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PAGE 10 —Oct. I, 1954 —SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS Missouri ST. LOUIS, Mo. ROM every level of public educa tion at which segregation ended in Missouri this September, the re port is the same: no trouble, a smooth change-over, complete pupil, teacher and community acceptance. Few school systems have integrated from top to bottom at one stroke. Some have unified elementary schools, some high schools, some junior colleges. There are Negroes in public schools in 69 of the Missouri’s 115 counties and in 216, or 5% of the state’s 4,000 school districts. St. Louis and Kansas City between them account for 43,000 of the 63,000 Negro pupils in the state. Both cities have integration plans now in opera tion. As to the rest of the state, preli minary data from a survey being made by the state commissioner of education show that 100 districts with a total pupil enrollment of about 40,000 and a Negro pupil enrollment of about 1,000 have put some form of integration into effect. Of these, 54 districts have integrated high schools, but no elementary; 9 have integrated elementary but no high school; and 28 have integration both in high school and elementary grades. The St. Louis Story In St. Louis, which has half of the state’s 60,000 Negro pupils, integra tion of high schools is scheduled for January and of grade schools for Sep tember, 1955. The big event at the start of the September term this year was the opening of an unsegregated Harris Teachers College to supplant the Harris (white) and Stowe (Negro) teachers colleges of last year. Presi dent Charles A. Naylor pronounces integration in this junior college an unqualified success. There have been no incidents of any kind. The transi tion has been fully accepted by stu dents and faculty with no discernible friction at any point. Last year, Harris closed with 492 white students and Stowe with 300 Negroes. This year enrollment at Harris stands at 1,032. The ratio of whites and Negroes is presumed to be about the same as in the separate col leges last year, but no racial distinc tions are noted on registration records and there are therefore no statistics. So far as is known, no white students declined to return because of integra tion. The faculty of 63 is divided about two white to one Negro, all Negro faculty members from Stowe having been taken over except two or three who became elementary school su pervisors. Faculty integration is com plete. Some departments have a Negro majority of teachers (e. g., English) and some a white majority. There will be a Negro basketball coach, white baseball and track coaches. The fac ulty attended a two-day in-service training program before the start of the school term, to prepare itself for the problems of integration. But so far there have been no problems. Even in the lunch room, staffed by both white and Negro em ployes, the students exhibit little self segregation, but generally eat to gether without distinction as to race. No attempt is made to maintain a cer tain ratio between races in classes; students are assigned indiscriminately as they come. A Negro registrar and a white dean meet and advise new students without regard to their races. “If integration goes as smooth ly at other levels as it has done here,” says Dr. Naylor, “there is nothing to worry about.” Plan for High Schools St. Louis meanwhile is preparing for the transition at the high school level in midyear. New districts are to be announced in November, well in advance of the change-over date. Ad dressing the high school faculties at the opening of the September term, Superintendent of Instruction Philip J. Hickey said that preliminary steps already taken toward integration will be of great value in aiding the transi tion. For some years faculties have been integrated on curriculum and book selection committees, high school councils and other administrative bodies. Since 1945 a teachers’ com mittee has been studying intergroup relations and their improvement. A city-wide student council has brought Negro and white high school pupils together. Some Negro and white schools have exchanged classes for a day. Musical organizations have been exchanging auditorium sessions be tween white and Negro high schools. An all-city high school symphony orchestra has been organized. In June of last year over 5,000 pupils from both white and Negro schools per formed together at the Central High School centennial pageant. There have been interracial track meets and practice games in other sports. Supt. Hickey told the teachers: There are two attitudes on integration, both of which are wrong, that some of our citizens have embraced: first, that we can avoid or circumvent the clear direc tive given to us by our highest judicial body, and secondly, that integration will not present any difficulties whatsoever. These attitudes cannot fail to cause great harm. We must be willing to accept the problem of integration and face it real istically, without bigotry or prejudice, but well aware of our individual respon sibilities in assuming the proper attitudes. This problem is different from any which we have faced in that failure cannot be thought possible. Integration is a fact. The time has come when we must submerge all of our personal feel ings if we are to maintain our high standards of conduct and achievement. Prejudice is a two-way street; it is found in both races. It is necessary for all of us to engage in a self-examination and not even whisper to ourselves these in sidious prejudices which we have openly nurtured for so long. That integration be made to work smoothly and fairly is more than an obligation; it is a directive from your employer, the Board of Education. We also believe that it is an implied direc tive from your indirect employers, the people of the city of St. Louis. The people of this city, for the most part, have ac cepted the fact that segregation is at an end with a wise calmness and a sincere intent to accept it gracefully. Our local people have always had a deep respect for the laws of our land and rabble- rousers and hatred-vendors have had little success. We believe the moral fibre of our citizens is strong enough to meet any situation. We know that you, the classroom teachers, represent the important part of the educative process. You will determine the degree of success which we obtain by your attitudes and efforts. If you assume an apprehensive, defeatist attitude in your home or among your closest friends, that attitude will reflect itself, perhaps un consciously, in your classroom teaching. The attitude of you, the teachers in the classrooms, will determine the general trend of conduct in the entire school sys tem. We should not minimize the problem of integration or build it into a monster. Reports from other Missouri com munities follow. KANSAS CITY (pop. 457,000. Negro pupils: 10,400 or 16% of total of 64,000.) Integration began with the summer classes in high schools and the junior college. Supt. Mark W. Bills reports the summer session “went off per fectly.” The next step was the perm anent integration of the junior college and of teachers and pupils in the vocational high school, academic courses included. This took place at the start of the fall term in Septem ber. For the first two weeks, Supt Bills reports: “The change was made smoothly and without incident; no evidence of friction, no significant protest by parents or students.” The board of Education’s policy for smoothing the transition includes: “good, orderly, planning, full infor mation, fair and honorable approach to all decisions, with especial atten tion to the school aspects of the problem.” Integration of all elemen tary and high schools is to be com pleted by September, 1955; new dis trict boundaries are now being pre pared. ST. JOSEPH (pop. 79,000. Negro pupils: 440, or 3% of total of 12,000.) Having desegregated its summer school classes soon after the Supreme Court decision, St. Joseph took the second step by integrating all high school and junior college students at the start of the September term. A l-to-12 grade school for Negroes has been converted to an elementary school, and Negro pupils who former ly attended its upper grades have been transferred to the three white high schools according to residence. Says Supt. George L. Blackwell: “We have not attempted in any way to establish a pattern for the nation. We have merely attempted to meet our own problems in our own way and provide a satisfactory plan to the best of our ability.” During the first two weeks, according to Blackwell, “we have gone along very well with out any friction, without any inci dents, and without any apparent re sentment. Only one minor protest was made by a parent. Our teachers have accepted the Negro youth and will give them the same attention that they give other students.” At present, Negro teachers are confined to the three Negro elementary schools. There was no football at the old Negro high school, but Negroes are out for the team at all the three inte grated high schools. Central High, second oldest school west of the Mis sissippi, steeped in tradition and largely attended by children of pro fessional and business men, played its first Negro in the opening game of the season. At this school, Negro stu dents were treated simply as part of the annual group of new students. No special recognition was given them and no special restrictions imposed. Says Principal Marion E. Gibbins: “The returning students accepted this procedure as a normal one. No special problems have occurred to date.” Principal W. L. Daffron of Benton High School, which enrolled 27 Negroes, reports no complaints and no difficulties. White students showed a “very fine” attitude in helping Negroes adjust to the school regula tions, and Negroes “assumed an atti tude of respect for the entire school program and exerted effort to fit into the program.” Principal Charles W. Thomas of Lafayette High School says integra tion “has been readily accepted by all students and teachers; the attitude of all groups is especially fine.” Elementary School Plan St. Joseph has also made a begin ning toward integration at the elem entary level. There are three Negro elementary schools, two of them cov ering only grades 1 to 6. This year Negro children in the kindergarten and grades 7 and 8 are permitted to go to the nearest (white) school if the Negro school they would normally attend does not offer these grades. Complete integration is planned when new classroom space has been built. In preparation for this step a com mittee of Negro and white principals is working on recommendations to be given the Board of Education. A statement of this committee said: An integrated school program may seem strange at first. However, we feel confident that our St. Joseph students will do their utmost to see that fair play is accorded all. Problems may seem grave to some laymen, but in the past decade or two school administrators and teachers have become accustomed to meeting problems arising out of changes whether due to depression, war, increase in population or other factors. All pupils may expect a helping hand from any of their teachers with whatever kind of problem may be facing them. SPRINGFIELD (pop. 72,000. Negro pupils: 342, or 2% of total of 12,800.) This Ozark capital of southwestern Missouri, 60 miles from the Arkansas border, has had one Negro school for grades 1 through 12. The Board of Education decided to operate the school this year but to permit any Negro who so desired to attend the (white) school nearest his home. At the opening of the September term, 165 Negro pupils exercised this op tion, leaving 154 at Lincoln School. According to Superintendent Wil lard J. Graff, the Negro pupils have been absorbed in other schools with out difficulty: “Integration seems to be generally well accepted in this community.” At the high school, Principal Homer Hesterson made a speech welcoming new students. When he mentioned specifically the new students transfering from Lin coln High School, the white students burst into spontaneous applause. MEXICO (pop. 12,000. Negro pu pils: 320 or 16% of total of 2,000.) As a first step, Mexico has inte grated grades 10, 11, and 12 of the senior high school, which means ab sorbing 40 Negro pupils in a white student body of 575. Some classrooms have no Negroes at all, most have from one to three. Several Negroes are playing on the football team and report the white boys have been “very nice” to them. Says Supt. An thony Marinaccio: “There has been no friction or resentment so far as I can see. There has been no significant protest by parents or children, and the transition has been very smooth.” A student editor wrote in the school paper: A process known as integration has be gun. About all it amounts to is some 40 new students going to Mexico High School. We don’t think it should be a strange adventure or an exciting experi ment or a big production. We just hope the townspeople don’t show too much concern, because we feel that, generally, we high school students will take the change in stride. ST. CHARLES (pop. 15,000. Negro pupils: 130 or 6% of total of 1,908.) Forty miles northwest of St. Louis on the Missouri river, this community integrated elementary pupils from kindergarten to grade 6 at the start of the September term, and will com plete the process with high school pu pils in 1955. So far, says Supt. Stephen Black- hurst, the change has been quiet. “No one is making a great ado; we feel that more is lost than gained in making a great palaver. As far as the pupils are concerned, the change-over did not make a riffle. So far the Negroes are received as graciously as though they were white, and they are included without discrimi nation in all games and activities.” There has been some citizen criti cism of the school system for pro ceeding with integration befort it had become compulsory, but Supt. Black- hurst says “the majority of citizens took the Supreme Court decision in stride, and perhaps a majority ap proved the decision in itself.” Mr. Blackhurst believes that integration of high school pupils may prove more difficult, and will have to be ap proached more cautiously. Another problem may be the future of Negro teachers. There is a feeling that the community would not support the employment of Negro teachers in either white or mixed schools. KIRKWOOD (Pop. 19,000. Negro pupils: 507, or 10% of total of 5,000.) This suburb of St. Louis had begun integration at the grade school level by absorbing 82 Negroes in four previously white schools according to residence. Seventy-three of the Ne groes are in one school with a total registration of 464. No incidents of any kind occurred in the opening weeks of school, says Supt. Floyd W. Hendricks. Under the original plan, 63 white students living on the edge of the dis trict in a new subdivision would have been required to attend a predomin antly Negro school which happened to be nearest their home. Parents ob jected and filed a petition seeking separation from the school district. A special election was called at which the separation was defeated, 599 to 449. Two days before the election, the Board of Education voted to allow any child an application to attend the same school he had attended last year. All white children who would have been assigned to the Negro school on a residence basis have exercised the option. Many are attending the white school which has successfully absorbed a Negro minority. Owing to residential distribution, 240 Negro elementary pupils and 125 Negro junior high pupils are still at tending the all-Negro school. The Board of Education voted to postpone integration of high school students until a new building now under construction is completed in 1955. Meanwhile, as in previous years, it is transporting 60 Negro students to a Negro high school in adjoining Webster Groves (which has taken no action for integration.) Eight of the 60 students have formally requested the Board to admit them to Kirkwood High School immediately, intimating that they would go to court if re jected. The Board has rejected their applications. CLARKSVILLE (Negro pupils: 70, or 14% of a total of 507.) This rural consolidated district, which operates three grade schools and a high school in Pike and Lin coln counties, north of St. Louis, has integrated grades one through 12 this year. Supt. Joe Henry reports: “We have not had any show of resentment from students, parents, or teachers. I be lieve that in our situation it is going to work remarkably well.” Soon after the Supreme Court opin ion, Clarksville school officials visited an integrated school in a nearby state to gather information. Then they dis cussed the question with parents of both white and Negro youngsters through the press, in meetings, and “on the street.” Lower costs of opera tion were an important factor cited in favor of integration, since Negroes would not have to be sent out of the district to a segregated school. NEOSHO (pop. 6,000. Negro pupils: 23, or 1% of a total of 1,900.) This southwestern Missouri com munity, the state’s Confederate capi tal for a time during the Civil War, is 15 miles from Oklahoma and 30 miles from Arkansas. It has integrated com pletely this year, which means ab sorbing 23 Negroes in the 12 grades. Supt. R. W. Anderson, reporting on the opening days of the term, said: I have not had any protests or calls from either white or colored parents. All of our teachers have accepted the colored pupils just as if they had always been in our school. The pupils also accepted them without incident. We do not anti cipate any problems. We took no special steps to prepare for integration, but merely accepted it as a matter of course. In our faculty meeting the teachers were advised not to make an issue in case some white students objected to sitting by the colored pupils, but fortunately we have had no incident whatever arise. MACON (pop. 4,200. Negro pupils: 43 or 6% of a total of 690.) School opened Sept. 7 with 16 Ne gro pupils in high school, the Macon school board having voted to inte grate at the level while continuing segregation in the elementary grades for at least one more year. Negro boys reported alongside others for football practice in August. Supt. Laurence E. Phelps reports that on the practice field “in no case did I observe any inclination on the part of any boys to embarrass another. Without exception, the boys are proud of their team mates’ success without regard to color.” At school “it is not at all uncommon to see mixed groups discussing their mutual problems in the corridors and walk ing together to and from classes. There is no evidence of resentment or friction, but every evidence of understanding.” This acceptance of the change Supt. Phelps attributes to the com munity’s self-preparation, beginning in 1948. In that year the Macon Ro tary Club, giving its annual dinner in honor of the public school faculty, for the first time included the Negro teachers as guests. Since 1948, Neg roes have participated in adult edu cation classes sponsored by the Board of Education. When the Supreme Court opinion was announced, the Lay Citizens Educational Advisory Committee, composed of Negroes and whites, met to discuss means of compliance. The committee adopted the two-stage plan of integration beginning at the high school level, and the Board of Education unanimously approved its recommendation. Says Supt. Phelps: “We in Macon have taken the posi tion that racial integration is a quite natural process in a democratic so ciety and feel that we have made a sincere attempt to accept this chal lenge.” MADISON (pop. 600. Negro pu pils: 8, or 4% of a total of 200). This community formerly trans ported its Negro children to Moberly, which meant that they had to leave home an hour and a half earlier than they do now. Beginning in September all Negro children were absorbed in elementary and high school grades. Says Superintendent Lloyd L. Smith: The attitude of the community as a whole has been favorable. The transition has been easier for the grade pupils than in the high school, but we have had no friction or any incident so far. The teach ers have accepted the colored pupils whole-heartedly. Notice “Southern School News,” official publication of the Southern Educa tion Reporting Service, is distributed free to interested individuals and organizations. Inquiries should be addressed to SERS at 1109 19th Ave. South, Nashville, Tenn., or to P.O. Box 6156, Acklen Station, Nashville 5, Tenn. The Reporting Service is financed by a grant from the Fund for the Advancement of Education, an inde pendent agency established by the Ford Foundation.