US suit accuses colleges in Alabama of segregation

The Justice Department sued the State of Alabama, seeking an order to desegregate the state's public colleges and universities. It was the first such suit filed by the Reagan administration, which has been under fire from blacks and civil rights groups for alleged failure to correct civil rights abuses.

''Defendants have failed to take adequate affirmative steps to remove the vestiges of the dual educational system in student admissions, faculty and staff hiring, and appointments to boards of governance,'' the suit said.

A spokesman for the Justice Department said Attorney General William French Smith has also approved the filing of two more school desegregation suits.