United States Dictrict Court District of Kansas

Silas Hardrick Fleming, having been first duly sworn, assumed the stand and testified as follows:

Direct examination by Mr. John Scott:

Q. State your name to the Court, please.

A. Silas Hardrick Fleming.

Q. Where do you live Mr. Fleming?

A. 522 Liberty.

Q. Are you a parent of a child or children of school age?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. What are there - how many?

A. Two.

Q. What are their names?

A. Silas Hardrick Fleming, Jr, and Duane Dean Fleming.

Q. And state to the Court their ages.

A. Well, ten and seven.

Mr. Goodell: What was that again, please?

The witness: Ten and seven.

By Mr. John Scott:

Q. What school do they attend?

A. Washington school

Q. Do you know the approximate distance Washington is from you school - I mean from your home?

A. Oh, between ten, twelve blocks, I would say, I don’t know the exact distance.

Q. How do they get to school?

A. They ride the East Tenth Street bus.

Q. They don’t ride the school bus?

A. No.

Q. You state to the Court why they don’t ride the school bus.

A. Well, the school bus is about six or eight blocks away. It comes across Brannan Street; that is about six or seven blocks away from Sixth and Liberty.

Q. You mean that is the pick-up point?

A. That’s right.

Q. I see. Go ahead. Well, how far do you have - the children have to walk to catch the regular city bus?

A. Half a block going to school and about a block starting home.

Q. Do you pay their fare?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Each and every day?

A. That’s right.

Q. Is there a school located near your home?

A. Yes, there is one two blocks away from me, and there is one about four or five blocks. They pass two schools going to their school.

Q. They pass two schools?

A. Two white schools, yes.

Q. What’s the name of those schools, if you know?

A. Lafayette is one and Parkdale is the other.

Q. Which of the two schools is closer to your home?

A. How’s that?

Q. Which of the two schools that you just mention are closer to your home?

A. I guess it’s Parkdale:it’s two blocks away, Parkdale.

Q. You are mistaken --

A. It’s Layfette.

Q. That’s right. Is there any other reason you don’t permit your children on the schools bus?

A. How’s that?

Q. Is there any other reason you don’t permit your children to ride the regular school bus?

A. No; my only reason is that it’s just about as far away from the bus as they would be from the school. They are only a few blocks away from school to pick up the bus. I will ask the Court, Your Honor -

Judge Mellott: I can’t hear the witness.

The witness: I would ask this for a few minutes to explain why I got into the suit whole soul and body.

Mr. Goodell: We object to the voluntary statement.

Judge Huxman: I can’t hear what you say.

Mr. Goodell: He wants to explain why he got in with the other plaintiffs to bring this lawsuit.

Mr. John Scott: He has a right to do that.

Judge Huxman: Didn’t you consent to be a plaintiff in this case?

The witness: That’s right.

Judge Huxman: You did not?

Judge Mellott: He said he did, but he wants to tell the reason why.

The witness: I want to tell the cause.

Judge Huxman: You want to tell the Court why you joined this lawsuit?

The witness: That’s right.

Judge Huxman: All right, go ahead and tell it.

The witness: Well, it wasn’t for the sake of hot dogs; it wasn’t to cast and insinuations that our teachers are not capable of teaching our children because they are supreme, extremely intelligent and capable of teaching my kids or white or black kids. But my point was that not only I and my children are craving light, the entire colored race is craving light, and the only way to reach the light is to start our children together in their infancy and they come up together.

Judge Huxman: All right, now you have answered and given us your reason.

The witness: That was my reason.

Mr. John Scott: Thank you.

By Mr. John Scott:

Q. Just one more question, Mr. Fleming. What time do your children leave to go to school in the morning?

A. About 8:20.

Q. What time do they get home in the evening?

A. Oh, about 4:10 or 4:15, sometimes the bus is a little early and sometimes late.

 


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