Background

For several years after the Supreme Court decided Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954), school districts in Louisiana made little progress towards desegregation. But by the late 1960s, aggressive efforts were underway in federal courts in the state to challenge segregated public school systems. There was little uniformity in outcomes or remedies, but plaintiffs remained dissatisfied with the slow pace of progress. To increase uniformity and effectiveness, the Fifth Circuit consolidated forty-four appeals of desegregation orders in Adams v. Mathews. In Adams, the Fifth Circuit clarified that desegregation plans must convert segregated, dual school systems into desegregated, unitary school systems and “realistically . . . work now.” Adams v. Mathews, 403 F.2d 181 (5th Cir. 1968). This entry details what happened in a collection of about thirty of those cases on remand to a three-judge district court that (later joined again by the Fifth Circuit) tried to figure out what sort of school desegregation plans pass constitutional muster.

Consolidated Cases

The consolidated cases were heard on remand by a three-judge panel composed of District Judges Benjamin C. Dawkins, Jr., Richard J. Putnam, and Edwin F. Hunter, Jr. On November 14, 1968, the panel held in Conley v. Lake Charles School Board that freedom of choice plans, which allowed students to choose whether to attend a traditionally white school or a traditionally black school, were sufficient to convert the school districts from a segregated, or dual, system to a desegregated, or unitary, system. 293 F. Supp. 84 (W.D. La. 1968).

The Fifth Circuit reversed this judgment in Hall v. St. Helena Parish School Board. On May 28, 1969, the Circuit Court (Chief Judge John R. Brown, Circuit Judge John Cooper Godbold, and District Judge Ted Cabot) held that freedom of choice plans were insufficient to convert the school districts from dual to unitary systems. The court noted that under the freedom of choice plans, many school districts still had all-black schools, and of the school districts that had black students attending formerly all-white schools, few had more than ten percent black students. The court ordered each school district to submit a desegregation plan to the district court in alignment with the Circuit Court's decision. 417 F.2d 801 (5th Cir. 1969).

On June 5, the same Western District of Louisiana panel issued an order requiring the schools to submit a uniform desegregation plan. The district court also reiterated its earlier statement that "we think freedom of choice is the best plan available." The district court further ordered that the school districts and the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) work together to create plans to integrate the schools. 303 F. Supp. 394 (W.D. La. 1969).

The case was then appealed again. In Johnson v. Jackson Parish School Board, the Fifth Circuit repudiated freedom of choice plans. It held that the "approved plans proposed by the school boards . . . do not establish racially unitary school systems," and reiterated that "school districts may no longer operate a dual school system based on race or color[.] . . . [They] must begin immediately to operate as unitary school systems within which no person is to be effectively excluded from any school because of race or color." The Fifth Circuit remanded many of these cases to the district courts to approve plans that were sufficient to achieve unitary status and consistent with both Fifth Circuit and Supreme Court school desegregation decisions. 420 F.2d 692 (5th Cir. 1969).

Individual Desegregation Plans

At this point, the various consolidated cases began to drift apart. In many cases, district judges ordered students to be assigned to schools nearest their homes and permitted majority to minority transfer programs. These programs allowed students to transfer from their assigned schools where they were in a majority racial group to any school where they were in a minority racial group. Conley v. Lake Charles Sch. Bd., 314 F. Supp. 1282 (W.D. La. 1970).

One tactic localities used against integration was to assign students to different classes based on race within putatively integrated schools. In response, the Fifth Circuit held that school districts had to eliminate all segregated classes within their schools. Johnson v. Jackson Parish Sch. Bd., 423 F.2d 1055 (5th Cir. 1970).

There are many other examples of decisions implementing the Fifth Circuit’s directives in Johnson. See, e.g., Lemon v. Bossier Parish Sch. Bd., 421 F.2d 121 (5th Cir. 1969) (per curiam); Williams v. Kimbrough, 421 F.2d 1351 (5th Cir. 1969) (per curiam); United States v. E. Carroll Parish Sch. Bd., 425 F.2d 230 (5th Cir. 1969) (per curiam); Jones v. Caddo Parish Sch. Bd., 421 F.2d 313 (5th Cir. 1970) (per curiam); Gordon v. Jefferson Davis Parish Sch. Bd., 315 F. Supp. 901 (W.D. La. 1970).

Implementation

Throughout the 1970s, the Fifth Circuit continued to approve and amend school desegregation plans to ensure that the plans were constitutionally compliant. See, e.g., Conley v. Lake Charles Sch. Bd., 434 F.2d 35 (5th Cir. 1970). The district court also evaluated the constitutionality of various school districts' actions, such as closing formerly all black schools because school district officials believed that white students would refuse to attend such schools. See, e.g., Gordon v. Jefferson Davis Parish Sch. Bd., 330 F. Supp. 1119 (W.D. La. 1971).

Many of the school districts in these consolidated cases remained under court-enforced desegregation orders and submitted progress reports to the court throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. Some school districts remain under desegregation orders. Others have been declared unitary and are no longer under permanent injunctions. Compare Williams v. Kimbrough, 2010 WL 1790516 (W.D. La. May 3, 2010) (declaring district unitary), with Hall v. St. Helena Parish Sch. Bd., 2013 WL 3994778 (M.D. La. Aug. 1, 2013) (denying motion by school district to restructure its fourth grade classes).

Available Opinions

This list includes both opinions that were issued during the consolidated phase of the case, and also opinions issued later. The most important opinions for the consolidated phase are indicated by an asterisk.

United States v. Bossier Parish Sch. Bd., 220 F. Supp. 243 (W.D. La. 1963).
Trahan v. Lafayette Parish Sch. Bd., 244 F. Supp. 583 (W.D. La. 1965).
Henderson v. Iberia Parish Sch. Bd., 245 F. Supp. 419 (W.D. La. 1965).
Thomas v. St. Martin Parish Sch. Bd., 245 F. Supp. 601 (W.D. La. 1965).
United States v. Jefferson Cty. Bd. of Educ., 372 F.2d 836 (5th Cir. 1966).
*Adams v. Mathews, 403 F.2d 181 (5th Cir. 1968).
*Conley v. Lake Charles Sch. Bd., 293 F. Supp. 84 (W.D. La. 1968) (en banc).
Williams v. Kimbrough, 295 F. Supp. 578 (W.D. La. 1969).
Cleveland v. Union Parish Sch. Bd., 406 F.2d 1331 (5th Cir. 1969).
*Hall v. St. Helena Parish Sch. Bd., 417 F.2d 801 (5th Cir. 1969).
Singleton v. Jackson Mun. Separate Sch. Dist., 419 F.2d 1211 (5th Cir. 1969).
*Conley v. Lake Charles Sch. Bd., 303 F. Supp. 394 (W.D. La. 1969) (per curiam).
*Johnson v. Jackson Parish Sch. Bd., 420 F.2d 692 (5th Cir. 1969) (per curiam).
Lemon v. Bossier Parish Sch. Bd., 421 F.2d 121 (5th Cir. 1969) (per curiam).
Williams v. Kimbrough, 421 F.2d 1351 (5th Cir. 1969) (per curiam).
United States v. E. Carroll Parish Sch. Bd., 425 F.2d 230 (5th Cir. 1969) (per curiam).
Jones v. Caddo Parish Sch. Bd., 421 F.2d 313 (5th Cir. 1970) (per curiam).
Carter v. West Feliciana Parish Sch. Bd., 396 U.S. 290 (1970) (per curiam).
Robertson v. Natchitoches Parish Sch. Bd., 431 F.2d 1111 (5th Cir. 1970).
*Conley v. Lake Charles Sch. Bd., 314 F. Supp. 1282 (W.D. La. 1970).
Gordon v. Jefferson Davis Parish Sch. Bd., 315 F. Supp. 901 (W.D. La. 1970).
*Johnson v. Jackson Parish Sch. Bd., 423 F.2d 1055 (5th Cir. 1970).
Taylor v. Ouachita Parish Sch. Bd., 424 F.2d 324 (5th Cir. 1970).
Banks v. Claiborne Parish Sch. Bd., 425 F. 2d 1040 (5th Cir. 1970).
Robertson v. Natchitoches Parish Sch. Bd., 431 F.2d 1111 (5th Cir. 1970).
Conley v. Lake Charles Sch. Bd., 434 F.2d 35 (5th Cir. 1970).
Smith v. Concordia Parish Sch. Bd., 445 F.2d 285 (5th Cir. 1971).
Smith v. Concordia Parish Sch. Bd., 331 F. Supp. 330 (W.D. La. 1971).
Gordon v. Jefferson Davis Parish Sch. Bd., 446 F.2d 266 (5th Cir. 1971).
Gordon v. Jefferson Davis Parish Sch. Bd., 330 F. Supp. 1119 (W.D. La. 1971).
Trahan v. Lafayette Parish Sch. Bd.: 330 F. Supp. 450 (W.D. La. 1971).
Gordon v. Jefferson Davis Parish Sch. Bd., 460 F.2d 1062 (5th Cir. 1972) (per curiam).
Celestain v. Vermilion Parish Sch. Bd., 364 F. Supp. 618 (W.D. La. 1972).
Valley v. Rapides Parish Sch. Bd., 499 F. Supp. 490 (W.D. La. 1980).
Valley v. Rapides Parish Sch. Bd., 646 F.2d 925 (5th Cir. 1981).
Valley v. Rapides Parish Sch. Bd., 653 F.2d 941 (5th Cir. 1981).
Valley v. Rapides Parish Sch. Bd., 702 F.2d 1221 (5th Cir. 1983).
United States v. Avoyelles Parish Sch. Bd., No. 1:65–cv–12721, 2009 WL 1505305 (W.D. La. May 28, 2009).
Williams v. Kimbrough, No. 65–11329, 2010 WL 1790516 (W.D. La. May 3, 2010).
United States v. Avoyelles Parish Sch. Bd., Civil Action No. 65–cv–12721, 2011 WL 2356977 (W.D. La. Mar. 22, 2011).
Hall v. St. Helena Parish Sch. Bd., No. 52–1068–JJB, 2013 WL 3994778 (M.D. La. Aug. 1, 2013).
United States v. Avoyelles Parish Sch. Bd., Civ. Act. No. 65–cv–12721, 2016 WL 3636698 (W.D. La. June 29, 2016).

Amelia Huckins - 10/02/2017
Maddie McFee - 11/21/2019


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