGRATION LAW SUIT 

MOSS POINT, MISS.-- The largest number of Mississippi Negroes 

ever to register a complaint for desegregation of a school system 

was filed here today (January 22). 

The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund representing the 

parents of 61 school age Negro youths urged the United States 

District Court for the Southern Division of Mississippi to give 

‘immediate consideration to their charges against the “segregated, 

dual-standard" school system of Moss Point. 

This small Mississippi town, having only 6,000 elementary 

and high school enrollment, is the fifth Mississippi school system 

where the Defense Fund has sought action enjoining Boards of 

Education from discriminating. 

The four other Mississippi communities are Jackson, Biloxi, 

Leake County, and Clarksdale. 

Legal Defense Fund Attorneys Jack Young of Jackson, Missi- 

ssippi, and Derrick A. Bell, Melvyn H. Zarr, Director-Counsel 

Jack Greenberg and Associate-Counsel Constance Baker Motley, 

all of New York City, have asked the District Court to enjoin 

the Moss Point Municipal Separate School District, the Super- 

intendent of Education and several elected public officials, 

including Mayor Arnold Pierce, from: 

* Operating a compulsory biracial school system 
in Moss Point, Mississippi; 

* Continuing to maintain a dual scheme school zone... 

based on race and color; 

* Assigning teachers, principals etc. on the basis 

of the race and color (Negro personnel to Negro 

schools and white to schools with white students); 

* Approving budgets, making available funds, approving 

employment and construction contracts, and approving 

policies, curricula and programs which are designed 

to perpetuate compulsory racially segregated schools. 

(more) 



Mississippi gets its Largest - 2 - 
School Integration Law Suit January 22, 1965 

In commenting on the civil action, Legal Defense Fund Attorney 
Derrick Bell said: “Moss Point suffers from the same symptoms 
most hard-core segregated towns are afflicted with--absolute 
segregation, overcrowding of Negro students, better trained 
white teachers, poorly paid Negro teachers, less teachers for 
Negro students and more money spent to educate white students 
than Negro students.“ 

The Legal Defense Fund is seeking a Court-supervised de- 
segregation plan for the fall of 1965. 

- 30 - 

& 
Jesse DeVore,.Jr., Director of Public Information-Night Number 212 

Riverside 9-8487 

as

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Mississippi Gets its Largest School Integration Lawsuit

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