Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education Rebecca DeCamp

Origins of Case “In the school year, the Charlotte- Mecklenburg school system had more than 84,000 students in 107 schools. Of these 84,000, 29% of them (24,000) were African-American. Nearly 60% of these children attended schools that were at least 99% African- American” It was clear that further integration was needed However, it was unclear as to what powers the school board had to do so

Origins of Case (cont.) Two court ordered plans were proposed ▫Board of Education plan ▫Finger Plan Both plans utilized bussing as a solution to de facto segregation

Bussing The practice of shipping students to other schools to create a racial balance Was previously used for many years in the south to implement segregation Was HIGHLY unpopular in terms of public opinion

District Court Ruling Judge McMillian ruled in favor of neither plan Instead, he ruled in favor of a plan that included elements of both previous plans McMillian’s plan, like the others before it, included and implemented bussing

Court of Appeals Ruling Voted to completely reverse the lower court’s ruling ▫3 voted to reverse ▫2 voted to preserve aspects of McMillian’s plan ▫1 voted for McMillian’s plan One judge disqualified himself due to prior involvement

The Supreme Court The Supreme Court granted certiorari to the plaintiffs, and eventually decided to implement McMillian’s plan McMillian’s plan has served as an outline for similar plans for other cities all over the country

Picture Citations content/uploads/2013/06/ELT jpg board-of-education-edson-cejudo/g-6krd53gpob1v8t4d42fsca0

Content Citations James E. Swann et al. v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education 402 US. 191 (1971). J. W. Montgomery III; “ Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education: Roadblocks to the Implementation of Brown,” 12 Wm. & Mary L. Rev. 838 (1971); retrieved from rhttp://scho larship.law.wm.edu/wmlr/vol12/iss4/7; Internet; accessed 25 November 2014 ”Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education,” North Carolina History Project; available from y; Internet; accessed 25 November 2014 “Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education”; NCPedia; available from ncpedia,org/swann-v-charlotte- mecklenburg-board; accessed 25 November 2014