USDC, Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division, Civil Action Case #3579- Mark J. Belton, Jr., an infant, etc. vs. the County School Board of King George County, Virginia, et al
| Creator | USDC, Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division |
| Description | In 1962, thirty-eight African-American students and their parents filed suit against the defendants, hoping gain admittance into the County’s all-white public schools. The School Board, Superintendent, and each of the school board members said that any placement issues ought to be brought up with the State’s Pupil Placement Board. The Board responded in alleging that each of the infant plaintiff’s was not placed in their respective desired schools as a result of their distance from the institution or lack of academic qualifications. It was admitted that all other administrative options had already been exhausted by the plaintiff’s families. The Court finds that the School Board operates six schools within the County, only two of which are open to any more than a small handful of blacks. An attendance boundary for each of these schools was seen to be very flexible. The Pupil Placement Board has placed 29 black students into mostly white schools in the County already, without court order. Typically, the School Board makes “tentative assignments” for students in the County and forwards them to the Placement Board, where they are accepted unless a student in question makes formal protest. White students it was found need not even apply to gain admission to a predominately white school, merely show up; the criteria by which white and black students were judged on was far from equal. The Court found the dual system of schooling discriminatory and granted the plaintiffs admission to the school which they applied. Furthermore, a general injunction against racial discrimination in their admission process was awarded. Counsel fees were not awarded. |
| Call number | Civil Action Case #3579 |
| Date from | 1962 |
| Date to | 1968 |
| Geographic school | King George County, VA |
| Size | unknown |
| Access restrictions yes/no | |
| Access restrictions | |
| Part Of larger collection yes/no | |
| Larger collection title | |
| URL | |
| Repository | NARA Mid-Atlantic Region |
| Repository address | 14700 Townsend Road, Philadelphia, PA 19154-1096 |
| Repository contact name | David Weber |
| Repository contact title | Director, Records Management Program |
| Repository contact email | philadelphia.reference@nara.gov |
| Repository contact phone | (215) 305-2000 |
| DoveRegion | (outside of Virginia) |
| Subjects | o African American students
o African Americans–Civil rights o Public schools o School children o School integration o Segregation in education o Virginia. Pupil Placement Board |
| Types | o Correspondence
o Legal documents |