Brown v. Board of Commissioners of the City of Chattanooga
Brown v. Board of Commissioners of the City of Chattanooga | |
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F. Supp. 380 | |
Court membership | |
Judge(s) sitting | Robert Allan Edgar |
Brown v. The Board of Commissioners of the City of Chattanooga, 722 F. Supp. 380 (E.D. Tenn. 1989), was the restructuring of the election process of
Background
After the Civil War, blacks were capable of being included in city government and politics. They made up a substantial number of representatives in the fire department, education departments, and police departments. For example, in 1881, seven blacks out of a twelve-member force served as Chattanooga's policemen. Out of fear and anger for the black political control in Chattanooga, a group of whites elected to amend the city's charter to require a poll tax, strict voting registration processes involving literacy tests and advanced registration, the governor's appointment of the police force, and a shift from five alderman to six. In 1901, the Tennessee legislature once again revised the city's charter to create a bicameral city government containing alderman and councilmen, leading to the elimination of blacks in political life.[2]
Following the city's charter establishment in 1839 by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, its governmental system was elected through an at-large voting process where a nearly all white candidates participated in the election to the five-member board with four-year terms. Candidates were chosen by a majority vote, but most voters were identified as caucasian or non-residential property owners, eliminating the opportunity for an equal representation of the 31.69% (as of 1980) of black population and residents.[3]
The Commission included the positions of Mayor, chief officer of Finances, Commissioner of Fire and Police, Commissioner of Education and Health, Commissioner of Public Utilities, Grounds and Buildings, and Commissioner of Public Works, Streets and Airports. Each member was elected from the population at large; therefore the Commission represented only the majority white population of the Chattanooga area, not the African American minority.
Whites continued to dominate the Commission post even after 1971 when John Franklin, the only black candidate to have ever been elected, became a part of the otherwise all-white governmental board, and was reelected until its termination. Since the first black candidate ran for the Commission in 1955, only fifteen black candidates attempted election to the Commission up to 1988. John Franklin was the only to succeed.[3]
Case
The issue was initially presented by
Local Outcome
As a result of the elimination of the commission and the development of the mayor-council government, Chattanooga's legislative branch is now represented by the following members from each of the nine districts: Chip Henderson (District 1, European-American), Jerry Mitchell (District 2, European-American), Ken Smith (District 3, European-American), Larry Grohn (District 4, European-American), Russell Gilbert (District 5, African-American), Carol Berz (District 6, European-American), Chris Anderson (District 7, European-American), Moses Freeman (District 8, African-American), and Yusuf Hakeem (District 9, African-American). Current members of the council are more representative of the people and issues of their individual districts (6 European-Americans, 3 African-American in a city of 36% African-American population) rather than the concerns of the majority white property owners.[5]
References
- ^ "City Charter". www.chattanooga.gov. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
- ^ Bahner, T. Maxwell (May 1, 2013). "The Other Brown Case: The Promise of the U.S. Constitution at Work in Chattanooga" (PDF). The Federal Lawyer. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
- ^ a b Brown v. Board of Commissioners of the City of Chattanooga, 722 F. Supp. 380 (E.D. Tenn. 1989).
- ^ Hightower, Cliff; South, Todd (October 13, 2011). "Brown v. Board of Commissioners shifted form of government to boost minorities". Chattanooga Times Free Press. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
- ^ Hightower, Cliff (March 6, 2013). "3 voted off Chattanooga City Council". Chattanooga Times Free Press. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
External links
- Text of Brown v. Board of Commissioners of the City of Chattanooga, 722 F. Supp. 380 (E.D. Tenn. 1989) is available from: CourtListener Google Scholar Justia Leagle