187.     391 U.S. 430, 436-7 (1968).

188.     402 U.S. 1(1971)

189.     Vaughns v. Board of Education of Prince George's County, 355 F. Supp. 1034, 1036 (D.
Md. 1972)

190.     There appears to be little dispute but that when Brown v. Board of Education. 347 U.S.
483 (1954), and Brown v. Board of Education. 349 U.S. 294 (1955), generally referred to
as Brown I and n. were decided, the Board acted in good faith to establish a unitary
school system within Prince George's County. In an effort to abolish the old dual system
and promote desegregation, the Board, like many others throughout the nation, adopted
the "freedom of choice" policy, under which the Negro parent was given the privilege of
enrolling his child in the school that was closest to his residence. However, there were
places where this plan did not achieve the desired results, particularly in those areas
where, because of housing patterns, dense and shifting populations and complex traffic
congestion, segregation persisted. Finally in 1968 the United States Supreme Court in
Green v. County School Board. 391 U.S. 430, held that in many areas the policy of
"freedom of choice" actually perpetuated the constitutionally objectionable dual system
and that an affirmative obligation existed in every such school district to take that action
which may be necessary to immediately terminate racially identifiable schools. However,
it should be noted that in Green, the court was unquestionably confronted with a de jure
segregated background in the school system.

It was against this legal backdrop that the present litigation arose when the school
attendance lines were redrawn resulting in the transfer of students from Bladensburg High
School and Bladensburg Junior High School to Fairmont Heights Senior High School and
Mary Bethune Junior High School, these latter two schools being the last all Negro
schools in the county.

Borders v. Bd. of Ed., 265 Md. 488, 496-7 (1972).

191.     Borders v. Board of Education, 265 Md 488, 492 (1972) quoting from the opinion of the
circuit court.

192.     Id at 498-9.

193.     Vaughns v. Board of Education of Prince George's County, 355 F. Supp. 1038,1040 (D.
Md. 1972).

194.     Professor Falcon was working at the time on a joint article dealing with Title VTII and
residential segregation. When he was first contacted by the NAACP, Professor Falcon
thought the segregation might be a product of white suburban housing developments.
New housing developments needed the commitment of the county to build schools in the

225