Public Schools in The
Case 2:65-cv-00396-MHH Document 1141 Filed 04/24/17 Page 1 of 190 FILED 2017 Apr-24 PM 05:13 U.S. DISTRICT COURT N.D. OF ALABAMA UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA SOUTHERN DIVISION LINDA STOUT, et al., ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ) ) Plaintiff-Intervenor, ) ) v. ) Case No.: 2:65-cv-00396-MHH ) JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF ) EDUCATION, ) ) Defendant, ) ) GARDENDALE CITY BOARD OF ) EDUCATION, ) ) Defendant-Intervenor. ) MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER “[T]he future of our world revolves around public education. There’s nothing more important that we do” than “educat[ing] our children.” (Doc. 1124, p, 180). That proposition, offered by a member of the Gardendale Board of Education, is perhaps the one point on which all of the parties in this school desegregation case agree. The proposition is sound. In its landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education, the United States Supreme Court recognized that 1 Case 2:65-cv-00396-MHH Document 1141 Filed 04/24/17 Page 2 of 190 public education is critical for the welfare of our nation’s children. The Supreme Court stated that public education: is the very foundation of good citizenship. Today it is a principal instrument in awakening the child to cultural values, in preparing him for later professional training, and in helping him to adjust normally to his environment. In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education. 347 U.S. 483, 493 (1954).
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