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Start Over Main contributor Higginbotham, A. Leon (Aloyisus Leon), 1928-1998 Date 1986

1. Interview with Louis L. Redding (1:47:06)

Date:
2006
Main contributors:
Elwood, William A, Higginbotham, A. Leon (Aloyisus Leon), 1928-1998
Summary:
Part one. Civil rights attorney Louis Redding recalls his family, childhood, and going to Brown University. Part two. Mr. Redding tells his family’s history at Brown. After Harvard Law School, he returned to still segregated Delaware to practice law. Immediately, he tried to abolish separation based on race in courtrooms. He discussed the Parker case, its background, African American admission to University of Delaware, and Judge Collins Seitz. Part three. Redding says that he would not have filed the Parker case if he didn't know that Judge Collins Seitz would get the case. In Gebhart v. Belton, the public school case, Redding used testimony from psychology and sociology experts about how separate but equal was inherently detrimental to African American children. He also comments on Jack Greenberg, Burton v. Wilmington Parking Authority, and the day the Brown v. Board of Education decision was announced. Part four. The day the Brown decision became public, Redding heard the news on the radio while driving and crashed into the car in front of him. Mr. Redding discusses the Burton case, Charles Hamilton Houston, Thurgood Marshall, William Hastie, William Robert Ming. He also tells how John W. Davis, the lawyer defending separate but equal, wept during arguments in front of the Supreme Court in the Brown case. Part five. Charles Hamilton Houston. Advice to young lawyers. At 9:00 until end, still photos.