BOOK/MEDIA REVIEWS

Abstract

Dawn of Desegregation: J. A. De Laine and Briggs v. Elliot, by Ophelia De Laine Gona. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 2010,216 pp., $29.95, paperback.Things don't just happen, you've got to make them.(De Laine Gona, 2010, p. 157).Such was the advice of Reverend Joseph Armstrong De Laine. It was 1952, and he had just filed the first lawsuit to challenge racial segregation in public schools in the United States. The case, which would be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, was known as Briggs et al. v. Elliot (1952). It subsequently forced the state of the South Carolina to provide facilities for its African American students. There were many African American communities that sought to better the lives of their children by challenging segregation in education (Fairclough, 2007). Concurrently, the court tackled 4 other lawsuits: Boling v. Sharpe (1954), Brown, v. Board of Education, (1954), Gebhart. v. Belton, (1952), and Davis v. County Board of Prince Edward County (1952). By May, 1954, the court ruled that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. The first case heard Brown, set the legal precedent; the other lawsuits and the notable people who perpetuated them have remained in relative obscurity.In Dawn of Desegregation: J. A. De Laine and Briggs v. Elliot, Ophelia De Laine Gona, the daughter of Rev. De Laine, chronicles the origins of the Briggs case and its impact. The author, who is passionate about people's struggles for equality, wrote the book so that the story would be accurate. She followed the historical research method, consulting primary sources (including her father's correspondence) and developed a narrative in relationship to the secondary sources. While her father is the central character of the book, she also credits the many African Americans of Clarendon County who lost their jobs, homes, and quality of life to challenge the status quo.In the first part of the book, she portrays the county's racial climate prior to 1948. In 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court had mandated a separate but equal system. But this doctrine placed African Americans at the bottom of the social order; for example, their children attended inferior and underfunded schools in comparison to their White counterparts. Black citizens were subjected to double taxation-because taxes disproportionately went to White schools, the African American community paid out of their pockets to help meet the financial demands of their respective schools (Walker, 1996).In fact, the Briggs case was about just getting a school bus. In 1946, Rev. De Laine was 48 years old, principal of a small elementary school, and pastor of a Methodist church. He agreed to go to the school board to ask for a bus for students who lived far from school. As the author explains in Part 2 of the book, by 1947, the proposal had turned into a lawsuit Pearson v. County Board of Education (1948), filed in the U.S. Eastern District Court of South Carolina. Meanwhile, Rev. De Laine became embroiled in a smaller skirmish for justice. Allegedly, a principal of an all-Black high school had pocketed money from the graduating seniors. Rev. De Laine helped to organize students to challenge that principal.A group formed to address inequalities in education, headed by Rev. De Laine. This group, Committee on Action, prepared a signed petition. But there would be dire consequences to their organizing efforts. Rev. De Laine was relieved of his principalship (only to be offered a position by the superintendent to save face-which De Laine refused). Furthermore, De Laine was slandered and received death threats. He was even challenged to a fist fight by a stooge of the city fathers. Many who signed the petition lost their jobs, lost credit, or were evicted. Despite the consequences, most African Americans continued to support the committee.Part 3 of the book describes what happened from 1950 to the 1954 Brown ruling. …