About Southern school news. (Nashville, Tenn.) 1954-1965 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 6, 1955)
PAGE 16—Jan. 6, 1955—SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS Analysis Continued From Page 15 ers, American Association of Univer sity Women, National Conference of Christians and Jews, American Coucil on Human Rights, American Veterans Committee, American Fed eration of Labor, Federated Women’s Clubs, Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Junior Chambers of Commerce, and scores of like organi zations. It seems significant that among organized groups the widest distribu tion of requests for southern school news occurred in professional and general women’s organizations. These organizations, distributed throughout the country requested Southern School News as follows: Federated Women’s Clubs, 102; League of Women Voters, 42; American Asso ciation of University Women, 28. In more than half of the cities and states where the League of Women Voters and the American Association of Uni versity Women requested Southern School News, there were active study groups on “segregation” or “deseg regation” with the news as their major source of reference. The extent to which Southern School News is used might be seen through an examination of the re quests themselves. NATIONAL GROUPS Chapters of the American Associa tion of University Women have re sponded as follows: In Alabama: It is terribly exciting that you are get ting out a factual, objective paper on the complex problem confronting us here in the South. The first copy of Southern School News is intensely interesting and helpful. A friend has shown me hers. Please add my name to the list of those receiving it. On October 25, our Social Studies Committee is starting a study group on "Human Personality and Human Relationships.” We expect to cover group tensions, minority problems and the like. Southern School News would be a won derful aid to us in our discussion of race relationships. We are trying to limit our group to thirty. Would it be possible to get that many of each issue? In Arlington, Virginia: As chairman of the Education Commit tee of the Virginia State Division of AAUW, we are interested in obtaining ac curate information about the activities of the various states concerning desegrega tion. Please put us on your mailing list. In Tennessee: As moderator of an AAUW panel con cerning the desegregation problem which will be discussed at our meeting on Oc tober fifth, we would like very much to receive copies of Southern School News. I am also teacher of an adult Bible class and feel that accurate information is often a great benefit in overcoming prejudices. Chapters of the League of Women Voters have written in this vein: In Dalton, Georgia: Would you please send copies of the School News Report to the list of 40 peo ple circled in red on the clipping "School Amendment Group Named”? They would appreciate receiving back numbers if pos sible. The state league office could use several copies of each issue, if you have them to spare. We greatly appreciate the copies sent to the local library. They have been used and quoted some fifteen or twenty times at public meetings. In Virginia: The matter of schools and segregation is to be one of the main items of discus sion at our state program of September 23rd, and the receipt of Southern School News would be most helpful and would thereby receive distribution in a group covering the whole state. In Missouri: As Human Rights Chairman for the League of Women Voters, your material should prove invaluable to us in our study of this action on our state program. Would it be possible for our subscription to start with the September issue? From the National Civil Liberties Clearing House: Thank you very much again for sending the Clearing House the sixty copies of the first issue of Southern School News. We distributed them at this month’s meeting of the Clearing House and they aroused a great deal of interest. I think the Southern School News is providing and will continue to provide an extremely helpful and informative service. From the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith: We have greeted enthusiastically the first issue of Southern School News. I wonder if you could check your mailing list for those in this agency who would like to receive the publication. We would greatly appreciate it if you could ac commodate us in this respect. The National Catholic Welfare Conference: Since our office has been working with the Catholic educational systems on their programs of integration, and Catholic So cial Action organizations on educational programs for furthering the Supreme Court decision, your material would be of the utmost importance to us. The National Conference of Chris tians and Jews: We are working with the schools, PTA’s, churches and synagogues in the District and in the surrounding Virginia and Maryland counties. I believe the informa tion which Southern School News pro vides will be very helpful in utilizing ex periences of others for future action. The National Council of Negro Women: We are preparing a project for South ern communities to develop a climate of acceptance for the recent Supreme Court decision desegregating schools, and hope to find your material very valuable. If possible, we would like 200 copies of your publication for distribution at our an nual national conference. RELIGIOUS GROUPS Religious groups, both formal and informal are using Southern School News as a basis for their various study groups and church programs. The following comments are typical: A Presbyterian Church in Mem phis: We are directed by the General Assem bly of our denomination this summer to prepare and disseminate to our ministers such informational materials as would be helpful to them in guiding their congre gations during the process of desegrega tion. We would appreciate receiving your publication. Raleigh, North Carolina: A study group here, the Open Forum Class is to concentrate on this subject for the coming year with the hope of gaining understanding along with information and of having some contribution to make toward an intelligent solution of the many human problems involved. A church group in Norfolk, Vir ginia which “is studying the prob lem”: Naturally the Supreme Court decision of May 17 will have a far-reaching effect on the social structure of our own city. We would welcome any information or literature you might make available to our church class. From High Point, North Carolina: Please advise me if I can have your publication dealing with integration in the public schools. I want to place the members of a group representing the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of North Carolina on your mailing list and am enclosing a typed list of these persons. The president of a woman’s church group: Would it be possible for me to receive Southern School News? I am president of the women’s group called “The Al liance” in the Unitarian Church and I am to be moderator in January of a panel discussion on desegregation. I want to hold the discussion to facts and far as possible keep out prejudice and emotion. I am sure that access to the information which the Reporting Service gathers and puts out would help. A Presbyterian minister in South Carolina: We have organized here a “Christian Council on Human Relations” in order to make some constructive contribution to race relations in this period. We have a bi-racial group of about 75 persons and meet monthly. I am sure your publication will be a great resource material for pro grams, etc. National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA: It would seem to me that this service would be of great value to leaders of the various denominational social education and social action agencies. If you concur in this judgment, I would be pleased to have the attached list of names of lead ers receive Southern School News. OTHER ORGANIZATIONS Responses from organizations working either directly or indirectly in the field of education and/or hu man relations are typical of the re quests received: National Education Association: Your organization appears to be doing a good job. Keep up the good work of presenting factual and objective data on the developing educational situation in the southern and border states. National Committee for Rural Schools, Inc.: I wish to thank you for sending us the Southern School News. It is the most valuable and clear thinking evalution of the school activities in the south at pres ent. Chamber of Commerce of the United States: One of the several items on the agenda of our National Chamber’s Education Committee meeting to be held in San Francisco, September 30 to October 2, is that of segregation in the public schools. I feel that the information contained in the report is very much needed by the business leaders who comprise our com mittee, several of whom are from the South. American Council on Human Rights: The National Board of Directors of the American Council on Human Rights wi hold its semi-annual meeting in Wash ington in October. It will be extremely helpful to us if you could send me 25 copies of Southern School News. We have received your first issue and find it ex tremely valuable. I believe the Southern Education Reporting Service will be a great help in this period of transition. The Department of State: As an officer in the Department of State with assignments relating to discrimina tion issues in the UN, I am therefore anxious to have at hand any news which may be useful in answering questions which may be raised by other countries in the General Assembly on the progress made in giving support to the Supreme Court decision on school desegregation. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare: Please accept my thanks for your prompt reply to my recent telegram. I have received copies of Southern School News and wish to commend you and your associates for what seems to me to be an excellent job. I believe the News will make a significant contribution toward the solution of the problems that com munities face, and toward the orderly and constructive compliance with the de cision and the forthcoming decrees. One of the important things it will help pro vide is perspective. And certainly this is one of the great needs in considering the issues involved in desegregation and in tegration. United States Information Agen cy: I want to thank you for the ten copies of Southern School News transmitted with your letter of September 2. We have circulated the publication to our various regional desks and they were unanimous in the belief that we should find it extremely useful. We would, there fore, appreciate receiving it regularly in this quantity. Kansas City Commission on Hu man Relations: Since Kansas City is in the process of integrating its public schools by the fall of 1955, we feel that this publication would be of great value in meeting this situation. Council for Civic Unity of San Francisco: The Council for Civic Unity, in coopera tion with the KCBS Department of Public Affairs, presents a weekly radio program “Dateline Freedom” which is a summary and analysis of the week’s news in inter group relations with special reference to the rights and opportunities of racial and religious minorities. Your publication would greatly facilitate our effort to re port accurately and fairly significant trends in the South on matters within your purview. Mayor’s Friendly Relations Com mittee, Cincinnati: I have seen the first issue of Southern School News and do congratulate you on the vital and unique service which it will render. We of this official intergroup relations agency of a border city would be appre ciative if you could put us on your mail ing list. If so, might we receive the first issue for a full file? Mayor’s Commission on Human Rights, Milwaukee: At the last meeting of the Commission on Human Rights, copies of the South ern School News were reviewed, and so impressed were the members of the Com mission with the issues that this office was asked to request enough copies for distribution among members of the Com mission. Would you be good enough to place this office on your permanent mailing list to receive Southern School News? These will be distributed among our Commis sioners who have shown much interest in this publication. There is no doubt that SSN will prove of great value to us in the work we are doing in the local com munity. American Friends Service Com mittee: As the matter of integration of public schools, particularly on the teaching level, is a live issue in our area, any insights into developments in other areas would be very helpful. It is expected that PTA groups would be interested in Southern School News. The following requests are typical: In Virginia: The Alexandria Parent-Teacher Asso ciation has directed a committee to study the problem of integration. I feel your re search will be of invaluable help to us. From Austin, Texas: As legislative chairman for the Austin City Council of Parents and Teachers, I am sure I will receive many inquiries con cerning segregation during the school year. Your publication as a factual and objective source would be most helpful. Bodies established specifically to work in connection with the Supreme Court Devision have requested Southern School News as follows: Arlington, Virginia: On behalf of the integration committee appointed by the Arlington County School Board, I would like to subscribe to Southern School News. I am enclosing $3.00. If you want more holler. A southern attorney general: Please send us all future copies of your fine publication. Some time ago you noti fied the governor that we could secure this publication by request, and we have found it most helpful in our research. The chairman of a Governor’s Spe cial Advisory Committee on Educa tion: As chairman of our state’s Advisory Committee on Education, a friend has passed on to me the first issue of your Southern School News which I have read with great profit. I have enough copies of this original issue to mail to the eighteen members of the Governor’s Spe- ciay Advisory Committee. I would like to request that you place each member of our committee on your mailing list in order that we might receive all additional copies of Southern School News direct from you. INFORMATION MEDIA Librarians, publishers, educational service bureaus, radio correspond ents, national syndicated columnists, representatives of the foreign press, press associations, Program Service Branch, U.S. Information Agency, public relations consultants, consult ants of the Foreign Policy Associa tion, editors of publications such as The Reporter, Scholastic, American Unity, National Catholic Weekly, Social Order, Commentary, Jet, a magazine directed primarily to Ne gro readers, and many others evinced an interest in and responsi bility for disseminating information such as is carried in southern school News. A London correspondent for The Economist: As the very greatest interest is being displayed in Britain in this subject, I should like to receive two copies of Southern School News, one to be retained here for research purposes, the other to be sent by me to London as guidance to their writing. Editor, IPI Report, Switzerland: I have just finished studying the first issue of Southern School News, and would like to express my appreciation of the solid background information it con tains. It is an admirable starting point for future issues. A Maryland journalist: As a member of the press, I have been attending the local PTA and worksho? meetings and am much interested in tb future of integration. I would like ven much to be put on the mailing list $ Southern School News and would ly^ to know if there is any objection to quot. ing from the paper from time to timi providing I state the source. News Bureau Director: Yesterday I received the first three is. sues of your publication, and the entii* University here seems to have the sarin opinion. Nothing has presented a mo* comprehensive picture of the problem! facing the Southern States with regard tr the Supreme Court’s ruling with regain to segregatinon in the school system. A magazine writer: The first two issues of Southern Schooi News I got from the Fund for the Ad vancement of Education were most help, ful in preparation of an article on de segregation. Since I have at least twr more articles to do on this subject, woulc you put me on your mailing list for No. vember and subsequent issues A South Carolina Editor: This is a project of particular interes and should be of inestimable value tc educators and publishers, as well as tht general public. A commentator in North Carolina: As a radio and TV newsman, I am de sirous of having a complete file of you: news publication, beginning with the first issue. Librarians throughout the country have shown considerable interest a= the following requests will indicate An official of the American Libra ry Association writes as follows: Southern School News sems to us a valuable publication and one which we would like our southern libraries to re ceive. It was suggested that the publica tion might be mailed out to all libraries in towns of 2,500 and up. This would mear. a total of nearly 1,200 libraries and we realize that it is hardly possible for you to assume such a burden. However, there are in the states most closely affected by the recent Supreme Court decision 86 li braries in cities of 35,000 and over; 2$ libraries in cities over 100,000 population and 13 libraries in cities over 200,(XX population. Would it be possible for the SERS to send copies of SSN to the li braries in one or all of these populatior. groupings? I am sure they would find this a valuable addittion to the materials on this question of such vital importance to their readers. The Oklahoma Library Association comments: With the present focus of interest on education in the South, objective report ing on conditions in other southern areas will be most valuable to Oklahoma libra ries. Joint University Libraries, Nash ville, Tennessee: We believe that it is quite important that our faculty members and students have access to the facts reported in your News. The librarian at Durham, North Carolina: We have prepared a series of discus sions on “The Supreme Court Decision at the Community Level” and we would lik* to use Southern School News as one or our basic studies. The Patrick Henry Memorial Li' brary, Brookneal, Virginia: I have seen sample copies and am very much pleased with Southern Scho# News. We will be delighted to get it anc feel very much in ned of such a public*' tion at this time. The director of libraries, the Um* versity of Georgia: I have just finished examining the fir* two issues of SSN and want to congratu late you on the thoroughness of the cov erage and the high quality of reporting It is an extremely valuable publication You have kindly placed the library ® the mailing list but I want to obtain 3 copy for my personal use. BULK RATE U. S. Postage PAID Nashville, Tenn. Permit No. 928 University of Georgia Libraries Acquisitions Division Athens, Ga.
