University of Mississippi Libraries
Finding aid for the Jerry Boone Collection
MUM01769
Table of Contents
Access Restriction
Open for research. This collection is stored at an off-site facility. Researchers interested in using this collection must
contact Archives and Special Collections at least two business days in advance of their planned visit.
PURL
http://purl.oclc.org/umarchives/MUM01769/
Summary Information
- Repository
- University of Mississippi Libraries
- Creator
- Boone, Jerry
- Title
- Jerry Boone Collection
- ID
- MUM01769
- Date [inclusive]
- 1997-2004
- General Physical Description note
- 5 boxes (5.42 linear feet)
- Location:
- Modern Political Archive
- Abstract:
- Records of Dr. Jerry Boone’s service from 1998 to 2004 as court-appointed monitor for the
Ayers lawsuit on desegregation and disparate state funding of Mississippi’s higher education institutions.
Preferred Citation
Jerry Boone Collection, Archives and Special Collections, J.D. Williams Library, The University of Mississippi
Biographical Note
In 1975, several African American residents of Mississippi filed the class-action lawsuit
Ayers v. Allain against the governor and the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning seeking to desegregate the state’s
system of higher education. The United States subsequently joined as a plaintiff. The district court ruled in favor of the
state since it had adopted race-neutral policies and procedures and adopted affirmative action in the university system. However,
the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the decision on the basis that the effects of
de jure segregation continued to impact the system, and the defendants appealed to the Supreme Court.
As the governor’s office changed hands, the title of the case became
Ayers v. Mabus and then
Ayers v. Fordice. In 1992, the Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Fifth Circuit. Their opinion required consideration of Mississippi
policies and procedures that are remnants of
de jure segregation, continue to manifest elements of segregation, are without sound educational justification, and can practicably
be eliminated.
On remand, the lower court applied the legal standard outlined by the Supreme Court and ordered several reforms among them
uniform standards governing admission to all state universities; the development of additional academic programs at historically
black universities; and a study to consider state control of facilities maintenance funds for all institutions.
Later on appeal, the Fifth Circuit directed the lower court to examine the historical disparities in state funds received
by white and black institutions and take corrective action if necessary, as well as monitoring summer remedial programs for
students who failed to qualify for admission but might be capable of performing at the university level.
In August 1998, the U.S. District Court Judge Neil Biggers appointed Dr. Jerry Boone as a monitor to assist the court and
all parties in implementing the remedial decree. A 1949 graduate of the University of Mississippi, Boone was a retired professor
of clinical psychology and former vice president of Academic Affairs (1972-85) and interim president of the University of
Memphis (1980). Boone received a salary from the court for this part-time position which involved visiting campuses, collecting
information from all parties, and submitting reports and recommendations to Judge Biggers.
In March 2001, most of the parties reached a settlement that provided state funds to the improvement of facilities and programs
at historically black universities; to increase recruitment and retention of white students; and to support summer remedial
programs. Several of the private plaintiffs opted out of the settlement and sought to have it invalidated. In 2004, the Fifth
Circuit affirmed the settlement and the Supreme Court declined to hear the case.
Bibliography
The following sources were used to prepare the biographical note for this collection:
Elias Blake Jr.
“Is Higher Education Desegregation a Remedy for Segregation but not Educational Inequality?: A Study of the Ayers v. Mabus
Desegregation Case”
Journal of Negro Education 60:4 (Autumn 1991), pp. 538-565.
Andy Kanengiser.
“Advisor to Ayers Case Judge to Tour Schools”
Jackson
Clarion Ledger (8 December 1998), pp. 1B & 3B.
Faye McDonald Smith.
“Twenty Years in the Making and Still Unresolved: Ayers Desegregation Suit Has Far Reaching Impact on Black Colleges”
Southern Changes 16:4 (1994), pp. 8-16.
Faye McDonald Smith.
“Ayers v. Fordice: An Update”
Southern Changes 17:1 (1995), p. 19.
Mississippi. Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER).
“Report to the Mississippi Legislature: Mississippi’s Compliance with the Ayers Settlement Agreement,”
accessed
http://www.peer.state.ms.us/reports/rpt525.pdf, 4 May 2012.
Crystal Gafford Muhammad.
“Mississippi Higher Education Desegregation and the Interest Convergence Principle: A CRT Analysis of the ‘Ayers Settlement’”
Race Ethnicity and Education 12:3 (September 2009), pp. 319-336.
Scope and Content Note
Some of the contents of the Boone Collection will be duplicated in the official court records of the Ayers case. However,
the collection also includes correspondence, newspaper clippings, report drafts, and supplementary data and information used
to compile reports that are not part of the official court record.
Arrangement
Files are organized alphabetically in Boxes 1 through 3 according to folder labels that preserve Dr. Boone’s organizational
system. Newspaper clippings on the Ayers case are in Box 4.
Administrative Information
Publication Information
University of Mississippi Libraries 25 May 2012
Access Restrictions
The Jerry Boone Collection is open for research.
This collection is stored at an off-site facility. Researchers interested in using this collection must contact
Archives and Special Collections at least two business days in advance of their planned visit.
Copyright Restrictions
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions
of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a
photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used
for any purpose other than private study, scholarship or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy
or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement.
Additions
No further additions are expected to this collection.
Acquisition Information
Donated by Dr. Jerry Boone, April 2012
Processing Information
Collection processed by Political Papers Archivist Leigh McWhite, May 2012. Finding aid encoded by Kathryn Michaelis, May
2012.
Folders retain the original files of Dr. Boone with some minor modifications to labels with regards to elaborating upon abbreviations.
Archivist reordered folders alphabetically with newly-organized clippings folders at the end.
Related Materials
Resources in Archives and Special Collections at the University of Mississippi
[Ayers Information Packet]. [1992]. Part 1 U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, List of “properly challengeable policies and practices.”;
Part 2 Separate Statement of the Private Plaintiffs; Part 3 The United States Law Week, Full Text of Opinions; United States,
Petitioner v. Kirk Fordice, Governor of Mississippi, et al., Jake Ayers, et al., Petitioner v. Kirk Fordice, Governor of Mississippi,
et al.; Part 4 Private Plaintiffs’ Outline of Their Position. Call Number:
KF4155.A1 A93 1992.
Ayers Lay Advisory Board.
Initial Report of Recommendations to Governor Kirk Fordice, Lieutenant Governor Eddie Briggs, Speaker Tim Ford, Attorney General
Mike Moore, Board of Institutions of Higher Learning. 1992. Call Number:
KF4153.3 A94 1992.
Jeff Baker.
“The Ayers Decision: What It Will Mean to Ole Miss: Courts Decision Provides Few Answers.”
SouthVine 1:1 (September 1992). Call Number:
KF4153.3 B35 1992.
Evans B. Harrington Collection. Includes a 1994 letter from UM professor Charles E. Noyes to the editor of the Memphis Commercial Appeal on misleading coverage
of the Ayers case (Box 12, Folder 7). Finding aid available online at
http://purl.oclc.org/umarchives/MUM00219/.
Verner S. Holmes Collection. Material pertaining to higher education in Mississippi collected by Dr. Verner S. Holmes, a member of the Institutions of
Higher Learning Board from 1956 to 1980. Finding aid available online at
http://purl.oclc.org/umarchives/MUM00571/.
James H. Meredith Collection. Includes a 1983 letter from Jack Greenberg of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund to Meredith which mentions the
Ayers case (Box 51, Folder 1). Finding aid available online at
http://purl.oclc.org/umarchives/MUM00293/.
Mississippi. Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning.
The Ayers Decision ([Jackson, MS]: Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, 1992). Two volumes. Call Number:
KF4153.3 A93 1992.
Nash & Taggart Collection. Includes an oral history with Johnnie Walls (former state senator and member of the Institute of Higher Learning Board)
with comments on the Ayers case. Finding aid available online at
http://purl.oclc.org/umarchives/MUM01737/.
Joseph Philip Smith.
A History of College Admissions at the University of Mississippi Since 1954: Implications of the Brown v. Board of Education,
Meredith v. Fair, and Ayers v. Fordice upon Student Selection Criteria (Ed.D., University of Memphis, 1998). Call Number:
LD3402.9 S55 1998a.
United States. Department of Justice. Civil Rights Division. Educational Opportunities Litigation Section.
Jake Ayers, Jr., et al., Plaintiff, and United States of America, et al., Plaintiff-Intervenors, v. Kirk Fordice, Governor,
State of Mississippi, et al., Defendant: Practicable Alternatives to Remnants that State Contends Are Justified; Submitted
by the United States [Washington, DC: 1993]. Call Number:
KF4153 J34 1993.
United States. District Court (Mississippi: Northern District: Greenville Division).
Jake Ayers, Jr., [et al.], plaintiffs, United States of America, [et al.], plaintiff-intervenor, v. Kirk Fordice, Governor,
State of Mississippi, [et al.], defendants: memorandum opinion and remedial decree. [1995]. Photocopy of typescript. Call Number:
KF4153.3 J34 1995.
University of Mississippi Small Manuscripts, Series 10: Miscellaneous. Box 31, folder 14 includes a December 1994 Ayers admissions standards ruling. Box 31, folder 22
contains a 1998 memorandum from Provost Gerald Walton on the law suit.
Vertical Clippings Collection. Includes a file of clippings on the Ayers case. Finding aid available online at
http://purl.oclc.org/umarchives/MUM00459/.
Other related material may be discovered on either the
University of Mississippi Subject Guide or the
Education Subject Guide.
Separated Material
The Jerry Boone Collection includes 61 3.5 inch floppy disks containing 4.03 megabytes of digital files. Digital Initiatives
Librarian Kathryn Michaelis downloaded and converted documents into pdf files. These born-digital records are duplicated in
print in the collection boxes, but do not represent the entirety of the collection. Researchers may access the digital files
in the J.D. Williams Library with advance notice.
Controlled Access Headings
Format(s)
- clippings (information artifacts)
- correspondence
- reports
Subject(s)
- College integration — Mississippi
- Minorities — Education (Higher) — Mississippi
- Segregation in higher education — Mississippi
- Universities and colleges — Law and legislation — Mississippi
Collection Inventory
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Box 1, Folder 1: CT Cut Off Scores |
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Box 1, Folder 2: Admissions |
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Box 1, Folder 3: Appropriation Bills |
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Box 1, Folder 4: Bi-Monthly Reports |
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Box 1, Folder 5: Community Colleges |
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Box 1, Folder 6: Community Colleges & Jackson State University |
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Box 1, Folder 7: Conclusion of Fifth Circuit Appeals Court Ayers Case |
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Box 1, Folder 8: Correspondence Defendants’ Attorneys |
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Box 1, Folder 9: Correspondence Plaintiffs’ Attorneys |
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Box 1, Folder 10: Court Order |
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Box 1, Folder 11: Delta Desegregation |
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Box 1, Folder 12: Desegregation in Other States |
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Box 1, Folder 13: Diversity Enhancement Information |
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Box 1, Folder 14: Docket Sheets |
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Box 2, Folder 1: Draft Reports |
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Box 2, Folder 2: Enrollment (1 of 2) |
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Box 2, Folder 3: Enrollment (2 of 2) |
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Box 2, Folder 4: Equipment Funding |
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Box 2, Folder 5: Extended Enrollment Tables of 13 September 2000 and Sources |
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Box 2, Folder 6: Facilities Maintenance |
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Box 2, Folder 7: Facilities Maintenance – Alcorn State University |
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Box 2, Folder 8: Facilities Maintenance – Delta State University |
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Box 2, Folder 9: Facilities Maintenance – Jackson State University |
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Box 2, Folder 10: Facilities Maintenance – Mississippi State University |
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Box 2, Folder 11: Facilities Maintenance – Mississippi State Valley University |
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Box 2, Folder 12: Facilities Maintenance – Mississippi University for Women |
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Box 2, Folder 13: Facilities Maintenance – University of Mississippi |
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Box 2, Folder 14: Facilities Maintenance – University of Southern Mississippi |
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Box 2, Folder 15: Final Statement & Judgment |
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Box 2, Folder 16: Funding Implementation |
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Box 2, Folder 17: Graduate School Admissions |
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Box 2, Folder 18: Gulf Coast Campus |
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Box 2, Folder 19: Jackson State University |
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Box 2, Folder 20: Judge Biggers |
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Box 2, Folder 21: Law |
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Box 2, Folder 22: Law School/Legal Education |
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Box 2, Folder 23: Meetings at Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Board |
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Box 2, Folder 24: Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Board Correspondence |
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Box 2, Folder 25: Pharmacy |
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Box 2, Folder 26: Pharmacy Education |
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Box 2, Folder 27: Pressman |
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Box 3, Folder 1: Requests for Information |
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Box 3, Folder 2: Remedial Programs |
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Box 3, Folder 3: Remedial Programs – Cost of Developmental Education |
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Box 3, Folder 4: Remedial Programs – Remedial Courses (Not Summer Program) |
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Box 3, Folder 5: Remedial Programs – Study of Remedial v. Developmental |
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Box 3, Folder 6: Response – Duplications |
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Box 3, Folder 7: Response – Letters re: Settlement |
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Box 3, Folder 8: Response – Money |
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Box 3, Folder 9: Response – Settlement |
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Box 3, Folder 10: Status |
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Box 3, Folder 11: Status Conference 1998 |
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Box 3, Folder 12: Summer Remedial Program |
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Box 3, Folder 13: Trust Funds |
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Box 3, Folder 14: Universities Center Report |
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Box 3, Folder 15: Universities Center Control |
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Box 4, Folder 1: Clippings, 1997 |
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Box 4, Folder 2: Clippings, 1998 |
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Box 4, Folder 3: Clippings, 1999 |
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Box 4, Folder 4: Clippings, 2000 |
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Box 1, Folder 1: Clippings, 2001 |
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Box 4, Folder 6: Clippings, 2002 |
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Box 4, Folder 7: Clippings, undated |
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Box 5: Computer disks Scope and Contents noteSee Separated Material note. |
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