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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? |