On the Record

By: Danny Jacobs

When Phoebe A. Haddon was a profesor at Temple University’s Beasley School of Law, early July was the time to work on scholarly projects or a planned book. It’s a practice she is trying to continue this summer, even as her main goal is to orient herself in her new position as dean of the University of Maryland School of Law.

Haddon is trying to write a second chapter for her book about Keyes v. School District No. 1, a 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that desegregated the public school system in Denver. The case is considered one of the first involving segregation in a “northern school.” 

For Haddon, the case also has a personal connection: her aunt was on the city school board as the case made its way to Washington, D.C., and afterward, when busing began, and saved many primary documents from the era.

Keyes was different from other desegregation cases in part because Denver’s school system included Latino and Asians students, Haddon said. The Latino advocates also were focused more on obtaining bilingual and cultural support, she said. They had no problem with de facto segregated schools as long as the students had bilingual education opportunities, she said.

“It’s a fascinating walk through history,” she said.

Haddon has given several lectures and PowerPoint presentations about the Keyes decision. She is still unsure if the book will be solely abouts about Keyes or look at the “commonalities of recent desegregation cases.”