Complaint in Green v. County School Board of New Kent County
3/15/1965
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This complaint comes from the District Court case file for Green v. County School Board of New Kent County. It was filed on behalf of Calvin Green (father of three and president of the New Kent County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and other parents in New Kent County, Virginia. They objected to the school district's "freedom of choice" plan, arguing that it did not adequately integrate the school system. The complaint charges that students in New Kent County were still being educated in inherently unequal separate facilities, and that the school district refused to implement a plan providing for the elimination of racial discrimination.
Following the landmark Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which declared "separate but equal" unconstitutional, the Brown II decision placed responsibility for how to desegregate schools "with all deliberate speed" on local school authorities. Many school districts implemented "freedom of choice" plans. In theory, "freedom of choice" let students choose which school they wanted to attend. In reality, the plans kept districts mostly segregated.
In New Kent County before Brown, white students attended New Kent school and African American students attended George W. Watkins school. Under the district's new "freedom of choice" plan, some African American students transferred to New Kent; but no white students enrolled in George W. Watkins, which taught 85% of black students in the district.
In the District Court case Green v. County School Board of New Kent County, the "freedom of choice" plan was upheld. The case was then brought to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which affirmed (agreed with) the lower court's decision (though it returned the case to the lower court for a more specific plan to desegregate teachers).
The case made it to the Supreme Court in 1968, which reversed the lower court rulings. The Supreme Court stated that the New Kent district was deliberately maintaining a segregated system and that "freedom of choice" was not sufficient to bring about desegregation. Justice William J. Brennan, Jr., writing for a unanimous court, declared: "It is incumbent upon the school board to establish that its proposed plan promises meaningful and immediate progress toward disestablishing state-imposed segregation."
Following the landmark Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which declared "separate but equal" unconstitutional, the Brown II decision placed responsibility for how to desegregate schools "with all deliberate speed" on local school authorities. Many school districts implemented "freedom of choice" plans. In theory, "freedom of choice" let students choose which school they wanted to attend. In reality, the plans kept districts mostly segregated.
In New Kent County before Brown, white students attended New Kent school and African American students attended George W. Watkins school. Under the district's new "freedom of choice" plan, some African American students transferred to New Kent; but no white students enrolled in George W. Watkins, which taught 85% of black students in the district.
In the District Court case Green v. County School Board of New Kent County, the "freedom of choice" plan was upheld. The case was then brought to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which affirmed (agreed with) the lower court's decision (though it returned the case to the lower court for a more specific plan to desegregate teachers).
The case made it to the Supreme Court in 1968, which reversed the lower court rulings. The Supreme Court stated that the New Kent district was deliberately maintaining a segregated system and that "freedom of choice" was not sufficient to bring about desegregation. Justice William J. Brennan, Jr., writing for a unanimous court, declared: "It is incumbent upon the school board to establish that its proposed plan promises meaningful and immediate progress toward disestablishing state-imposed segregation."
This primary source comes from the Records of District Courts of the United States.
National Archives Identifier: 95117322
Full Citation: Complaint; 3/15/1965; Charles C. Green, et al v. New Kent County School Board of Education et al; Civil Case Files, 1938 - 12/31/1998; Records of District Courts of the United States, Record Group 21; National Archives at Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/complaint-green, March 24, 2025]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.