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PAGE 6—Jan. 6, 1955—SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS
Florida
MIAMI, Fla.
HERE is growing belief that the
Florida legislature, when it meets
in May, will be the arena for a strug
gle over segregation different from
that taking place in any other state.
It will be a duel between forces
seeking action along the lines fol
lowed recently in Mississippi—a con
stitutional provision against integra
tion submitted to a statewide refer
endum—and those who would like
legislative support for the principle
of “gradualism” as proposed by Atty.
Gen. Richard W. Ervin in his brief
to the Supreme Court.
The advocates of segregation are
led by Acting Gov. Charley E. Johns,
who relinquishes his post early in
January to Gov. LeRoy Collins.
Ever since his effort in November
to obtain a united front against integ
ration at the Conference of Southern
Governors at Boca Raton, Johns has
been trying to make this an issue in
Florida politics.
He announced he will sponsor leg
islation in May to preserve segrega
tion as a legal principle. Johns will
propose a concurrent resolution to
Congress calling for an amendment
to the Constitution of the United
States. This would reserve to the
states the right to prohibit the mix
ture of races in the public schools.
Johns said his resolution will re
quire “equal and impartial facilities”
for white and Negro children. School
funds would be allotted on a per
capita basis, without relation to race.
IN STRATEGIC SPOT
Johns will be in a strategic position
to push his proposal because of the
unusual situation in relation to the
governorship.
When Gov. Dan McCarty died in
1952, Johns, who was president of
the Senate, succeeded to his post
until the 1954 general election. Johns
was a candidate for the remaining two
years of McCarty’s term, but was de
feated by Collins.
He is still a state senator, however,
his term having two more years to
run. In this position he will have the
added prestige that comes from his
service as Senate president and
governor.
Johns has tried to involve Gov.
Collins in the segregation debate.
When his move for a united front
failed at the Conference of Southern
Governors, he obtained the signatures
of seven governors and one governor-
elect on a statement pledging the use
of “every proper prerogative” of their
offices to protect the right of the
states to administer their public
schools.
He wrote Collins urging him to sign
the statement. Johns said “the people
are entitled to know how the next
governor of Florida stands on this
important issue.”
Collins said in reply:
I am now busily engaged in construc
tive work for advancing the future of our
state and do not care to be diverted to a
newspaper discussion on subjects which
breed discord, disharmony and demagog
uery.
Collins’ only commitment so far is
that he will use “all the lawful power
of the governor’s office to preserve
segregation.”
ERVIN PLAN BACKED
John’s campaign at this stage is
without organized opposition. Bills
are in preparation, however, embody
ing the Ervin suggestions to the Su
preme Court for a legal procedure to
handle the details of integration.
These suggest that after a reason
able period of preparation, Negro
children, otherwise qualified, who are
denied admission to a white school
on grounds of race, could ask local
courts to protect their rights.
In ruling on these petitions, the
courts would consider such factors
as:
1. Whether the local school au
thorities had made a sincere effort
to achieve integration.
2. Whether the community was
ready to accept integration or whe
ther immediate mixture of the races
might create a dangerous situation
which could provoke violence.
The Ervin approach accepts the
principle of non-segregation as voiced
by the Supreme Court, but also rec
ognizes the fact, established by the
“guinea pig” survey of selected
Florida counties, that the people are
overwhelmingly against immediate
desegregation.
The legislators advocating “grad
ualism” and urging wide latitude by
local school authorities point out that
U. S. Atty. Gen. Herbert Brownell,
in his brief filed with the Supreme
Court early in December, adopted
some of the Ervin proposals. Brownell
declared that time was necessary for
acceptance of the Supreme Court
decision and that haste in implement
ing it might be unwise.
CIVIL RIGHTS INQUIRY
While the legislative struggle took
shape, the Federal Bureau of Inves
tigation began checking complaints
that the civil rights of the Allen Platt
family may have been violated when
five Platt children were suspended
from a Lake County school for white
children on grounds that they had
Negro blood.
Sheriff Willis V. McCall demanded
their dismissal. He had been active
in the National Association for the
Advancement of White People, and
made speeches under NAAWP aus
pices at Milford, Del., prior to a
series of anti-integration demon
strations there.
McCall said he had investigated
the origins of the Platt family who
claim to be of Indian and Irish de
scent. On the basis of his findings, Mc
Call said he had asked the five-man
school board to prohibit the children
from attending the school.
When Mrs. Mabel Norris Reese,
editor of the weekly Mount Dora
Topic charged the board “bowed to
dictation as surely as anyone in
Russia ever did.” McCall replied:
All I did was enforce Article 12, Sec
tion 12 of the Florida Constitution which
says white and colored children shall not
be taught in the same school, but im
partial provision shall be made for both.
C. A. Vaughan, Jr., superintendent
of the Lake County schools, said that
a study of the case is continuing.
“If it is determined that they (the
Platt children) do not have Negro
blood, they are eligible to attend the
white schools,” he said.
After the incident, the Platt family
moved to Orange County and the
children again were refused admis
sion to a white school.
Judson B. Walker, Orange County
school superintendent, said the action
was not a denial of an education to
the children.
“They have a right to attend the
Negro schools,” Walker said. “Allow
ing them to go to white schools
wouldn’t work around here. It would
be tragic if they tried to force their
way into a white school around here.
You can’t legislate feelings and prej
udices out of people’s minds.”
Members of the Orange County
school board believed, Walker said,
that the Platts were Croatans, and
cited Webster’s dictionary which re
fined this as “a people of mixed Indi
an, white and Negro blood living in
North Carolina and now recognized
as a distinct people.”
FBI PROBE ASKED
U. S. Dist. Atty. James Guilmartin
announced he was looking into the
case and had asked the FBI for a
report.
“At this point we are not interested
in the question of the children’s ed
ucation,” he said. “The Supreme
Court has not yet decided the seg
regation issue.
“All we are interested in is whether
the civil rights of the Platts were vio
lated by any peace officer.”
Platt, a 46-year-old fruit picker,
told authorities that both he and his
wife are Cherokee Indians with an
admixture of Irish blood. He said
they are not of Negro extraction.
From South Carolina, G. E. Brant,
Holly Hill school superintendent, said
the Brant children, like others in the
part-Indian group living in that area,
had attended a special school through
the seventh grade. After that they
were enrolled in the regular white
schools.
Several children of other families
are attending the white high school
in South Carolina, Brant said. Their
birth certificates list them as white or
Croatan.
Public discussion of the issues
posed by the Supreme Court ruling
continued during December as groups
with a wide range of objectives re
mained active.
Florida State Rights Inc., the
Miami-based group dedicated to op.
pose integration by constitutional
means, continued its regular meet,
ings. There was similar activity hv
other groups working for segregation
The Dade County Council on Com.
munity Relations held a series 0 f
neighborhood meetings and forum,
for a discussion of these issues
Speakers included state and local
government officials, attorneys, min.
isters, welfare workers and house,
wives, white and Negro teachers, who
described the problems created bv
the Supreme Court ruling and hoi
they could be met.
The Council reported attendance
was satisfactory and the questions
asked of the panel indicated a desire
for objective information.
Several organizations took a stand
on segregation. Among these was the
special committee of the Bar Associa.
tion of Tampa and Hillsborough
County which studied the question
and urged the parent body to recog.
nize that desegregation is “unconsti
tutional and opposed by an over
whelming majority” of citizens of the
county and state.
The resolution which the commit-
tee proposed said:
When the justices of the Supreme Court
m complete disregard of state’s rights
under our system of government, assums
the right, by virtue of their position to
amend the constitution by taking over and
directing the operation of our public
schools and who shall attend them, the
g r eat majority of the people are there':
impelled, and justly so, to oppose the en
forcement of such an unconstitutional de
cree by every lawful means and in even
lawful manner possible as an encroach
ment upon the rights of the states, and
the substitution of psychology for well-
established, fundamental principles of
law.
The United Church Women of
Florida endorsed the Supreme Court
ruling at their state convention.
The St. Petersburg Ministers As
sociation, after weeks of discussion
admitted Negro clergymen to full
membership. Among the reasons
given for the step were:
To increase understanding among lead
ers of both races, thereby easing tension
which might arise in the years ahead
when segregation is slowly abolished.
To present to the community a united
front on social problems.
Texas
AUSTIN, Texas
F any of Texas’ 181 legislators have
a plan to change this state’s system
of segregated schools, they are keep
ing quiet about it.
The lawmakers will convene here
on Jan. 11 for a session that is sched
uled to run 120 days. A new constitu
tional amendment provides that the
members will be paid $25 a day for
120 days and nothing thereafter. The
old pay scale was $10 a day for 120
days and $5 for each overtime day.
The Associated Press asked Texas
legislators in a pre-session question
naire what problems are in prospect.
Fifty-two members replied. Only
two of these thought desegregation
would be the major issue, although
the Texas legislature has not met
since the United States Supreme
Court handed down its historic de
cision that compulsory segregation in
the public schools is unconstitutional.
Gov. Allan Shivers campaigned on
a platform urging continued segrega
tion. The attitude of top Texas of
ficials, supported by the brief of Atty.
Gen. John Ben Shepperd, has been to
urge the Supreme Court to write a
decree that will allow a long integra
tion period plus the authority for lo
cal districts to maintain control over
the schools.
Liberal legislators, who have been
in a minority at most recent sessions,
are more outspoken than the con
servatives who favor continued seg
regation.
Rep. Maury Maverick Jr. of San
Antonio, son of the late congressman
commented in reply to the Associated
Press:
“There is no road back . . . Jim
Crow is dead, or soon will be, in the
field of education. The colored races
of the world will be watching to see
what we do. To kick a man down be
cause of his racial extraction will only
provide Soviet Russia with propa
ganda to defeat us on a global basis.”
Rep. Virginia Duff of Ferris, near
Dallas, was a member who listed seg
regation as a top problem for the ses
sion.
“This is most important to me be
cause at Ferris we have a greater
Negro enrollment than white,” she
said.
NEW LAWS UNLIKELY
It seems unlikely that the Texas
legislature will take any action in
advance of the Supreme Court de
cree. There seems also to be little
demand for changing Texas schools
from a public to a private basis, as
some other southern states have au
thorized.
Some Texas districts are going
ahead with school building programs
without waiting for the Supreme
Court decree. Dallas voted almost
10-1 in favor of a 35 million dollar
school bond issue on Dec. 11. Three
previous issues totaling $51,330,000
had been approved in Dallas since
World War II.
J. W. Edgar, Commissioner of Edu
cation, said that reaction to the seg
regation ruling has been varied re
garding building programs. Some dis
tricts seem to have stepped up efforts
to improve Negro school buildings.
A few seem to be holding back on
spending money until they find out
what will be the Court’s decree, Dr.
Edgar said. These appear to be most
ly smaller schools.
“Those districts which have already
provided equal facilities for Negroes
are not worried,” he said. “They feel
that they have complied with the
Supreme Court’s separate but equal
doctrine.”
Negroes in Dallas voted heavily for
the new bond issue. One all-Negro
box voted 26-2 for the proposition;
another 54-8.
The Dallas Morning News has
called editorially for placing a Negro
member on the local school board. A
vacancy now exists on the board, but
it is unknown whether the other
board members will appoint a tem
porary member before elections are
held in the spring of 1955.
RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED
Meantime, state associations for
both white and Negro teachers in
Texas adopted resolutions on segrega
tion at separate conventions held dur
ing the Thanksgiving holidays.
The Texas State Teachers Associa
tion, representing white teachers, re
solved “to cooperate fully with the
State Board of Education and the
Texas Education Agency in carrying
out such decisions as may be made
by constituted authorities of the state
concerning segregation in the public
schools of Texas.”
The state board has ordered schools
to maintain segregation, as required
bv state law and the constitution, un
til changed by court decree or legis
lative act.
NAACP COMMENDED
The Teachers State Association of
Texas (for Negroes) meanwhile com
mended the National Association for
Advancement of Colored Peoole. but
the 2.600 members attending the con
vention in Austin rejected by voice
vote a proposed $1 per teacher con
tribution to NAACP.
The defeated proposal resolved:
That the Teachers State Association of
Texas exDresses its faith and appreciation
for the NAACP by a pledge of $5,000 to
the Texas State conference of the NAACP,
and that each teacher be asked to con
tribute through his local area or other
organized channels selected by the execu
tive secretary, the sum of at least $1 by
Feb. 1, 1955, the same to be remitted to
the headquarters office of TSAT (at Aus
tin) not later than March 15, 1955.
However, the urgency of this situation
demands immediate action. Therefore, we
offer each of us the opportunity to mani
fest his Interest now. Hence, we call upon
each teacher here assembled to make his
contribution, so that $1,000 of the $5,000
may be made available to NAACP from
receipts of this convention. Appropriate
credits for these current donations will
be forwarded to the local organizations of
TSAT.
Leslie White, executive secretary
for the association, said that there
was “a good bit of discussion” before
the action was taken.
White said opponents to the resolu
tion “felt that we should run our own
affairs and not attempt to tie our as
sociation to the NAACP.”
NAACP was commended by the
Texas Negro teachers for “its persis
tent efforts to make democracy a
reality; for the unmeasurable contri
butions it has made to promote equal
educational opportunities and defense
of our way of life against thought
fulness and selfishness on the part
of some as well as their efforts to
improve the professional, political
and economic status of our group.”
TSAT added:
“The Teachers State Association of
Texas further commends the NAACP
for the adoption of the following na
tional policy, regarding teacher per
sonnel, to wit:
“ ‘We insist that there should be
integration at all levels including the
assignment of teacher-personnel on a
non-discriminatory basis. The fullest
resources of the association, includ
ing the legal staff, the research staff
and the educational specialists on the
staff, will be utilized to insure that
there will be no discrimination
against teachers as a result of inte
gration.’ ”
In his brief to the United States
Supreme Court, urging that segrega
tion be ended gradually, if at all, Atty.
Gen. Shepperd of Texas said the
state employs 8,500 Negro teachers
and administrators. This, Shepperd
said, is nearly equal to the total num
ber of Negroes employed in schools
of 31 non-segregated states.
IMPLEMENTATION ASKED
The Texas Negro teachers adopted
a resolution calling for implementa
tion of the Supreme Court’s May 17
decision that compulsory segregation
in the public schools is unconstitu
tional. It recommended “allowing
time for the adjustment of adminis
trative problems” but opposed “any
and all methods contrived for the
sole purpose to circumvent or delay.'
TSAT also recommended a $4,000
per year minimum pay schedule for
teachers with bachelor degrees. The
base pay now is $2,804 a year. The
association also urged that represen
tatives be chosen from all teacher
groups to boards and committees
dealing with public education.
STUDENTS BACK ‘GRADUALISM
High school students taking part -
a statewide Hi-Y Legislature came
up with one solution to the problem
of segregation in the schools.
They voted—by standing vote anc
without an exact tally—to integrate
the public schools over a seven-yeas
period. But the young legislators-for
a-day left a loophole for the legisla
ture to extend the integration peri#
after seven years, if desired.
The favorable vote came after •
committee had killed, then revived
the proposal. About 400 students tool
part in the government demonstra -
tion, sponsored by the Young Men!
Christian Associations.
There was hot debate on the qu^'
tion of segregation. The proponent
came mainly from districts with f e?
Negroes, or from cities.
Bob Watson of San Antonio was'
spokesman for integration.
“Somewhere a start has to ^
made,” he said. “Why can’t we 2 ‘
Christian young men and , woff e
start it? If we can’t convince ^
other side in seven years, we’ve a°
a pretty poor job.”
Sally Toone, a delegate from D 3 *
las, spoke against the proposal.
“I know most of us are for
rights, but everyone isn’t in the ™
Y,” said Miss Toone. “I know wh®
happened at home. Some nasty thb*
have been said. All kids are not in
Hi-Y and may not feel the way *
Several Negro students atten '
the convention as observers. It is h
annually in the state capitol of To* 8