Special Collection: Featured Historical Cases

Scan of original complaint filed in Brown v. Board of Education (Topeka)

Original complaint filed in Brown v. Board of Education (Topeka).

Brown v. Board of Ed., Complaint (1951)

This collection gathers a number of civil rights cases of great historical significance for which the Clearinghouse has made a special effort to include a larger-than-typical portion of the documents, and to summarize with a bit more historical context. It includes, for example,

  • Early school desegregation cases, including Brown v. Board of Education, Milliken v. Bradley (Detroit), Liddell v. Board of Educ. of St. Louis
  • The earliest (and longest lasting) public housing discrimination case, Gautreaux v. Chicago Housing Authority/Gautreaux v. Hills
  • The first educational sexual harassment case, Alexander v. Yale
  • A 1970s housing discrimination lawsuit against the Trumps, United States v. Fred C. Trump, Donald Trump, and Trump Management, Inc.
  • Among the very first prisoners rights trials, Jordan v. Fitzharris
  • Early employment discrimination class actions, including U.S. v. IBEW, #38 (against a union), and EEOC, Hodgson, and U.S. v. AT&T (sex discrimination)
We don't have the complete record for these (except for Gautreaux), but we have made significant extra efforts.

See Searchable Results
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT
CODING IN PROCESS
EEOC, Hodgson, and U.S. v. AT&T

2:73-00149 | U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Filed Date: 1973

Closed Date: 1979

(There's no summary yet, while we research the case.)    
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT
CODING IN PROCESS
United States v. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, #38

67-00575 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio

Filed Date: 1967

[This summary is temporary while we research the case.] This is a lawsuit in which the plaintiffs alleged that a branch of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers had discriminated  again…

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PRISON CONDITIONS
Duran v. Martinez

1:77-cv-00721 | U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico

Filed Date: Nov. 15, 1977

Case Ongoing

Prison conditions class action in New Mexico leading to multiple consent decrees and ongoing monitoring (1977-2020).
EDUCATION
Alexander v. Yale

3:77-cv-00277 | U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut

Filed Date: July 3, 1977

Closed Date: Sept. 22, 1980

First Title IX sexual harassment lawsuit against Yale University led to new campus grievance procedures (1977-1980).
FAIR HOUSING/LENDING/INSURANCE
United States v. Fred C. Trump, Donald Trump, and Trump Management, Inc.

1:73-01529 | U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York

Filed Date: Oct. 15, 1973

Closed Date: June 10, 1977

Housing discrimination lawsuit against Trump properties settled with fair housing reforms.
SCHOOL DESEGREGATION
Liddell v. Board of Education for the City of St. Louis

4:72-cv-00100 | U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri

Filed Date: Feb. 18, 1972

Case Ongoing

School desegregation lawsuit in St. Louis led to voluntary student transfer program.
SCHOOL DESEGREGATION
Milliken v. Bradley

2:70-cv-35257 | U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

Filed Date: Aug. 18, 1970

Closed Date: Jan. 6, 1995

Major Detroit school desegregation case that led to citywide busing plan and educational reforms (1970-1989).
HEALTHCARE ACCESS AND REPRODUCTIVE ISSUES
Roe v. Wade

70-03690 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas

Filed Date: March 3, 1970

Closed Date: Feb. 26, 1973

(This temporary is summary while we research the case). This case, filed by Jane Roe, ultimately led to the Supreme Court's holding that abortion was a fundamental right. This decision was later over…

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PUBLIC HOUSING
Gautreaux v. Chicago Housing Authority

1:66-cv-01459 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Filed Date: Aug. 9, 1966

Case Ongoing

Chicago public housing racial discrimination lawsuit led to pioneering housing desegregation program (1966-2022).
PUBLIC HOUSING
Gautreaux v. HUD [Weaver, Romney, Hills, etc.]

01:66-cv-01460 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Filed Date: Aug. 9, 1966

Closed Date: Aug. 26, 1997

Housing desegregation lawsuit against HUD in Chicago sparked significant public housing reforms nationwide (1966-1997).
PRISON CONDITIONS
Washington v. Lee

66-cv-02350 | U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama

Filed Date: Feb. 18, 1966

Closed Date: 1970

Civil rights lawsuit challenging racial segregation in Alabama prisons led to court-ordered desegregation in 1966.
PRISON CONDITIONS
Jordan v. Fitzharris

65-44786 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

Filed Date: Oct. 14, 1965

Closed Date: Sept. 6, 1966

Prison conditions lawsuit about unsanitary strip cell led to court-ordered sanitation improvements in California prison.
SCHOOL DESEGREGATION
U.S. v. Jefferson County Bd. of Ed./Stout v. Jefferson County Bd. of Ed.

2:65-cv-00396 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama

Filed Date: June 4, 1965

Case Ongoing

Long-running school desegregation case in Jefferson County, Alabama, that continues under court supervision since 1964.
JUVENILE INSTITUTION
Singleton v. Board of Commissioners

63-cv-00963 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida

Filed Date: Nov. 12, 1963

Closed Date: March 5, 1971

Civil rights class action by Black juveniles led to desegregation of Florida reform schools (1963-1971).
SCHOOL DESEGREGATION
Lee v. Macon County Bd. of Ed.

3:63-cv-00604 | U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama

Filed Date: Jan. 28, 1963

Closed Date: 1970

Major Alabama school desegregation lawsuit led to statewide integration orders and reforms (1963-1970).
SCHOOL DESEGREGATION
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

5:51-cv-04316 | U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas

Filed Date: Feb. 28, 1951

Closed Date: July 27, 1999

School segregation lawsuit in Topeka ended racial separation in public schools.