Hunnicutt v. Burge

356 F. Supp. 1227, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14373
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Georgia
DecidedMarch 22, 1973
DocketCiv. A. 2754
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 356 F. Supp. 1227 (Hunnicutt v. Burge) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hunnicutt v. Burge, 356 F. Supp. 1227, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14373 (M.D. Ga. 1973).

Opinion

OWENS, District Judge:

Fort Valley State College, founded originally in 1895 under the auspices of the Episcopal church as a private college for Negro students, since 1939 has been a unit of the University System of the State of Georgia. When it became a part of the University System, it was a college for Negro students. In 1949 it was “designated by the General Assembly of the State of Georgia as the land grant college for members of the colored race . . . ” taking the place of Georgia State College, Savannah, Georgia, which had been the land grant college for Georgia’s Negro students. 1949 Georgia Laws, p. 144. With the exception of a very few white students and a token complement of white teachers, it remains today as it was when founded— an all-Negro 1 college.

Plaintiffs 2 by their complaint seek to compel the Board of Regents 3 of the University System of Georgia to (a) desegregate this all-Negro state college and (b) institute effective measures to eliminate the inferior academic level and below standard graduation requirements that exist and are imposed by the Board of Regents at Fort Valley State College.

The prayers of the plaintiffs to desegregate this all-Negro college come some nineteen years after the Supreme Court of the United States in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483, 74 S.Ct. 686, 98 L.Ed. 873 (1954) (Brown I), held that “segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facilities and other ‘tangible’ factors may be equal, deprive [s] the children of the minority group of equal educational opportunities.” p. 493, 74 S.Ct. p. 691. “ . . .In the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal . . . ” p. 494, 74 S.Ct. p. 692. They also come some eighteen years after Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 349 U.S. 294, 75 S.Ct. 753, 99 L.Ed. 1083 (1955) (Brown II), and the Supreme Court’s further holding that “school authorities have the primary responsibility for elucidating, assessing, and solving these problems; courts will have to consider whether the action of school authorities constitutes good faith implementation of the governing constitutional principles.” p. 299, 75 S.Ct. p. 756.

The prayers of the plaintiffs to eliminate academic inferiority and below-standard graduation requirements come some twenty-three years after *1229 Sweatt v. Painter, 339 U.S. 629, 70 S.Ct. 848, 94 L.Ed. 1114 (1950), in which the Supreme Court in ordering admission of a Negro student to the University of Texas law school on account of the state’s new Negro law school not being constitutionally equal to the traditions, reputation and standing of the University of Texas law school, observed that " 'Equal protection of the laws is not achieved through indiscriminate imposition of inequalities’. Shelley v. Kraemer, 334 U.S. 1, 22, 68 S.Ct. 836, 846, 92 L.Ed. 1161 [1185], 3 A.L.R.2d 441 (1948).” p. 635, 70 S.Ct. p. 850. This part of plaintiffs’ prayers for relief is important since it seeks to cause the Board of Regents to create a level of academic learning that is equivalent to and in everyday parlance “as tough as” that of other units of the University System. As the Supreme Court stated in McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents, 339 U.S. 637, 70 S.Ct. 851, 94 L.Ed. 1149:

“Our society grows increasingly complex, and our need for trained leaders increases correspondingly. Appellant’s ease represents, perhaps, the epitome of that need, for he is attempting to obtain an advanced degree in education, to become, by definition, a leader and trainer of others. Those who will come under his guidance and influence must be directly affected by the education he receives. Their own education and development will necessarily suffer to the extent that his training is unequal to that of his classmates. State-imposed restrictions which produce such inequalities cannot be sustained.”

If these prayers are granted, the students of Fort Valley State College would be the primary beneficiaries because they would then be getting what it appears they unknowingly may not be getting—the good college education that they want, need and ought to have. The secondary beneficiaries would be the children who now and hereafter are enrolled in the public schools of this state. Graduation from Fort Valley State College with an education degree entitles the graduate to a certificate from the Board of Education of this state, which in effect says “you are a teacher and are qualified to teach in the public schools of Georgia.” In this day of federal court imposed requirements of hiring Negro teachers throughout this state, such certificates are automatic job placement -certificates. If the children—NEGRO and WHITE—of this state are to receive the quality public education that they need and are constitutionally entitled to, they must be taught by teachers who are qualified, not from possessing a piece of paper called a “teacher’s certificate”, but from possessing a good education and thereby knowing something to teach. To inadequately educate and thus license teachers who are not qualified to teach is to deny the equal protection of the laws to plaintiffs and all students of Georgia’s public schools.

The Board of Regents responded to the desegregation prayers by stating that the Regents recognize and admit that they have the affirmative duty to desegregate this and all state colleges; further, they assert that since the Regents can’t assign students to and compel them to attend a particular state college [—students apply to the college of their choice—•] the Regents, by adopting a non-racial admissions policy, “an open door policy”, and by encouraging the officials and faculty of this college to recruit white students and teachers, have done all they can and are legally required to do. The Regents say that their action “constitutes good faith implementation of the governing constitutional principles” of Brown I and II. They deny academic inferiority and point to the success of a small group of selected outstanding graduates to support this denial. Defendant - Intervenors — Negro students and teachers of this college— likewise deny and point to the success of selected outstanding graduates of this college.

Evidentiary hearings were held on June 22 and July 17 and 18, 1972. Additional information was subsequently *1230 submitted by the parties by affidavit. Briefs and proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law were prepared and submitted by the parties. The Court has carefully considered the entire matter, and this now constitutes the court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law. Rule 52, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

JURISDICTION AND VENUE

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
356 F. Supp. 1227, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14373, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hunnicutt-v-burge-gamd-1973.