Peterson v. City of Greenville

S. H. Kress & Co.

Industry	Retail
Headquarters	Greenville , United States

Background

During the early 1960s, South Carolina enforced segregation in many public venues through both state legislation and municipal regulations. Greenville's city ordinance 31-8, revised in 1958, prohibited establishments such as hotels, restaurants, cafes, and similar places from serving white and Black customers together in the same room, at the same table, or at the same counter. At that time, nonviolent demonstrations opposing segregation grew more frequent in Greenville. These included notable actions like the Greenville Eight's sit-in at the public library and various sit-ins targeting local dining establishments.

On August 9, 1960, a group of fourteen African American high school students entered the downtown S.H. Kress store in Greenville. Several of these demonstrators attended Sterling High School. Upon sitting at a lunch counter with seating for 59 individuals, the store manager promptly ordered them to leave by announcing the closure of the establishment and turning off the lights. While white customers exited voluntarily, the Black students remained seated in protest. The manager then instructed an employee to summon law enforcement. When police officers arrived, the manager explained that he had asked the protesters to depart because integrated use of public facilities conflicted with prevailing local customs. Ten of the protesters who were over sixteen years old faced trespassing charges; minors among them were not arrested. Each of those charged was found guilty and given a choice between paying a $100 fine or serving a 30-day jail term.

Both the store manager and police acknowledged that the students were well-groomed, orderly, and quiet during the incident. The manager admitted that African American customers were welcome throughout all parts of S.H. Kress except for the lunch counter area. The petitioners contended that South Carolina had infringed upon their constitutional rights under the First Amendment’s free speech protections and the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause.

Appealing the decision

A monument honoring the nonviolent demonstrations conducted by students from Sterling High School, Greenville, SC.

The initial appeal filed in the Greenville County court was rejected. In the matter of State v. Randolph et al., 239 S.C. 79, the defense contended that their arrest and subsequent conviction did not stem from a trespassing offense but rather from a customary practice of racial segregation. This argument was then taken to the South Carolina Supreme Court.

The South Carolina Supreme Court observed that the charge did not reference any law based on segregation, highlighting the wording of the trespassing statute: "Any person...who...fails and refuses, without good cause or excuse, to leave immediately upon being ordered or requested to do so by the person in possession, or his agent or representative." The court affirmed that the student demonstrators were detained because they refused to vacate the premises after being asked. Ultimately, the court ruled that the arrest and convictions of the ten protesters were lawful and upheld the lower court’s judgment.

Argument before the Supreme Court

Matthew Perry served as lead counsel for the defense, asserting that the African American students’ constitutional rights had been infringed.

Decision

On May 20, a unanimous ruling declared that the arrest and conviction of the ten African American demonstrators violated their Fourteenth Amendment protections, overturning the verdict of the South Carolina Supreme Court.

Justice John Harlan penned the majority opinion, which Chief Justice Earl Warren delivered. In his opinion, Harlan stated:

See also

• Adickes v. S. H. Kress & Co.
• Greenville Eight
• African Americans in South Carolina
• South Carolina in the civil rights movement