"To All on Equal Terms"

It was 12:52 p.m., May 17, 1954. At the long mahogany bench sat the nine Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court.* From the red velour hangings behind the bench to the great doors at the back of the room, every seat was filled. Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the U.S., picked up a printed document from his desk and began to read in a firm, clear voice.

There was an awesome quiet in the high ceilinged, marble-columned courtroom. The eight Associate Justices gave Warren rapt attention. In the press section, reporters strained forward to catch every word. Departing from custom, the court had not given newsmen advance copies of the opinion. Shortly after the Chief Justice began reading, the first bulletin clacked out over the Associated Press wires: "Chief Justice Warren today began reading the Supreme Court's decision in the public school segregation cases. The court's ruling could not be determined immediately." At 1:12 the A.P. sent a second message to editors all over the world, who had been awaiting the momentous decision. Warren was attacking segregation in schools, bu " the Chief Justice had not read far enough in the court's opinion for newsmen to say that segregation was being struck down as unconstitutional."

When Warren finished reading at 1:20 the ruling was crystal clear: the U.S. Supreme Court held that racial segregation in the public schools violates the Constitution. The decision was unanimous.

Timely Reassertion. In its 164 years the court had erected many a landmark of U.S. history: Marbury v. Madison, the Bank of the United States case, Dred Scott, the Slaughterhouse cases, the "Sick Chicken case" that killed the NRA, 1952's steel seizure. None of them, except the Dred Scott case (reversed by the Civil War) was more important than the school segregation issue. None of them directly and intimately affected so many American families. The lives and values of some 12 million schoolchildren in 21 states* will be altered, and with them eventually the whole social pattern of the South (see EDUCATION). The international effect may be scarcely less important. In many countries, where U.S. prestige and leadership have been damaged by the fact of U.S. segregation, it will come as a timely reassertion of the basic American principle that "all men are created equal."

The school segregation issue came before the court in cases from South Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, Kansas and the District of Columbia. In making its ruling, the court issued one opinion covering all of the state cases, a separate one to deal with the special legal aspects in the District of Columbia. A sharp note crept into Chief Justice Warren's voice as he read one section of the District of Columbia opinion: "In view of our decision that the Constitution prohibits the states from maintaining racially segregated public schools, it would be unthinkable that the same Constitution would impose a lesser duty on the Federal Government."

In his first important opinions since he became Chief Justice last October, Earl Warren was clear and concise. The court was not surprised that the history of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution "(Nor shall any state deny to any person the equal protection of the laws . . .") did not clearly show an intention to prohibit segregation in the schools. In 1868, there was little public education for white children, and less for Negroes. To decide the present case, the court had to consider "public education in the light of its full development."

"Today education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments . . . It is the very foundation of good citizenship. Today it is a principal instrument in awakening the child to cultural values, in preparing him for later professional training, and in helping him to adjust normally to his environment. In these days it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education. Such an opportunity, where the state has undertaken to provide it, is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms."

For Hearts & Minds. For many years the South', aware that it might be brought under Supreme Court scrutiny, has justified its segregation policy as giving "equal but separate" facilities to white and Negro children. This phrase was used by the court in an 1896 case involving Jim Crow transport. This week's opinion flatly rejected "equal but separate" as a guiding principle in education.

Even if physical facilities are equal, said the court, there are intangible factors which prevent "separate" from being "equal." "To separate [Negro children] from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to be undone . . . We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal."

Because of the complex problems involved, the Supreme Court deferred decision on the method of implementing the new policy. It asked all sides to present arguments next fall on 1) when schools should be ordered to abolish segregation and 2) who (a special master or the district courts) should set and enforce the terms under which it will be abolished.

For a scholarly New York Negro lawyer named Thurgood Marshall, the court's decision was the victory of a lifetime. Marshall, a graduate of Jim Crow schools, handled the state cases for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Said he: "The most gratifying thing, in addition to the fact it was in favor of our side, is the unanimous decision and the language used. Once and for all, it's decided, completely decided."

Wisdom & Tirades. As the news spread through the South, the reaction was varied. In border states, e.g., Kansas and Oklahoma, officials calmly said that they expected segregation to be ended with little trouble. In Texas, Governor Allan Shivers said that his state will comply, but that it might "take years" to work out the details. From Virginia's Governor Thomas Stanley came a quiet, wise reaction. He carefully read the full opinion, then told reporters: "I shall call together . . . representatives of both state and local governments to consider the matter and work toward a plan which will be acceptable to our citizens and in keeping with the edict of the court. Views of leaders of both races will be invited . . ."

In South Carolina, old (75), adamant Governor James F. Byrnes was "shocked" but calm. The fanfare with which South Carolina changed its constitution to permit it to abandon its public schools had been interpreted as a warning to the Supreme Court. Now that the court has disregarded the warning, it remains to be seen whether South Carolina will actually carry out the threat.

The loudest roars came from Georgia, which also has a law under which it could abolish the public-school system. U.S. Senator Richard Russell, contending that the question of segregation should be decided by the legislative rather than the judicial branch of the Government, had his own label for the court's action: "A flagrant abuse of judicial power." Out of Georgia's statehouse came a tirade from Governor Herman Talmadge: "The United States Supreme Court . . . has blatantly ignored all law and precedent . . . and lowered itself to the level of common politics . . . The people of Georgia believe in, adhere to, and will fight for their right under the U.S. and Georgia constitutions to manage their own affairs . . . [We will] map a program to insure continued and permanent segregation of the races."

By legal maneuvers (e.g., test cases in court, redistricting), Herman Talmadge and others could continue segregation for some time. But they have little chance of making it permanent. The Supreme Court's decision was another vital chapter in one of the greatest success stories the world has ever known: the American Negro's 90-year rise from slavery. The Herman Talmadges are not going to write the last chapter of that story.

* Associate Justice Robert Jackson, recovering from a heart attack, had left the hospital that morning so all nine Justices could be present when the great decision was read. * Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have public-school segregation by specific law; four permit it. The 17: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas Virginia and West Virginia. The four: Arizona, Kansas, New Mexico, Wyoming.

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