Booker v. SPECIAL SCHOOL DIST. NO. 1, MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.

351 F. Supp. 799, 1972 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13603
CourtDistrict Court, D. Minnesota
DecidedMay 24, 1972
Docket4-71-Civil 382
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 351 F. Supp. 799 (Booker v. SPECIAL SCHOOL DIST. NO. 1, MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Booker v. SPECIAL SCHOOL DIST. NO. 1, MINNEAPOLIS, MINN., 351 F. Supp. 799, 1972 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13603 (mnd 1972).

Opinion

FINDINGS OF FACT, CONCLUSIONS OF LAW, AND ORDER FOR JUDGMENT

LARSON, District Judge.

Plaintiffs are all school children residing in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This case was instituted by their respective guardians ad litem pursuant to Rule 17(c) F.R.Civ.P. as a class action under Rule 23 F.R.Civ.P. On February 8, 1972, this Court determined that the suit was an appropriate one for a class action and ordered that the class would consist of “all children who are residents of Minneapolis and who attend its public schools.”

Plaintiffs complain that defendant has denied the class which they represent an equal educational opportunity by maintaining segregated schools. They further allege that this discrimination on the basis of race is a deprivation of their liberty without due process of law. It is plaintiffs’ contention that these acts are violative of the equal protection and due process clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and 42 U.S.C. § 1981 and § 1983. Jurisdiction is invoked pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1343(3) and (4).

CONTENTIONS OF THE PARTIES

Plaintiffs contend that there is and has been a continuous and intensifying pattern of segregation in the schools of the City of Minneapolis. Generally, they assert that this pattern is the result of two factors — (1) the imposition by the school board of a neighborhood school system on a city which is beset with intentional and widespread racial discrimination in housing, and (2) specific acts on the part of the defendant which it knew, or should have known, would create segregated schools.

Defendant admits that the schools of the City of Minneapolis are segregated. However, it is the District’s contention that segregation has been caused by factors over which it neither had nor has control, i. e., racially segregated housing *802 patterns. It asserts that there has been no intention or purpose on its part to create or further segregation in the Minneapolis school system. Indeed, the District points to its Human Relations Guidelines of 1967 and 1970, as well as its 1972 Plan for Desegregation/Integration as indicia of its firm resolve to eliminate segregation which has been caused by discriminatory housing practices. Defendant further contends that a lack of intent to segregate on its part renders this Court powerless to grant the relief requested by plaintiffs, since a school district is under no constitutional duty to remedy that which it has not caused.

This Court feels little need to philosophize on the evils of racial segregation, other than to note its firm belief that it is both a moral and a legal wrong. The Court finds it unnecessary to make findings concerning the psychological harm inflicted by separation of the races. It is this Court’s opinion that such findings, even buttressed by the, most authoritative sociological and psychological data, are irrelevant to this lawsuit. Civil rights are not premised on sociological data, or moral platitudes. Instead, they are rooted solely in that “living document” which contains the very essence of American life — the Constitution. That document, and it alone, must provide the answers in this case. Neither sociologists’ findings nor the clamour of misguided extremists have any bearing on the rights of these plaintiffs. The answer can only come from sober judicial reflection, free from the rhetoric of would-be demagogues and frightened parents.

It is an uncontroverted fact that the schools of the City of Minneapolis are segregated. Segregation imposed by law is unconstitutional. Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483, 74 S.Ct. 686, 98 L.Ed. 873 (1954). Therefore it is the duty of this Court to objectively examine the facts in an effort to determine if the defendant has fulfilled its constitutional duty to the plaintiffs and, if not, what more must be done. This is not an effort to assess blame; it is an effort to vindicate plaintiffs’ rights. Blame for segregation rests firmly on the shoulders of all of us.

. FINDINGS OF FACT

1. The defendant herein operates 68 elementary schools, 15 junior high schools, and 11 high schools within its boundaries, which includes all of the City of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

2. For the 1971-1972 school year 65,201 students were enrolled in the District. Of these, 55,735 were Caucasian, 6,351 were Black, 2,225 were American Indian, and 890 were of other minority or ethnic backgrounds.

3. There are 3,923 certificated personnel employed by the District. Of these 3,657 are Caucasian and 266 are Minority Americans.

4. The schools operated by defendant are segregated on the basis of race.

5. Racial segregation is most pronounced in the elementary schools of the District. Over 55% of the Black elementary school children attend schools with a Black enrollment of over 30%, while 74% of the White elementary school children attend schools with Black enrollments of less than 5%. There are 27 elementary schools which have a minority enrollment of less than 5%, while there are 13 elementary schools which have a minority enrollment of over 30%. Hay, Bethune, and Willard have minority enrollments of over 70%; Loring, Wenonah, Audubon, and Lake Harriet each have less than six minority students and Pillsbury has none.

6. At the junior high level, over 68% of the minority junior high students attend schools with over 30% minority enrollments, while almost 63% of the White students attend junior high schools with less than 5% minority enrollment. Lincoln Junior High has over 72% minority enrollment, while Southwest Junior High has but five minority students.

7. Two Minneapolis high schools have minority enrollments of over 30% *803 while four have minority enrollments of less than 4%.

8. The size and location of Bethune School, which was constructed in 1968, were intended to have the effect of continuing the pattern of racially segregated schools which had existed in Minneapolis since at least 1954. From its inception it was clear that the location of the school would cause it to have an extremely high Black enrollment. In fact, since its doors were opened, it has always been at least 50% Black. By constructing Bethune with a capacity of 900 instead of the 500-600 optimum which is generally used by the District, the defendant intentionally increased segregation. Building a school of that size on the near North side insured that most of the children in that predominantly Black area of the City would go to one school rather than spilling over into neighboring schools with larger majority enrollments. Indeed, the name itself is evidence of the defendant’s intention that this was to be a Black school. It is hard to imagine how a school could be more clearly denominated a “Black school” unless the words themselves had been chiseled over the door.

9. The addition of seven new classrooms to the Field elementary school in 1964 had the intended effect of increasing racial segregation.

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Bluebook (online)
351 F. Supp. 799, 1972 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13603, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/booker-v-special-school-dist-no-1-minneapolis-minn-mnd-1972.