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Missouri
S IX principals reporting how inte
gration looks in their schools aft
er a full semester of experience; St.
Louis quietly getting ready to inte
grate its high schools with the start
of the second semester Jan. 31; a St.
Louis County town becoming the first
in the state to announce plans for
full integration of its teaching staff
next September. Such is the story for
January in Missouri.
St. Louis approached an important
change in its community life—the
largest Missouri integration operation
yet in point of numbers—with an
extraordinary absence of excitement.
No signs of any open opposition to
integration of the seven white and
two Negro high schools had ap
peared. There was little public dis
cussion of it.
Calling attention to the success with
which the two teachers-junior col
leges had been consolidated in Sep
tember, Supt. of Public Instruction
Philip J. Hickey said the board of
education “looks forward with con
fidence” to the beginning of high
school integration.
ADVANCE WORK
Advance work done by community
agencies, principals, students and
parent groups has been “a source of
assurance to school authorities that
this great movement will be carried
out normally,” Mr. Hickey told a Ki-
wanis club luncheon.
One example of such advance work
that has received favorable attention
is that of Vashon high school, where
the human relations program which
had been conducted for several years
was intensified as the integration
date approached. Vashon is a Negro
high school with an enrollment of
about 2,000. Many of its students, this
year or later, will transfer to mixed
schools.
At an all-school assembly last fall,
student leaders discussed the histori
cal background of the Supreme Court
decision and gave their personal re
actions to it. Several weeks later all
home rooms held a workshop session
in which the pupils themselves ex
plored all aspects of the problem, and
exchanged views. Each home room
drew up a report reflecting the group
views and how individuals could best
meet the problems arising from in
tegration. Finally, three weeks be
fore the end of the semester, another
all-school assembly was held at
which a panel composed of white
Pastors, civic leaders and school
Principals discussed the problem and
answered questions sent up by stu
dents.
HOUSING INCIDENT
The spirit with which some St.
j-ouisans are approaching school in-
egration was expressed in the 4300
“lock of Westminster Place early in
anuary. This neighborhood lies
athwart the westward push of Negro
residential migration. Public high
sc .j°°l students in the neighborhood
, ! attend a mixed school expected
0 have 25 to 30 per cent Negro en-
r ?,^ en t- It is an area of dignified
I npmes, once among the finest in
eharm Y an< ^ P ossess f n S distinct
Recently the block was rezoned
from
single family to two-family
ellings, and two Negro families
“Fo^ * n ^° one °f the homes. Six
t ° r Hale” signs promptly went up
n and surrounding area. Its board
alo "g the street.
. r - and Mrs. Samuel H. Marcus,
s j_^ ever i Put up a different kind of
In front of their 16-room brick
Is ^ ome - It read: “This House
bei I,?* ^° r ® a f e - We like our fine
Sbors. Your race, religion and
take 1CS - are not our concern - -AH who
Pride in their homes are wel-
C0 ^ e on this street.”
all s' 61 ^ r ' ^ arcus s sifi 11 went up,
°f tlf others came down. Some
u, 0v 6 Peighbors undoubtedly will
think' 0U *V k u t others are said to be
in vit ln Jf H over. One dropped by to
the Marcuses to dinner.
0 hClSlON ON TEACHERS
town ^rhwood, a St. Louis County
dist-: 19.000 population, the school
of er , Ct ser ves 5,000 pupils from the
r esol U t Cation ° n ^ an " ^ adopted a
inn,. _,!° n ending teacher segregation
has a j ate ly. Integration of pupils
ready begun and is expected to
be completed by next September.
With a Negro student population
of 500, Kirkwood began integration at
the elementary school level last Sep
tember, absorbing 82 Negroes in four
previously white schools. For the
current academic year, attendance at
mixed schools is optional, with the
result that one elementary and jun
ior high school continues to be oper
ated as an all-Negro school. When it
becomes compulsory for students to
attend the school nearest their homes,
this school is expected to enroll a
white minority. High school integra
tion is to become effective when a
new high school now under con
struction is completed. The contractor
has promised completion next Sep
tember.
The teacher integration resolution
provides simply that “recommenda
tions for the hiring, transfer or dis
missal of teachers be based solely
upon competency, without respect to
race or color.” Hiring, transfer and
dismissal are done by the board on
recommendation of the superintend
ent, who in turn acts on the recom
mendation of school principals. Ac
cording to Supt. Floyd W. Hendricks,
24 new teachers will be hired next
year to keep pace with an expected
increase in enrollment of 600 pupils.
They will be employed and assigned
to schools without respect to race, he
said.
The school system now has 21 Ne
gro teachers, all assigned to the hith
erto Negro school, and 221 white
teachers in other schools. Supt. Hen
dricks says no blanket policy of
transferring Negro teachers to white
schools or vice versa has been adopt
ed; in other words, transfers will not
be made simply for the purpose of
arbitrarily mixing white and Negro
teachers. However, any teacher can
request a transfer, and any princi
pal can request a teacher’s transfer.
Hereafter all transfers and requests
for transfer will be considered with
out regard to race.
OTHER REPORTS
Here are the reports of Missouri
principals on a full semester’s expe
rience with integration:
SPRINGFIELD (Pop. 72,000. Ne
gro pupils, 342. Total enrollment,
12,800).
Principal Homer R. Kesterson of
Central senior high school says that
the assembly held at Central during
pre-school registration week last
September seemed to have set the
pattern for later experiences. When
he announced in that assembly that
some of the young people from Lin
coln school would be coming to Cen
tral this year “The auditorium re
sounded with wholehearted applause
from the white students.”
Of the 34 Negroes who enrolled in
a student body of 2,200, three have
withdrawn. Two sophomores said
they found the school too big for
them. They did not, however, return
to Lincoln (which remains open on
an optional basis) but quit school.
The third student, a junior, just
“wasn’t interested.” All three were
found to have had poor grade and
attendance records throughout their
educational history.
The rest of the Negroes seem to be
getting along well and have adjusted
adequately, says Mr. Kesterson. Any
incidents? A white girl reported that
one of the Negroes had called her
on the telephone. His conversation
was polite, friendly, and in no way
out of order, but she was puzzled.
After learning that the boy had also
annoyed Negro girls with repeated
telephone calls, the principal’s office
called him in to talk it over. There
have been no telephone calls since.
No notable difference in learning
ability of Negro pupils is visible, and
no lowering of academic standards
is expected, says Mr. Kesterson. No
health or sanitation problems have
appeared: “We have been pleased to
note that the colored boys and girls,
without exception, dress neatly, keep
themselves clean and are reasonably
well groomed.”
All activities at Central, including
social events, are open to Negroes.
At school dances, both Negro and
white students are on the floor. No
regulations forbid Negroes to dance
with whites, but by common consent
no effort has been made by members
of eitner group to dance witn a mem
ber oi tne otner. in atmetics and gym
classes integration is complete, all
students snaring tne same snowers,
iocxer rooms, piaying neids, etc. Two
Negroes played on me loomall team
and two are on tne basxetball team.
Tne newcomers apparendy feel tree
to seen advice from counselors and
teachers, and in ail respects seem
quite at ease. Mr. Kesterson says an
incident which occurred during foot
ball season summarizes the bpring-
held experience:
“Two of our white students and
one of our colored students were
waiting on the corner by the stadium
for a bus to take them to town. They
had just completed football practice
for the afternoon. Suddenly a con
vertible turned the comer. Its occu
pants, two high school students,
pulled to the curb and yelled, ‘Wanna
ride to town?’ The two white boys
climbed in. The driver then looked
at the colored boy who remained
standing at the curb and asked,
‘Aren’t you going to town?’ ‘Yes,’ he
answered. ‘Well, then, crawl in.
There’s plenty of room.’ And away
they went.”
MEXICO (Pop. 12,000. Negro pupils
320. Total enrollment 2,000).
Principal Burnell Lamb, whose
high school has 40 Negroes in a total
enrollment of 575, says integration
has been completely accepted with
no incidents and “no indications of
any.” No difference in learning abil
ity of Negroes has appeared, though
differences in educational back
ground and a lack of thoroughness
of past preparation is noticed in
some. Despite these variations, Mr.
Lamb observes no possible lowering
of academic standards due to inte
gration. Neither have any health or
sanitation problems showed up: “Ne
gro students by and large come to
school clean and well groomed.”
All activities are open to all on
an equal basis. As in Springfield, no
rule has been made against mixed
dancing at social events, but so far
this has not occurred. Says Mr.
Lamb:
“The way to make integration work
is for adults to accept it and say
very little about it. The students
themselves exhibit very little if any
racial prejudice. None at all has been
even hinted here at Mexico High.
I am very enthusiastic about the suc
cess of our program thus far. We
started school last fall just the same
way it has always started and left
the rest to the pupils. I cordially in
vite anyone to visit our school and
talk with all concerned.”
ST. JOSEPH (Pop. 79.000. Negro
pupils, 440. Total enrollment 12,000).
In Missouri’s third largest city, the
three white high schools last Septem
ber absorbed the Negro high school
students who had formerly attended
a segregated school. Here are reports
from each of the schools:
Principal Marion E. Gibbins of
Central High:
“All phases of school life are open
to any Central student: sports,
clubs, dramatics, student govern
ment, dances, etc. By common agree
ment among student leaders of both
races, it was decided that at school
dances it would be wise for no mixed
couples to dance. All students are
welcome to attend and both races
have been well represented. As far
as I know, this is the only restric
tion that has been made, even un
officially. There are none for cafe
teria use or gym class
“There has not been, nor shall
there be in the future, any lowering
of academic standards. I have the im
pression that the particular group of
Negro students we received this year
tends to skew a little toward the low
er end scholastically. This proves
nothing about the group which will
arrive next year. It is certainly no
basis for a generalization.
“One white girl reported to the
dean of girls that a Negro boy had
called her and asked for a date—a
fact which she resented. It was diffi
cult to determine whether the girl
might have dreamed up the incident,
whether some other student was
playing a hoax on her, or whether
there might have been some element
of truth in what she said. Nothing
further developed.
“The only incident of friction I
SOUTHERN SCHOOL
know of occurred in the ROTC de
partment wben tne tempers ot a Ne
gro boy and a wmte boy nared up
over some trivial nappenmg. 1 nave
seen tne same tning nappen between
boys regardless oi color, and color
had notmng at all to do with causing
tne mcident. Atterwards tne two par
ticipants may have injected some
racial feeling into their trunking. The
dean of boys succeeded, I believe,
in getting each boy to see tnat he
had definite responsibilities for the
well being of tfie school as a whole
regardless of how much his individ
ual feelings might have been ruffled.
“My impression is that a large per
centage of students, 65 to 70 per cent,
favored integration and accepted it
gladly. A smaller group, 20 to 25 per
cent, were passive in their attitude
and voiced no negative feelings. A
few, 5 to 10 per cent, were probably
pro-segregation, but did not voice
their opinions too loudly because
they were in the minority.
“Among parents the percentage in
each group would be different. The
third group probably is twice as
large, and the first smaller. I have
had relatively few direct negative
comments from parents. The parents
of one girl sent the daughter out of
the city to a private girls’ school be
cause of integration. One other par
ent used integration as a reason for
permitting his daughter to drop
school. In the latter case there were
other contributing factors.
“In this community, then, there
has been no extensive anti-integra
tion feeling. In general such anti
integration attitudes as there are
seem to be lodged most firmly in
two widely divergent groups: first,
in a few extremely socially-minded
and well-to-do families, and second,
in families of meager cultural and
educational background, often in the
lower income brackets.”
Principal W. L. Daffron of Benton
high school:
“In general, integration has
worked out in a very fine way. We
have had one or two little flare-ups
about discipline among our 27 Negro
students, regarding conduct in class,
attendance regulations, tardiness and
so forth. However, these incidents
seem to be no different from what
we have with the rest of the student
body. We do not restrict the students
in any of our activities. We have had
no problems of sanitation or health.
Our Negro students are not denied
attendance at social activities, such
as clubs and dances. We have noticed
that there is no mixed dancing. All
in all, our integration has worked
much better than we anticipated.”
Principal C. W. Thomas, Lafayette
high school:
“With a Negro enrollment of 25
among 1,050 students, the adjustment
has been easy. The pupils have ac
cepted the change without any inci
dents of friction or trouble. We have
found that the Negro students re
ceived at the high school level are
behind those who have had all of
their work in our school. We have
tried to be as considerate as possi
ble and have kept failures to a mini
mum. We expect no lowering of aca
demic standards. We try to section
our students on an ability basis. If
the colored group tends to fall in the
slow sections, this would not create a
problem with the other sections.
“Our Negro students have a much
higher rate of absenteeism than oth
ers. Part of this might be a health
nroblem, since most excuses blame
illness for absence. No sanitation
problems have arisen as yet.
“We have not had a regular all
school dance this semester. We had
one small dance after a football game.
One colored boy came, but left in a
very short time. We have a recrea
tion hall where students dance at
noon during the lunch period. Some
colored students have taken part in
this activity. They do not dance with
members of the other race. No Negro
boys have joined the Hi-Y clubs. One
Y-teen girls’ group is being organized
with mixed membership.”
ST. CHARLES (Pop. 15,000. Negro
pupils 130. Total enrollment 1.908).
This town reversed the typical Mis
souri integration pattern of starting
at the high school level. St. Charles
integrated grades 1 to 6 this year,
will follow with high school pupils
in September 1955.
From Principal Lucille Stephens of
Benton school comes the report that
NEWS—Feb. 3. 1955—PAGE 15
integration there has been “quite
successful.” A first-grade teacher re
ported to Miss Stephens: “I see no
one who seems to be unhappy here.”
Another reported: “The three Negro
pupils in my class have not been in
school previously, hence do not have
any change to make. They seem to
feel at home and sure of their wel
come here.” In other grades also the
teachers report full acceptance of the
situation.
Miss Stephens goes on:
“We see no notable difference in
the learning ability of Negro or white
pupils. We do not observe any pos
sible lowering of academic standards
due to integration. No sanitation or
health problems have arisen. Our Ne
gro children are very neat and clean.
During physical education classes
and play periods, the Negro is ac
cepted by the group as in the class
room. They are chosen as leaders in
games, and no one has ever com
plained of having a colored boy or
girl for a partner in marching.
“The Negroes participated in our
Christmas program and their enthu
siasm was as great as the rest of us.
One of our white parents reported
recently that her little girl came home
talking about Mary along with the
others in her class, and it was some
time before it developed that Mary
was a colored child. We find that
children do not differentiate in color.
“I am happy that I have had a part
in the first step of integration in our
community and that it has proved to
be successful in every way.”
Virginia Papers
Continued from Page 11
cision last May 17. . . . The commis
sion faces an admittedly difficult
task. . . . But this does not preclude
constructive thinking about the
whole broad problem and how to
deal with certain definite difficulties
bound to arise no matter how much
moderation and gradualism the Su
preme Court may allow. . . .
“The commission shows a singular
dislike for taking the public into its
confidence. It has held one public
hearing and believes this will be
enough on the ground that additional
hearings would yield only ‘cumula
tive testimony, rather than fresh
viewpoints.’
“This policy is too reminiscent of
the commission’s organization meet
ing when it adopted a rule for closed
door sessions and strict censorship
of information about its delibera
tions. . . . Doesn’t the commission
trust the people or has it made up
its mind about what it will do?”
The Newport News Daily Press:
“We do not question the conten
tion of state officials . . . that enforced
integration of the races in the public
schools is opposed by a majority of
the people—well, perhaps we should
say white people—but nothing would
have been lost by waiting for the
final ruling from the court before in
dicating compliance or non-compli
ance. Speaking for Virginia, we hope
the precipitant action taken has not
been made at the expense of possi
ble modification by the Supreme
Court of the decision itself.”
The Danville Bee:
“What we had hoped to read was
some sort of plan based on hypothet
ical directives by the court. . . . Has
the commission a tentative plan
whereby the free school system could
be abolished and substituted on a
continuing segregated basis by a se
ries of private schools which the peo
ple are willing to support with their
tax dollars? . . . The commission is
probably wise in saying that no more
public meetings are necessary, since
majority opinion can now only be
cumulative.”
The Staunton Evening Leader:
“This state’s commission has just
issued what amounts to a preliminary
report, and its announced intention
is to circumvent integration, if there
is any legal way to accomplish this
end. ... It is evident that the tug-
of-war between the court and those
states which are not favorable to in
tegration may go on for years. The
inevitable result will be that public
education will suffer immeasurably
during this period of uncertainty,
even chaos.”