Transcription
I need that black tree TV. I need that black tree TV. I need that black tree. Black tree.
[Music] [Music]
In South Carolina in the early 1950s, the children who went to the Scots Branch School had no way of knowing that their school and their story would one day have a place in the history books of their country.
[Music] [Music] [Music]
Good Morning. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all. How are you all this morning? Fine. I think what we'll do this morning is practice on handwriting. Has everybody got a pencil and paper? I need a You need a pencil. All right. Here you get a pencil. All right. You can start. That's good.
[Music]
Sorry, Rev. Found the boy sleep. Figured ought to bring him over here. Harry Junior, you better hustle in there and get to work. Go on. The boys aren't keeping up around here, Harry. Well, he walks in there five miles every morning, re and home every night. Every time he looks at those books of his, he falls down asleep. Well, Mr. Carrian finds I've been chuffing Harry around on his time and in his truck, I lose me a pretty sweet job. Look. Okay. What's three * 8? What is the four? That's okay. That's right. The next one. Six *
[Music]
8. All right. Put away your things and leave quietly.
[Music] [Music] [Music]
Hallelujah. I'm Reverend Delane. I'm principal at Scots Branch School. Is Superintendent Springer in? May I see him? Hey, get on in here. Ja, what is it? Ja, who's mining things over at Scott? Mrs. Springer, we have a serious problem over at our place. We got problems everywhere. Don't you know that? Education is hard work. Too much to teach, too little time. My children have to walk to school. Some walk five, six miles. Some have stopped coming at all. It's a bad situation. Sir, we need a bus. Running schools is expensive. Salaries, maintenance, insurance, books, heat, electricity. It cost a ton of money. We just need one bus. You've got 30 buses for the white children. Now, you know well does anybody. White people pay more taxes than colored people do. Give us your oldest bus. We'll pay for the gas. How can I make myself clear? We just ain't got any money for buses for your [ __ ] children.
We need to talk, Harry. This is Harold Bullwware. Mr. Bull is an attorney. Come on in. What we have here, Mr. Briggs, petition to the Clariton County Board of Education. It says that you, being a father of Harry Briggs, Jr., age 12 wants school bus transportation to be furnished, maintained, and operated out of the public school district number 26 of Claritan County for the said use of said child and other negro school children similarly situated. If they use tax money to give bus service to the white children, they have to give it to us, too. The 14th Amendment to the Constitution states that each citizen is guaranteed equal protection under the law. Will this go to court? It could hair. Well, I don't guess I spent three years in the United States Navy to keep the world safe for Jim Crow.
[Music]
Well, I sure hope this man know his business.
[Music]
What do you boys want?
[Applause]
Hello, Mr. Springer. Won't you come in? I'll just stop him for a minute. What is this business,
[Music]
Ja? Harry Briggs and that negro lawyer are making a mess with this bus business. Some say you're in on it, too. Look, Delane Briggs is suing me, and you and I work together. We're part of the same school system. Doesn't make sense for people to be in court causing a bunch of trouble we don't need. What we need is a bus and some more money for our school. Well, you're not going to get it in court. All you're going to get in court is a big dose of trouble you don't need. Delane, you better call these people off. I'm holding you responsible. Yeah, I'll tell you the smartest some [ __ ] in the southeastern United States. Maybe the whole damn country. Modesty does not allow Randy. It's just that some lawyers cannot do their homework. It's not that Telly is so good. Said I [ __ ] don't even know where they live.
[Music]
It was cold in Korea today with the mercury down to 9° below zero. In the air, our saber jets destroyed one enemy MIG and damaged another. We had no way of knowing that your place here was on the wrong side of the district line. You pay taxes in district 5. The school is in district 22. It turns out you lack legal standing in the court. Well, I don't know much about the courts. But this business means everybody's making a fool of me saying I don't even know where I live. It's a technicality. Well, my boy still walking to school.
[Applause]
Mr. Briggs, I do some work with the legal defense fund of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. I talked with the NAACP's top man in New York at headquarters, a lawyer. He's prepared to come here and meet with us. He's won cases in the South. If we back off now, we'll never get anything. Heat. Heat.
[Music]
Do not pass me.
[Music]
[Applause]
It's good him singing. I'm repping delay. Very good marsh.
[Music]
[Applause]
What happened to Harry Briggs happens everywhere we go. Putting one man out front is risky. They'll find a way to disqualify him or to scare him off. If there are 20 people here in Summerton who are willing to sign a complaint against the school board, we will bring a case here. What sort of case? Your county spends $179 a year for each white child and only $43 for each color child. That's not equal. And that means it's against the law, pure and simple. But Mr. Marshall, when I was a boy, there was no school here at all. I just don't think it's a smart thing to put a sword to the white man's throat. Most of us around here are tenant farmers. We work the white folks land. We need money to get seed and fertilizer. We have to borrow from the banks. We ain't trying to take anything away from these white folks. I just mean to get an education for that little black boy of mine. He just as good as any other South Carolina boy. I'll bet he's better than a lot of them. Our reverend at our church back home used to say he liked to think that when the Lord created him, he did not do it on a Saturday when he was tired out and didn't have much to work with. He said he preferred to think the Lord created him early Monday morning when he had the best materials to work with and all the energy he needed.
[Applause]
What our reverend was saying is that we are equal to anyone on the face of the earth. And the constitution of the United States says the same thing. 14th amendment. No state shall deny any person the equal protection of the law. They added that amendment to give our folks fair chance. Mr. Marshall, the law doesn't mean much down here. We just finished a case where they wouldn't admit a color man into the law school at the University of Texas. The Supreme Court in Washington said they had to let him in because there was no equal facility in Texas. Now, we all know what these doghouse schools mean to the future of our children. That's why the NAACP has started test cases in the courts in Kansas and Virginia. And we are willing to bring a case here in South Carolina. But we can't do it without you. If 20 taxpaying people sign up, we will come down here. Mr. Marshall, what we need to know is what chance there is of it working. There will be hostility and probably reprisals, but the law is on our side.
[Music]
Sorry, they're good. I thought they'd be all for it. Look, in 2 hours, I'm back on the train. Saturday night, I'm sleeping in my own bed, safe and sound in New York City. I'm asking these people to risk their jobs and their safety. That's asking a lot. You
[Music]
I call you. So, this is what you people do when I'm out of town. This is what we do when you're in town. See, Bob Carter likes it around here when I'm away. It's 7:00, third, sit in with us. I'm in for an hour. We got to be back here at 8 in the morning. Greenberg, you're the one doing all the work around here. Can't afford to be a civil rights lawyer and lose money playing poker with those guys. What gears was Alice? All right there on the desk. I fold. Call. Call. Aces. They see it. Three. That's the right money, man. Yeah. Tell you boys, it's real nice being back in New York City. Real nice. Mhm. South Carolina for you. Yeah. One second. Okay. Marshall. Mr. Marshall, I wanted you to know I'm starting tonight. I'm going after those petitions. Good luck, Reverend. Bob, we got to start digging out everything there is on South Carolina schools. Schools or colleges? Public schools. What county? Clarendon. Preacher down there is going to try to get enough signatures for a case. Success in a couple of university graduate schools is one thing, thirdood. When we go after public schools, we got to be sure it's the right time and the right place. That preacher's got
[Music]
guts. Hallelujah.
[Music]
[Music]
All All right, you get on out of here.
[Music]
Get over
[Music]
[Applause]
there. All around the neighborhood. I'm going to let it shine all around the neighborhood. I'm going to let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine. All in my heart, I'm going it shine. All in my heart, I'm going to let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine. All in my I'm going to let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine. Let it
[Music]
[Applause]
shine. JC, can't something be done to settle these people down? Superintendent, can you tell me why your district is the only district in the entire state of South Carolina that has people running off to the NAACP in New York? Like Mr. Tully says, Governor, we've got agitators, a few stubborn people who are just hunting to make trouble. Our colored schools are no different than any others in the state. How do they compare with the white schools? How much would it cost to make the colored schools equal? Most of the colored people are happy with what they got. My question was how much would it cost? Cuz I'm prepared to spend some money on schools. Substantial money to avoid a legal tangle. Superintendent, I would like you to get your house in order. JC, I am determined to show that segregation and discrimination are not the same thing. I want those people to have what they're entitled to by law, equal schooling. I do not want the federal courts poking around South Carolina's classrooms. The courts don't want a fool with public schools. No one wants that. Not even your friend, Judge Wearing. Yeah, he's like a loose cannon on this kind of thing. The loneliest man in town. Cut his ties with his first wife. Took up with that Yankee girl out of New York. He needs friends. I don't trust him.
[Applause]
Surprise! Who says a smooth and cunning lawyer can't be surprised? Happy birthday, baby. Now, before Thood starts snooping around, I want Bob Carter to say his piece. Don't get Bob Carter started. We'll be here all night. Now, Buster gets all the credit for the idea, but it was your affectionate and overworked colleagues that all chipped in. Now, come on in here, sir. Go ahead.
[Music]
You got it right. This is what I always wanted. My daddy was a Pullman car waiter for the Baltimore hire. 35 years. When I was a kid, I I used to dream about being an engineer. When I was 20, my daddy got me a job as a waiter. Now look at here. I got my own railroad. That's it. That's it.
[Applause]
[Applause]
I'm by myself. We've gotten along good over the years, haven't we, Jay? I'm sorry to see this trouble. All of a sudden, it's not doing anybody any good. People have been living and going to school in peace around here for a long time now. The way I see it is, and you and me, we got to make sure that continues. Don't you agree, Ja? I'm a preacher, Mr. Springer. I believe in peace. I knew we could work things out. I may be able to get my hands on a bus for Scots Branch. Keep your kids from getting to school all tired out. This has gotten bigger than school buses. I had to talk with the governor. We're going to do a lot around here to make things better. As soon as you call off these legal shenanigans, I'm going to recommend to the school board that you get a raise. It's gone too far, Mr. Springer. We're not turning back.
[Applause]
How do Mr. Kagan? Anything wrong? No, just uh I got me a boy to take over this place. Strong young fella. Someone I can count on. Reliable. You've been counting on me for 8 years now, Mr. Kagan. New boy will be here tomorrow. 66 signatures. This will make a strong case. To ask for equal school facilities or to end segregation. I thought we decided that the NAACP policy says we're going to fight segregation head on. It doesn't say when and it sure doesn't say South Carolina. Separate but equal is the law of the land. When we demand equal, we're asking for what the law gives us. If we demand an end to segregation, we are challenging the laws of the United States. You want to go one by one to every school district in the south trying to get the judges to force them to make the colored schools equal? It's the beach head strategy. make them spend so much making their schools equal that they finally cave in and integrate. You know how many segregated school districts there are in this country? 11,173. Each case cost money and even if we went every one of them, it'll take forever. When we challenge segregation head on, we have to do it in the right place. Deep South is not the right place. And the white people down there are terrified at the idea of their little white girls going to school with little black boys. They're good. Let's wait for a border state. Wait till our Topeka case is ready. You got a chance in Kansas. We always say we're going to fight segregation head on and then we step back. Sue for equal schools and you're up against a little school board. Sue to desegregate and you're challenging the sovereign state of South Carolina. If we limit our case to equal schools, we end up in Judge Wade's wearing court. He's pretty good. He can rule for equal schools by himself. Thood, if we challenge segregation head on, we challenge the state law. That would have to be heard by a three judge court. Tough going. We can't let Dellay and his people down. When we file our brief, do we backtrack or do we challenge the principle of segregation? We can go with a two-string bow. Put the challenge of segregation in as a matter of principle, but focus the attack on the inequality of the Clarendon County school system. Make them live up to their precious, separate, but equal. If we win this one, we'll only have 11,172 school districts left. This is a special time of the year and I have a surprise for you. Guess who's coming to town. Santa Claus. Santa. Here he comes. One for you and you and you. H. Here you go, Santa. Merry Christmas. See if I can those out of the way. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Whatever. Ja, I'll get right to it. James Martin here is the new principal. Where? All right, here's Scott's branch and the school board felt it was time for a change. This will be your office, Martin. Reverend Delane will have it cleaned out for you tomorrow morning. Mother and child, holy so tender and mild. Sleep in
[Music]
heaven. Sleep in heavenly peace. You may all go home early.
[Applause]
[Music]
here. Reverend Delane, I made something for you. It's handsome. You hurry on now. You have a long way to go.
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
Heading south, Mr. Marshall. Glattus Hampton, Mrs. Marshall, Detroit Advocate. How do you do? Clarendon County, right? Just a little fishing trip. Fishing for equal schools or something bigger. Mr. Marshall, a lot of us who support the NAACP hope you don't reach too far too fast. We are going to be cautious, Miss Hampton. Well, in that case, you can count on our support. Good night. Tiptoeing. I'm not tiptoeing. The hell you're not. Go fast. Go slow. A lot of people are ready to cut me off at the knees if I don't do it their way. It's okay if I get dragged into the big war. I just can't be the cause of it. But sometimes I wonder whether God makes you to be a lawyer or a politician. Maybe he doesn't think there's that much of a difference.
[Music]
We see no reason why these charges should not be dropped. The schools provided for the plaintiffs are fully adequate. Mr. Marshall, you are prepared to present evidence that the school facilities for the plaintiffs are not equal to those afforded white students. We are, your honor. extensive evidence. On page 17 of your brief, you raise a different question. The separate schools cause continuing deprivation and harm to negro children and should be discontinued. Correct. The state constitution and laws of South Carolina are clear on that public education must be segregated by race. The statute says any person having 1/8 or more negro ancestry shall attend colored schools. Correct. Correct. But if you ask to discontinue separate schools, you are challenging the legality of the South Carolina statute that separates education by race. Our goal here is to get equal schools. Mr. Marshall, your brief raises the constitutional issue of segregated schools, so it must be addressed. Court procedures prohibit a single judge from declaring a state law to be in conflict with the Constitution of the United States. For that, a three judge court is required. If the court please. The Py vers Ferguson case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1896 established the principle of separate but equal. Since then, the right of the states to have laws separating the races has been upheld seven times by the Supreme Court. Segregation is legal. Now, there's no reason to cover that ground again. Mr. Marshall, do you believe separation of schools is consistent with the Constitution of the United States? I do not, sir. But for now, we simply wish to obtain relief for the children under the existing system. We are asking for equal schools. You have already taken the position, Mr. Marshall. You climb up on that horse, you can't climb back down. I'll expect you to refile, bringing the issue of school segregation clearly before the three judge court.
[Music]
where shooted boxes in, didn't he? They put it in the brief and he decided to hold our feet to the fire. Sometimes history takes matters into its own hands. In the Chinese language, the symbol for misfortune is the same as the symbol for opportunity. Let's make this our opportunity. How could we prove that segregation is unfair to our clients? Harold, what would you do if a car runs into your client's car? I try to prove damage to my client and his car. How, Harold? I put expert witnesses on and they testify as to how much damage was done. Doctors, police, auto mechanics, whatever. That's what we have to do here. Show that our clients are irreparably damaged by being forced to attend these doghouse schools. Their minds are what's damaged. It isn't easy to prove something we can't see. Very good. Kenneth Clark. Go to it.
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
Hello, Kenneth. Good to see you. Yeah, this is Third Good Marshall. Oh, boy. What's the problem? Maybe he doesn't like Charleston. Let's pack it up, Dr. Clark, and get out of here.
[Music]
[Music]
I have a court order from Judge Wearing. All right, Professor Clark, you can go ahead with your experiments. The court order or no court order? You get your business finished in two days and get on out of Clarendon County. Yeah. Hello, Vernon. Sit down. Show me a white doll. This one. Now, show me a colored doll. That one. Show me the doll that you like best. That one. And which doll is most like you. That one. All right. Then show me a white doll. Show me a colored doll. Show me the doll that has a nice color. Show me the doll that looks ugly.
[Music]
[Music]
Show me a white dog.
[Music]
Show me a negro doll. Which doll is an ugly doll? That one. That's the [ __ ]
[Music]
All right. Across the USA, there was a rush at recruiting offices as American youth responded to President Truman's call for volunteers. The total number of GIs in Korea will soon number a quarter million. American boys doing their share in the struggle against the communist aggressor. Bloody fighting will continue in a conflict that will go far to determine if freedom will triumph over slavery. A new US Army of defense is adding up all her available power for the mighty job ahead. Unmasked and unconcerned over criticism of recent terrorism, South Carolina clansmen stage a rally in Harley County tobacco land. Weapons are conspicuously displayed as the defiant Ku Klux Klan meets in the wake of reported shootings and whipping by their night riders. Grand Dragon Thomas Harding claims there are now 4 million clan members pledged to uphold white supremacy. Across the state at the Charleston courthouse, lawyers for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People have attacked the South Carolina law that segregates school children by race. A three judge federal court will hear the complaint filed by parents of the colored children at the Scots Branch School.
[Applause]
[Music]
Quiet up there.
[Music]
[Music]
Goodbye.
[Music]
[Applause]
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of South Carolina is now in session. Judge John J. Parker presiding with Judge Wadis Wearing and Judge George Bell Tendleman. The plaintiffs call WB Springer. You, Mr. Springer, are Clarendon's superintendent of schools. I am. It is true, is it not, that Negroes in Clarendon County attend one group of schools and people who are not Negroes attend other schools. That is true. Why is that true? I couldn't answer that exactly. You'd have to ask the children why none of them ever asked me to go to one school or another. Isn't it a fact that you do it because of the state law? It's the law. Separate but equal. And you enforce the segregation law. I do. I know nothing but the law. Isn't it true that you spend three times as much on each white child's education as each negro child? We have 60 odd negro schools and about a dozen white schools. And the rural white schools, we spend less than in the city white schools. Is it not true that you spend $179 on each white student and $43 on each negro child? If you please the court, I wish to make a statement. What I do, Mr. Tully. The defendants, the school board of Clarin County, wish to concede that inequalities exist in the schools of this district. We have found this out from investigating authorities. Mr. Tully, you can do that when you make your opening statement. Your honor, I thought if we were to concede this point, it would eliminate the need for lengthy testimony to prove inequality. When we discover the inequality in Summerton's colored schools, Governor Burns proposed legislation for state sales tax that would generate $75 million for school construction. Now, I have here architects drawings of proposed additions and improvements to the Scotchbrand school. Now, we urge the court to allow the state reasonable time to Your honor, what we see here is an attempt by the defense to prevent us from developing our case for us to prove that South Carolina's segregation statutes are unconstitutional. We must be permitted to present evidence showing that our clients are damaged as a result of these laws. We have gone to great expense to bring expert witnesses here. The state seems to be dealing with the problem. There's no need for us to be tied up here listening to experts. Isn't there a larger question before us? Is the state segregation law constitutional? No. I I think we ought to hear this evidence. Mr. Marshall, you may continue with your witnesses. I am a social psychologist and educator. I have degrees from Howard University and Columbia. Is it true you conducted scientific measurements in Clarendon County to determine the effect of segregation on Negro school children? Yes. I can't hear the man. Speak up, Mr. Clark. Please describe Dr. Clark the results of your investigation. When Negro children were asked to choose between the white dolls and the brown dolls and to say which doll was the nice doll, 65% said the white doll was the nice doll. Every one of our tests shows an unmistakable preference for the white doll and a rejection of the brown doll. These children in Clarendon County, like other human beings who have been subjected to an obviously inferior status, have been irreparably harmed. The result is a confusion in the child's concept of his own self-esteem. This leads to a desire to resolve this basic conflict by withdrawing. Do you believe this policy of segregation has any effect on the white children? Yes, it causes moral confusion. The child who is part of the segregating group sees the same people who teach him democracy, brotherhood, love of his fellow man also teach him to segregate and discriminate. Your witness, Mr. Tally. Dr. Clark, how many white children were in your classroom when you went to school? None. Has anyone ever described you as inferior? No more questions. Legal segregation of education is the single strongest factor in causing harmful effects on the physical, emotional, and financial status of the negro child. How does this happen, Dr. Critch? The state harms an individual when it sets him apart because of the color of his skin. Legal segregation causes the negro to feel that he is different and inferior to the white man. Your testimony is that it can cause a false feeling of inferiority. The sad thing is that the white man has reason for his prejudice. Our studies have shown that the negro is inferior to the white man. We have seen doctor. Are you saying uh there are biological differences between negro people and white people? No sir. I know of no psychologist who would maintain that there is a fundamental biological difference. What I am saying is that the negro can become inferior because of the practices of segregation and their consequences. Are you saying that segregation can cause permanent damage to the individual? I am, sir. I have no further questions. Professor Kitch, are you a native of the state of South Carolina? No, sir. You ever live in one of the states that has legal segregation? No, sir. Has your legal name always been Cred? No, sir. And what was your name originally, sir? Kretski. Were you born in the United States of America? No, sir. Where in fact were you born? I was born in Poland. No further questions.
[Music]
Mr. Crow, would you describe the position to which Governor Burns recently appointed you? I'm director of the South Carolina State Educational Finance Commission. Your responsibility? I'm in charge of the new program to make colored schools equal to white schools. We expect an appropriation of $75 million. And what have you got for the schools in Clarin County, sir? We've allocated $500,000 to Clarage in county alone. Mr. Crow, when will these new facilities be ready for the children? We hope some will be ready by the beginning of the next school year. Your honor, the 14th amendment to the Constitution of the United States, an amendment ratified in 1868 by all the states, including South Carolina, guarantees rights in the present, not at some time in the future. The court's familiar with the Constitution, Mr. Marshall. Mr. Crow is talking about remedies that are in the future. The court's action may depend on whether the state is making good faith efforts to improve the condition of these people. Well, Mr. Tully, do you think it would be a mistake to force children to attend racially mixed schools? I don't think you could keep things peaceful. So, you believe that mixing the races and make the situation worse? In my opinion, it would cause chaos, lead to the elimination of public schools in most, if not all, the counties of the state. Thank you, Mr. Crow. Mr. Crow, this
[Music]
new state commission of yours. Are there any negroes on it? No. Are there any Negroes employed by your commission? No, sir. Mr. Cro, how much study have you done on the question of racial tension? I have observed conditions and people in South Carolina all my life, but I haven't studied racial tensions as such. Then how do you draw your conclusions as to what would happen if the schools are mixed? Because I know what people say. You are speaking of white people mainly. You say the public schools will be eliminated if integration were ordered. They would be abandoned. You believe that white people would abandon their schools if forced to integrate? Yes. You think white people would deprive their own children of an education? I didn't say they'd do that. You said they would abandon the schools. Maybe I misunderstood you. I don't think the legislature would continue to appropriate money for public schools if segregation is eliminated. Do you think you are qualified to testify as to what the legislature of South Carolina will do in the future? I know what people say. You know, there has been peaceful integration in certain graduate schools elsewhere in the deep south. That's a different matter. Those were older people and just a very few I might add. Indiana has outlawed segregation entirely. The ratio between the races is very different in Indiana. Suppose the ratio here was 95% white and 5% negro. Would that cause you to change your opinion? It would not. Then the ratio of Negroes has nothing to do with it. Your opinion is based on the fact that you have all your life believed in the segregation of the races. That is the real basis of your opinion, isn't it? That wouldn't be all. Would that be part of it? I suppose that would be part of it. Thank you, sir, Mr. Gro.
[Music]
[Music]
Mr. Tully, you may make your final argument. Your honors will remember that the very same Congress that passed the 14th amendment in 1868 also passed the law that set up segregated schools in Washington DC. Now, since then, 17 state legislatures have passed laws requiring segregation in public schools. Now, this practice of separate but equal has been repeatedly upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States, most notably in a unanimous decision in 1927 by a court which included former President William Howard Taft as chief justice and such distinguished associates as Lewis Brandeise and Oliver Wendell Holmes. It cannot be persuasively argued that these great American jurists, the Congress of the United States, and the 17 state legislators were acting in ignorance of the Constitution or knowingly define its meaning over so long a period. Segregation is legal in education so long as it's equal. Mr. Telly, you have come here and admitted the facilities are not equal. The law does call for equality, does it not? Isn't the shest way to achieve equality to admit the colored children to the superior white schools? No, sir. The problems of race, if your honor pleases, will not be solved by force, but rather by the slow process of community experience and mutual goodwill. And any ruling by this court must take into account the fact that school facilities cannot be built overnight. All we're asking is
[Music]
time. There is no factual dispute before this court. Negro schools are conceded to be unequal. What is at issue is the law. Yes, separate but equal has been the law of the land for many years, but the Supreme Court has ended segregation in southern graduate schools without any negative consequences. This is progressive development of the law in South Carolina. All the state officials are white. All the school officials are white. This is not just segregation. This is exclusion from the group that runs everything. The negro child is made to go to an inferior school. He is branded in his own mind as inferior which sets up in his mind a roadblock that prevents him from ever feeling he is equal. You can teach such a child citizenship. You can teach such a child the constitution. But he knows that for him it isn't true. Your honor, we have shown that lasting damage is done to Negro children every day that Clarendon County operates its school system in violation of the law. The defense asks for time. Time for the slow process of community experience. I know of no statute that allows anyone to walk into court and ask for time to stop doing something which is unlawful. If the negro children of Clarendon County are entitled to any rights as American citizens, they are entitled to those rights now. Not at some time in the future. Now is the time for the court to act.
[Music]
God bless you. Thank you.
[Music]
Have you decided?
[Music]
Just a second. I mean about the school case. I've decided one thing. Everybody around here does a lot of talking about the negro problem, but what we have is a white problem. How will the court rule? Judge Parker is the one you're going to have to keep your eye on. He's a little cage.
[Music]
Stand back. Stay on the north side of meeting street and colored people stay on the sidewalk
[Music]
when separate schools are maintained for negroes and whites educational facilities and opportunities must be equal. The defendants have admitted that such facilities for colored pupils in school district number 22 are not equal. The plaintiffs are entitled to a mandatory injunction requiring equal facilities be afforded to colored children. The plaintiffs also asked that we order that Negroes be admitted to white schools. The court believes that one of the great virtues of our constitutional system is that it leaves to the states the solution of local problems. It is well settled by the Supreme Court that there is no denial of equal protection of the laws and segregating children if the children are given equal facilities. Therefore, an injunction to abolish segregation is denied. Judge Wearing, I had hoped that this court would take the view that there must be no suppression of the rights of any of our citizens because of their skins. And I had hoped that this court would have made a clear-cut declaration that the state of South Carolina should follow the meaning of the Constitution of the United States and not deny equal protection. But since the majority of this court feels otherwise, I desent. The plaintiffs have shown courage in presenting this case in the face of the age-old pattern of the way of life practiced in South Carolina since and as a result of the institution of human slavery. It has been shown here that the humiliation to young children of being set aside as unfit to associate with others of different color has had an evil and warping effect which will remain with them forever. Despite the ruling of the majority of this court, segregation can never produce equality. It is an evil that must be eradicated. Thank you, Mr. Marshall. Thank you, Mr. Carter. Goodbye, Harry. Bye, sir. I want to say goodbye to you. I want to say goodbye to you and I want to say if you ever show your black ass in Planton County again, you're a dead man. Stay on the sidewalk. Keep him going. Stay behind the barricade. You know, JA, sometimes I get very weary trying to save the white man's soul. Th Good, that court just told the people of the United States of America that segregation is legal. We got a whole damn mountain to climb.
[Music]
Did you see Dr. Levit? Yes. Good. Did you get you sorted out? It's a cancer. They have treatment. He's very good. I'll stay home with you. Home with you is where I belong. No. Carter, Greenberg, and Hail, they can carry on. They're good. I've thought about this since our first days at Howard Law School. and they wouldn't even let you apply to the University of Maryland. One thing has been at the center of our lives. I want you to carry on with your work, our work. I do not want to discuss it.
[Music]
Get everybody in here. The damn Wos broke in again and stole all our times and we didn't get any paychecks again. I wish they would steal the radio. Glattis Hampton, the Detroit advocate. She wants to know what you're going to say to the Negro Educators tomorrow night. You see her editorial? No. This defeat should give pause to the NAACP strategist, for it only strengthens the pie versus Ferguson doctrine of separate but equal. The welfare of the Negro people should not be the exclusive province of a handful of lawyers. Greenberg. You talk to this newspaper woman. I can't. I got a woman on the phone in Norfolk. Police have had her boy locked up for 6 months for stealing a bag of peanuts. Get everybody in the back room. Bob, where are we on the school case in Topeka? We take the Brown case to court next week. Peanut, we getting anywhere in Virginia? If driving 300 miles every week on bumpy roads is getting somewhere. I was in Prince Edward yesterday. Those kids are as brave as I've seen. But you know how tough Virginia's going to be. Third good. What about Delaware? Jack got superior expert witnesses. Judge Cy is tough, but he's fair. And Washington DC. Jim Neighbor is going his own way. He's challenging segregation head on. No reference at all to making separate schools equal. Bob, I want you to prepare an appeal on a clarinet case. I want it ready just in case we decide to go to the Supreme Court. In case. Very good. We have got to go. Look, we all know what's right and what's just. I'm worried about the timing. Chief Justice Vincent and the current lineup of justices on the court leave a lot of questions. And may I tell you guys something else? We are way out in front of our constituency. We have got to decide something. Jack, were you able to help that lady in North? Turns out that bag of peanuts the boy took was one of those 100 lb burlap bags. He also stole the truck the bag was in. I have decided to bring the mountain to Muhammad. There are many of us across the country who are convinced you are in error. We are very concerned about the leadership of the NAACP. Against the advice of many of us, you decided to make a barebones challenge to the legality of segregation in South Carolina. And you got a barebones answer. You went for a home run and struck out. The favorable Supreme Court decisions in the graduate school cases show us the path to success. By working within the pie decision and using separate but equal, we can win cases. And with each victory, many children's lives become better. Mr. Marshall, my great fear is that you will take the South Carolina case to the Supreme Court. It's one thing to lose in South Carolina, quite another to lose in the Supreme Court. We should be pursuing equality in public schools, a goal within our reach. Do you believe there is such a thing as separate equality? I am not in favor of separate anything but I want to win. There are those who believe that if we don't challenge the legality of segregation head on we will continue to get the same thing we have been getting all these years separate but never equal. But to do that is to put at risk all of the progress that we have made. Unfortunately, Miss Hampton, there are no easy answers. Everything we do involves risk. Mr. Davis, office. Good morning.
[Music]
Yes. I see. I will inquire to Mr. Davis available. in just a moment. Uh, Mr. Davis, Governor Burn Secretary is calling long distance from South Carolina. The governor would like to come to New York to meet with you. Tell the lady I would welcome seeing my old friend, the governor. Oh, and uh, suggest to her that he escaped the southern summer and join me at Long Island for the weekend.
[Music]
Hi there, Give me I see you've renewed your acquaintance with Julia. Yes, and a handsome daughter you have, John. Your mother would be proud. How about some iced tea? Or perhaps something a little stronger? Well, iced tea would be fine. When Jimmy and I were a couple of young boys in Congress in Washington, his preference for drinking was a little bolder. 30 years changes a man. for the collection. Julia, your father's genius has made him an unpopular figure in certain high places in Washington. Thank you, Jimmy. Always pleased to be perceived as a genius. Mr. Chomers Roberts says, "Seldom has a courtroom sat in such silent admiration for a lawyer at the bar." The law. The law was on our side. You were masterful. to pin the government's ears back. I'm still just a country lawyer at heart, a skilled technician. Boys don't do very much anyway. They don't build, they don't erect, they don't paint anything. All they do is lubricate the wheels of society. John, I am up here to ask your help on behalf of the South you love. The Claran County school case has become a problem. The NAACP seems to be keeping you folks on your toes. Well, I prepared to confess to past sins. Some of our schools are a disgrace. We're going to spend $75 million to bring those schools up to snuff. We will live up to the equal and separate but equal. But in order to integrate our schools coming down from Washington would cause chaos. You can't ask people to change overnight. feelings run too deep. Case may go before the Supreme Court. Well, surely the NAACP must know that the Supreme Court is not likely to give them the decision they want. Have to be prepared. You've done great service at the bar for your country. Your talents may be required once more. Jim, I've argued 138 cases in that court. This case could be more important than any of the others, more important than any case of our generation. It challenges the right of the states to make their own laws. John, if this case goes to the Supreme Court, I'm going to need you.
[Music]
[Applause]
Oh my god. Fire. M. You and the children. Get out. The place is on fire. Everybody get out. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Hurry. Get out. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Go right to the P. Get up. Hurry, Joseph. Go on. Go on. That's right. Run, boy. Run. Come on. Come on. Run. Run.
[Music]
the hose down the roof. Come on, we'll help him with the hoses. Real sorry, Reverend, but the district line is here. We don't have authority to cross over. You'll have to get the Scotch Branch unit to come help. I don't care about the Scotch Branch line. My house is burning down. You've got to stop it. Let's go, boy. Heat. Heat.
[Music]
[Music]
Hello. Is wife and children okay? Thank you. Bastards. I'm sorry, ma'am, but there's no more room. Unexpected and Mr. Marshall. There's a great deal to be said for separate negro schools. Is this not better than making our boys and girls like doormats to be trampled and spit upon and called [ __ ] I say it's time we stop peering through white schoolhouse windows like orphans at Christmas Eve. Let us make our schools equal and excellent. The courts can be counted on to give us equal schools, but they cannot be counted on for desegregation. We don't know that. The only way to find out is to ask the Supreme Court. Now, what troubles me is what will they do when we ask them to either repudiate or reaffirm the pie decision and separate but equal. That's what many of us have been saying all along. The NAACP should not be reaching for glory. If Mr. Marshall takes us to the Supreme Court at the wrong time. He is taking us over a cliff, provoking a negative ruling that could last another generation. Wait a minute. Let me ask a question. Law students, how many of you went to segregated schools? segregated colleges, segregated law schools. Here we are, citizens of the United States of America. How can we continue to tolerate a segregated society? We must attack segregation head on. Mr. Marshall, I know I speak for many of us. Let's not risk the setback that a negative Supreme Court ruling would represent. Let's push hard in the lower courts. We can win victories and gain more credibility for our cause. And we won't come up empty.
[Music]
Can I promise you success? Is that the question? Can I promise you victory? The answer is no. But do you want to continue dancing to the tunes of the Jimmy Burnses of the world? Do you wish to wait for the great leaders of the south to decide when it is time to grant democracy's rights to your children's children or to their children's children? This is 1952. 300 years since our forefathers and mothers were brought to this land as cargo on slave ships. nearly 100 years since the Emancipation Proclamation. If there is a problem about community attitudes and getting people to obey the law, let the Supreme Court worry about it. Let the Supreme Court take the blame if it dares to say to the rest of the world, "Yes, American democracy rests on a legalized cast system." The NAACP has taken a decision to fight to strike down segregation and we will go where we said we will go. Let the Supreme Court decide.
[Music]
You know the difference between doctors and lawyers? Doctors can bury their mistakes.
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
Good morning, father. Dearest Julia, you're busy. Oh, never too busy for you. Now, tell me, to what do I owe this happy surprise? I've been thinking, father, I don't think that you should take the segregation case. Why is that? I think that times are changing and times will have to change in the south, too. Times are always changing. Julian, if you take the case, it will appear that you are against the negro.
[Music]
I treasure this to John W. Davis from a grateful people for his efforts in fighting the cause of human rights for the Negroes of West Virginia and the nation. Sudden integration could turn out to be the worst thing for the cause of the Negro. Even if true, that is not a very popular position. Oh, nonsense, Julia. I've defended giant corporations and I defended Eugene V. Devs, socialist labor leader charged with inciting a riot at a coal miner strike in West Virginia. Alahiss Boba popular. In 50 years, I've never taken a case because it was popular or unpopular. I choose my cases based on the law. The law guides me. What kind of law is this? The framers of the constitution understood correctly the greatest protection for human freedom was local autonomy. The government close to the people. This case challenges the right of the states to make and enforce their own laws. Segregation is to be outlawed. It must be done by an act of Congress or an amendment to the Constitution. I believe it's wrong for nine men in Washington to tell a man in South Carolina who his daughter ought to sit next to in school. I'm going to take this case, Julia, and I'm going to win it.
[Music]
[Music]