National Archives at Atlanta

Civil Liberties Case Files at the National Archives at Atlanta

A selection of civil liberty cases from the Records of the U. S. District Courts in the following states:


How to Use this Report

The U. S. District Court cases in this report constitute a sample of cases relating to civil liberties in the custody of the National Archives at Atlanta. The Southeast Region has custody of records from the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Unless noted, all cases are civil action cases. These files were maintained by the court as a permanent record of various proceedings in civil litigation. They contain papers filed with the court including petitions, bills of complaint, transcripts of testimony, writs, answers, depositions, exhibits, motions, court orders, decrees, findings of fact, conclusions of law, affidavits, decisions, and other related papers. If the case was appealed to a higher court, then information and papers relating to that appeal were often included in the case files.

 

Alabama

U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama (Birmingham)

  • Agnes Nelson and Oswald Nelson, minors, by T. N. Nelson v. Birmingham Board of Education of the City of Birmingham, et al. 1962 Case No. 10188
    Suit filed to desegregate public schools in Birmingham, Alabama.
     
  • Ollie McClung, Sr. and Ollie McClung, Jr. v. Robert F. Kennedy, as Attorney General of the United States, et al. 1964 Case No. 64-448
    Case to decide whether a restaurant operator, not engaged in interstate commerce, and not offering goods and services to interstate travelers may be compelled against his will to serve African Americans under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

 

  • Carl L. Baldwin, Alexinia Baldwin v. J. W. Morgan, et al. 1957 Case No. 8634
    Suit filed for a permanent injunction to restrain the enforcement of the policy, practice, custom or usage of the defendants in denying the plaintiffs or other African Americans similarly situated the use of the waiting room at the Birmingham Railroad Terminal Station designated "Interstate and White Passengers."

 

  • Ruby Fredricka Shuttlesworth, minor, by her next friend, F. L. Shuttlesworth, et al v. Birmingham Board of Education of Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama, et al. 1957 Case No. 8914
    Plaintiffs sued for assignment on a non-racial basis to schools within the closest proximity of their homes.

 

  • Lillie Brown, et al. v. J. W. Morgan, Eugene Connor, et al. 1958 Case No. 9255
    Case involving the refusal of black citizens to sit at the back of the bus.

 

  • Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth, et al. v. The City of Birmingham 1959 Case No. 9505
    African Americans sued for injunction against segregation of public recreational facilities.

 

  • Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth and Reverend Charles Billups v. Eugene Conner & James Moore 1960 Case No. 9751
    Suit filed seeking to secure the rights of the African American people of Birmingham to gather peacefully to plan and protest against the practices of racial segregation in Birmingham, without being subjected to police intimidation.

 

  • Lillie Boman, et al. v. J. W. Morgan, Eugene Conner, J. T. Waggoner, Individually, and as Members of the Board of City Commissioners of the City of Birmingham, Alabama, and Birmingham Transit Company 1958 Case No. 9255.
    Suit filed by African Americans to desegregate Birmingham buses.

 

U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama (Huntsville)

  • United States of America. v. Madison County Board of Education, et al. 1963 Case No. 63-23
    Action brought by the United States seeking to enjoin the defendants from separating or discriminating against, upon the basis of their race or color, any dependents of the members or employees of the Armed Services (including NASA's George C. Marshall Space Flight Center) in the operation of public schools under their jurisdiction.

 

U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama (Tuscaloosa)

  • Autherine J. Lucy v. William F. Adams, et al 1956 Case No. 652 and 754
    Case involving the refusal to permit Autherine Lucy to live in a women's dormitory on the campus of the University of Alabama, refusing to permit her to use the dining facilities, and refusing her all other accommodations and privileges afforded other students.

 

U. S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama (Montgomery)

  • Aurelia S. Browder, et al. v. W. A. Gayle, et al. 1956 Case No. 1147-N
    This case relates to the 1955 bus boycott in Montgomery. Although not a party to the case, Rosa Parks' arrest record and fingerprints are exhibits to the case. The case is well-known in civil rights history because it made Martin Luther King, 25-year old minister in Montgomery, famous. King was president of the Montgomery Improvement Association that led the boycott.
     
  • United States v. U. S. Klans, Knights of Ku Klux Klan, Inc., Alabama Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Inc., et al. 1961 Case No. 1718-N
    Case involving a suit brought by the U.S. Government on behalf of passengers on buses, specifically Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) representatives, charging that the Klan conspired to prevent certain persons from traveling in interstate commerce through Alabama.
     
  • John R. Lewis, et al. v. Southeastern Greyhound Lines, Inc. 1961 Case No. 1724-N
    Class action suit filed for injunction to prohibit bus companies from segregating, to prevent state police officers from enforcing segregation policy, and to dissolve Alabama injunction previously issued against Freedom Riders.
     
  • United States of America v. City of Montgomery 1961 Case No. 1740-N
    Case involving refusal to make available to African Americans all facilities generally open to the public at the airport.

 

  • U.S.A. v. George Penton, Mrs. Samuella P. Willis, Registrars of Voters of Montgomery County, Alabama; and State of Alabama 1962 Case No. 1741-N
    Justice Department sued for injunction against defendants alleging discrimination against African Americans in registering to vote under 1957 and 1960 Civil Rights Act.

 

  • Hosea Williams, John Lewis and Amelia Boynton, on behalf of themselves and others similarly situated v. Honorable George C. Wallace, as Governor of the State of Alabama, et al. 1965 Case No. 2181-N
    A class action suit brought by Hosea Williams, John Lewis, and Amelia Boynton against Governor George C. Wallace and the State of Alabama concerning the protection of marchers as they walked from Selma to Montgomery on behalf of African American voter registration in Alabama. The march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965 was a pivotal event in the history of the Civil Rights Movement.

 

U. S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama (Opelika)

  • C. G. Gomillion, et al. v. Phil M. Lightfoot, et al. 1958 Case No. 462-E
    Lawsuit brought by African American citizens of Tuskegee, Alabama, seeking injunction restraining defendants from enforcing the 1958 act of the Alabama Legislature gerrymandering African American voters out of the city of Tuskegee.

 

U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama (Mobile)

  • United States of America v. Mobile County Board of School Commissioners, et al. 1963 Case No. 2964
    This action was brought by the United States seeking to enjoin defendants from segregating or discriminating against, on the basis of their race or color, any dependents of military personnel or civilian employees of the plaintiff (including Brookley Air Force Base), in the operation of public schools of Mobile County.
     
  • Bernard Reynolds, et al. v. Nicholas Katzenbach, as Attorney General of the United States, et al. 1965 Case No: 3922-65
    Suit for an injunction to enjoin and restrain the defendants from enforcing or attempting to enforce the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in the State of Alabama, pending a determination of its validity by the Supreme Court of the United States.
     
  • Bernard Reynolds, et al. v. Nicholas Katzenbach, as Attorney General of the United States, et al. 1965 Case No. 3923-65
    Suit for injunctive relief against all defendants from enforcing or attempting to enforce the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in the State of Alabama pending a final decision of the Supreme Court of the United States as to the constitutionality of the Act.

 

U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama (Selma)

  • United States of America v. James G. Clark, Jr., Sheriff of Dallas County, et al. 1964 Case No. 3438
    Action brought pursuant to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to obtain preventive relief against acts and practices of the City of Selma, Alabama, and the defendant public officials of Dallas County, Alabama. The United States alleged that the defendants engaged in acts and practices to intimidate and coerce African American citizens so as to interfere with their rights to register to vote and to use public accommodations.

 

  • United States of America v. Paschal A. Tutwiler, Webb Cocke, Roy Livingston, as Registrars of Voters of Hale County, Alabama; and State of Alabama. 1963 Case No. 3200-63
    Suit for preliminary and permanent injunction from racially discriminatory acts and practices relating to voter registration in Hale County and requesting the Court to order defendants to register all African Americans seeking to register who possess the qualification requirements applied to white applicants.

 

Florida

U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida (Tallahassee)

  • Millard F. Caldwell v. Crowell-Collier Publishing Company, a Delaware Corporation 1946 Case No. T-152
    Suit brought by the governor of Florida, Millard F. Caldwell, against Crowell-Collier Publishing Company for an alleged libel published in Colliers Magazine. The case relates to an African American under indictment for attempted rape who was snatched from jail by a mob and shot to death.

 

  • Willie Carl Singleton, a minor by Neva Singleton, his mother and next friend, et al. v. Board of Commissions of State Institutions, et al. 1964 Case No. 963
    Plaintiffs alleged that the State of Florida followed a policy and practice of racial segregation of white and African American youths confined to state training schools.

 

U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida (Jacksonville)

  • Frank Hampton, Edward Joseph Norman, et al v. the City of Jacksonville, et al. 1958 Case No. 4073-Civ-J
    Class action suit filed to desegregate the public golf courses in Jacksonville, Florida.
     
  • Andrew Young v. L. O. Davis, as Sheriff of St. Johns County, Florida, et al. 1964 Case No. 64-133-Civ-J
    Case filed to prohibit the interference with peaceable demonstrations in St. Augustine, Florida.

 

U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida (Tampa)

  • Henry Cabot Lodge Bohler, for himself and as next friend of George Allessandro Bohler, et al. v. Honorables Julian Lane, et al. 1960 Case No. 3809-Civ-T
    Class action suit to prevent defendants from operating public parks and recreations facilities of the City of Tampa, Florida, on a racially segregated basis.

 

Georgia

U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (Atlanta)

  • Emma Armour, et al. v. Jack P. Nix, et al. 1972 Case No. 16708
    School desegregation case involving the multi-county-city metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia.
     
  • Barbara Hunt, et al. v. Robert O. Arnold, et al. 1956 Case No. 5781
    Desegregation case involving Georgia State College of Business Administration (now Georgia State University) in Atlanta. Georgia.
     
  • Vivian Calhoun, et al. v. A. C. Latimer, et al. 1958 Case No. 6298
    Suit filed seeking preliminary and permanent injunction enjoining defendants from operating the public school system of the City of Atlanta, Georgia, on a racially segregated basis.
     
  • Pearl Watson v. Eastern Air Lines, Inc. 1958 Case No. 6506
    Action for damages resulting when plaintiff/passenger on airline from New York to Florida was thrown off bus to which passengers had been removed when a plane was forced to land in Atlanta. Action transferred from the Supreme Court of the States of New York, County of York.
     
  • Henry J. Toombs, et al. v. Ben W. Fortson, Jr., et al. 1962 Case No. 7883
    Plaintiffs alleged voting districts in Georgia discriminated against plaintiffs.
     
  • James P. Wesberry, Jr., et al. v. Carl E. Sanders, et al. 1962 Case No. 7889
    Petition brought forth by residents of the 5th Congressional District (Fulton, DeKalb, and Rockdale counties), claiming that they had less congressional power in relation to the other districts, and contending that the present districting diluted their vote, rendering it less effective than those voters residing in any other district in Georgia.
     
  • Afro-American Petrolmen's League, et al. v. John F. Inman, Individually and in his capacity as Chief of Police of the Atlanta Police Department. 1973 Case No. 18227
    Plaintiffs alleged discriminatory practices related to hiring, promotions, and salaries in the Atlanta Police Department.
     
  • Edwin A. Walker v. Atlanta Newspapers, Inc. and Ralph McGill. 1964 Case No. 8590
    Edwin Walker charged the The Atlanta Constitution made slanderous statements about him in relation to riots on the campus of the University of Mississippi in 1962.
     
  • Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. U. S. A. and Robert F. Kennedy as the Attorney General of the United States. 1964 Case No. 9017
    Complaint by Heart of Atlanta Motel, a large downtown motel in the city of Atlanta regularly catering to out-of-state guests, to prevent the Attorney General from exercising powers granted to him under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
     
  • George Wills Jr., Woodrow T. Lewis and Albert L. Dunn v. The Pickrick, a corporation, and Lester Maddox 1964 Case No. 9028
    Case filed involving the refusal of the Pickrick Restaurant to serve African American patrons.

 

  • Horace T. Ward v. Regents of the University System of Georgia, et al. 1951 Case No. 4355
    Case involving the denial of admission of an African American applicant to the University of Georgia Law School on the basis of color.

 

U. S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia (Albany)

  • Asa Kelly, Jr., individually and as Mayor of the City of Albany, et al. v. M. S. Page, Dr. W. G. Anderson, Slater King, Charles Jones, Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., Reverend Ralph Abernathy, et al. 1962 Case No. 727
    Complaint brought by the City of Albany, Georgia, that defendants were congregating in the streets in ways contrary to the laws of the State of Georgia, that defendants blocked certain public streets such as to deny and deprive plaintiffs of their civil rights involving the right to freely use streets.
     
  • W. G. Anderson, Elijah Harris, Slater King, Emanuel Jackson, and Martin Luther King, Jr., on behalf of themselves and other similarly situated v. The City of Albany, Georgia, et al. 1962 Case No. 731
    Suit filed seeking injunction enjoining the defendants from continuing to pursue a policy of denying to African American citizens the right to peacefully protest against state enforced racial segregation in the City of Albany, Georgia, by peacefully walking, two abreast, on the public sidewalks of the city and peacefully assembling in front of the City Hall, and peacefully speaking out against segregation.

 

U. S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia (Athens)

  • Hamilton E. Holmes and Charlayne A. Hunter, et al. v. Walter N. Danner, Registrar of the University of Georgia 1960 Case No. 450
    Suit brought by two African Americans challenging the time-honored practice of limiting admissions to the University of Georgia to white persons.

 

  • United States of America v. Herbert Guest, James S. Lackey, Cecil William Myers, Denver W. Phillips, Joseph Howard Sims, and George H. Turner 1964 Case No. 2232
    In a criminal case, the United States charged the defendants with conspiracy to injure, oppress, threaten, and intimidate African American citizens in the vicinity of Athens, Georgia. This case relates to the murder of Lemuel Penn.

 

U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia (Savannah)

  • Joseph Coggins, II and Arthur S. Guthrie, et al. v. E. B. Caldwell, Warden, Georgia State Prison, et al 1973 Case No. CV3068
    Class action brought by plaintiffs on behalf of all Black persons incarcerated in the Georgia State Prison. Plaintiffs complained of numerous acts of racial discrimination related to the denial of equal protection regarding housing, work assignments, discipline, food services, training, medical care, staff, correspondence, and privileges.
     
  • Georgia State Branches of NAACP, et al. v. State of Georgia, et al. 1982 Case No. CV 482-233
    Class action suit seeking declaratory and injunctive relief against the State of Georgia, the members of the State Board of Education, the State Superintendent of Schools, and thirteen local school districts to end intentional racial discrimination in the public schools of the State of Georgia. Plaintiffs also sought relief from the intentional racially discriminatory administration of the special education program in the State of Georgia, alleging that Black school children were erroneously classified as educable mentally retarded as a means of removing them from normal classrooms or excluding them from programs for specific learning disabled children.

 

Mississippi

U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi (Biloxi)

  • U. S. A. v. Harrison County, County Board of Supervisors, County Sheriff, City of Biloxi, City Mayor, and City Police Chief 1960 Case No. 2262
    The U. S. contracted to spend $1,133,000 to repair the seawall and reconstruct the beach in Biloxi. The defendants were to maintain the beach for public use. The United States filed suit to enjoin defendants from preventing or seeking to prevent African Americans, by reason of race, from using the beach and from thus violating the contract with the United States.

 

  • United States of America v. Biloxi Municipal Separate School District 1963 Case No. 2643
    Action brought by the United States seeking to enjoin the defendants from separating upon the basis of race or color any dependents of military personnel or civilian employees of the Plaintiff (including Keesler Air Force Base) in the operation of public schools.
     
  • United States of America v. Gulfport Municipal Separate School District 1963 Case No. 2678
    Action brought by the United States seeking to enjoin the defendants from separating upon the basis of race or color any dependents of military personnel or civilian employees of the Plaintiff (including Keesler Air Force Base) in the operation of public schools.

 

U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi (Hattiesburg)

  • United States of America v. James Daniel, Circuit Court Clerk and Registrar, Jefferson Davis County, Mississippi.; and State of Mississippi 1961 Case No. 1655
    Complaint alleged defendants applied “different and more stringent standards” to African Americans registering to vote than to white registrants. The Justice Department sued for an injunction requiring defendants to register African Americans who had applied in the past.

 

U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi (Jackson)

  • James H. Meredith, et al. v. Charles Dickson Fair, President of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning 1961 Case No. 3130
    A class action suit on behalf of James Meredith and all other African American students similarly situated to enjoin the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning from limiting admission to the University of Mississippi to white persons. This case resulted in the admission of the first African-American student, James Meredith, to the University of Mississippi.

 

U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi (Meridian)

  • U. S. A. v. Cecil Ray Price, et al. 1967 Case No. 5291
    Criminal case involving the murders of Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney, civil rights workers in Mississippi. Charged were eighteen Klansmen including Cecil Price, who was the Deputy Sheriff in Neshoba County, Mississippi.

 

North Carolina

U. S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina (Greensboro)

  • Garnell Belo, a minor, by Edward Belo, et al. v. Randolph County Board of Education 1962 Case No. 209-G-62
    Case involving desegregation in Randolph County, North Carolina
     
  • Shelia S. Gilmore and Barries D. Gilmore, minors, by Artra and Helen Gilmore, their parents and next friends, et al. v. High Point City Board of Education, High Point, North Carolina 1963 Case No. 51-G-63
    Suit filed to desegregate the public schools of High Point, North Carolina.
     
  • Willie S. Griggs, et al. v. Duke Power Company 1972 Case No. C-210-G-66
    Suit filed regarding employment discrimination.

 

U. S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina (Charlotte)

  • Swann, et al. v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education. 1965 Case No. 65-CV-1974
    Case filed over the legality of using busing as a means of bringing about desegregation of public schools.

 

South Carolina

U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of South Carolina (Charleston)

  • James Pearson, an infant, by Levi Pearson, his next friend and Levi Pearson v. County Board of Education for Clarendon County, et al. 1948 Case No. 1909
    Case challenging the policy of the defendants of establishing and maintaining adequate free transportation to and from school for white children while failing and refusing to provide or maintain free bus transportation to and from school to African American children because of their race.

 

  • Viola Louise Duvall, et al. v. J. F. Seignous 1943 Case No.: 1082
    Case involving unequal pay for black teachers in the public schools of School District No. 20 of Charleston County, South Carolina.
     
  • Harry Briggs, Jr., et al. v. The Board of Trustees for School District Number 22, Clarendon County, South Carolina, R. W. Elliott, Chairman, et al. 1950 Case No.: 2505
    Pre-cursor to Briggs v. Elliott, case No. 2657. See below.
     
  • Harry Briggs, Jr., et al. v. R. W. Elliott, et al. 1950 Case No. 2657
    Parents of minor African American children in Clarendon County, South Carolina, brought suit to desegregate the public schools. A three-judge panel denied the requested relief. The court found that the African American schools were inferior to white schools and ordered the defendants to begin immediately to equalize the facilities. The Court refused to allow plaintiffs to attend white schools during the equalization program. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court and was one of the five cases heard collectively with the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.

 

  • Mrs. Etta Clark, et al. v. C. H. Flory, State Forester, et al. 1956 Case No.: 5082
    Suit brought by plaintiffs alleging they were denied the use of Edisto Beach State Park, located in Charleston County, South Carolina, on account of race and color, in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States.
     
  • Ola L.Bryan, et al. v. M. G. Austin, Jr., as Superintendent of School District No. 7, of Orangeburg 1956 Case No. 5792
    Suit brought against a school district in South Carolina seeking an injunction preventing defendants from refusing employment to plaintiffs solely because of membership in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
     
  • Shirley Mae Wheeler, a minor by Joseph Wheeler, her Grandfather and next friend v. School District Number 3, Clarendon County, South Carolina, et al. 1965 Case No.: 8753
    Case to desegregate the public schools of School District No. 3, Clarendon County, South Carolina.

 

U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of South Carolina (Columbia)

  • Albert N. Thompson, et al. v. J. Heyward Gibbes, et al. 1945 Case No.: 1273
    Complaint filed alleging that School District No. 1 of Richland County fixed salaries on a basis whereby African American teachers and principals received lower pay than white employees and that the only reason for this difference was racial discrimination.

 

  • John H. Wrighten v. Board of Trustees of the University of South Carolina, et al. 1947 Case No.: 1670
    Case involving the denial of admission of John H. Wrighten to the University of South Carolina Law School.

 

  • George Elmore, on behalf of himself and others similarly situated v. Clay Rice, et al. 1947 Case No.: 1702
    George Elmore sued to test the legality of the action of the defendants in not permitting him and other qualified African American electors to vote in the Democratic Party’s Primary held on August 13, 1946, in Richland County, South Carolina. The primary was held for the purpose of nominating candidates on the Democratic ticket for the House of Representatives of the United States and for various state offices.

 

  • Woodrow W. Hood, et al. v. Board of Trustees of Sumter County School District No. 2, Sumter County, South Carolina, et al. 1953 Case No.: 3880
    Case involving the refusal of the Sumter County Public Schools to allow members of a group commonly known as "Turks," being of the Caucasian race, to attend white public schools.
     
  • United States of America by Nicholas deB. Katzenbach, Attorney General of the United States v. School District Number 1, Lexington County, South Carolina. 1966 Case No.: 66-96
    Suit filed to desegregate the schools in Lexington County, South Carolina.
     
  • United States of America v. Lynwood Lanier 1946 Case No. 16,603
    Criminal case involving Isaac Woodard, Jr., a African American citizen of New York, who was beaten and blinded by Lynwood Shull, Chief of Police in Batesburg, South Carolina.
     

 

U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of South Carolina (Orangeburg)

  • Rudolph W. Adams, et al. v. School District No. 5, Orangeburg County, South Carolina 1964 Case No.: 8301
    Suit filed to desegregate the schools in Orangeburg County, South Carolina.

 

U. S. District Court for the Western District of South Carolina (Anderson)

  • Harvey B. Gantt, a minor, by his father and next friend Christopher Gantt v. The Clemson Agricultural College of South Carolina, et al. 1962 Case No.: 4101
    Class action suit seeking admission of African American residents to Clemson College.

 

Tennessee

U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee (Knoxville)

  • Gene Mitchell Gray, et al. v. The Board of Trustees of the University of Tennessee, et al. 1951 Case No. 1567
    Plaintiffs are African American citizens of Tennessee who alleged that they were denied admission to the University of Tennessee solely on the grounds of race.

 

  • Joheather McSwain, et al v. County School Board of Anderson County, Tennessee 1950 Case No. 1555
    Suit filed to desegregate the public schools in Anderson County, Tennessee.
     
  • Josephine Goss, et al. v. The Board of Education of the City of Knoxville, Tennessee, et al. 1959 Case No. 3984
    Suit filed to desegregate the public schools in Knoxville, Tennessee.

 

U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee (Winchester)

  • Samuel Hill, et al. v. County Board of Education of Franklin County, Tennessee 1963 Case No. 668
    Suit to desegregate the public schools in Franklin County, Tennessee.

 

U. S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee (Nashville)

  • Charles W. Baker et al. v. Joe C. Carr, et al. 1959 Case No. 2724
    Landmark case heard by the U. S. Supreme Court in 1962. The Supreme Court held that legislative district apportionment should be based upon the principle of "one man, one vote."
     
  • Robert W. Kelley, et al. v. Board of Education of the City of Nashville, et al. 1955 Case No. 2094
    Suit filed to desegregate the public schools of Nashville, Tennessee.

 

U. S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee (Memphis)

  • O. Z. Evers, et al. v. John T. Dwyer, et al. 1958 Case No. 2903
    Suit filed relating to the separation of white and black persons on street-car lines operated in Tennessee.

 

  • Eloise Flowers and O. W. Pickett v. Henry Loeb, et al. 1960 Case No. 3958
    Class action suit to prohibit the exclusion of African Americans from the enjoyment of shows, exhibitions, etc. held in the Municipal Auditorium in Memphis, Tennessee.

 

  • City of Memphis v. Martin Luther King, Jr., Hosea Williams, Reverend James Bevel, Reverend James Orange, Ralph D. Abernathy and Bernard Lee 1968 Case No.: 68-80
    Case involving a restraining order by the City of Memphis to disallow a march in the City of Memphis. In 1968 Memphis was besieged with a strike by the city's garbage workers. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other members of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) went to Memphis to lend support to the strike. The Opinion and Temporary Injunction was filed on April 5, 1968, the day after King was assassinated.

 

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