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Armour v. Nix Case Files
Descriptive Summary | |
| Title: Armour v. Nix Case Files | |
| Creator: Sams, Gary | |
| Creator: Weekes & Candler, P.C. | |
| Inclusive Dates: 1940-1979 | |
| Bulk Dates: 1975-1979 | |
| Language(s): English | |
| Extent: 2 box(es) (1.5 linear feet) | |
| Collection Number: RBRL403 | |
| Repository: Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies | |
| Abstract: Armour v. Nix, litigated from 1972 to 1980, challenged school segregation in the metropolitan Atlanta area. The case files include depositions, compliance reports, correspondence, and research on factors influencing racial patterns in housing, the use of busing to desegregate schools, and population changes in metropolitan areas. | |
Collection Description
Historical Note
Armour v. Nix was filed in the U.S. District Court in 1972 after the DeKalb County Board of Education was ordered to desegregate its schools in Pitts v. Cherry in 1969. The plaintiffs, African American parents of children attending schools in the metropolitan Atlanta area, filed a class action on behalf of themselves and all other individuals experiencing negative effects from the lack of integration in the school system. The plaintiffs argued that the school system should be integrated and petitioned the court for an "interdistrict remedy" that would integrate the metropolitan area once and for all. The plaintiffs named a number of local school districts as defendants in the case, including the Buford, Clayton, Cobb, Decatur, DeKalb, Douglas, Fulton, Gwinnett, and Marietta County Boards of Education, the Atlanta Board of Education, and the State Board of Education.
The trial was "bifurcated," meaning the trial court judge decided to break the case into a number of subparts and hear the claims in phases. During phase 1 of the case, the court considered liability. In 1978, the trial court dismissed the claims against the Buford, Clayton, Cobb, Decatur, Douglas, Gwinnett, and Marietta Boards of Education.
In the second phase of the trial, heard in 1979, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia held that the plaintiffs failed to show that there were existing disparities in racial composition of the defendant schools systems. The court noted that the evidence neither shows an "alteration of county or municipal boundaries for the purpose of racial segregation, nor does it show that any new school districts have been created for the purpose of increasing racial segregation." Rather, the court stated that existing instances of segregation were minimal, a result of practices within the school district, as opposed to statewide or interdistrict policy, and due to external community factors, such as where minority students lived in proximity to schools. Lastly, the court found that the plaintiffs presented no evidence proving that the defendant school districts showed an intent to discriminate in the years after they were desegregated. Thus, no interdistrict remedy was justified; the plaintiffs lost their claims.
This case was appealed to a federal appellate court, and the decision of the district court was affirmed in 1980, ending the litigation.
Scope and Content
The Armour v. Nix Case Files include depositions of expert witnesses and county officials, desegregation compliance reports of the DeKalb County School System, articles and reports, and correspondence. Subjects include factors influencing racial patterns in housing, the use of busing to desegregate schools, and studies of population changes in metropolitan areas.
Administrative Information
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Preferred Citation
Armour v. Nix Case Files, Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Georgia, 30602-1641.
Copyright Information
Before material from collections at the Richard B. Russell Library may be quoted in print, or otherwise reproduced, in whole or in part, in any publication, permission must be obtained from (1) the owner of the physical property, and (2) the holder of the copyright. It is the particular responsibility of the researcher to obtain both sets of permissions. Persons wishing to quote from materials in the Russell Library collection should consult the Director. Reproduction of any item must contain a complete citation to the original.
Conditions Governing Use
Library acts as "fair use" reproduction agent.
Finding Aid Publication
Finding Aid prepared by Adriane Hanson, July 2016.
Related Materials and Subjects
Subject Terms
Related Collections in this Repository
DeKalb County School Desegregation Case Files
American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia Records