Court Opinion

ID: 9452896
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 17:55:46.589728+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:33:24.462602
License: Public Domain

LAY, Circuit Judge
(concurring).
I concur in Judge Blackmun’s opinion. Because of counsel’s oral argument I add here only additional comment for emphasis :
(1) This court said in Kemp v. Beasley, 352 F.2d 14, 21 (8 Cir. 1965):
“The dictum in Briggs has not been followed or adopted by this Circuit and it is logically inconsistent with Brown and subsequent decisional law on this subject.” (My emphasis)
(2) This court said in Kelley v. Alt-heimer, 8 Cir., 378 F.2d 483, 496:
“Undue reliance on the ‘deliberate speed’ language in the Brown case, *970plus adherence to the dictum in Briggs, has resulted in a decision which makes it more difficult to achieve a non-racially operated school system.”
Emphasized here again are the standards we have set forth before in Kemp, Clark, and Altheimer. This court has always felt the district court is better equipped to supervise the positive steps to accomplish compliance. Altheimer requires positive compliance with plans of desegregation under the supervision of the district court. This decision does nothing less. This requirement lays to final rest the dictum of Briggs in this Circuit. This case involves faculty assignment. We are dealing with one of the most pragmatic and effective areas where school administration has direct control to accomplish desegregation.
The exerted influence of a segregated faculty on any freedom of choice plan by students is unwholesome. It effectively limits voluntary choice by both colored and white students in substantial numbers. Clark v. Board of Educ., 369 F.2d 661 (8 Cir. 1966). The primary test of good faith in any plan of desegregation relates to faculty assignment. This is not a directive for numerical faculty integration. Appellant’s counsel openly conceded this is not the goal sought nor is it necessarily the proper result to be accomplished. The considered qualifications of faculty are not to be restricted in any way. See Smith v. Board of Educ., 8 Cir., 365 F.2d 770 at 782. However, it is sometimes argued that placement or transfer of colored faculty to white schools will reduce the quality of education for the white pupils. This argument is the greatest admission of inequalities that continue to exist in a well intentioned but segregated school community. It deserves little discussion and serves no excuse.
The problem is not as complex as freedom of choice plans involving students. There is no excuse for immediate and realistic steps not to be taken to accomplish the desired results.