DISD Desegregation Litigation Archives
Following the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decisions in 1954 and 1955, members of Dallas’s Black community quickly challenged continued school segregation. Over the following decades, DISD was repeatedly brought before federal courts and placed under judicial oversight to enforce desegregation.
The case, Tasby v. Estes, was filed in 1970. Judge Barefoot Sanders took over the case in 1981 and oversaw it for more than two decades. During that time, a series of court orders, injunctions, and appeals shaped the district’s desegregation efforts until the case was finally resolved.
About the Collection
The Underwood Law Library houses the official court papers and legal records from the Dallas ISD desegregation case (Tasby v. Estes), one of the longest-running school desegregation cases in U.S. history, including:
- Judge Barefoot Sanders’s court chambers papers
- Litigation files from:
- Ed Cloutman, lead counsel for the plaintiffs
- Robert Hyer Thomas, lead counsel for DISD
- Court filings, motions, and legal briefs
- Judges’ and attorneys’ private notes
- Contemporary newspaper coverage
- Analytical data produced by DISD in response to court orders
The total size of the collection is approximately 370 linear feet.
Accessing the Collection
To identify the documents needed, consult the court's docket sheet. After identifying relevant documents, review the finding aid to determine the box numbers and folder numbers that contain the documents.
For questions about this collection or to request access to these materials, contact us.
Image Credit: Willie Pratt leaving school with his mother after the first day of Dallas school integration in 1961. From the collections of the Texas/Dallas History and Archives Division, Dallas Public Library.