Center for Law and Education: Morgan v. Hennigan case records now available

University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at the University of Massachusetts Boston is pleased to announce that the Center for Law and Education: Morgan v. Hennigan case records, 1950-1994, (bulk) 1964-1994, have been reprocessed and are fully available for research. View the finding aid for this collection here.

Center for Law and Education: Morgan v. Hennigan case records, Garrity correspondence, 1975

The records in this collection are the papers of the Center for Law and Education in the landmark Boston school desegregation case Morgan et al. v. Hennigan et al., 379 F. Supp. 410 (1974), a complex and legally entangled class action suit against the state of Massachusetts and the Boston School Committee. The center served as co-counsel for the plaintiffs. The complaint filed in the Massachusetts District Court charged that the state and Boston school officials were maintaining a segregated school system that denied black students equal educational opportunities. Materials include original complaints, motions, plaintiffs’ requests, defendants’ answers, correspondence, interrogatories, notices, briefs, student assignment plans, transportation notes, individual city-wide parent council zones, plaintiff and defendant exhibits, transcripts, reports, and newspaper clippings.

Center for Law and Education: Morgan v. Hennigan case records, NAACP correspondence, 1975

In 1969 the Center for Law and Education opened its doors as the Harvard Center for Law and Education. It was founded as part of a legal services program established by the Office of Economic Opportunity and Harvard’s schools of law and education. The center is one of a series of university-affiliated national centers. As an interdisciplinary research institute, the center’s mission is “to protect and advance the legal interests of the poor through research and action on the legal implications of educational policies, particularly those affecting equality of educational opportunity.” From 1969 to the present, the center has been a legal advocate for educational issues and has helped shape federal laws that govern school programs in order to improve educational outcomes, particularly for low-income students and communities.

View the finding aid for this collection here.

For questions about this collection or to schedule a research appointment, please contact library.archives@umb.edu or 617-287-5469.

University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston collects materials related to the university’s history, as well as materials that reflect the institution’s urban mission and strong support of community service, notably in collections of records of urban planning, social welfare, social action, alternative movements, community organizations, and local history related to neighboring communities.

University Archives & Special Collections welcomes inquiries from individuals, organizations, and businesses interested in donating materials of an archival nature that that fit within our collecting policy. These include manuscripts, documents, organizational archives, collections of photographs, unique publications, and audio and video media. For more information about donating to University Archives & Special Collections, click here or email library.archives@umb.edu.