About Southern school news. (Nashville, Tenn.) 1954-1965 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 3, 1954)
PAGE 8 —Sept. 3, 1954 — SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS Mississippi JACKSON, MISS. lyflSSISSIPPI officials, whose con stituents are almost evenly di vided between whites and Negroes, say they will not accept the decision of the United States Supreme Court to integrate their public schools. And, to carry out their position, they have expressed willingness to abolish the tax-supported free public school system as a “last resort” to continue segregation. Supporting the position of the of ficials are white public school au thorities, headed by J. M. Tubb, state superintendent of education, an elected official. In a meeting at Jack- son on Aug. 12, the white educators, including members of the county and municipal school boards, announced support of the “last resort” movement if that step is found necessary to prevent integration. Those developments followed the first state-level bi-racial meeting held here on July 30, and called by Gov. Hugh L. White to seek endorsement by Negro leaders of a proposed “vol untary” or “segregation by choice” plan, contingent on the state’s imme diately launching a building program to wipe out the estimated 115 million dollar disparity between white and Negro school facilities. At the bi-racial meeting, attended by an estimated 90 Negro leaders, only one spoke out for the “volun tary” plan. One other suggested that “integration” be placed in the back ground for a time and efforts concen trated on making opportunities for Negro children equal with those for the whites. Chief spokesman for the group of Negroes was Dr. T. R. M. Howard of the all-Negro delta town of Mound Bayou in Bolivar county. He is also president of the Mississippi Regional Council of Negro Leadership. Dr. Howard said his group favored “strict observance of the Supreme Court’s integration order;” appointment of competent Negroes to all policy-mak ing boards at the state and local levels, and a rewriting of all school laws without mentioning race, creed or color. The Howard group, which included Mississippi members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, also urged “consoli dation and integration of the present schools on all levels.” ‘VOLUNTARY’ PLAN FAILS Gov. White had expected some of the Negro leaders with whom he con ferred relative to calling the bi-racial meeting to speak out in support of the proposed “voluntary” plan. When that failed to develop, the meeting was adjourned. Later the same day, Gov. White, as chairman of a 25-member Legal Edu cational Advisory Committee created at the 1954 regular session of the legislature to bynass the Supreme Court’s order, called that group in session. By unanimous vote, the LEAC rec ommended that Gov. White convene a special session of the legislature on Sept. 7 to consider a proposed amend ment to the state constitution of 1890 giving the legislature authority to abolish the public school system. The proposed amendment had been approved earlier by the LEAC as a “last resort” step. Officials admitted the plan was to use it as a “talking point” to gain Negro support to the proposed “voluntary” plan. SESSION CALLED Gov. White, acting on the recom mendation of the advisory group, has called the legislature to meet on Sept. 7 to consider the proposed amend ment. At the time, many white educa tors expressed opposition to any plan that would result in abolition of the public school program. However, when called in session on Aug. 12, the school leaders agreed to endorse the amendment, provided another special session will be called early next year to consider funds for new school buildings. Before the school leaders met, Gov. White said in a statement to the press that unless the amendment is adopted by the legislature for submission to the people for ratification in a special election later this year, he would not call the legislature back in session be fore the 1956 regular assembly in January of that year. Unless there is another special session before the 1955-56 school term, insufficient funds for operation of the present dual sys tem will be available. That stems from the fact that the 1954 regular session, which ordinarily votes funds for two years operation of schools, provided only for the cur rent session opening in September for the 1954-55 session. Without addition al funds, there will be 18 million dollars less than needed for schools in the 1955-56 session. Since the bi-racial meeting, several Negro leaders who attended it and did not speak, have stated publicly they favor continuance of segrega tion provided ample buildings are provided for Negroes. One of those is A. A. Alexander, principal of the Negro high school at Brookhaven and former president of the Mississippi Negro Teachers Association. Addressing the white Lions Club at Brookhaven, Professor Alexander said “a good school building, ade quately equipped and properly staffed, will erase any problem of an integrated school system here.” “If we could get a good building program established with adequate facilities for all the children, most of our other ailments would soon be solved,” Alexander said. “We should not get all fouled up over something that is out yonder somewhere in the future.” PETITION WITHDRAWN Another post-bi-racial meeting de velopment was presentation of a peti tion to the Walthall Comity (Tyler - town) school board by members of that county’s NAACP branch, asking for immediate integration. However, when white leaders protested, the 30 Negro signers of the petition ex plained they “did not know its con tents,” but believed the petition merely asked for “equal facilities.’ They withdrew their names. The peti tion is the standard form drafted by the NAACP for filing statewide. J. D. Boyd, president of the Utica Institute for Negroes in Hinds (Jack- son) County and former president of the Negro teachers association, at tended the bi-racial meeting. He urged that “integration” be set aside, and attention directed to getting facilities for Negroes equal to those provided the whites. He did not, how ever, press his point at the bi-racial meeting. Since the July 30 bi-racial meet ing, President Boyd has issued a public statement appealing to “all to be patient.” “Because one meeting failed to produce complete agreement on such a vital issue as our schools, we should not shut the door to further peaceful efforts by people of good will,” Presi dent Boyd said. “There is no problem in Mississippi affecting the races quite as urgent as that of providing ade quate buildings for rural Negro chil dren.” President Boyd said “I firmly be lieve providing these buildings im mediately would settle 95 per cent of our problems.” “This problem of schools will be solved in Mississippi by Mississip- pians,” he haid. “It is going to be solved by consecrated men and wo men in the local communities of our state, and I plead with men of good will in every community of our state to approach this problem with pa tience.” “Let us pray God to spare our state the blight of years of confusion and conflict resulting from a system of schools not responsible to the public will,” President Boyd said. WHITE OPTIMISTIC Gov. White and other officials are optimistic of gaining ratification of the “last resort” amendment at the forthcoming special session of the Legislature. They also feel that its use will not be necessary as the next step is to gain legislative approval of funds to launch the building program to eliminate disparities in the dual system. Gov. White, in demanding the constitutional provision as a safe guard, said “without its protective feature,” he will not call a second special session because “the legisla ture would not vote, and I will not propose, funds without it.” Under the proposed “last resort” amendment, the legislature could by a two-thirds vote abolish the public school system, or authorize counties and municipalities to do so on a majority vote. School properties could be disposed of, and funds voted directly to children to attend the school of “their choice.” That would mean a private school system. Here is the proposed amendment to the constitution to be considered by the legislature when it meets Sept. 7 (It will take about three weeks to complete action on it): Section 213-B. (a) Regardless of any provisions of Article 8, or any other pro visions of this constitution to the con trary, the legislature shall be and is here by authorized and empowered by a two- thirds (2/3rds) vote of those present and voting in each house, to abolish, and may authorize the counties and school districts to abolish, the public schools in this state and enact suitable legislation to effect the same. (b) In the event the legislature shall abolish, or authorize the abolition of, the public schools in this state, then the leg islature shall be and is hereby authorized and empowered to enact suitable legisla tion to dispose of school buildings, land and other school property by lease, sale or otherwise. (c) The legislature may appropriate state funds and authorize counties, mu nicipalities and other governmental sub divisions and districts to appropriate funds, including poll tax and sixteenth section funds, to aid educable children of this state to secure an education. (d) The legislature may do any and all acts and things necessary for the purposes of this section, and this section is de clared to be and is, supplemental to all other provisions of this constitution, and legislation enacted under authority hereof shall prevail, whether in conflict with other sections or not. Ratification of that amendment would nullify Section 201 of Article 8, which deals with education. It pro vides: Section 201. It shall be the duty of the legislature to encourage by all suitable means, the promotion of intellectual, sci entific, moral and agricultural improve ment, by establishing a uniform system of free public schools by taxation or other wise, for all children between the ages of six and twenty-one years, and as soon as practical, to establish schools of higher grades. The proposed amendment would also wipe out provisions of Section 205 of the constitution of 1890 which reads: Section 205. A public school shall be maintained in each school district in the county at least four months during each scholastic year. A school district neglect ing to maintain its school for four months, shall be entitled to only such part of the free school fund as may be re quired to pay the teacher for the time actually taught. HOUSE RESOLUTION The house concurrent resolution (No. 54) adopted prior to the May 17 decision at the 1954 regular session creating the Legal Educational Ad visory Committee, and authored by House Speaker Walter Sillers of Bolivar county, states: Whereas, in order to preserve and pro mote the best interests of both races and the public welfare, it is necessary to maintain separate education and separate schools for the white and colored races; and, Whereas, necessity for further legisla tion and constitutional amendments in that regard may hereafter arise; It is therefore resolved by the House of Representatives of the state of Missis sippi, the Senate concurring therein: 1. The Legal Educational Advisory Committee is hereby established. 2. Said committee shall formulate a plan or plans of legislation, prepare drafts of suggested laws, and recommend ed courses of action for consideration by the legislature whereby the state may, by taxation or otherwise, provide education and/or assistance in obtaining education for all of its citizens consistent with the provisions of the constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of Mississippi. COMMITTEE STATEMENT After its first meeting, the commit tee, headed by Gov. White, issued the following statement: The committee conceives its duty to be to devise the means and methods by which separate schools for the races shall be maintained in this state and to submit such plan to the legislature for its action theron. After approving the proposed con stitutional amendment and recom mending the Sept. 7 special (extra ordinary) session of the legislature, the committee stated: This committee announces to the pub lic and the press through its chairman and vice chairman that it, the committee, is agreed upon the proposition that it will recommend to the legislature in due course a program that will provide build ings and other facilities necessary to maintain separate schools between the races, such program to be conditioned on the proposed constitutional amend ment being adopted. That same proposed constitutional amendment was offered at the 1954 regular session of the legislature in anticipation of the May 17 decision of the Supreme Court. It was adopted by WHITE AND NEGRO CHILDREN IN SOUTHERN SCHOOLS, 1952 There are wide variations state by state IN THE TOTAL NUMBER OF CHILDREN ATTENDING SCHOOL Thousands Alabama Arkansas Florida Georgia Kentucky Louisiana Mississippi North Carolina Oklahoma South Carolina Tennessee Texas Virginia white Negro 600 700 900 1000 IN THE PROPORTION OF NEGRO TO WHITE CHILDREN Per Coni Negro Alabama Arkansas Florida Georgia Kentucky Louisiana Mississippi North Carolina Oklahoma South Carolina Tennessee Texas Virginia 50 IN THE Per Cenf Change Alabama Arkansas Florida Georgia Kentucky Louisiana Mississippi Nor|h Carolina Oklahoma South Carolina Tennessee Texas Virginia CHANGES IN SCHOOL ATTENDANCE FROM 1940 TO 1952 20 15 10 - 5 0 +5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 Reprinted From “The Negro And The Schools.’ the House, but died in a Senate com mittee. The Senate voted 24 to 24 against going in committee of the whole to consider the amendment after the chairman of the Constitution Committee refused to call a meeting for its consideration by his group. It was then that the resolution was offered creating the 25-member Legal Educational Advisory Committee which was adopted by both branches. It was given $125,000 to carry out its work. A subcommittee of the LEAC did a re-draft of the 1954 regular session amendment, and it was approved by the full committee and will be up be fore the Sept. 7 special session. Adoption of the proposed amend ment for submission to the voters for ratification will require a two-thirds vote in each branch on three separate days in each. Some lawmakers have announced they will oppose the pro posal. It must then be ratified by a ma jority vote of the qualified electors. Although Mississippi has a total of 525,000 qualified electors, the largest number ever to vote was in the 1951 race for governor when 407,000 parti cipated. A recent county-by-county compilation by Atty. Gen. J. P. Cole man shows 22,104 qualified Negro voters. EARLIER ACTION Prior to the May 17 decision of the Supreme Court, Mississippi enacted a Negro-white public school equaliza tion program at an extraordinary (special) session of the legislature which met from November through December of 1953. That equalization program had been recommended by a recess legis lative committee created at the 1952 regular session. That committee was authorized in an effort to present an equalization program in the hope of influencing the Supreme Court de cision. The equalization program called for equal salaries for teachers, equal transportation facilities, equal build ings and an equalization of school op portunities for both races. However, the facility equalization feature was not supported with funds pending the Suoreme Court decision. The facility equalization phase calls for allocation for buildings of $12 per child in daily attendance. The plan contemplated launching the building program—in event of a favorable de cision to the dual system—at the rate of six million dollars a year. An initial bond issue for that purpose carried a provision that the bill would not be come operative unless the Supreme Court decision was favorable to sep arate, but equal, opportunities. Other phases of the program, which went in effect July 1, 1954 (after the Supreme Court ruling), provide for equal salaries, transportation and op portunities generally (except facili ties) . A few remaining portions of the equalization plan recommended by the 1952 recess committee were en acted at the 1954 regular session (January through April), in advance of the May 17 decision. A six-member State Educational Finance Commission was created to handle the planned building program. It is also authorized to consolidate the more than 2,000 school districts in the state. Thus far, that commission has delayed action on several pro posed consolidations. Under the new equalization pro gram, exclusive authority formerly vested on the local level in handling school funds was removed and placed at the state level. That law was en acted to eliminate a former proce dure under which the state “lost” control of state funds allocated for schools after thev reached the coun ty or municipal levels. The 1952 recess committee reported that state funds voted for Negroes had been diverted to the whites. As a result of its report, the attorney general recovered an estimated $135,- 000 that had not been used for Ne groes as voted by the legislature. SCHOOL STATISTICS In 1950, Mississippi spent 2.7 per cent of its total income of $1,527,000,- 000 on schools, or $40,800,000. The per capita income of Mississippi in 1950 was $703. In the 1952-53 school term, the State Department of Education re ports an average daily attendance See MISSISSIPPI on Page 16
