Attorneys Motley, Marshall and Carter argued school boundary lines were gerrymandered in a way that left Black elementary school children segregated from their white peers and made to attend an all-Black school. Appeal was sustained. Education Commissioner Francis Spaulding ruled that boards of education are not required to bring about an even distribution of students of all races within its schools but that zones should not be drawn in a way that results in racial segregation. Spaulding declared the lines establishing the Prospect School zone were irregular and should be restudied and realigned so that "all of the children who should properly be expected to attend the Prospect School on the ground of their geographical proximity to said school, be included in the zone.”

Identifier
NYSA_B0496-05_Decision_5407_p31-33

Date Original
November 22 1949

Language
English

Source
New York State Archives. New York (State). Education Department. Office of Counsel. Files of appeals to the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Commissioner of Education, and Board of Regents. B0496-05. Box 78, Decision 5407. Box 78, Decision 5407

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