Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education 396 U.S. 19 (1969)

• Author: Kenneth L. Karst
• Pages: 65

Page 65

Part of the "southern strategy" that helped elect President RICHARD M. NIXON had been an assertion that the Supreme Court had been too rigid in its treatment of school SEGREGATION. Thus it was no surprise when, on the eve of the opening of the fall 1969 school year, the Justice Department proposed that thirty-three Mississippi school boards be given an extension until December 1 to present DESEGREGATION plans. The UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS agreed, and the next day the plaintiffs sought an order from Justice HUGO L. BLACK staying this decision. Justice Black refused the stay but suggested that the case be brought to the whole Supreme Court for an early decision. The Court promptly granted CERTIORARI, heard the case in late October, and before month's end issued its order. The time for ALL DELIBERATE SPEED in school desegregation had run out; the school boards had an obligation "to terminate...