A Supreme Court decision that helped end segregation in Memphis public parks is finding a new audience through the work of 19 high school students who spent their spring break studying the federal judiciary and the city’s civil rights history.

The students’ research culminated in a five-panel display of text and images examining Watson v. City of Memphis, the 1963 Supreme Court case involving the desegregation of public parks and other recreational facilities.

The exhibit opened Thursday, Oct. 8, at the U.S. District Court in the Odell Horton Federal Building in Downtown Memphis.

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Created by students from Memphis and Jackson, Tennessee-area high schools, the exhibit explores the case’s history, its path through the federal court system and the judiciary’s role in protecting constitutional rights.

The Supreme Court Historical Society’s “The Supreme Court and My Hometown” program developed the project, which brings high school students into federal courthouses to examine Supreme Court cases connected to their communities.

“We had a great time. We spent our spring break here, but it was an opportunity not wasted,” Jeremyah McGill, a student at Madison Academic Magnet, said.

The students participated in the program March 16-20, spending five days learning from legal professionals.

The legal professionals included 10 federal and state judges and four professors from Rhodes College, the University of Memphis and the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law.

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Students also heard from former Memphis Mayor A C Wharton, former county commissioner and civil rights attorney Walter Bailey and other members of the Memphis legal community.

Students observed sentencing hearings and initial appearances in the courtrooms of Chief U.S. District Judge Sheryl Lipman and U.S. Magistrate Judge Charmaine Claxton.

They toured the National Civil Rights Museum and learned about Watson from Professor Daniel Kiel in the courtroom where a federal district judge heard the case in 1960.

The experience gave students an opportunity to examine how a local dispute over segregation reached the nation’s highest court.

In Watson v. City of Memphis, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled against delaying the desegregation of public recreational facilities.

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At the exhibit opening, Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Tu M. Pham highlighted the ruling’s significance and ongoing relevance.

Pham noted that the decision was unanimous and relatively brief. He also pointed to the court’s statement that respect for the law is essential to maintaining civil peace.

The completed exhibit will remain in the courthouse’s jury assembly room, where future jurors can learn about the case while reporting for jury service.

Jamie Higgins Shaull, civics program coordinator for the Supreme Court Historical Society, said the program was designed to address gaps in students’ understanding of the federal judiciary.

Shaull, a former teacher with 20 years of classroom experience, said students often struggled to understand Article III of the Constitution, which establishes the federal judicial branch.

“We, at the society, believe that students need to have an immersive experience to understand Article III and the federal judiciary,” Shaull said.

She explained that connecting constitutional law to students’ own communities and rights helps make an unfamiliar branch of government more accessible.

The Watson case was particularly suited to that approach because it showed how Memphis residents challenged segregation through the courts.

By studying those actions, she said, students could see how ordinary citizens used the judicial system to challenge discriminatory practices.

“They see that regular, everyday people in Memphis did that. They can do the same thing,” Shaull said.

The Memphis program is part of a broader effort by the Supreme Court Historical Society to expand civics education through partnerships with federal courts.

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During her remarks at the opening, Shaull said the initiative grew from a 2019 call by Chief Justice John Roberts encouraging federal district and appellate courts to participate in civics education.

After four years, the program has conducted 19 sessions involving nearly 500 students, according to Shaull.

Shaull said she hopes the program will return to Memphis in the coming years. She also expressed confidence that the students who participated could become future leaders in their communities.

Asked separately what impressed her most about the students’ engagement with the material and legal professionals, Shaull gave a short but poignant answer.

“We’re gonna be okay,” she said. “They are so engaged.”