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SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS — Nov. 4, 1954 —PAGE 5 Protesting high school students from Anacostia are led back across Sousa Bridge after an unsuccessful attempt to march to Eastern high school. This Washington Post & Times-Herald Photo was one of the more widely publicized incidents in nearly a week of unrest in several District of Columbia schools. District (Continued from Page 4) their parents. They included several girls arrested for carrying brickbats and two boys found carrying knives. Negro students continued to attend class at all the schools involved in the demonstrations. Teachers remarked about their “courage.” COUNCIL STATEMENT The American Council on Human Rights, issued the following statement directed to Negro students: We ask all colored students attending integrated schools and their parents to make every effort to maintain stoic calm in the face of the grave provocations now going on. The police force of Washington is fully capable of thwarting any attempt ed violence and only where absolutely necessary to protect your personal safety should any individual action be taken. This ordeal will soon be ended and the bright sun of democratic education will shine on all of us, white and colored alike. God and justice are on our side. The bigots canot prevail. The Washington Federation of Churches called on the “boys and girls and parents of this community to do all in their power to prevent any disgrace from coming upon our nation’s capital and upon our coun try ... to stand up and be counted as good citizens in this particular time of emergency.” In behalf of fullest attendance at the Anacostia assembly, two 17-year- old seniors made a television appeal. Said one boy: “I think they (the demonstrators) are going about it in the wrong way. I doubt that any mass movement in our schools can solve the District integration problem. There is a mistaken idea that a ma jority of us here at Anacostia are out on a strike. A majority of us are in school and attending classes.” On Wednesday, the two major as semblies, designed to restore normal class attendance at the high schools involved, broke about even in re sults. The first at McKinley came off in orderly fashion and broke up with almost the entire student body re suming classes. The second, at Ana costia high stadium, reached near pandemonium before it broke up in confusion with nothing constructive accomplished. THE McKINLEY MEETING The spirited McKinley meeting heard Bish explain the machinery of the student committee appointed to iron out grievances. The principal then assured students that rumors that the football contest with Roose velt High would be cancelled Friday were false. With a rousing cheer, the students turned their attention and enthusi asm to the forthcoming clash with their traditional gridiron foe. I’m in a forget and forgive mood right now,” Bish told the students. He said the first of the week had been “so very long” he thought it was Friday. “It couldn’t be,” he contin- Ue d, “because we have a football game Friday and a pep assembly.” “Well,” Bish said, “we’re here to day because some of the school lead- ers Tuesday thought we could do something constructive about the sit uation we’ve been embroiled in the last couple of days.” Bish said these spokesmen Tues day conferred with Assistant Supt. Helson and explained that they had pdevances about McKinley integra tion. Following this conference, Bish and the students decided to set up a facial “complaint and suggestion committee” of eight young men and g °^ en - This committee has met at - 0 a.m. every school day and prob out” re P° rte dly are being “ironed I had dinner with my friend Mr. "anrfr ^ ues< ^ a y night,” Bish said, j>. ~ Fve never been prouder of Mc- l-han when he told me how ihgent and respectful the student Pakesmen were.” jAjso Bish said, “Fm told someone | ap to one of our students as Biiim- Franklin Administration Vn , and yelled “What school “Tk v° m ^' ” The reply, Bish said, was ^ best, buddy.” tee ^ to the grievance commit- bitenri Sa *h as a sponsor he “didn’t hig^ ^ ® be a dictator. I sort of run a th e ? c h°ol like a person who plays Piano by ea r,” he said. ar the end of the 45-minute as sembly, Bish said: “Let’s forget all this. I’m worried about playing Roosevelt in football Friday. You know we tied Coolidge and I thought we should have won by at least two touchdowns. Roosevelt is rough. It has a good ball club.” “Do you suppose there’s a cheer leader in the house?” Bish asked. In seconds, four girls left the audience for the stage. Bish asked: “How about a yell?” The quartet began: “Two bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar. All for Tech, stand up and holler.” The large auditorium echoed and reechoed as the young people let off two days of steam. To the organ strains of “On Mc Kinley” the students returned to their next class. Bish had given no order. THE ANACOSTIA MEETING The mass meeting at Anacostia be gan decorously enough at 9 a.m. On hand, as per advanced billing, was entertainment in the person of Art Lamb, Washington TV personality, about 20 ministers of churches in the area, some 100 parents, heavy police details and school officials. Before the meeting officially opened, Bryant W. Bowles, 34, who described himself as president of the Association for the Advancement of White People, Inc., arrived at the sta dium and was escorted into the school building by police. He told reporters he wanted to explain his “mission” to the principal. Bowles said several “level headed and serious” students had called at his office and asked him to keep down violence. Bowles said he had noth ing to do with the stadium meeting since he didn’t want to discuss the situation with minors. “When they go home,” Bowles told reporters, “I’ll be glad to discuss it with their parents.” He said he had a street comer meeting the night before with a group of students and had ar ranged to address a meeting Wednes day noon in Fairlawn Park but didn’t because of rain. In the principal’s absence, Bowles spoke with a teacher who suggested he get permission from the minister who was serving as moderator of the stadium meeting, to address the gathering. The minister told Bowles he could speak if he would ask the students to return to school. This Bowles re fused to do and he left the stadium. The meeting proceeded in com parative order until a student leader came to the reading of the last of a 12-point list of objections to integra tion at Anacostia. It suggested a grad ual method of desegregation begin ning with the kindergarten grades. When the youth had finished read ing that, the student assemblage started yelling its protest, shouting “No! No! No! Erase it! Take it out.” Despite attempts by various of the clergymen and eventually the prin cipal to restore order, the balance of the meeting was tumultuous. Shortly before 10 a.m. a large group of Eastern students appeared at the far end of the stadium and most of the Anacostia students ran to join them. MEETING BREAKS UP After the meeting had broken up, a seven-member student committee met with the principal. The results of this session were discussed at a sec ond stadium meeting attended by about 100. A spokesman for the students re ported his group hadn’t made much headway, except that “four of us are to discuss it further” with higher school officials. Subsequently, the spokesman reported that this meet ing, too, had been futile. Suggestions that Anacostia set up a biracial grievance committee similar to the one which ended the disturbances at McKinley received short shrift in most quarters, at this time. Late Wednesday, Police Chief Mur ray issued this statement: I want to call on these school children who have absented themselves from classes to return to school. The Police Department has been very patient with them. But we cannot and will not permit them to operate in disorderly gangs and groups. There are many risks and dan gers involved In going about the streets in demonstrations of this kind—such as injuries in traffic or in fights. It is well for the youngsters and their parents to remember that the children will automatically acquire a police rec ord if it becomes necessary to arrest them. That police record will remain with them for the rest of their lives. I do not want to see this happen to any of these school children—and it will not happen unless they are out on the streets looking for trouble. For these reasons, I am asking parents and children to see that all stu dents return to their classrooms. STUDENTS WARNED At the same time Supt. Coming is sued this statement: As superintendent of schools, I hereby direct all students of the Washington public schools who are at present absent in protest against the integration of our schools to return to their classrooms im mediately. Principals of schools where such ab sences are now occurring have been di rected to declare absentees who will not have returned to school by Friday morn ing, Oct. 8, ineligible to receive or enjoy school honors during the balance of the present school year. This means that those students who continue to be absent after Thursday will disqualify themselves: A. From holding commissions and warrants in the Cadet Corps. B. From holding positions on school publications. C. From representing their schools on athletic teams, in rifle matches or in musical or dramatic performances. D. From being eligible to hold any office in any organization, club or activity that comes under the direction of the school or from holding any positions represent ing their schools. Those students who return to their classes by Friday will be given all pos sible assistance by their teachers to make up the work missed this week; those who do not return by that time will seriously jeopardize their scholastic standing be cause of the continued absence. All adults who have contacts with school children and especially parents are asked to use their natural leadership in ending a situa tion which now becomes disgraceful and dangerous. Elsewhere in the community, Meth odist Bishop G. Bromley Oxnam de clared that resistance to the Supreme Court decision on school integration is “subversive” and “does more to undermine democratic government than any traitor Communist can do.” Bishop Oxnam made his remarks during a meeting in the Methodist Building. Calling segregation sinful, Bishop Oxnam praised the court de cision as a “historic utterance” and said “it has done more to bring back to this beloved land the respect and gratitude of the peoples of the world than any statement since the historic utterances of our leaders that led to the adoption of the United Nations Charter.” Also frowning on the student dem onstrations was the District Federa tion of Citizens Associations. This white organization unsuccessfully sought a court order to delay the start of integration in September on the grounds the school board should wait until the Supreme Court rules on the method and timing of de segregation. The Federation urged public school students not “to follow a lawless course” that might lead “to ultimate community chaos and tragedy.” The executive committee said: “We urge the students and other citizens of the District to retain faith in the orderly and legitimate channels of Govern ment for seeking redress for their grievances, rather than to follow a lawless course which leads only to ultimate community chaos and trag edy.” On Thursday, all junior high at tendance rolls were reported back to normal. McKinley High had “better than normal” attendance. Absences still were high at Anacostia and Eastern High Schools. However, many students were off because of the Jewish holy day, Yom Kippur. At about noon, four Anacostia stu dent demonstrators saw Corning and presented him with a petition which among other things requested “sep arate but equal rights.” Coming told the absentees school officials would discuss their proposal after they re turned to school, but not before. The students rejected Coming’s offer and refused to go back to class. Although it wasn’t in the petition, the students said they wanted re moval of the 43 Negro pupils at Ana costia. They were told this was im possible. One of the students said they had solicited the support of Rep. James Davis (D. Ga.), chairman of the House District Committee, and got it. Contacted at his office in Atlanta, Davis told a reporter: I told them I regarded this Supreme Court decision as being rank usurpation of authority by the Court which it does not possess. It is an outrageous attempt to forcibly cram down the throats of people the personal, sociological views of nine persons who now comprise the court without any legal precedent on which to base their decision. I am glad people all over the country recognize the decision to be just what it is an unconstitutional usurpation of authority. Students and parents have the right to use all peaceable means to pro test this outrageous action. They have the right to picket the schools, the school officials, the Commis sioners, the Supreme Court or the White House, or any other government agency. They have the right to assemble to dis cuss it without being interfered with. The Constitution guarantees the rights of free speech and assembly. I told them if they carry on their pro test and stay out of school—school offi cials will have a hard time holding school without pupils. I said I was on their side and I hope they win. Back at school headquarters, Corn ing met with a group of Anacostia parents and issued this statement: It has come to my attention that some parents are disturbed because they be lieve that the process of moving groups of children from school to school, ac cording to new boundaries, is to be a continuing process throughout the year. No such additional group movements to conform to new boundaries will be pro posed or made for the remainder of this semester. In February, 1955, junior high school graduates will be assigned to the senior high schools on the basis of new boun daries. Otherwise, changes and assign ments will be limited to occasional cases of individual students. Transfers as a re sult of the filing of options have been completed in the secondary level. Some, however, are still being processed in the elementary schools. COURT PICKETED On Thursday, police reported that 25 placard-bearing students gathered on the Supreme Court Plaza. They were escorted by police to the side walk bordering the east ground of the Capitol. One boy asked a court guard, “Who’s the judge here?” The man explained, “this court has nine jus tices.” He added: “Son, I think there is a classroom somewhere in which you could learn things like that.” The students soon lost interest in their demonstration at the court be cause a movie crew was taking shots nearby for a picture dealing with the life of the late Senate chaplain, Peter Marshall. On Friday, virtually all absentee students returned to their classes. At Anacostia, only 81 students were absent out of 1,300. Normal absentee ism runs 90 or 100. Principal Griffith met with the stu dent committee which Thursday vis ited Coming. These students had de cided to return to school and try a new approach. They now wanted to set up a biracial student grievance committee similar to the one which was operating successfully at Mc Kinley. Still a third such committee has been organized at Eastern high school. An example of the integration problems outlined before these - stu dent committees are these reported at McKinley. The Negro students were not tidy in the washrooms. They were told about this and already the results were noticeable. In another case, a Negro girl was still wearing a sweater of her last year’s school, Armstrong high. Mc Kinley students said this was dis loyal. It was found the girl had no other sweater. Today, she does.