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still shot from the documentary, The Strange Demise of Jim Crow
Dr. Lonnie Smith filed suit in federal court against the election judges who had prevented him from voting in the Democratic Primary election. The NAACP, Thurgood Marshall, and James Nabrit undertook the case all the way to the Supreme Court. It took four years for a decision to be rendered.
On Dr. Smith's behalf, Thurgood Marshall argued that as a citizen of the pricinct who had paid his "poll tax" Smith had the right to vote in the Democratic Primary election. The Democratic party argued that it was an independent organization that could include or exclude as a part of its organization anyone it pleased. As the primary election was the mode of registering party affiliation in the state of Texas, the Democratic party could therefore deny participation by those it did not wish to be part of its organization. we would be grateful to hear your personal stories, suggestions and comments