Corbin et al. v. Pulaski County School Board

Explored in this exhibit is the court case, won by Pulaski residents, that paved the way for Brown v. Board of Education (1954) and the end of racialized segregation in public schools. Corbin et al. v. School Board of Pulaski County, supported by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), fought for equal facilities between Black and white schools. Local doctor and activist, Dr. Percy Corbin, served as the plaintiff in the case on behalf of his son: Mahatma. The case became part of the local class action lawsuits oversaw by Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. The goal was to equalize the public education between the two races. Shortly after the case, the NAACP switched strategies and began fighting for school desegregation.

Plaintiffs, the parents, and students who signed onto the case, include:

  • Mahatma N. Corbin by P. C. Corbin, his father
  • Naomi Thomas by F. D. Thomas, her father
  • Hilton Murphy by Anna G. Murphy, his mother 
  • Oscar Johnson by O. L. Johnson, his father
  • Jean O. Holmes by W. O. Holmes, her father
  • John S. Dyer by Henry Dyer, his father 
  • Ruth Holt and Juanita Taylor by James R. Marton, their guardian 
  • Mary D. Holt by Randall C. Holt, her father 
  • Edith B. Redd by Josephine Redd, her mother 
  • Oscar Smith and Edith Smith by William A. Smith, their father 
  • Alerene Brown and Frances Brown by Hattie M. Brown, their mother
  • Roberta Garner and Jean Garner by Earl F. Garner, their father
  • Robert Smith, Jr. and Letha Mae Smith by Robert L. Smith, their father 
  • Sadie Safewright and Henry Safewright by Rena Safewright, their mother 
  • Henry H. Peoples, Willie F. Peoples, Mary E. Peoples by J. T. Peoples, their father 
  • Frances Stiger, Margaret Stiger, Jean Stigger, Harrietta Stiger, and Peggy Stigger by Harry Stiger, their father 
  • Billie Truehart, Garland Truehart, and George Truehart by Irving Truehart, their father
  • Henry Muse, Frances Muse, James Muse, and Sonja Muse by Raymond Muse, their father 
  • Richard A. Slaughter, Nathaniel Slaughter, Perry Slaughter, and Joyce C. Slaughter by Juanita Slaughter, their mother 
  • George Finley, James Finley, and Josephine Finley by Henry Finley, their father
  • Rosetta Hunt and Sallie Hunt by Robert Hunt, their father
  • Mary L. Austin, Mollie Austin, and Nannie B. Austin by Isaac Austin, their father
  • Charles W. Montgomery and Alberta Montgomery by Lawrence Montgomery, their father 
  • James M. Conner, Viola Conner, Nick Conner, and Willis Connor by Henry R. Conner, their father 

Sources used in this exhibit include: