◆ SpookStack

THURGOOD MARSHALL conrnuco First, good cases had to he found. The plaintiffs had to be willing to become public guinea pigs and to remain guinea pigs while their cases were brought painstakingly up through the judicial system to the top. After five years of preparation and lower court hearings, Marshall in 1950 won two vital victories. One was Sweatt vs. Painter. Here the Supreme Court ruled that, even though the University of ‘Texas had hurriedly set up a separate law school for Negroes, this school could not be expected to equal the uni- yersity’s white school, and Marshall’s plaintiff, Heman Sweatt, must be admitted to the white school. The other case was McLaurin ys. Oklahoma State Regents. Here the court decreed that, even though McLaurin had heen admitted to Oklahoma’s white gradu- ate school, he had been allowed to study and live only on an un- equal basis, with separate chairs and tables reserved for him, and henceforth he must be treated like any other student. , Emboldened, Marshall that same month called a conference at Howard University and N.A.A.C.P. gave him the go-ahead to widen the attack: henceforth they would fight school segregation not just in graduate schools but on all levels. ° In preparing for the famous school segregation cases before the Supreme Court, Marshall eventually found that the normal re- sources of Howard’s Jaw school and law graduates were not enough. The five cases had first come up for argument together before the court in December 1952. Marshall himself had fought the South Carolina case, which was considered the crucial one, from its in- ception in 1951; other N.A.A.C.P. and Howard University lawyers handled the other cases, with Marshall masterminding them. In June 1953 the court asked that the cases be reargued, and in so doing handed to both sides a list of questions concerning the historical background of the 14th Amendment, which forbids the states to ‘abridge the privileges”’ of citizens of the U.S., and the probable effects if the court might happen to outlaw segregation. This called for deeply perceptive sociological and historical think- ing. Marshall met the challenge by organizing one of the most remarkable cooperative ventures in legal history. He called together more than 75 white and Negro historians, economists, psycholo- gists, sociologists and other experts from colleges and universities all over the U.S. At their own expense they gathered in New York in September 1953 to help Marshall and his cause. The other N.A.A.C.P. Jawyers by now were used to Marshall’s ability to command the Howard dry runs effortlessly, but they were surprised to find him equally at home in this court of eminent scholars. Much of the time he merely sat by, absorbing what the others said, although the frequent loudmouthed wisecracks he interjected came close to offending some of the experts. Yet when- ever the proceedings seemed in danger of bogging down, Marshall would take over, summarize matters concisely and get the profes- sors back on the subject. The cases that could not he lost A SKELETON force of experts and volunteer lawyers, com- manded by Marshall, boiled down the conference results into the N.A.A.C.P.’s thoughtful and thorough but sharply worded 235-page brief which was filed with the Supreme Court that No- vember. Still the conferences continued. Then came the dry runs at Howard and some last-minute hotel-room conferences in Wash- ington, which lasted 18 to 20 hours a day. Finally came the hear- ings themselves, whereby the court would make up its mind about the most vital series of cases the N.A.A.C.P. had ever handled— the cases Marshall could not afford te lose. In the Supreme Court chamber, waiting to go on, Marshall was extremely nervous. His co-lawyers say he is on edge before each one of his Supreme Court presentations, but few others have ever known about itr Once on his feet, however, he was relaxed and confident. The nine justices of the Supreme Court sat with their eyes fixed on him. Spectators overflowing the august chamber strained to catch every word as it came from loudspeakers among the red velvet curtains and echoed around the marble halls. Mar- shall was completely at ease. Sometimes clasping the sides of the lectern, sometimes gesturing with his glasses, he seemed nat so much to be arguing as to be holding a conversation with some men he knew well, He spoke not in legal technicalities but in clear, simple language that summed up his innermost thoughts on segregation: “Those same kids in Virginia and South Carolina—and I have seen them do it—they play in the streets together, they play on their farms together, they go down the road together, they separate to go to school, they come out of school and play ball together. They have to be separated in school. ... CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE “Thanks for the cake, Sis. The boys are dividing it now.” It’s so nice to say “Thank you” by Long Distance A Long Distance call is the thoughtful, per- sonal way to send your thanks across the miles, It’s easy to do. The service is quick. And the cost is small wherever you call. Isn’t there someone, somewhere you should call right now? LONG DISTANCE RATES ARE LOW Here are some examples: Baltimore to Philadelphia...... 40¢ New York to Boston,....ecees- S5¢ Cleveland to Lovisville........ 75¢ Chicago to New Orleans Los Angeles to St. Louis These are the Station-to-Station rates for the first three minutes, after 6 o'clock every night and all day Sunday. They do not include the (0% federal excise tax, CALL BY NUMBER. IT’S TWICE AS FAST BELL TELEPHONE SYSTEM 147