Cumming v. Richmond County Board of Education, 175 U.S. 528 (1899) ("Richmond") was a class action suit decided by the Supreme Court of the United States. It is a landmark case, in that it sanctoned de jure segregation of races in American schools. The Supreme Court overturned its decision in Richmond in Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954).

Underlying suits

The plaintiffs, "Cumming, Harper and Ladeveze, citizens of Georgia and persons of color suing on behalf of themselves and all others in like case joining with them," originally filed suit by petition against the "Board of Education of Richmond County" (the "Board") and one "Charles S. Bohler, tax collector" in the Superior Court of Richmond County, claiming among other causes of action, that a $45,000 tax levied against the county for primary, intermediate, grammar and high schools was illegal insofar as the high schools of the county were exclusively for white students, and seeking an injunction barring the collection of so much of the total amount as was earmarked for the white only high school system.

The Superior Court denied the relief sought in part, denying an injunction against the tax collector, but granted an injunction barring the Board from using: The plaintiffs did not appeal from the order refusing to grant an injunction against the tax collector. But the case was carried to the Supreme Court of Georgia by the Board of Education, where the judgment of the Superior Court of Richmond County was reversed upon the ground that it erred in granting an injunction against the Board of Education. In accordance with that decision, the Superior Court upon the return of the cause from the Supreme Court of the State, refused the relief asked by the plaintiffs and dismissed their petition. Thereafter, the plaintiffs appealed that order to the Unites States Supreme Court as being in derogation of their rights under the Constitution of the United States. The Supreme Court affirmed.

U.S. Supreme Court case

The Supreme Court's decision predicates it affirmance on economic arguments, among others. It claims that there are many more colored children than white children in the area, and that the Board could not afford to supply everyone with education. The court argued that there was a choice between educating 60 white children and educating no one.

The Supreme Court denied that it had any jurisdiction to interfere in the decisions of the state courts. The decision states in pertinent part:

The 'hostility to the colored population' is addressed in the final remark as follows:

External links

• Full text of the decision & case resources from Justia & Northwestern-Oyez
• Full text of the decision courtesy of Findlaw.com

African-American history | Equal protection cases | 1899 | United States Supreme Court cases | United States education case law | United States Fourteenth Amendment case law | History of racial segregation in the United States | United States Supreme Court cases without an infobox