History of Briggs et al. v. Elliott et al.

Briggs et al. v. Elliott et al. was a lawsuit to desegregate public schools. Filed by a group of plaintiffs in Clarendon County (South Carolina) against local officials, the lawsuit became the first of five similar cases heard by the U.S. Supreme Court under the Brown et al. v. Board of Education of Topeka et al. umbrella. Briggs was the first of these cases to be filed in federal courts. The plaintiffs’ petition argued that the separation of races in public schools violated rights guaranteed under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The historic and unanimous Supreme Court decision of May 17, 1954 ruled that segregation deprives citizens of “equal protection of the laws” guaranteed by the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The decision effectively denied a legal basis for segregation in classrooms throughout the nation and set the stage for greater respect for all civil rights.

Although the name Brown et al. v. Board of Education of Topeka et al. is far better known than the Briggs case, Briggs was perhaps the most important of the five. One only needs to read the transcripts of the Supreme Court’s decrees to see that Briggs contributed major portions of the supporting arguments. Briggs was also the case that changed the NAACP’s strategy of arguing for equality under existing “separate but equal” laws and practices. Furthermore, the Supreme Court’s decisions of 1954 and 1955 appear to have drawn heavily on the dissenting opinion rendered by Judge J. Waties Waring in the 1952 Briggs decision.

Although Briggs was filed with the federal court in May 1950, the movement responsible for the case began several years earlier.

Important Events in the Briggs et al. v. Elliott et al. case:

1947: Levi Pearson, with the encouragement and help of the Reverend J. A. De Laine, filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court against the Clarendon County School District 22, demanding school bus transportation for African American students. In 1948, the case had to be withdrawn, without being heard, due to a technicality.

March 1949: A group that included De Laine and Pearson prevailed upon Thurgood Marshall and his staff to represent them in a lawsuit for “equalization of educational opportunity.” More than 100 people (adults and children) signed as plaintiffs.

November 1949: At a pre-trial hearing, U.S. District Court Judge J. Waties Waring reminded the NAACP lawyers that the real issue concerned segregation itself, not unequal facilities in a particular area. He dismissed the case was without prejudice.

1950: A subsequent case, Briggs et al. v. Elliott et al. was filed in the Federal District Court to challenge the constitutionality of the “separate but equal” doctrine. Twenty adults signed the petition on behalf of 46 minors who lived and attended school in School District 22 (now District 1). Harry Briggs, Sr. was the first name on the petition. Defendants were the board members of the School District 22 and several school administrators. Roderick W. Elliott was the chairman of the board. Pearson was not a plaintiff because he did not reside within that school district. De Laine continued to rally and encourage the plaintiffs and their supporters. He also was not a plaintiff.

May 28, 1951: Briggs case was heard in U.S. District Court by Judges John J. Parker, George B. Timmerman and J. Waties Waring.

June 1951: The court rendered a split decision that supported the constitutionality of the “separate, but equal” doctrine. Waring wrote a remarkable, 28-page dissenting opinion. However, as part of the decision, the court ruled that Clarendon County must equalize educational facilities.

1951: The NAACP appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

January 1952: The U.S. Supreme Court ordered that the Briggs case be returned to the lower court for a review of progress being made in equalizing educational facilities.

December 9-11, 1952: Briggs was heard, along with four other similar cases that had reached the Supreme Court, under the title Brown et al. v. Board of Education of Topeka et al.

December 1953: NAACP lawyers, led by Thurgood Marshall, presented additional arguments on all five Brown cases to the Supreme Court.

May 17, 1954: Based on arguments heard in 1952 and 1953, the Supreme Court ruled that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional.

May 1955: The Supreme Court handed down a second ruling on the five Brown et al v. Board of Education of Topeka et al. cases, with the directive that schools should be desegregated WITH ALL DELIBERATE SPEED.

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