Judge John T. Curtin files Re: Arthur v. Nyquist

Collection — Box: 1

Identifier: MS-0178

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

John T. Curtin, Chief Judge of the U.S. Federal District Court, Western District of New York, presided over the lawsuit Arthur v. Nyquist brought by plaintiffs to desegregate the Buffalo Public Schools in Buffalo, New York from the 1970s through the 1990s. The collection includes correspondence Judge Curtin received from individuals outside of the litigation process and his responses, correspondence between attorneys and the Judge, and internal office memos.

Dates

1981-1996

Creator

Curtin, John T. (Person)

Language of Materials

Collection material in English.

Terms of Access

The Judge John T. Curtin files Re: Arthur v. Nyquist, 1981-1996, are open for research.

Copyright

Copyright of papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns. Researchers must obtain the written permission of the holder(s) of copyright and the University Archives before publishing quotations from materials in the collection. Most papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures unless otherwise specified.

Historical Note

Arthur v. Nyquist, 415 F. Supp. 904, 960 (W.N.D.Y., 1976) aff'd in part, rev'd in part, remanded in part, 573 F.2d 134 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 860 (1978), was a school desegregation case initiated in federal court in 1972 by plaintiffs George Arthur, Norman Goldfarb, William and Wilhelmina P. Seales, John Medige, the Citizens Council for Human Relations, Inc., and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Buffalo Branch, alleging that defendants Ewald P. Nyquist, Commissioner of Education of the State of New York, Joseph Manch, Superintendent of Schools of the City of Buffalo and the Board of Education of the City of Buffalo had created, maintained, permitted, condoned, and perpetuated racially segregated schools in the City of Buffalo and the Buffalo Metropolitan area. The City of Buffalo was later added as a named defendant. Intervenors in the case included Buffalo Teachers' Federation, Handicapped students, Bilingual students, and the Buffalo Municipal Civil Service Commission. The case was case was assigned to John T. Curtin, Chief Judge for the Western District of New York.

A chronology of the case can be found in the first footnote of the following article by Judy Scales-Trent, A Judge Shapes and Manages Institutional Reform: School Desegregation in Buffalo, 17 Review of Law and Social Change 119 (1989-90).

Extent

.5 Linear Feet (1 manuscript box)

Additional Description

Abstract

John T. Curtin, Chief Judge of the U.S. Federal District Court, Western District of New York, presided over the lawsuit Arthur v. Nyquist brought by plaintiffs to desegregate the Buffalo Public Schools in Buffalo, New York from the 1970s through the 1990s. Collection includes correspondence with individuals and attorneys as well as internal office memos.