Southern school news. (Nashville, Tenn.) 1954-1965, September 03, 1954, Image 8
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