Last November, the University of Cincinnati Libraries announced the award of an Archives Grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission to the Libraries’ Archives and Rare Books Library (ARB). This grant supports the archival processing of records related to the lawsuit Bronson v. Board of Education of the City School District of the City of Cincinnati maintained by the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and donated to the University of Cincinnati in the 1980s.   

Archival records from organizations may contain an array of documents and an incredible amount of those documents, such as correspondence, meeting minutes and case files. When this occurs, archivists may arrange the material into series and subseries in order to assist researchers in accessing the collection. The NAACP Bronson v. Board records is an example of this practice. Due to the extensive material within the collection, it is vital to note the different types of documents and what they mean in the context of the case. This includes files created and kept by the school districts and documents that originated in the court. For both document types, ARB has consulted with the Office of General Counsel to determine if any records need to be restricted or redacted.

School district administrative documents

Special student transfers – Transfer requests were made by parents for their child to attend a school they were not zoned for at any time during the school year. These documents mention the reasoning for the transfer, if the transfer was approved or rejected by the administration, and why the transfer was rejected. The parents had to attach documentation supporting the reasoning they wanted their child to switch schools. Many of the student transfers were requested because of childcare needs or for alternative school programming held at specific schools. Transfer files consist of 85 folders within the student data subseries of the discovery files series.

Tuition student and transportation reports – In the suburban school district subseries of the discovery files series there are 66 folders on tuition student and transportation reports. These reports were documents showing the agreement between school districts and tuition paid by school districts to allow a student to attend a school outside their district of residence. Each school district had a say on whether they accepted tuition students.

Annexation materials – Over 60 folders detail the transfer of territory between Cincinnati Public Schools and the suburban school districts located in the suburban school district subseries of the discovery files subseries. These annexations had to receive approval from the state to be carried out, and it greatly affected the racial composition of school districts due to the segregated neighborhoods. There were instances where annexations of land did not affect the students as the land did not have to include residential areas. Some annexations were found to be racially motivated and used as evidence by the plaintiffs during the lawsuit.

Student and staff racial data – The plaintiffs collected racial data on the students and staff of each school in Cincinnati Public Schools and the suburban school districts. This data was then organized into charts by the plaintiffs, which then was used as exhibits during legal proceedings. The student data was broken down by grade, sex, gender, school year, individual school, percentages and numbers. Staff data had similar parameters but also included educational attainment, salary and years of service. The data was broken down by occupations such as administrators, principals, counselors, support staff, and teachers. Both student and staff data consist of 58 folders and can be found as subseries within the discovery files series.

Legal documents 

Discovery files – Records collected from both the plaintiffs and defendants as the attorneys were building their case for trial. This series includes more than 1,000 folders and is divided into various subseries. The plaintiffs categorized the records by subject and this original order was maintained as the records were organized. These include but are not limited to files on the school buildings/construction, housing discrimination, student and staff data, research materials, and school boundary changes. 

Exhibits – Exhibits make up over half of the collection exceeding 5,000 folders which were used as evidence. The exhibits series contains ten subseries. These include exhibits from the plaintiffs and each of the defendants: Cincinnati Board of Education, State Board of Education and the suburban school districts. Within the collection are exhibits from the previous Deal v. Board of Education case. The NAACP General Counsel office organized the exhibits by defendant or plaintiff, and by subseries where needed. Many of the exhibits originated from the discovery files and were to be used if the case went to trial.  

Pleadings – Pleadings were the legal court submissions that detailed the actions of the plaintiffs, defendants and judge throughout the case. The plaintiffs kept their notes on specific pleadings and drafts of memoranda. This includes transcripts of proceedings, judge rulings, opinions and orders which consists of over 800 folders. They are organized as a series and subseries. Within the collection are also pleadings from other related desegregation cases.

Interrogatories – These consist of over 300 folders on questions asked by the plaintiffs or defendants for gathering discovery files before a trial. The collection contains interrogatories asked for and documents supporting the answers to the interrogatories. Once an interrogatory was answered, a supplemental question could be asked based on the response given.

Depositions – Depositions are legal conversation between a witness and attorneys that can be carried out in the courtroom or in the attorney’s office. The collection contains over 120 folders of deposition notes and transcripts from both the defendants and witnesses called by the plaintiffs. The depositions make up one series and some are included by the NAACP as a subseries in the exhibits. More than 70 individuals were deposed including school district members, superintendents, local historians, expert witnesses that are professionals in their fields of study, notable individuals in the community and civil rights activists.

This project has been made possible in part by grant RH-104772-24 from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this blog post do not necessarily represent those of the NHPRC.