Beatrice Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education

Background

For many years Mississippi operated separate public schools for white children and for Black children. On July 3, 1969 the Court of Appeals ordered new desegregation plans for 33 Mississippi school districts to accelerate integration. On August 28 the Court of Appeals suspended that order and moved the deadline to December 1, 1969 after the Department of Justice asked for a delay and the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare recommended postponement. Black plaintiffs in 14 of those districts asked Justice Black to lift the suspension and require immediate implementation.

Reasoning

Justice Black said the old phrase 'all deliberate speed' has been used to delay integration and that prior decisions make immediate action desirable. But when asked to grant special emergency relief he must respect what the whole Court might do and the factual findings below. The District Court and the Court of Appeals found as a fact that the time was too short and that administrative problems made immediate implementation impractical. Justice Black concluded he could not say those findings were unsupported, so he denied the request to vacate the suspension even while criticizing continued delay.

Real world impact

The decision leaves in place the postponement of the desegregation timetable, a delay that the parties acknowledge could push full integration back up to about a year. Black students in the affected districts remain in segregated schools for now. Justice Black urged the applicants to seek review by the full Court, noting his view that courts should no longer tolerate delay and that a future decision could require immediate desegregation.