This May marks 70 years since the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education declaring the “separate but equal” doctrine unconstitutional and marking a new standard for American education.This episode is part one of a special three-part arc to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Brown, which dismantled legal racial apartheid in the United States and radically reshaped American life. The series will dive into the history and legacy of this groundbreaking LDF case. On this episode, we trace the origins of the case through to the state of equitable admissions in public education today.
Janai Nelson, President and Director-Counsel, Legal Defense Fund
Michaele Turnage Young, Senior Counsel, Legal Defense Fund
Malaika Addae, Thomas Jefferson Alumni Action Group Member
On May 17, 1954, a U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Brown v. Board of Education case declared the “separate but equal” doctrine unconstitutional. The landmark Brown v. Board decision gave the Legal Defense Fund its most celebrated victory in a long, storied history of fighting for civil rights and marked a defining moment in U.S. history.
The legal victory in Brown did not transform the country overnight, and much work remains seven decades later. But striking down segregation in the nation’s public schools provided a major catalyst for the civil rights movement, making possible advances in desegregating housing, public accommodations, and institutions of higher education.
The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education was the product of the hard work and diligence of the nation’s best attorneys, including Robert Carter, Jack Greenberg, Constance Baker Motley, Spottswood Robinson, Oliver Hill, Louis Redding, Charles and John Scott, Harold R. Boulware, James Nabrit, and George E.C. Hayes. These LDF lawyers were assisted by a brain trust of legal scholars.
In the 1940s, psychologists Kenneth and Mamie Clark designed and conducted a series of experiments known colloquially as “the doll tests” to study the psychological effects of segregation on African-American children.
Drs. Clark used four dolls, identical except for color, to test children’s racial perceptions. Their subjects, children between the ages of three to seven, were asked to identify both the race of the dolls and which color doll they prefer. A majority of the children preferred the white doll and assigned positive characteristics to it. The Clarks concluded that “prejudice, discrimination, and segregation” created a feeling of inferiority among African-American children and damaged their self-esteem.
The doll test was only one part of Dr. Clark’s testimony in Brown vs. Board – it did not constitute the largest portion of his analysis and expert report. His conclusions during his testimony were based on a comprehensive analysis of the most cutting-edge psychology scholarship of the period.
In honor of the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education on May 17 2024, LDF is hosting a series of events to reflect on the legacy of Brown and the future of education equity. This victory was the product of a multi-year campaign led by LDF’s visionary attorneys and brave students and families to defy the status quo and envision a better, more just America. Brown v. Board was a defining moment for our country and its future. Now, at 70 years past, we celebrate Brown’s incalculable legacy and continue the transformative work to make education accessible and equitable for all.
The Legal Defense Fund (LDF) represents Black families in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana in a long-running lawsuit to end racial discrimination in schools. LDF and our clients are fighting for equal educational opportunities for all students in St. Martin Parish schools. The lawsuit seeks to address the continued existence of racial segregation in district schools, particularly at the elementary and middle school level, and to ensure long overdue educational equality for Black students.
LDF was successful in convincing a federal court to order the school district in St. Martin Parish, LA to address racial discrimination and disparities in school discipline, teacher hiring and retention, and student access to college preparation courses.
On August 1, 2023, a federal district court in Louisiana issued a ruling ordering the school board to follow a plan proposed by the plaintiffs that advances desegregation efforts in the district. The Court’s order adopts the plaintiffs’ remedial proposal to keep Black and white students together in grades 2 to 5 at St. Martinville Primary School. However, the order also allows the District to reopen Catahoula Elementary School – a small, predominately white school in the district – as a PK-1 school.
LDF was also successful in getting the court to order St. Martin school district to ensure further racial integration at historically black schools by ordering the opening of a new magnet program at two historically Black schools and adopting new school grade structures and attendance zones.
Thomas v. St. Martin Parish School Board originated in 1965, when LDF challenged the district’s segregated schools. Ten years after Brown v. Board of Education, Black and white students in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana were still being educated in segregated schools. The District Court found that the school board’s operation violated the constitutional rights of Black students and the case entered a remedial phase. The school board operated under a series of court orders and decrees for the next decade.
In 1974, the district court issued a decree stating that the St. Martin Parish public schools had “operated” as a “unitary school system for a period in excess of three years.” This meant that the court no longer had jurisdiction over the school district. The case remained open but dormant for decades.
St. Martin Parish enrolls about 7,000 students: 50% white and 46% Black. In the school zone for the City of St. Martinville-area, the school board operates two historically Black elementary schools with a 70% Black student body, along with the historically white Catahoula Elementary School. In the 1930s, the school board organized the school zone in its current formation and built Catahoula Elementary to intentionally segregate white students from the nearby Black students. None of the parish’s other three zones still maintain racially segregated elementary schools in this manner.
In 2010, LDF and the Department of Justice argued that the St. Martin School Board had never achieved unitary status since the court had not conducted the inquiry required by the Supreme Court in Dowell v. Board of Education. In 2014, the Fifth Circuit ruled in LDF’s favor, affirming that the district is still under a desegregation order.
In 2016, a federal district court approved a school desegregation plan to ensure educational equity for St. Martin students. Additional agreements seek to increase high school graduation rates, decrease the use of overly punitive discipline policies, promote diversity amongst teachers and professional staff, and improve school facilities.
While measures agreed to in 2016 have addressed some issues of racial discrimination, many persist. Before the consent order, for example, Catahoula Elementary was over 90% white. But, in 2016, the court ordered the school board to rezone, which resulted in the now 24% Black student body at Catahoula Elementary, its highest level of integration ever. But the school board has made no progress in desegregating its two neighboring Black schools.
The school board has sought to dismiss the case several times. LDF asked the court to keep the consent decree in place, presenting evidence that schools had not fixed these issues or desegregated schools. LDF asked the court to close Catahoula Elementary to finally desegregate this St. Martinville-area school zone.
In 2021, the Court ordered the school board to continue its desegregation efforts. These decisions confirmed that the school board has failed to meet the requirements set in the 2016 agreement. The trial court found that the school district failed to ensure equal treatment of Black students and Black teachers and allowed racial bias to affect the operation of St. Martin Parish schools. The court further found that the district did not take steps to close substantial racial disparities in Black students’ attainment of college preparatory diplomas despite an explicit agreement to address this inequity. Because of these findings, the court’s ruling requires the school board to hire and retain more Black teachers, implement new trainings, eliminate racial disparities in student discipline, and increase Black students’ enrollment in college preparatory programs. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit largely affirmed the district court’s ruling in 2022.
In 2022, the court held a trial to decide what steps the School Board would need to take in order to meet that goal. As an outcome of that trial, the court ordered the School Board to take several steps. These include recruiting more Black teachers, revising their disciplinary policies, and increasing support for Black students to access college preparedness programs. This order also reflects the recommendations of St. Martin Parish residents, who provided their input to the court.
In February 2023, the court held a trial to discuss the closing of Catahoula Elementary and what the impact of reopening the school would be for the St. Martin Parish community. At this trial, the School Board presented three plans for student assignment—all of which would keep Catahoula Elementary School open and worsen segregation. The Plaintiffs argued that none of the School Board’s plans require white families to integrate into the zone for Catahoula, but they do require Black families to do so. Plaintiffs argued that Catahoula should not reopen and emphasized that closing the school has helped to desegregate the School District. As an alternative plan, Plaintiffs suggested that Catahoula could be reopened in a limited way, as a 6th Grade Academy.
In May 2023, the Court ordered the St. Martin School Board to adopt remedial proposals put forward by plaintiffs. The court’s ruling implements a previous 2022 decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals of the Fifth Circuit, which found that the School Board had failed to comply with a settlement designed to eliminate racial discrimination in teacher hiring and recruitment, student discipline, and access to college preparatory courses. The court’s order largely reflects the recommendations of LDF’s clients and experts, who advocated for desegregation and equitable education in the district.
In June of 2023, the Court approved a settlement agreement (or consent decree) between the Plaintiffs and the School Board. The agreement requires the School Board to open magnet school programs at St. Martinville Primary School (SMP) and the Early Learning Center (ELC) beginning in the fall of 2024. The magnet schools at SMP and ELC will have a unique learning “theme” to offer all students a high-quality educational experience and to attract a talented and racially diverse group of students and teachers.
On August 1, 2023 a federal district court ordered the school board to follow a plan proposed by the plaintiffs that advances desegregation efforts in the district. The Court’s order adopts the plaintiffs’ remedial proposal to keep Black and white students together in grades 2 to 5 at St. Martinville Primary School. However, the order also allows the District to reopen Catahoula Elementary School – a small, predominately white school in the district – as a PK-1 school. The court’s ruling follows an earlier decision in May ordering the school board to implement desegregation measures across the district. Catahoula Elementary School had originally been ordered to close by the court in 2021 as part of desegregation efforts in the parish, a decision reversed in the Fifth Circuit Court in 2022. For years, Catahoula had been a barrier to desegregation because the district operated it as the white counterpart to two nearby predominately Black schools, St. Martinville Primary School (grades 2-5) and the Early Learning Center (grades PK-1). While the district court reiterated that keeping Catahoula closed would be the best way to racially integrate all schools, in 2022, the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals the district court to consider options for reopening Catahoula. By limiting Catahoula to only grades PK-1, the court chose the least harmful option and protected the successful integration of students in grades 2-5 at St. Martinville Primary. This latest development in the case is a positive step forward for the St. Martin Parish school district.
Racialized police violence, threats to democracy, and environmental disasters are not new exposures for Black Americans, but they have been amplified over the past four years, pervading the lives of Black students, and must be taken into account when assessing how Black students have been faring during the pandemic. As the public education system emerges from the pandemic, with the help of record-breaking investments through COVID-19 relief funds, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make equitable investments in public schools that the vast majority of Black students attend.
This report is a resource for those furthering their commitment to pursuing racial equity and a diverse educational setting in the wake of the SFFA decisions, including but not limited to a wide range of advocates and stakeholders, prospective and current college students and alumni, and education professionals. Despite the substantial setback from the Supreme Court’s decision on affirmative action, it is as vital now as ever before to ensure that all Americans—regardless of their backgrounds—have equitable access to resources and opportunities at all levels of our educational system.
To support important, ongoing efforts to advance DEIA and equal opportunity, LDF offers this general guidance to employers and funders as they navigate the current legal landscape in the aftermath of the SFFA decision. As the United States becomes increasingly more diverse—and the demand for greater equity becomes ever more pressing—we must work together across sectors to ensure the success of our multiracial democracy.
