The U.S. Department of Justice has officially closed a school desegregation case in Dyersburg, Tennessee, which had been ongoing for 60 years, marking the end of federal oversight that began during the civil rights movement.
On Tuesday, the department’s Civil Rights Division announced that a federal court had formally dismissed the case against Dyersburg City Schools after finding that the district had successfully removed the remnants of its previously segregated educational system.
The initial lawsuit was filed in 1966 against the Dyersburg Board of Education, claiming that racially segregated public education violated both the Constitution and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. A desegregation plan was approved by a federal court, and for six decades, the Justice Department monitored the district’s adherence to it.
After a recent evaluation, the Civil Rights Division determined that Dyersburg City Schools no longer functions as a segregated system. On February 11, a federal court recognized the district as having achieved “unitary status,” a legal term that signifies it has adequately dismantled its previous dual system based on race. The following day, the court dismissed the case with prejudice, effectively concluding the litigation.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon stated that this closure demonstrates the district’s adherence to court mandates.
“Compliance means closure,” Dhillon said in a statement. “When school districts comply in good faith with court orders to eliminate the vestiges of past discrimination, the federal government has no legitimate reason to continue monitoring.”
D. Michael Dunavant, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, called the dismissal “long overdue” and commended the district for its efforts over the years.
“The long-standing good faith efforts of the school district have demonstrated decades of improvement,” Dunavant said, adding that local control is best suited to address the needs of students, parents and staff moving forward.
The dismissal marks the end of one of many desegregation cases filed by the federal government in the 1960s to dismantle racially segregated school systems across the South.
