NAACP

In Harrisonburg, Va., the Western District Court of Virginia Rules on Charlottesville Pupil Assignment Plan

8/12/1958

NAACP lawyers Spottswood W. Robinson, Oliver Hill, and Samuel Wilbert Tucker enter the U.S. District Court building in Harrisonburg, Va. Men convene in the courthouse and discuss the ruling of Federal Judge John Paul, Jr., concerning the requirement of examinations in the admission of black students to white schools in Charlottesville, Va. NAACP attorneys sit at the plantiff's table, including Henry L. Marsh.

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Anchor script text: Federal Judge John Paul of Harrisonburg....(start film) has ruled that negro children who hope to attend white schools in Charlottesville must take examinations. (show film) Paul said that only by this method can officials determine the grade youngsters should enter when they transfer. Attorneys for the NAACP took the initial round when the judge denied the Charlottesville school board's petition that he dismiss their complaints against the assignment plan. But they lost when Judge Paul held the assignment plan to be valid. The Judge made it clear that if assignments are made on a discriminatory basis in the Charlottesville case, he will take over the responsibility of pupil placement.

Lawyers Convene at Courthouse in Harrisonburg, Va., during School Integration Hearings

9/9/1958

John Paul, Jr., chief judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, stands on the steps of the Harrisonburg Post Office and Courthouse after ruling that the public schools of Charlottesville and Warren County must integrate. NAACP attorneys Oliver Hill and Samuel Tucker lead a group of African American children and parents through the courthouse doors, followed by George R. Ferguson and others. State Attorney General Albertis S. Harrison enters the courtroom, followed by a group of other lawyers. 

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Anchor script text: Virginia again has her back to the wall in her day-to-day battle to avoid integration in its public schools. Yesterday, Judge John Paul ordered Charlottesville to admit 12 negro students next week to two white schools. (Start film) Monday, Paul ordered the Warren County School Board to admit 22 negroes to its all-white high school. Both orders are to be appealed. (Show film) The Federal building at Harrisonburg has been the scene of the history-making decisions this week. Both Warren County and Charlottesville are due to open their school doors next week. Paul - the 74-year-old jurist who requested retirement last month - handed down the original Charlottesville school segregation decree several years ago. A total of 10 negro students - under Paul's order - would be admitted to Venable Elementary School in Charlottesville on Monday - - two others to Lane High School. Attorney-General lbertis Harrison of Virgini is due to go before Judge Simon Sobeloff of the fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Baltimore tomorrow to ask for a stay on Paul's order in the Warren County case. He may also ask for one in the Charlottesville case. Under State law, the affected schools will close the minute they're integrated.

NAACP Lawyers Tried in Connection with Floyd County, Va., Integration Efforts

7/28/1959

Parents of African American students seeking access to high schools in Floyd County, Va., file into a courtroom during a trial of the NAACP lawyers representing them. The Virginia General Assembly's Committee on Offenses Against the Administration of Justice, also known as the Boatwright Committee, charge the lawyers with unprofessional conduct. NAACP lawyers Reuben Lawson and Samuel Wilbert Tucker consult before Lawson takes the stand. Virginia State Senator Earl Fitzpatrick is in attendance, along with many others.

Footage shows scenes from a trial dealing with misconduct charges brought against NAACP lawyers representing parents of African American students in Floyd County, Va., by the Committee on Offenses Against the Administration of Justice, also known as the Boatwright Committee. Lawyers Reuben Lawson and Samuel Wilbert Tucker confer inside the courtroom.

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Anchor script text: MORNING TV NEWS 7/28/59 Several parents of negroes seeking transfers to ROLL FILM white highschools in Floyd County have admitted they don't know what was on the authorization forms they signed last March. The disclosure came at a hearing yesterday at Floyd by the Boatwright Committee, created by the General Assembly to investigate illegal practice of law. Some parents said they expect the NAACP to pay their lawyer, Reuben E. Lawson of Roanoke. Mrs. Beatrice Penn told the commitee she thought the authorization for she signed was to get Lawson to work toward getting a negro school for the county. Lawson was questioned for 1½ hours. The 38-year old attorney said he will be paid by the NAACP if his clients are unable to pay. James L. Walker, president of the PTA at the county's negro elementary school admitted he once was president of an NAACP chapter in Floyd. But he refused to admit the chapter still exists.