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Briggs vs. Elliott was the first of the 5 cases that combined in the supreme court case of Brown vs. Board. This case occurred because of the angry parents of the African-American children who had to walk miles to a black school when a public school was not as far away.
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Parents of the black children who went to school in Clarendon County banded together to file a suit against segregation in the public school. Briggs vs. Elliot. The result was building a better school for African-American students to go to.
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The segregation of the schools in Jasper, Spartanburg and Clarendon County started "popping" in 1951.
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In 1951, South Carolina only had 80 public high schools for African American students.
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Only approximately 3% of black children were in school with other white children in South Carolina.
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By 1953, new school construction for black was underway throughout the South Carolina.
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In 1957, the number of black schools increased to 147 schools in South Carolina after construction of all the new schools for African-Americans.
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After the Briggs vs. Elliott and Brown vs. Board, the supreme court declared desegregation in public schools in North and South Carolina.
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It took 12 years before blacks could attend an all white Summerton High School. However, by this time most white students had already left the public schools for private schools.
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Although the schools in SC were desegregated in 1963, it wasn't until 7 years later that the school systems based on race were eliminated.
