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In 1952, Shepperd was elected to the first of two two-year terms as state Attorney General. As his state’s chief legal officer Shepperd led the fight against the 1954 Supreme Court directive which mandated desegregation of public schools.​

In 1952, Shepperd was elected to the first of two two-year terms as state Attorney General. As his state’s chief legal officer Shepperd led the fight against the 1954 Supreme Court directive which mandated desegregation of public schools.​

:"He accomplished this by delivering a pro-segregation amicus curiae (friend of the court) to the Supreme Court in October of 1954 in response to Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka, et al, the creation of an official pro-segregation policy for the Office of Attorney general of Texas,... by networking with other states to strategize and create a hedgerow against integration of public schools, and when he wrote or organized legislation to impede the integration of public schools in Texas." <ref name ="Howell">Mark C. Howell, ''John Ben Shepperd, Attorney General of the State of Texas: His role in the continuation of segregation in Texas, 1953-1957,'' 2003, Master's thesis, University of Texas of the Permian Basin in Odessa, accessdate=November 1, 2019}}</ref>​

:"He accomplished this by delivering a pro-segregation amicus curiae (friend of the court) to the Supreme Court in October of 1954 in response to Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka, et al, the creation of an official pro-segregation policy for the Office of Attorney general of Texas,... by networking with other states to strategize and create a hedgerow against integration of public schools, and when he wrote or organized legislation to impede the integration of public schools in Texas." <ref name ="Howell">Mark C. Howell, ''John Ben Shepperd, Attorney General of the State of Texas: His role in the continuation of segregation in Texas, 1953-1957,'' 2003, Master's thesis, University of Texas of the Permian Basin in Odessa</ref>​

As Attorney General, Shepperd pursued numerous lawsuits against the [[National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]] (NAACP) that caused financial and political difficulties for the group, severely limiting the NAACP's ability to function in Texas. This included damaging their credibility, blocking their efforts to solicit people to file lawsuits, and creating the opportunity for the [[Internal Revenue Service]] to investigate them.<ref name ="Howell" /> Shepperd considered his efforts to restrict the activities of the NAACP in Texas as one of his greatest achievements as Attorney General.<ref name="state historical society">{{cite web|title=Shepperd, John Ben|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fsh65|publisher=The Handbook of Texas: Texas State Historical Association|author=George E. Christian|accessdate=November 1, 2019}}</ref>​

As Attorney General, Shepperd pursued numerous lawsuits against the [[National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]] (NAACP) that caused financial and political difficulties for the group, severely limiting the NAACP's ability to function in Texas. This included damaging their credibility, blocking their efforts to solicit people to file lawsuits, and creating the opportunity for the [[Internal Revenue Service]] to investigate them.<ref name ="Howell" /> Shepperd considered his efforts to restrict the activities of the NAACP in Texas as one of his greatest achievements as Attorney General.<ref name="state historical society">{{cite web|title=Shepperd, John Ben|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fsh65|publisher=The Handbook of Texas: Texas State Historical Association|author=George E. Christian|accessdate=November 1, 2019}}</ref>​