*On this date in 1968, Green v. School Board of New Kent County, 391 U.S. 430, was decided. This was a United States Supreme Court case involving freedom of choice plans created to avoid compliance with the Court's mandate in the Brown II decision regarding public school segregation.
The Court held that New Kent County's freedom of choice plan did not adequately comply with the school board's responsibility to determine a non-racial admission system to public schools. The Supreme Court mandated that the school board formulate new plans and steps towards realistically converting to a desegregated system.
Green v. County School Board of New Kent County followed Brown v. Board of Education. NAACP Legal Defense Fund lawyers argued, prepared the petitioners' case, and presented their arguments. Frederick T. Gray represented the school board, and Louis F. Claiborne served as amicus curiae.
While the Court did not rule that all "freedom of choice" plans were unconstitutional, it noted that they tended to be ineffective in desegregating a school system and held that the freedom-of-choice plan violated the Constitution in the case of New Kent County. To comply with the Court's mandate, the school board separated the New Kent and George Watkins schools by grade level rather than race. The Watkins School became George W. Watkins Elementary School, and New Kent became New Kent High School.
In May 2018, several events took place in New Kent County, VA, to commemorate 50 years since the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in the case. The Green V. County School Board of New Kent organization has a list of the events. Also, in 2018, the Library of Virginia honored Calvin Coolidge Green, pastor, soldier, educator, civil rights activist, and father of named plaintiff Charles Green, as one of its Strong Men and Women.
