Robert R. Merhige Jr., 86, Is Dead; Ordered Virginia Integration
NY Times
Robert R. Merhige Jr., a retired federal district judge whose decision ordering school desegregation in Virginia in the early 1970’s meant he lived for a time under round-the-clock guard, died last Friday in Richmond. He was 86.
His death was announced by the international law firm Hunton & Williams in Richmond, to which he was of special counsel since leaving the bench in 1998.
Named by President Lyndon B. Johnson to Federal District Court in Richmond in 1967, Judge Merhige (pronounced like marriage) ordered the desegregation of dozens of Virginia school districts in 1972. The ruling merged largely black urban districts with largely white suburban ones and touched off years of furor and legal jousting.
May It Please the Court
The Color of Their Skin: Education and Race in Richmond, Virginia, 1954-89 (Carter G Woodson Institute Series in Black Studies)
The Moderates’ Dilemma: Massive Resistance to School Desegregation in Virginia
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