The Forgotten Brown Case: Briggs v. Elliott and Its Legacy in South Carolina

Abstract

ABSTRACT There is not much debate regarding the Brown decision and the significance of the foundation it provided for access to equal educational opportunity and the school funding litigation movement; however, it is important to recognize that the inception of Brown can be traced back to a small rural town in South Carolina. Three years before the Supreme Court heard Brown v. Board, the legal strategy to attack separate but equal was formed in Summerton, South Carolina, with Briggs v. Elliott. Briggs was the first school funding lawsuit in South Carolina. More than 65 years after the first school funding lawsuit was filed in the state of South Carolina, rural school districts are still waiting for the state to provide adequate educational opportunity for poor, rural, mostly Black students. The schools in these districts are arguably still segregated, still unequal, and still inadequate. The purpose of this article is to examine the history and legacy of Briggs v. Elliot. The article begins with exploring the historical legal background of education finance litigation in South Carolina. This is followed by a snapshot of the prevalence of school segregation and educational inadequacies of the rural school districts represented in Briggs and recent lawsuits. Furthermore, the article discusses the role and function of the courts regarding South Carolina education, in addition to enacted legislation and the role of race. The article concludes with implications regarding policy and potential future legal strategies.