USDC, Eastern District of Virginia, Norfolk Division, Civil Action Case #50: Walter B. Alston, et al. vs. School Board of the City of Norfolk, et al.
| Creator | USDC, Eastern District of Virginia, Norfolk Division |
| Description | In October of 1938, attorney Thurgood Marshall filed a petition for Norfolk teacher Arline Black. Black was seeking salary equalization from the School Board of the City of Norfolk and was consequently fired. After Black moved to New York, Marshall filed the suit on behalf of Melvin Alston, president of the Norfolk Teachers Association. Though they lost the first case, a federal appeals court ordered that African-American teachers should be paid salaries equal to those of white teachers. The plaintiffs in the case stated that their constitutional right of “equal protection” – guaranteed under the 14th Amendment – was being violated due to the school board discriminating on the grounds of race and color. The 1940 case found that white and African-American public school teachers with comparable qualifications needed to be paid equally. This case was one of the first cases to assert equal educational rights for African-Americans. |
| Call number | Civil Action Case #50 |
| Date from | 1938 |
| Date to | 1940 |
| Geographic school | Norfolk, VA |
| Size | unknown |
| Access restrictions yes/no | 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 Americans–Civil rights
o Public schools o Race relations o African Americans–Education o African American educators o Marshall, Thurgood, 1908-1993 o Teachers–Salaries, etc.–United States |
| Types | Legal documents |