USDC, Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division, Civil Action Case #4265- Shirlette L. Bowman, et al vs. the County School Board of Charles City County, Virginia, et al
| Creator | USDC, Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division |
| Description | The black plaintiffs in this 1965 case have taken issue with Charles City County’s “freedom of choice” plan, alleging that it deprived them of their constitutional rights. Under the plan, each pupil is supposed to have the “unrestricted right” to attend any school in the system they desired. It is however the “compulsive assignments to achieve a greater inter-mixture of the races, notwithstanding their individual choices,” which is their due, where the issue lies. The persistent necessity of submitting paperwork each year in order to attend a school of the pupils choosing was seen to be very different than the school itself harnessing the responsibility for altering this unconstitutional system. The obstacles in the path of the pupils inhibit the unadulterated “freedom of choice,” which is supposed to be enjoyed. After moving back and forth between the District and Appeals Court four times, it was ruled that 1) all teachers, included those currently employed by the County, would be reassigned as to not take into account their races nor the races of their students. 2) Immediately prior to the summer registration period for the 1966-67 school terms, students would have an opportunity to exercise their “freedom of choice.” 3) The aforementioned school selection is meant to be the only one of its sort or a one-time occurrence not to be repeated. |
| Call number | Civil Action Case #4265 |
| Date from | 1965 |
| Date to | 1973 |
| Geographic school | Charles City 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 United States. Court of Appeals (4th Circuit) |
| Types | o Correspondence
o Legal documents |