Newspaper Page Text
SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS—April 7. 1955—PAGE 9
Florida
MIAMI, Fla.
TN the months since the Supreme
Court announced its segregation
decision, there has been no appre
ciable change in the opposition by
a majority of Florida citizens to the
ruling. If anything, there has been
a stiffening of resistance to integra
tion, and an apparent willingness
by officials and citizens to be more
articulate about their feelings of
antagonism.
These were conclusions of the
attorney general of Florida, Richard
W. Ervin, and his assistant, Ralph
Odum, as they prepared to present
oral arguments to the Supreme
Court on implementing the decision
of May 17.
When that decision was an
nounced, Ervin obtained state funds
for a carefully-planned and super
vised sampling of leadership opinion
in key counties, selected according
to size, geographical and economic
position to present a true, statewide
picture.
On the basis of this study the
attorney general and Odum sub
mitted the brief which called for a
long-time approach and wide lati
tude on the part of local officials who
would be in a position to judge when
their individual communities were
ready to start the integration process.
OPINION RECHECKED
Upon the announcement of the
April 11 date for further arguments,
Ervin and Odum made a recheck
of some public and school officials
who took part in the survey last
summer. There was no time for a
recheck by the trained researchers
who made the original study.
“The situation, as well as we can
determine it, is about the same,”
Odum reported, “except that some
people seemed even more inclined
toward the opinion that the change
is so drastic it is impossible to carry
out immediate integration.
“Our oral arguments will be based
on our belief that the state’s re
sponsibility is to keep the schools
functioning properly. We believe that
any precipitate action by the United
States Supreme Court will disrupt
the schools, and possibly lead to
violence.”
TO APPEAR AT HEARING
Both the attorney general and
his assistant, who worked together
in the preparation of the brief, will
make oral presentations to the
Supreme Court. Florida is not an
original party to the case, but has
intervened as “friend of the court.”
The position of the attorney gen
eral has received backing from the
state’s largest newspapers. From the
west coast, the Tampa Tribune said
editorially:
“It is hoped that the court will
take into consideration the radical
change which desegregation will de
mand in southern sentiment, practice
and tradition, and adopt a procedure
calculated to enforce the new order
of things with the least possible up
heaval and the least danger of out
breaks of violence.”
The Miami Herald said:
“The fact remains that the general
reaction of Florida to the Supreme
Court decision was cool and calm.
“There is no evidence that this
attitude had markedly changed in
the meantime.
“It is highly improbable that the
legislature will attempt any segrega
tion legislation affecting the state
school system before the Supreme
Court rules on the implementation
of its order.
“That could be long delayed. Or it
might come during the 90 days
which the session could last.
“If the ruling comes during the
session, only events will prove what
will happen.
“The law has been determined.
It is our conviction that, so far as
Florida is concerned, adjustment to
it—when the time is at hand—will
be sanely, judiciously and humanely
carried out— to the satisfaction of
our colored and white citizens
alike.”
LEGISLATURE MEETS
In this kind of atmosphere the
Florida legislature began its biennial
session. There has been no pre-ses
sion talk of any legislative approach
to the segregation question. The at
torney general’s office reported that
there has not been a single request
for aid in preparing a bill dealing
with the subject.
Some members believe that the
question will arise, if at all, in de
bate on the school building program,
since this is one of the most impor
tant issues that will come up.
The move is under way to broaden
the base of the present 3-cent limited
sales tax to provide revenues for
additional schools, desperately
needed by a state whose population
is growing at a phenomenal rate.
A recent survey indicated that 286
million dollars will be needed for
new and improved buildings in the
next five years.
While there is general agreement
on this need, there is some opposi
tion to the sales-tax method of meet
ing it. Opponents may raise the
segregation question by objecting to
an all-out school building program
until it is settled.
Advocates of immediate integra
tion may also try to block a school
building program unless the money
is spent only on integrated schools.
This possibility has been suggested
by spokesmen for the National As
sociation for the Advancement of
Colored People.
PUBLIC INTEREST STIRRED
Into this main current on debate
there are numerous eddies which
indicate a groundswell of interest
and concern.
One was the organization in Day
tona Beach of the Florida Council
for Human Relations, a state-wide
interracial group. Its announced pur
pose is to improve intergroup rela
tions, with a plan to work for peace
ful integration of the public schools.
COUNCIL ESTABLISHED
The council will be associated with
the Southern Regional Council with
headquarters in Atlanta. It replaces
the Florida Division of SRC, a group
which has been in existence for
several years.
Leadership in the new group is
statewide. At its head is Dr. Paul
Finner of Tallahassee, former pro
fessor at Florida State University.
U. C. Taylor, Belle Glade, is vice
president; Mrs. Nathan Starr,
Gainesville, secretary, and L. H.
Burney, Jacksonville, treasurer.
Directors, in addition to officers,
include Hollis Rinehart; members of
the State Board of Control, which
supervises the administration of the
university system and state institu
tions; Herbert M. Davidson, Day
tona Beach, and Dr. Arthur L. Kidd,
Tallahassee.
The council leaders say a full
time director will work with local
communities to organize branches
and chapters. Headquarters probably
will be in Orlando.
Similar groups already are in op
eration in several counties and have
been sponsoring educational pro
grams on the effects of integration.
In a typical activity, the Dade
County Council on Community Re
lations sponsored a panel, “Desegre
gation in the Public Schools,” as
part of a day-long seminar on human
relations at the University of Miami.
Dr. H. Franklin Williams, Uni
versity vice president who was
moderator, said:
“I don’t see why school boards
should wait for legislative decisions.
The sooner we begin (the integra
tion process) the quicker the com
plications are over.”
Mrs. Marie Roberts, social science
teacher at the Booker T. Washington
high school, said “community prep
aration and acceptance are vital if
integration is to be achieved in an
orderly manner.”
CONTROVERSY CONTINUES
For the past 90 days, controversy
has continued in Lake County over
the children of two families who,
Sheriff Willis McCall contends, have
Negro blood. Both families insist
they are part Croatan Indians. But
the children have been denied en
trance in white schools.
An aftermath to this dispute de
veloped in March. R. T. Rogers, a
white truck driver, said his land
lord forced him to move because his
children entertained the three sons
of Allen Platt, one of the families
involved.
Rogers said his landlord, armed
with a shotgun, came to his home
and ordered the three Platt chil
dren to leave. He then told Rogers
he and his family of 12 children
would have to vacate the rented
quarters in 48 hours.
Rogers said he reported the in
cident to Sheriff McCall’s office. A
deputy refused to investigate unless
he would drive to Tavares, the
county seat, to swear out a warrant.
This incident brought a renewed
appeal by Mrs. Mabel Norris Reese,
editor of the weekly Mount Dora
Topic, for a study of the situation
by the Federal Bureau of Investiga
tion.
James L. Guilmartin, United States
District Attorney, told Mrs. Reese:
“We are assessing an assortment
of factual matters to determine if the
federally-secured rights of these
children have been violated by a
peace officer.
“You can see that we have stepped
into the case.”
Guilmartin said the FBI is “con
tinuing to check.”
West Virginia
CHARLESTON, W. Va.
jijCHOOL desegregation has been
carried out in many parts of
West Virginia, but getting educators
k talk about it is another thing.
Most are apprehensive about talk-
m g too much; others would rather
w ®it for some member of the county
state board of education to do his
kinking at the “proper time.” And
Public officials are not inclined to
a *k about desegregation at the
Moment.
This was evident during the regu-
ar session of the West Virginia leg-
mature which ended March 12 with-
approving a raise in teachers’
a aries although practically every
ember had committed himself to
“ so during the 1954 campaign,
abiw a * S0 was some talk last fall
cert' . simp hfying integration, and
ainly some promises were made.
‘^SOLUTION APPROVED
w hen the session ended, the
ti be ^ n a single concurrent resoh
’. e f e< 3 by Ted Bowers of Ne
aer lnsv 'be in Whetzel County at
Wo J, ave ^ by both houses, whit
state* 1 create a commission on intei
on a Commerce and joint committe
a st ™ ment an< 3 finance to mal
te m /, the state-supported sy:
Feb 7 . g her education. Introduce
It t ’it 1 * totally passed March 9.
,, toUows:
7 J?„ na ^ e Concurre nt Resolution N
Comm? eSting and directing tl
tion S j 10n on interstate Coopers
Govei^ 1 * 1 the Joint Committee c
%(j v I ? ent and Finance to make
of hi„i° tbe state-supported systei
higher education.
fio Use S ° by the Senate, tl
tk
of
Delegates
concurrin
‘erein;
“Th
Coo Df a tj 115 Commission on Intersta
lf -e otl p lon and the Joint Commit
hereby 0Vernrn ent and Finance 1
Make a ret i Ue sted and directed 1
system TL dy th e state-supporte
°f char, 0 g her education, in vie
®*e elbJ- , conc htions arising froi
state J nation of segregation in th
!r ° m oucational institutions an
te aso tl greater accessibility b
improved transportatio
facilities, and in view of the fact that
there exist costly and unnecessary
duplications in the services and
courses of study offered by the vari
ous institutions, in order to deter
mine whether it might not be pos
sible to effect substantial economies
and at the same time improve the
quality of education offered, and
that in this connection consideration
be given to the advisability of the
elimination or consolidation of some
of the institutions.
“That a report of the study, to
gether with any recommendations,
be made to the governor and the
legislature on the first day of the next
regular session thereof to be held in
January, 1956.”
COLLEGE MERGER PROPOSED
The resolution followed on the
heels of a survey conducted by leg
islative reporter Thomas F. Stafford
of The Charleston Gazette, details
of which have been carried in the
Southern School News. Briefly,
however, Stafford brought out that
several West Virginia state-sup-
ported colleges are operating at a
high cost per pupil enrollment which
conceivably could be eliminated by
consolidation. One of his recom
mendations was the merging of
Bluefield State College (predomin-
ently Negro) with nearby Concord
State College in Athens in Mercer
County.
President William J. L. Wallace
of West Virginia State College at
Institute, which was an all-Negro
institution until last fall, doesn’t
think elimination of present Negro
colleges is the answer to integration.
Speaking before a group at the 10th
National Conference on Higher Edu
cation, sponsored by the Association
for Higher Learning in Chicago on
March 1, Dr. Wallace said in part:
“Our concept of what the integra
tive process includes will determine
our attitudes towards present col
leges and universities which have
been established for the minority
group. If we think in terms of the
truly integrative process, many of
the colleges now in existence will
find ample need for their services.
In many states efforts are being made
to improve such institutions, to pro
vide the necessary buildings and
equipment needed to carry on good
educational programs. It is con
ceivable that these institutions will
be able to eliminate race as a cri
terion for admittance.”
STUDY NEEDED
Earlier in his paper presented to
the same group Dr. Wallace, who
is recognized as the outstanding
spokesman for Negro educators and
students in West Virginia, declared:
“It is my opinion that the Supreme
Court decisions imply that the in
tegrative process is the order of the
day, for it considers those intangible
considerations which are essential
to the achievement of maximum
success in an educational institution
such as: one’s ability to study, to en
gage in discussions and exchange
views with other students, and, in
general, to learn his profession. This
process is one which cannot be
achieved overnight. Mixed schools
and desegregated colleges are pos
sible within a short time, but the
integrative process is one that in
volves study, planning and imple
mentation of plans. In many in
stances this change can take place
smoothly and without friction.”
BOONE EXPERIENCE CITED
Integration has worked at Dr.
Wallace’s West Virginia State Col
lege, and it also is working without
incident in all state schools and col
leges where it has been given a rea
sonable opportunity. A good ex
ample is Boone County, which ex
perienced student walkouts shortly
after integration was attempted last
fall. Supt. C. D. Tamplin explained
it in these words:
“Progress in Boone County’s in
tegration program has been limited
to that which was started at the be
ginning of the school term. Approxi
mately 20 colored pupils are enrolled
at Scott high school at Madison for
afternoon classes which are not be
ing offered at Carver high school,
the Negro high school in the county.
At the beginning of the term, three
colored pupils were enrolled at
Sherman high school in Seth. That
number has increased to five at
present.
“In addition to the integration of
some of the high school colored
pupils into the traditionally white
schools, one colored teacher teaches
mechanical drawing at Scott high
school during the afternoon periods.
“After the first outburst of opposi
tion near the beginning of the school
term, the program has run smoothly.
Not one single problem has arisen
to cause us concern. White pupils
have accepted the colored pupils,
and the colored pupils seem to be
very happy.
CROWDED CLASSROOMS
“While there are only 57 colored
pupils enrolled in the secondary
schools of the county, complete in
tegration for the next school term
has not and likely will not be
planned. The difficulty arises not
from the pupils but from the four
colored teachers. Their placement
in the white schools no doubt would
encounter opposition at the present
time.
“One elementary school of 35
colored pupils and two teachers and
another of 45 pupils and two teachers
are still segregated. Crowded con
ditions of the white schools to which
these pupils would go make the
elimination of any classroom space
impossible. Complete integration in
the high schools likely will not be
attempted until some directive with
authority is issued. Last year those
who issued the directives wilted
under fire. Literally state authorities
urged counties to crusade but did
not even offer sympathy to boards
of education when trouble arose.
The Boone County Board of Educa
tion at present is inclined to wait
for an authoritative directive, or at
least suggestions in high positions
with convictions and fortitude.
SUPPORT LACKING
“The work of The Charleston
Gazette was of tremendous help in
preparing our people for the integra
tion program, and its editorial policy
was excellent during our trouble. At
times we were disturbed about some
of the tactics of reporters. But that
I suppose, could be expected.
“It is my hope that the informa
tion given will be of help to the
West Virginia correspondent in re
porting to Southern Education Re
porting Service.”
Superintendent Tamplin’s refer
ence to state officials was directed at
Gov. William C. Marland and Dr.
W. W. Trent, state superintendent of
schools, who last summer publicly
encouraged county boards of educa
tion to attempt integration.
OPPOSITION SLIGHT
Opposition to integration occurred
in two other counties — Greenbrier
and Barbour—last fall, but so far
no public comment has come from
these since the disturbance was
settled. In Greenbrier, on the Vir
ginia border the board of education
rescinded completely its plans for
integration pending final action by
the U. S. Supreme Court.
On March 6, the Charleston Minis
terial Association adopted a resolu
tion endorsing the Supreme Court’s
decision and a letter recommending
passage of a fair employment bill
which, nonetheless died in a state
Senate judiciary committee.
The Rev. W. A. Donaldson, chair
man of the association’s action com
mittee, also announced that the Na
tional Council of Churches has made
available $6,250 to its state organiza
tions to pay for the services of a field
worker who will work toward school
desegregation in the state. Funds
were furnished to the national coun
cil by the Fund for the Republic,
the Rev. Donaldson explained.
Mr. Donaldson also explained that
the association’s delay in taking
cognizance of the court’s decision
“had been caused not by willful in
tent but because we have such a
fine association between Negroes
and white people that we simply
overlooked it.”
Louisiana
Continued from Page 8
our New Orleans children.”
The noted educator likewise
praised and chided the New Orleans
school board.
He praised the board for its
achievement in constructing new
schools for the children of New Or
leans. But he also pointed out that
of the 14 Negro and seven white
schools originally planned in the
board’s building program, five white
schools have been built while only
six Negro schools have been con
structed. He added that although the
proposed ratio was two to one, “the
actual building ratio is almost one
to one.”