Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education

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Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education
Reference: 402 U.S. 1
Term: 1971
Important Dates
Argued: October 12, 1970 Decided: April 20, 1971
Outcome
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed
Majority
Warren Burger • Hugo Black • William Douglas • John Harlan II • William Brennan • Potter Stewart • Byron White • Thurgood Marshall • Harry Blackmun

Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education is a case decided on April 20, 1971, by the United States Supreme Court holding that federal courts can direct public schools to bus students of different races across district lines to integrate schools. The case concerned the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District in North Carolina, which had not made efforts to integrate its schools after the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

HIGHLIGHTS

The case: The U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina ordered the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District to reassign faculty members and create new attendance zones for students in an effort to desegregate the public schools in the district, following the 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the orders, holding that the district court could direct the state public schools on efforts to desegregate.

The issue: Do federal courts have the authority to oversee state-imposed segregation?

The outcome: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and held that federal courts can direct public schools to bus students of different races across district lines.

Why it matters: The Supreme Court's decision in this case established that federal courts had the authority to oversee school desegregation in states and propose solutions. To read more about the impact of Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education click here.

Background

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District in North Carolina did not make efforts to desegregate public schools following the 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education. The school district had approximately 14,000 Black students enrolled in public schools that were more than 99% Black. The United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina ordered the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board to reassign faculty members and create new attendance zones in an effort to desegregate the schools in the district. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the orders of the district court.

Oral argument

Oral argument was held on October 12, 1970. The case was decided on April 20, 1971.

Decision

The Supreme Court decided unanimously to affirm the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Chief Justice Warren Burger delivered the opinion of the court.

Opinions

Opinion of the court

Chief Justice Warren Burger, writing for the court, argued that federal courts had the authority to use judicial power to seek a solution to state-imposed segregation.

“	The objective today remains to eliminate from the public schools all vestiges of state-imposed segregation. Segregation was the evil struck down by Brown I as contrary to the equal protection guarantees of the Constitution. That was the violation sought to be corrected by the remedial measures of Brown II. That was the basis for the holding in Green that school authorities are 'clearly charged with the affirmative duty to take whatever steps might be necessary to convert to a unitary system in which racial discrimination would be eliminated root and branch.' If school authorities fail in their affirmative obligations under these holdings, judicial authority may be invoked. Once a right and a violation have been shown, the scope of a district court's equitable powers to remedy past wrongs is broad, for breadth and flexibility are inherent in equitable remedies.	”
—Warren Burger, majority opinion in Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education

Impact

See also: Brown v. Board of Education

Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education established that federal courts had the authority to intervene regarding the desegregation of schools in the states. The decision in this case also established that schools could bus students of different races across district lines in an effort to integrate public schools.

See also

• The Burger Court
• Supreme Court of the United States
• History of the Supreme Court
• Federalism

External links

• Full text of case syllabus and opinions (Justia)
• Supreme Court of the United States
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