Fifth Circuit Four

The "Fifth Circuit Four" (or simply "The Four") were four judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit who, during the late 1950s, became known for a series of decisions (which continued into the late 1960s) crucial in advancing the civil and political rights of African Americans; in this they were opposed by fellow Fifth Circuit judge Ben Cameron, a strong advocate of states' rights. At that time, the Fifth Circuit included not only Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas (the limits of its jurisdiction since October 1, 1981), but also Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and the Panama Canal Zone.

"The Four" were Chief Judge Elbert Tuttle and his three colleagues John Minor Wisdom, John Robert Brown, and Richard Rives. All but Rives were liberal Republicans; Rives was a Democrat and, according to Jack Bass, an intimate of Supreme Court justice Hugo Black.

Quote

"The Constitution is both color blind and color conscious. To avoid conflict with the equal protection clause, a classification that denies a benefit, causes harm, or imposes a burden must not be based on race. In that sense the Constitution is color blind. But the Constitution is color conscious to prevent discrimination being perpetuated and to undo the effects of past discrimination. The criterion is the relevancy of color to a legitimate government purpose."

- Judge John Minor Wisdom, writing for the majority in U.S. v. Jefferson County Board of Education, 1967.

References

Jack Bass, "The 'Fifth Circuit Four'", The Nation, May 3, 2004, p. 30-32.
Jack Bass, Unlikely Heroes: The Dramatic Story of the Southern Judges of the Fifth Circuit who Translated the Supreme Court's Brown Decision Into a Revolution for Equality (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1981), ISBN 0-671-25064-7, ISBN 978-0-671-25064-5.

African-American Civil Rights Movement (1954–68)

Notable
events
(timeline)

1954–1959	Brown v. Board of Education Bolling v. Sharpe Briggs v. Elliott Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County Gebhart v. Belton Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company Emmett Till Montgomery Bus Boycott Browder v. Gayle Mansfield school desegregation 1957 Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom "Give Us the Ballot" Royal Ice Cream Sit-in Little Rock Nine National Guard blockade Civil Rights Act of 1957 Kissing Case Biloxi Wade-Ins

1960–1963	Greensboro sit-ins Nashville sit-ins Civil Rights Act of 1960 Gomillion v. Lightfoot Boynton v. Virginia Robert F. Kennedy's Law Day Address Freedom Rides attacks Garner v. Louisiana Albany Movement University of Chicago sit-ins "Second Emancipation Proclamation" Meredith enrollment, Ole Miss riot 1963 Birmingham campaign Children's Crusade Letter from Birmingham Jail Birmingham riot 16th Street Baptist Church bombing Stand in the Schoolhouse Door John F. Kennedy's Civil Rights Address March on Washington "I Have a Dream" St. Augustine movement "segregation now, segregation forever"

1964–1968	Twenty-fourth Amendment Bloody Tuesday Freedom Summer workers' murders Civil Rights Act of 1964 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches "How Long, Not Long" Voting Rights Act of 1965 Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections March Against Fear White House Conference on Civil Rights Chicago Freedom Movement/Chicago open housing movement Memphis Sanitation Strike King assassination funeral riots Poor People's Campaign Civil Rights Act of 1968

Activist
groups

Activists

Influences

Noted
historians

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