Southern school news. (Nashville, Tenn.) 1954-1965, October 01, 1954, Image 1
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Southern School News
GENERAL LIBRARY
3C7 14 1S54
liUjYtkSHY.Of GEORGIA
-Objective
VOL. I, NO. 2
NASHVILLE, TENN.
OCTOBER I, 1954
Opening Of School Shows Varied Pattern
Cchool bells sounded throughout
*^the nation last month, summoning
millions of children to school. For
most of them, “back-to-school-day”
was not unlike those in past years.
But there were notable exceptions.
In a few formerly segregated pub
lic school systems, children found
themselves assigned to schools on the
basis of residence and convenience
rather than race. And in others, plans
to circumvent the May 17 Supreme
Court ruling on public school seg
regation were firmed up.
The exceptions were characterized
by the statement of a student editor
in Missouri as he faced up to the de
segregation of Mexico’s schools. He
said he hoped the townspeople didn’t
“show too much concern” because
the students could take the change in
stride.
Also significant were the strong
protests of students and parents in
West Virginia and Delaware com
munities, where plans to desegregate
public schools met organized or spon
taneous resistance.
In an effort to provide public of
ficials, school administrators and lay
citizens with essential background in
formation for understanding the
tremendously complex problem
posed by the Supreme Court decision,
the September issue of Southern
School News was devoted almost en
tirely to a documentary account of
the significant events in the District
of Columbia and 17 southern and
border states since the court ruling.
With this second issue, Southern
School News begins to tell the story,
factually and objectively, of the ad
justments that the various states and
communities make as a result of the
court opinion. Because the court’s
action had an impact outside the
South—where segregation has been
required by law—this issue also in
cludes reports from the states of Ari
zona, New Mexico and Kansas—
where segregation has been permitted
in varying degrees.
The story, state by state, will be
found in the pages that follow. But
for the reader who is in a hurry,
here are some of the highlights of the
reports that follow.
ALABAMA — The list of Deep
South states that are seriously con
sidering constitutional amendments
to evade, or delay the impact of, the
Supreme Court opinion increased by
one when a special legislative com
mittee recommended to Gov. Gordon
Persons that sections of the Alabama
constitution be rewritten to pave the
way for abolition of public education
in the state.
ARKANSAS — Alone among the
°eep South states, Arkansas reported
two examples of public school in
tegration. Charleston and Fayetteville
absorbed small numbers of Negro
students without incident, but else
where in the state, the schools re-
teeined segregated. Complying with a
request from the state board of ed
ucation, Atty. Gen. Tom Gentry said
e would file a “friend of the court”
nef with the Supreme Court.
Outside the South, but
sv , a Partially segregated school
m in the past, Arizona entered
a final phase of an integration pro-
att . a* was The center of national
t,r!! IOn * hen i4 began in 1953. The
in * S sc b e duled to be completed
DELAWARE — Newspaper an
im! n ^Porters, and millions <
ti on re r !teci mfizens throughout the nr
a sr^on Pt their attention focused c
rim . c °u amu nity on the norther
e Southland. As the attome
How States Are Reacting To Court Decision
Strongly Resisting Integration
Awaiting Court Action
Moving Toward Integration
general of Delaware was preparing
the brief to be filed with the Supreme
Court commenting on the “remark
ably peaceful transition” to deseg
regated schools, a strong protest
movement suddenly mush roomed in
Milford, resulting in threats of
violence, the resignation of school
board members, and the temporary
closing of the schools. In Wilmington,
however, integration proceeded with
out incident.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA —The
progress of desegregation in the na
tion’s capital also captured the inter
est of millions. In the District of
Columbia, 111 of 161 school buildings
housed classes of whites and Negroes
for the first time. Integration was ac
complished smoothly. Yet it was
strongly protested by the Federation
of Citizens Associations, representing
57 groups limited to white members,
as being premature. And it was pro
tested by the Washington chapter of
the National Association for the Ad
vancement of Colored People as
“gradualism.”
FLORIDA—In the peninsula state
of Florida, children went to school as
in past years. Officially, the state
government appeared to be assuming
a “watchful waiting” posture. Act
ually, Florida officials have been
busily studying the many problems
posed by the Supreme Court opinion.
Last month Florida officials received
the results of a $10,000 opinion sur
vey conducted in 12 representative
counties. This survey will form the
basis of the brief to be filed by Flori
da at the Supreme Court hearing in
December—a brief which describes
the manifold problems involved in
transition, but a brief which declares
that segregated schools can be ended
in Florida equitably over an extended
period of time with “tact and wis
dom.”
GEORGIA—After a warm political
campaign, the people of Georgia
Court Sets Date
For Hearing
Harold B. Willey, U.S. Supreme
Court clerk, announced on Sept
22 that the date for the Court to
hear arguments on implementing
its May 17 opinion has been sched
uled for Dec. 6.
The date was set at a closed
meeting of seven of the justices.
Justices Minton and Douglas were
absent, but concurred in the date.
nominated as their next governor a
man who has pledged “Come hell
or high water, races will not be
mixed in Georgia schools.” On Nov.
2, Georgians will vote on a constitu
tional amendment authorizing the
legislature to abolish public schools.
The state’s attorney general reiter
ated the Talmadge administration’s
decision to boycott the Supreme
Court’s December hearing since, in
his opinion, it would morally and
legally obligate Georgia to support
whatever action the court might take
in the future.
KANSAS — While segregated
schools have been the rule in the
South, they have not been uncommon
elsewhere. In fact, a school system in
Topeka, Kansas, was a defendant in
the five segregation cases on which
the Supreme Court based its May
decision. Desegregation in Kansas
was under way before the court
issued its ruling, but it has been
speeded up since. A survey con
ducted last month for Southern
School News reveals that most of the
ten cities which had segregated sys
tems are now integrating their
schools.
KENTUCKY—In the border state
of Kentucky, children returned to
segregated schools. But Gov. Law
rence Wetherby said that the state
is just waiting for the Supreme
Court’s final ruling, and that he will
then “do whatever is necessary to
comply with the law.” Under con
sideration by state officials is a pro
posal to establish a “Division on De
segregation” as an arm of the state
board of education.
LOUISIANA—Any doubts remain
ing about Louisiana’s attitude toward
participating in the December Su
preme Court hearing were dispelled
by the attorney general, who an
nounced: “We are not parties to any
of the segregation suits now before
the Supreme Court.” The schools re
mained segregated. A proposed con
stitutional amendment declaring seg
regation a matter of “health and
morals” and consequently under the
“police power” of the state will be
voted on Nov. 2.
MARYLAND — Baltimore, largest
city of the border state of Maryland,
with a public school population of
140,957—39 per cent Negro—envolved
a relatively new technique of integra
tion. There was no deliberate mixing
of the school population. Since Balti
more has seldom “districted” schools
in the usual sense of the word, chil
dren were permitted to attend the
school of their choice. Result of this
“voluntary integration,” according to
preliminary enrollment figures, was
that only 2.5 per cent of the Negro
students chose to go to formerly all-
white schools. Said a school board
official: the plan is operating “so
smoothly there is no need for com
ment.”
MISSISSIPPI — The Mississippi
legislature met in special session last
month and approved a constitutional
amendment to be voted on in Decem
ber. The amendment—to be used only
as a “last resort”—would authorize
the legislature to abolish public
schools. Gov. Hugh White said the
state is not defying the Supreme
Court, rather it is “simply exercising
the same legal right to resist this
most unfortunate decision that the
NAACP exercised in contesting the
unanimous court decisions of over
half a century.”
MISSOURI—The majority of Mis
souri’s 63,000 Negro students live in
the state’s two largest cities — St.
Louis and Kansas City. Both have
scheduled integration of high school
classes in January, and integration of
the elementary grades will follow
next September. A degree of integra
tion has already occured in a few
Kansas City schools. Eight other Mis
souri communities, including Neosho,
the state’s onetime Confederate capi
tal, have integrated their schools.
NEW MEXICO—In another south
western state, the last three New
Mexico communities permitting seg
regation terminated the practice this
fall. The violence predicated by a
clergyman—a threat that gained na
tional attention—did not materialize.
NORTH CAROLINA —As in most
other states of the South, students
in North Carolina returned to a seg
regated school system in September.
Officials were not inactive, however.
It was announced that the state would
Three New States
CoveredThisMonth
“Southern School News” went out
side its regular “news beat” this
month to obtain special reports on
three states that have permitted seg
regation in the past—Arizona, New
Mexico and Kansas.
The reports are found on the fol
lowing pages:
Arizona Page 15
New Mexico Page 15
Kansas Page 16
file a brief at the December Supreme
Court hearing, and that the state’s
attorney-general would present oral
arguments before the court. There
were other developments in North
Carolina. Raleigh officials launched a
survey to provide documentation of
problems that would be involved in
implementing the court decision.
Teachers in Harnett County met in a
non-segregated meeting for the first
time. A delegation supporting seg
regation presented a petition to Gov.
William Umstead. And a non-stock
corporation—the North Carolina As
sociation for the Preservation of
the White Race Inc.—was formed in
Durham.
OKLAHOMA—No change in the
Oklahoma public school system de
veloped in September, but race bar
riers fell in the state’s colleges and
parochial schools. The NAACP made
no overt moves to attempt to force
admittance of Negroes to public
schools on a non-segregated basis,
but backed two special suits pending
in the courts.
SOUTH CAROLINA—The state of
South Carolina will not participate
in the December hearing, but Claren
don County—a defendant in one of
the five suits decided last May—will
be represented. The state’s 550,000
students, approximately 43 per cent
of whom are Negroes, enrolled in
segregated schools. Meanwhile, a
special legislative committee con
tinued studying means to preserve
segregated schools. A States Rights
League was formed in Sumter Coun
ty, and in Rock Hill, a small domi
nantly textile community, white and
Negro students attended school to
gether for the first time at the paro
chial school.
TENNESSEE — Observers in Ten
nessee say first reports that the Vol
unteer state would file a brief before
the Supreme Court are now being
discounted. Public school students
enrolled in segregated schools in Sep
tember, but in Nashville, white paro
chial schools were opened to Negroes.
TEXAS—Negro students in Dallas,
Fort Worth and a few other communi
ties attempted, unsuccessfully, to en
roll in previously all-white public
schools. The state attorney general
said that a brief would be filed at
the December hearing. The platform
adopted by the Texas Democratic
convention declared the Supreme
Court’s decision an “unwarranted
invasion” of states rights.
VIRGINIA — The Commission on
Public Education, appointed by Gov.
Thomas B. Stanley, met last month
for the first time. It decided, among
other things, to hold executive ses
sions unless public hearings become
necessary. The composition of the
committee — all white legislators —
camaJn for some criticism from the
stated'newspapers.
WE§T VIRGINIA — Toward the
end of September, Milford, Delaware,
had captured the public’s fancy, but
there were also newsworthy incidents
in two West Virginia counties. Near
violence occurred in Greenbrier and
Boone counties as white students
picketed schools newly opened to
Negro students. Partially obscured by
the headlines, however, was the fact
that 12 of West Virginia’s counties
are completely integrated, 13 par-
tically integrated, 18 waiting for fur
ther court action. Eleven of the coun
ties have no Negro students.
In the pages that follow, the state-
by-state story is told in full detail.