Newspaper Page Text
Factual
Objective
VOL. I, NO. 7
NASHVILLE, TENN.
MARCH 3, 1955
Legislators Ponder Segregation Bills
SEVERAL southern state legisla-
^ tures continued to map plans for
preserving segregation in February.
In Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia,
North Carolina, South Carolina, and
Tennessee, pro-segregation bills and
resolutions of various kinds were
either passed or debated.
In Louisiana, Mississippi, Okla
homa, Texas, and West Virginia, the
problem of financing the schools was
a main object of concern.
In Missouri, St. Louis desegregated
its high schools without incident. In
the District of Columbia, the integra
tion of administrative personnel was
the order of business. Kentucky saw
an increase in public discussion of
the segregation issue.
And in Delaware, the big story
was the decision of the State Su
preme Court upholding the Milford
board of education which removed
10 Negro pupils from the Milford
white high school.
Here is the state-by-state roundup
of developments in February:
ALABAMA
With the Alabama legislature in
special session to consider Gov.
James Folsom’s road program, two
resolutions concerned with the seg
regation issue were introduced. One,
petitioning the U. S. Congress to
limit the jurisdiction of the U. S.
Supreme Court and other federal
courts, was unanimously adopted.
The second, declaring “unqualified
allegiance” to a provision of the Ala
bama constitution requiring segre
gation, was approved by committee,
but had not been voted on by the
legislature as this issue of Southern
School News went to press.
ARKANSAS
Arkansas school forces seeking ad
ditional state aid picked up the sup
port of Gov. Orval Faubus and cut
the requested annual increase from
$12,500,000 to $10,300,000 but still
were far from success with the anti
tax legislature. White America Inc.,
to promote continued racial segre
gation, was incorporated and began
circulating petitions. Segregation in
the schools finally was mentioned on
the floor of the legislature and it led
to the defeat of a resolution asking
Congress to help build schools. Three
days later, the Senate again heard
warnings that acceptance of federal
aid for schoolhouse construction
^ught jeopardize the practice of
segregation but it approved a House
hill enabling the state to accept such
aid if available. Bills designed to
ma mtain racial segregation in schools
an d patterned after legislation pro
posed in Tennessee were introduced
la both houses, and the House of
representatives gave quick approval.
Notice
Southern- School News is the
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.“cation Reporting Service, 1109
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Tlv
tahl'r Reporting Service was es-
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on educators wdiose names appear
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f 0l f“ccd by a grant from the Fund
an ‘ ? Advancement of Education,
by 'j ependent agency established
A ' e ^ Foundation.
'ey n .?.^ Ec ' a l statement of SERS pol-
b ea ^* a Iso be found in the mast-
For Writers And Researchers
SERS Library
Established
COMPREHENSIVE library of
contemporary materials on the
segregation-desegregation issue has
been established in the Nashville
headquarters of the Southern Educa
tion Reporting Service.
The collection is available current
ly to writers, students and other re
searchers in the field.
At the conclusion of the SERS
project, the collection will be placed
in the archives of a leading southern
university library for the use of
scholars and historians of future
years and centuries.
The library is built around the fol
lowing:
1. A group of basic reference
works, including current volumes.
2. A vast assortment of clippings of
news stories, magazine articles and
editorial comment from current
newspapers and other periodicals,
mainly but not exclusively published
in the southern region.
3. Texts of important legislative
proposals proposed for action by
legislatures in the region.
4. Texts of important public ad
dresses.
5. Records of special study com
missions, statistical reports by state
departments of education in the
southern and border region, and
hearings before congressional com
mittees.
6. The original, unedited manu
scripts of the state-by-state factual
reports submitted monthly by SERS
correspondents.
Among the items of greatest his
torical value are the original field re
ports from the scholars and re
searchers who worked on what has
become known as the Ashmore proj
ect. These materials are now being
indexed.
The library is under the direction
of Mrs. Imogene McCauley, who
came to SERS from the position as
librarian of the Ordnance Guided
Missile School at Redstone Arsenal,
Huntsville, Alabama. Previously,
Mrs. McCauley had held other posi
tions in public and special libraries.
“We hope eventually to have in the
SERS library a complete record of
every significant development during
this interesting period of American
history,” explained SERS Director
C. A. McKnight.
“The library has already been used
by a number of graduate students
working on degrees in this field and
by newspaper and magazine writers.
We anticipate that the demand for
these materials will continue to
grow,” he added.
DELAWARE
The big news in Delaware during
February was the decision of the
State Supreme Court upholding the
Milford school board’s action in re
moving from the Milford white high
school 10 Negro pupils who had pre
viously been admitted. The Delaware
court took the position that the pre
decessor of the present Milford
board had not followed administra
tive procedures laid down by the
state board of education, and that
its action in admitting the Negro pu
pils was hence invalid. The court,
however, reaffirmed the principles
laid down in the U. S. Supreme
Court opinion of last May, declaring
that the opinion nullified Delaware
segregation statutes.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
The District Board of Education
has received a blueprint for job re
organization of its dual sets of top
school officers who under segrega
tion performed parallel duties. Under
the proposal, subject to a March
vote, several new administrative jobs
are created which have been needed
in the school system for a number
of years. The job realignment would
cause no demotions, promotions or
salary adjustments for officers.
FLORIDA
Florida legislators, sounding pub
lic sentiment for new laws in a series
of public hearings, report an almost
total lack of demand for action for
or against school segregation. This
indicated that any developments in
the legislature which starts its bien
nial session in April will result from
a movement to prevent using tax
funds to build segregated schools.
Florida is desperately short of class
rooms for a swiftly growing school
population and this would strike at
a highly sensitive spot.
GEORGIA
The Georgia legislature adjourned
after passing several resolutions de
signed to emphasize Georgia’s op
position to integration, but only one
law aimed at helping to prevent mix
ing of the races in the schools. The
law extends to local communities
requirements of an existing statute
prohibiting spending of state money
for mixed schools.
Two Georgia Education Commis
sion recommendations were held up
in the legislature in a surprise move
by the Griffin administration. Aides
explained the strategy switch by
saying the administration did not
wish to create laws which might
later be killed by the Supreme Court.
KENTUCKY
In Kentucky there was a marked
increase in mixed-group discussion
of desegregation prospects and prob
lems. It was sparked largely by com
munity leaders seeking to create “a
favorable climate of opinion” for a
transition deemed inevitable. A
Presbyterian pastor in Louisville
urged immediate desegregation, but
state and local officials said legal
roadblocks barred this until the Su
preme Court implements its ruling
of May 17, 1954.
LOUISIANA
Louisiana appears to be on the
eve of a gigantic school building
program designed to equalize facili
ties throughout the state. The money
apparently will come from the state’s
tidelands oil reserves. A showdown
battle between exponents of a 1.6
billion dollar highway building pro
gram and the education forces seems
to have been averted by compromise.
Under the temporary agreement:
Schools will get 220 million dol
lars over the next five years, with
99 million dollars to be given out
next year.
Highways will get 450 million dol
lars over the next 20 years.
MARYLAND
The General Assembly neared the
mid-point of its 90-day session with
out segregation entering into its
discussions, and the present outlook
is that Maryland legislators will, if
possible, avoid the subject altogether.
Several county groups are studying
methods of complying with the Su
preme Court decision. The Oliver
Cromwell School in Baltimore has
become the first formerly all-white
school to have more colored than
white pupils.
MISSISSIPPI
At the end of seven weeks, a spe
cial session of the Mississippi legis
lature was still tied up on legislation
for Negro-white public school equal
ization designed to preserve segre
gation on a “voluntary” basis. One
major bill, allocating “bonus” con
struction funds for Negroes to speed
closure of the facility gap in the
dual system, has been approved.
However, financing of the equaliza
tion program has not been voted,
nor bonds authorized to launch the
building program which the state
department of education estimates
will ultimately require 117 million
dollars. Gov. Hugh White has warned
the “deadlocked” legislature that
“unless the equalization program is
financed, we might as well forget
segregation.” There is no time limit
for adjournment of the legislature.
MISSOURI
The state’s biggest single step to
ward integration so far was taken
in St. Louis when the seven white
and two Negro high schools ended
segregation at the start of the second
semester on Jan. 31. St. Louis also
announced new districts for in
tegrated elementary schools, to be
come effective at the start of the
next school year on Sept. 8. High
school integration went off without
a single incident of friction or diffi
culty, although agitators had tried
to stir up trouble.
NORTH CAROLINA
In North Carolina, the General
Assembly has been asked to call
for a vote on a constitutional amend
ment which would permit the state
to appropriate public funds for a
system of private schools and Gov.
Hodges announced firm opposition to
the proposal. Other legislation per
taining to schools also has been in
troduced. Petitions requesting con
tinued segregation have been sub
mitted to the legislators. A high
NAACP official called for patience
and caution in carrying out the Su
preme Court decision.
OKLAHOMA
An all-purpose constitutional
amendment designed to revamp Ok
lahoma’s entire school finance struc
ture went to the Senate after House
passage on Feb. 15. The House res
olution calls for a statewide election
on March 25, but possible delays
loomed as school bloc leaders fought
Gov. Raymond Gary’s stand aganist
increased tax burdens. The omnibus
measure includes a new levy replac
ing the separate Negro school financ
ing system that is now presumably
illegal, and this replacement levy
sailed through the House without
organized opposition.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Six legislative proposals strength
ening the authority of local school
trustees to control public school af
fairs, including assignment of pupils,
have been passed by the State Sen
ate and are now before the South
Carolina House of Representatives.
Included among them is a bill re
pealing the state’s compulsory at
tendance law. That measure is pro
voking opposition from legislators
who fear it will weaken the public
school establishment, although no
opponents of the bill are in favor of
integrated schools.
TENNESSEE
As February drew to an end, it
appeared that the Stainback bill to
preserve segregation, previously giv
en little chance of passage by the
Tennessee legislature, might get a
new lease on life when it was re
ported out favorably by a 6-1 vote
by the Senate education committee.
In a later action, however, it was
tabled by the Senate calendar com
mittee. Earlier, at a public hearing on
the bill, a number of proponents and
opponents voiced their views about
the bill. Sen. Stainback, the sponsor,
said frankly, “This bill is intended
to preserve segregation and we don’t
make any secrets about that. . . .
The time has come to speak out and
act.”
TEXAS
In the second month of the Texas
legislative session, many laws affect
ing schools were under considera
tion, but none mentioned the segre
gation issue. The Texas Council of
Organizations, representing various
Negro groups, adopted a resolution
pledging to fight for implementation
of the U. S. Supreme Court decision.
A bill to provide for appointment of
a majority of Negroes to the govern
ing board of Texas Southern Uni
versity at Houston won approval of
the House of Representatives.
VIRGINIA
February produced no major de
velopments in the segregation-de-
segregation question in Virginia. The
Richmond News Leader analyzed
racial birth rates in the state’s capi
tal and noted relative increases
among Negroes. Negro newspapers
sent representatives to a Winter
Workshop at Hampton Institute. Also
at Hampton, President Moron an
nounced a special course for white
and Negro teachers to study the
broad question raised by the Su
preme Court decision of last May.
WEST VIRGINIA
In West Virginia there were no
new developments in the public
school desegregation program, but
the legislature began giving a close
scrutiny to the state’s system of in
stitutions of higher learning to see
how much money could be saved by
merging some institutions and dis
continuing others. Higher per pupil
costs at previously all-Negro Blue-
field and West Virginia State at
tracted the attention of a special
Senate subcommittee.
Index
State Page
Alabama 3
Arkansas 2
Delaware 5
District of Columbia 4
Florida 6
Georgia 7
Kentucky 8,9
Louisiana 11
Maryland 10,11
Mississippi 9
Missouri 12
North Carolina 13
Oklrhoma 16
South Carolina 14
Tennessee 15
Texas 6
Virgin'a 16
West Virginia 15
