In 1954 the Southern Regional Council (SRC) contacted Berea College professor of sociology Roscoe Giffin proposing that he survey attitudes in southern Appalachia about the U. S. Supreme Court's recent desegregation decision, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas.  Giffin declined; however, he recommended a Berea colleague in the Economics and Business department, Robert Menefee for the work.  Giffin's recommendation was accepted, and Menefee was invited to work for the SRC for two months (between July 12 and September 12, 1954).

Travelling in the mountain regions of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, Menefee interviewed a total of 218 people in 29 Appalachian counties about public school desegregation.  Menefee submitted his report in October, 1954.  The report was immediately accepted and comprised the October 1954 (Vol. 9, No. 10) issue of the SCR’s New South entitled "The Supreme Court Decision and the Appalachian South."