Coda

The coda returns the story to Holmes County and brings the reader close to the present day. The legacy of the case and local movement receive special consideration.There are also concluding remarks about the long-term significance of Alexander v. Holmes.

The Grassroots and the Lawyers

Chapter three examines the convergence of the Holmes County civil rights movement and legal assistance from the NAACP LDF. Civil rights lawyers and activists combined forces to begin the long campaign to desegregate the schools. The chapter also traces the origins of the Alexander v. Holmes suit.

Pleading for the Fifth

Chapter four moves the narrative from Holmes County to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The chapter explains the legal shift from freedom of choice to outright school desegregation. Segregationist resistance, in particular by Judge Harold Cox, is noted as well.

The Holmes County Movement

Chapter two covers the grassroots struggle for civil rights in Holmes County. The movement in Holmes became the most vibrant and well-organized in rural Mississippi, if not the entire state, and stimulated a lawsuit to desegregate the schools.The chapter focuses on the voting rights campaign as well as segregationist resistance.

Introduction

The introduction establishes the importance of Alexander v. Holmes and situates the civil rights case within the relevant, scholarly literature. There are also vignettes of well- and lesser known figures who played key roles in the trajectory of the case.

All the President’s Mendacity

The fifth chapter focuses on the effort by President Richard Nixon to fulfil the “Southern Strategy” and disrupt the pace of school desegregation. In the summer of 1969, Nixon attempted to delay school desegregation. The NAACP LDF urged the Supreme Court to insist on immediate school desegregation.

Alexander in the High Court

Chapter six provides a dramatic retelling of Alexander v. Holmes in the U.S. Supreme Court. The chapter recounts the oral arguments and Court deliberations. On October 29, 1969, the Court handed down the Alexander v. Holmes ruling and ordered desegregation “now.”

An Imperfect Revolution: Enforcing Alexander

The seventh chapter explores the implementation of the Alexander ruling in Holmes County and across the South. The chapter mainly analyses the legal work of Jackson’s NAACP LDF office. There is also an assessment of the overall effect of school desegregation, especially in Mississippi.

Race and Education before Alexander

Chapter one provides an overview of the history of race and education in Holmes County from Reconstruction through 1954. The chapter also examines local history and race relations.