Delaware and Maryland: Cracks in the Jury Color Line Lee v. State – Maryland, 1932 (161 A. 284); Bailey v. Commonwealth – Virginia, 1950 (62 S.E.2d 28)
Only the white men appear to have been looked to for jurors. The evidence, with the long, unbroken absence of negroes from the juries selected, seems to show an established practice, confining selections to white men as effectually as if such a restriction were prescribed by statute. And the ct has concluded that this, under the authorities, amounts to unconstitutional exclusion of negroes.” – Chief Judge Carroll Bond, in Lee “Equal Means Equal” in the Old South Pearson v. Murray – Maryland, 1936 (182 A. 590); Durkee v. Murphy – Maryland, 1943 (29 A.2d 253); Parker v. University of Delaware – Delaware, 1950 (76 A.2d 225); Belton v. Gebhart – Delaware, 1952 (87 A.2d 362, 91 A.2d 137)
"To [give the state time to create a “separate but equal” school] is to say to such a plaintiff: ‘Yes, your Constitutional rights are being invaded, but be patient, we will see whether in time they are still being violated. To postpone such relief is to … say that the protective provisions of the Constitution offer no immediate protection.” – Chancellor Collins Seitz, in Gebhart | ![]() "Showing a Negro how to vote at the polls," Olney, Maryland, 1942 - courtesy Library of Congress Donald Murray and his attorneys Charles H. Houston and Thurgood Marshall, 1938 - courtesy NAACP and Library of Congress “The requirements of equality of treatment may be refined too far … the effort to avoid any conflict which might arise from racial antipathies … is a common need to be faced in regulation of public facilities in Maryland …. There can be no question that, unreasonable as such antipathies may be, they are prominent sources of conflict, and are always to be reckoned with … Separation of the races is normal treatment in this state.” – Chief Judge Carroll Bond, in Durkee |
EMPIRE OF LAWS - The Legal History of the 50 American States > 3. OLD SOUTH LEGAL HISTORY > 3.6. Old South: Depression, War and the Demise of Jim Crow (1920-1965) > 3.6.1 Old South (1920-1965): The Slow Death of Jim Crow >