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PAGE 4—July 6, 1955—SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS Mississippi LEAC Reaffirms Stand Against Desegregation ‘In Any Form’ Southern School News Southern School News is the official publication of the Southern Education Reporting Service, an objective, fact-finding agency established by southern newspaper editors and educators with the aim of providing accurate, unbiased information to school administrators, public officials and interested lay citizens on developments in education arising from the U. S. Supreme Court opinion of May 17, 1954 declaring segregation in the public schools unconstitutional. SERS is not an advocate, is neither pro-segregation nor anti-segregation, but simply reports the facts as it finds them, state by state. Published at 1109 19th Ave., S., Nashville, Tenn. OFFICERS Virginius Dabney Chairman Thomas R. Waring Vice-Chairman Don Shoemaker Executive Director BOARD OF DIRECTORS Frank Ahlgren, Editor, Memphis Charles S. Johnson, President, Fisk Commercial Appeal, Memphis, University, Nashville, Tenn. Tenn - C. A. McKnight. Gordon Blackwell, Director, Institute Charles Moss, Executive Editor, for Research in Social Science, Nashville Banner, Nashville, Tenn. University of N.C. Don shoema|(eri Exec . Director Harvie Branscomb, Chancellor, Van- Education Reporting Service derbilt University, Nashville, Tenn. Thomas R. Waring, Editor, Charles- Virginius Dabney, Editor, Richmond ton News & Courier, Charleston, Times-Dispatch, Richmond, Va. S. C. Coleman A. Harwell, Editor, Nash- Henry I. Willett, Superintendent of ville Tennessean, Nashville, Tenn. Schools, Richmond, Va. Henry H. Hill, President, George P. B. Young Sr., Editor, Norfolk Peabody College, Nashville, Tenn. Journal & Guide, Norfolk, Va. CORRESPONDENTS ALABAMA MISSOURI William H. McDonald, Editorial Robert Lasch, Editorial Writer, St. Writer, Montgomery Advertiser Louis Post-Dispatch ARKANSAS Thomas D. Davis, Asst. City Editor, NORTH CAROLINA Arkansas Gazette Ja Y Jenkins, Staff Writer, Raleigh DELAWARE News & ° bserver William P. Frank, Staff Writer, OKLAHOMA Wilmington News Mary Gocl d arc j j staff Writer, Ok- DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA lahoma City Oklahoman-Times Jeanne Rogers, Education Writer, Washington Post & Times Herald SOUTH CAROLINA FLORIDA W. D. Workman Jr., Special Cor- Bert Collier, Staff Writer, Miami respondent, Columbia, S. C. Herald TENNESSEE GEORGIA James Elliott, Staff Writer, Nash- Joseph B. Parham, Editor, The v ;|| e Banner Macon News KENTUCKY Wallace Westfeldf, Staff Writer, va/ u i rj., . . va/ •. Nashville Tennessean Weldon James, Editorial Writer, Louisville Courier-Journal TEXAS LOUISIANA Richard M. Morehead, Austin Bu- Mario Fellom, Political Reporter, reau, Dallas News New Orleans Item MARYLAND VIRGINIA Edgar L. Jones, Editorial Writer, Overton Jones, Editorial Writer, Baltimore Evening Sun Richmond Times-Dispatch MISSISSIPPI WEST VIRGINIA Kenneth Toler, Mississippi Bureau, Frank A. Knight, Editor, Charles- Memphis Commercial-Appeal ton Gazette MAIL ADDRESS P.O. Box 6156, Acklen Station, Nashville 5, Tenn. JACKSON, Miss. ^DDED resistance to enforcement “in any form” of the United States Supreme Court’s public school desegregation mandate has formed in Mississippi. Taking the lead in the effort is the 25-member Legal Education Advis ory Committee headed by Gov. Hugh White. It was created at the 1954 legislative session to map procedure for legal recourse against integration of the races in Mississippi’s segre gated schools. At a June 4 special meeting fol lowing the Supreme Court’s more or less “middle course” implementation leaving enforcement to the United States district courts, the LEAC re iterated its opposition to desegrega tion “in any form whatsoever.” In order to keep check on the sit uation southwide, the advisory group placed its secretary, State Rep. T. N. Gore Jr., of Quitman County on a full-time status. That action was taken after the committee voted down a suggestion that it employ a battery of lawyers to prepare for anticipated legal action to break down the segregated system. Atty. Gen. J. P. Coleman, a mem ber of the advisory group, said Mis sissippi is “thoroughly ready for any thing those who wish to destroy seg regation may wish to come up with.” He said his office is equipped to han dle the issue in disapproving the pro posal to employ outside counsel. 1954 ENACTMENT The attorney general, who is a candidate for the Democratic nomi nation as governor in the Aug. 2 pri mary, said the No. 1 block to de segregation efforts is a 1954 legisla tive enactment authorizing school boards to “assign” pupils on the basis of “morals, community welfare and health.” Along with the other four candi dates, all of whom are pledged to leave no step untried in preserving segregation, Mr. Coleman appeared before a special meeting of the Madi son County Citizens Council at Can ton on June 9, and reiterated his “no compromise” position. The Madison County council is an affili ate of the State Association of Citi zens Councils composed of “white males dedicated to preservation of segregation.” The state headquarters are at Winona with Robert B. Patter son, a Delta planter, in charge as executive secretary. The Canton meeting was the first appearance of the five gubernatorial candidates on the same platform the same day in the current campaign. It was a public gathering open to the press. Other actions taken during the past few weeks included: 1. Adoption by the Mississippi Conference of the Methodist Church, composed of central and south Mis sissippi churches, of a resolution asking the General Conference to re tain the present racially segregated basis of church jurisdictions. Only two negative votes were cast. 2. Rejection by the Woman’s Mis sionary Society of the North Mis sissippi Methodist Conference, in session at Mathiston, of the unifica tion proposal favoring ultimate de segregation. Earlier, the society of the Mississippi Conference in ses sion at Jackson, refused to repudiate the union charter in that respect. 3. Adoption of a resolution by the Mississippi State Bar Association in annual convention at Edgewater Park, endorsing U. S. Sen. James O. Eastland’s proposal for an investiga tion of the backgrounds of the mem bers of the United States Supreme Court. (See “What They Say” below.) Meanwhile, however, the Regional Council of Negro Leadership in Mis sissippi, in a special meeting June 5 at the all-Negro Delta town of Mound Bayou, voted to leave suits against school segregation to the Mississippi Conference of the Na tional Association for the Advance ment of Colored People. NO POLICY CHANGE Earlier, at a statewide meeting at tended by an estimated 7,500 Negroes, the regional council had voted to take the lead in filing suits in the various sections of Mississippi. In changing its course, President T. R. M. How ard, Negro physician of Mound Bayou, said the action does not change the council’s policy favoring “immediate” integration through compliance with the Supreme Court mandate. Following the regional council’s announcement, Dr. A. H. McCoy, dentist of Jackson and state president of the NAACP, said local branches have been given the “green light” to institute local level efforts to wipe out classroom segregation. Dr. Mc Coy said school boards will be peti tioned to take “immediate steps” looking to compliance with the Su preme Court’s integration decision. Thus far, however, no action has been taken to enforce the decision in Mississippi, either through filing of petitions with school authorities or in the courts. The Mississippi legislature has en acted several bills designed to strengthen the state’s position in an ticipated litigation looking to en forcement of the Supreme Court’s integration order. Proponents con tend they will prevent a showdown for ten to 20 years, and possibly longer. As a “last resort” step, the voters ratified an amendment to the state constitution of 1890 giving the legis lature authority to abolish public ed ucation statewide, or county-by county. However, there have been no statutes implementing that authority. Mississippi’s next legislative ses sion is the 1956 regular biennial as sembly meeting in January. Gov. White, who steps out of office that month, contemplates no special ses sion before that time unless an “emergency” should arise. During the legislative interim, the Legal Education Advisory Board is watching developments. In addition to placing Sec. Gore on full-time to collect material affecting school In Mississippi Southern leaders in general also agree that this decree may eventu ally create dangers and situations making it necessary for opposing states to try their “last emergency” actions to enforce racial segrega tion in the schools by substituting privately-owned schools for the public schools. Meantime, however, one warning and reassurance is clear: Issuance of this decree makes it all the more necessary and hopeful that the state, the counties, the school districts and all tax-paying citizens give steady and full sup port, financial and otherwise, to the program to provide equal and adequate school buildings and fa culties for white and Negro pu pils separately, under a practical and supported voluntary segrega tion system. Lack of progress in that program would effect any anti-segregation suit in any federal court in Mis sissippi.—Jackson Clarion Ledger. segregation, he is authorized to con fer with teachers in other Southern states, as well as officials in those states. In placing Sec. Gore on full time rather than employing special counsel to “stand by” for action, the LEAC followed the suggestion of State Rep. James Baxter of Lauder dale County, chairman of the House Committee on Education, against “doing anything to antagonize Ne groes into filing suits.” Minimizing the need for special counsel, Atty. Gen. Coleman ad vised the advisory committee that he has “commissioned” over 1,000 law yers in Mississippi as “special assist ants” to cooperate with local school boards. As one of those “special as sistants,” Committee Secretary-At torney Gore is authorized to confer with officials in other states as a rep resentative of the Attorney General’s department. Although the Regional Council of Negro Leadership has left legal ac tion on school desegregation to the NAACP, it is retaining jurisdiction in other phases of the controversial issue. It voted to: 1. Oppose a system in many Delta counties whereby Negro children at tend school on a split-session basis during the cotton picking season in order to pick cotton. 2. Asked Gov. White to call a bi-racial conference to work out a cooperative effort looking to inte gration. (However, Gov. White said he would not call such a meet ing, asserting that a bi-racial con ference he called last year had failed to agree on a “voluntary” segrega tion plan. Failure of Negro leaders to agree to such a plan resulted in a special legislative session at which the “stand by” abolition amendment to the constitution was adopted.) 3. Voted to raise $100,000 to chal lenge Mississippi’s new voter regis tration statute requiring applicants for franchise to be able to read and write and to be able to give inter pretations satisfactory to county reg istrars of selected sections of the state constitution and to explain the obli gations of citizenship under a consti tutional form of government. In Washington, U. S. Sen. James O. Eastland (D. Miss.) filed a statement giving the background of authors that the Supreme Court cited in its desegregation decision on May 17, 1954. He also asked for a Senate in vestigation of the background of the authors, as well as the political back grounds of the Supreme Court jus tices. Taking cognizance of the proposals by Sen. Eastland, the Mississippi Bar Association meeting at Edgewa ter Park June 25, voted unanimous endorsement of them after overriding its resolution committee which had tabled the endorsement resolution offered by Hugh V. Wall of Brook- haven. The Wall resolution was called to the floor by a vote of 43 to 40 after Pres. Robert J. Farley, dean of the University of Mississippi law school at Oxford, had ruled it out of order. Members insisted on a conven tion vote which was unanimous af ter the 43 to 40 vote placing it on the floor. Sen. Eastland, in his Washington statement, charged that the inte gration rulings of the Supreme Court show it is “controlled and dominated by left-wingers.” He named the CIO Political Action Committee among the asserted agitators. “WANT OWN SCHOOLS” “It has been my observation that the rank and file of the Negro race want their own schools, they want their own churches, and it is their desire to work out their own welfare among people of their own race,” he said. Sen. Eastland said “regardless of the decree of the U. S. Supreme Court, and regardless of whatever decree it might issue in the foresee able future, it will be a nullity in every single school district in the state of Mississippi.” “Different southern states will use different things to retain segregated schools, and if the federal govern ment tries to enforce the decision with indictments, the thing will fall of its own weight,” he said. The action of the Mississippi Con ference of the Methodist Church in Jackson on June 11 in supporting continuance of the racially segregated basis of church jurisdictions followed by several weeks rejection by its Woman’s Missionary Society of a re pudiation of the church union char ter. Opposing the conference resolution were the Rev. Roy C. DeLamotte, Yale University student and former Millsaps College student, and Dr. Henry Bullock, former Millsaps Col lege professor and new editor in chief of all church Sunday School publications. The Rev. Mr. DeLamotte urged a sizable protest vote against the reso lution without success. Speaking against the segregated status of the denomination’s college in Jackson, he said “those diplomas are stained with the tears of Mississippi Negroes whose children can’t attend.” “It’s foolish to send missionaries to Africa and the East and then cut the ground from under their feet with this Jim Crowism,” the Rev. Mr. DeLamotte said. “I don’t expect you to vote against keeping the sep arate jurisdictional system, I just want a sizable protest vote.” He charged that “I know if you don’t vote for the resolution you won’t have a dog’s chance in your pastorates.” “You’ll hear from your lay leaders, I know,” he said. NO ASSIGNMENT Later when the church assignments were announced by Bishop Marvu 1 Franklin, the Rev. Mr. DeLamotte was left without a pulpit. He is froff Moss Point, on the Gulf Coast, served in World War II, attended Emory University and won a four-year scholarship to Yale, where he earned a doctor’s degree. He has been preaching in Connecticut, but had sought to return to Mississippi- In a statement following the con ference, the Rev. Mr. DeLamotte said he had already been assigned a church in the Mississippi conference “when I made my speech urging the delegates to give at least a protes vote against Methodism’s Jim Cro"' jurisdictional system.” “After my speech, the delegate from the church to which I had been appointed informed the District Su perintendent that if I actually caffe the congregation would not pay or come to hear me preach,” he sai in a formal statement. “The BishoP - cabinet informed me of this, and pressed willingness to stay in sessff all Saturday night, if necessary, find a church that would accept ff “However, they seemed to ^ ee ', t U e none could be found and asked what I wanted them to do. I re P, 1 . in effect, ‘if you can find a c ^ u , r< ? the state of Mississippi that will me, I’U go. All I ask is that ^ agree to hear me preach what j lieve to be the word of God , t > believe He wants me to P r ® aC . ^ The two district superintenden whom I gave this statement ma reply.”