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PAGE 10—SEPTEMBER 1955—SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS
Protests Lead to Closing of School 2 Weeks Early at Hoxie, Ark.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.
M°st of Arkansas’ news on racial
integration in public schools dur
ing August came from Hoxie, in the
northeast part of the state, where pro
tests ripped the town apart after three
weeks of integration without incident.
The protests led to bitter argu
ments, two-way economic boycotts, a
boycott of the school and petitions de
manding that the board restore seg
regation or resign. The board mem
bers blamed the uprising on out-of-
state influences and reported they had
been subjected to intimidation and
harassment.
The turmoil led the board to end
the summer session two weeks early
to let the situation cool off.
Many observers agreed that the
Hoxie flare-up probably would cause
other school boards to move slowly
on any plans they might have had to
voluntarily end segregation when
schools open in September.
As the opening of the regular school
term neared, four Arkansas Districts
had racial integration: (1) Hoxie, (2)
Fayetteville, which began last year at
the high school level and has made no
change; (3) Charleston, which inte
grated at all levels last year; (4) Big-
gers-Reyno in Randolph County,
which will integrate at the high school
level when the fall term opens Oct.
24.
In the four integrated schools there
are about 49 Negroes and 2,170 whites.
All four districts have integrated
voluntarily. Still on file with 16 other
districts are NAACP petitions pre
sented in 1954. Despite several nega
tive answers to petitions, the NAACP
has not revealed what action it might
take.
Other major developments in Ar
kansas during August were:
(1) The Little Rock School Board
rejected a September start on inte
gration asked by the National Asso
ciation for the Advancement of Col
ored People and said it would stick
by its plan to begin integration at the
high school level in 1957.
(2) The Pulaski County Special
(Rural) School District board told
the NAACP that it had no integra
tion plans now and would not start
integration in September.
(3) It was announced at Pine Bluff
that all schools in Jefferson Count-
would continue segregation this year.
(4) The Arkansas attorney-general
ruled that the Supreme Court deci
sion against segregation in public
schools also would apply to state-sup
ported institutions of higher learning.
No formal applications from Negroes
have been reported.
(5) White America, Inc., speakers
said Arkansas needed a constitutional
amendment to maintain school segre
gation and threatened political re
prisals against persons who don’t
fight integration.
(6) An attorney who helped frame
the Arkansas “friend of the court
brief” to the Supreme Court urged
school administrators to act promptly
to conform with the spirit of the
court’s ruling but suggested that total
integration would take many years.
(7) The DeWitt school board re
jected a NAACP request for immedi
ate integration and heard a top official
in the state education department
criticize the NAACP for bringing
“outside” influence to bear on local
integration problems.
At Hoxie where 25 Negroes were
mixed with about 1,000 white stu
dents on July 11, the situation moved
calmly for three weeks, and then a
protest movement began to take
shape.
School board members, school offi
cials and others backing the board
claim that the protest campaign be
gan with the arrival of letters and
literature from Citizens’ Council
groups in Mississippi and other
southern states. They also claim that
Mississippi money is coming into
Hoxie, but the anti-integration forces
deny that.
On Aug. 3, about 350 persons at
tended a meeting of the anti-integra
tion group at Hoxie city hall, and a
Thad D. Williams, (standing) a Little Rock attorney, unsuccessfully asks
the Pulaski County Special (Rural) School District to begin integration in
September. Observers include (seated, from left) Amis Guthridge, Joseph D.
Rice and Finos C. Phillips, representatives of the Capital City Chapter of
White America, Inc. Standing behind Phillips is Mrs. L. C. Bates of Little
Rock, NAACP president for Arkansas.
boycott of the school was announced
to begin the next day. That night
about 150 persons signed a resolution
supporting the boycott. The resolu
tion said:
“We resolve not to patronize or
support the Hoxie schools; that other
arrangements be made to educate our
children; that we mutually pledge to
educate our children in either private
or public schools where integration
is not practiced and to do so until the
school integration question is re
solved.”
Herbert Brewer, a Hoxie farmer
with four children—one of school age
and three younger—was named
chairman of an eight-man citizen
committee to lead the anti-integra
tion forces.
On Aug. 4, the boycott began.
Brewer and his group claimed that up
to 50 per cent of the students stayed
out of classes. Supt. K. E. Vance
refused to give attendance figures but
claimed that the absentee rate wasn’t
that high.
On Aug. 9, the Hoxie board re
ceived a petition from the citizen’s
committee asking that segregation be
restored. The petition said Hoxie chil
dren “are not receiving proper edu
cation and the school system is suf
fering.
WHITE AMERICA ACTIVE
On Aug. 13, two representatives of
the Capital City Chapter of White
America, Inc., an Arkansas organiza
tion opposed to the mixing of the
races, appeared at a Hoxie meeting
attended by about 700 persons.
One speaker, Amis Guthridge, a
Little Rock attorney who heads the
legal staff of White America, also
known as a militant States Righter
and an unsuccessful candidate for
Congress, said there was “not one
man holding office or a congressional
seat, with the exception of Con
gressman E. C. ‘Took’ Gathings, who
had guts enough to take a stand
against integration.” Guthridge
warned that “next summer they will
have to tell us if they are for the
white folks or the NAACP.”
The other White America speaker
was Finos C. Phillips of Little Rock,
president of the Capital City Chap
ter.
He claimed that the Aug. 9 Demo
cratic primary elections at Little
Rock were victorious for White
America.
Brewer reported that he and five
other Hoxie residents had been at
Senatobia, Miss., the night before to
confer with Sen. James O. Eastland,
who had spoken there on the segre
gation question. Brewer said East-
land agreed to speak at Hoxie in Sep
tember.
BOARD RESIGNATION ASKED
Brewer also announced that his
group would start distribution of a
petition asking all five members of
the school board to resign.
The board members are Leslie
Howell, a Railway Express Agency
employe, board chairman; L. L. Coch
ran of Hoxie, an oil company em
ploye; Howard Vance of Sedgwick, a
lumberman; Guy Floyd, a farmer
near Hoxie, and Leo Robert of Min-
tum who works in the Farmers Home
Administration office at Walnut
Ridge, adjacent to Hoxie.
The petition said the signers were
“dissatisfied with the conduct of the
affairs of the school by the present
board” but did not mention the racial
issue.
On Aug. 15, the school board an
swered the petition which asked it to
reconsider its decision to integrate.
The board said it had studied the pe
tition and, after consideration, had
“voted to stand by its original deci
sion.” Brewer reported the same day
that 1,063 signatures had been ob
tained on the petition asking the
board to resign and that it would be
presented witjiin 24 hours.
On Aug. 19, the Hoxie school board
closed its summer school session two
weeks early in an effort to remove
some of the heat which had developed
on the issue. There was no announce
ment on when the schools would re
open or whether integration would
remain in effect. The board an
nounced the decision in a one-sen
tence statement:
“The board voted to close the sum
mer session of school at the end of
six weeks in order to be able to give
more careful consideration to the so
lution of the present school problem.”
The session had been scheduled to
run eight weeks—until Sept. 2—be
fore adjourning for cotton picking
and fall harvesting until Oct. 31.
Anti-integration forces had no
comment on the closing.
RESIGNATION DECLINED
On Aug. 20, the Hoxie school board
issued another one-sentence state
ment in answer to the petition ask
ing it to resign. It said:
“We have considered the names on
the petitions, and our answer is that
we have no comment.”
Amis Guthridge, attorney for the
citizens committee, said the board
answer was “a violation of the agree
ment we had.” He said the board on
Aug. 17 had agreed to answer one
question before noon Aug. 20: “Will
you restore segregated schools?”
Guthridge said he told the board
that the citizens committee would not
ask for resignations if the board
would reconsider the integration ac
tion. This offer was made, Guthridge
said, despite the fact the petitions
asked only for resignations.
STATE WON’T INTERVENE
On Aug. 22, Gov. Orval E. Faubus
said the state government would not
intervene in the dispute at Hoxie or
in any other school district.
The governor was asked if there
was anything the state could do in
the tug-of-war between the Hoxie
school board and the anti-integration
faction among the patrons.
“Whatever could be done might
only aggravate the situation,” Gov.
Faubus said.
He said there “saems to be some in
dication” of out-of-Arkansas influ
ences brought to bear in the Hoxie
situation. He did not elaborate.
Hoxie School District 46 of Law
rence County in northeast Arkansas
was formed in 1948. It covers about
80 square miles and includes the
towns of Hoxie, Sedgwick, and Min-
tum. About 4,000 people live in the
district. The five board members have
57 years total service on the Hoxie
board and boards of districts consoli
dated with Hoxie in 1948. The main
school plant is at Hoxie but the dis
trict also operates an all-white school
at Sedgwick. K. E. Vance, the super
intendent, is in his fifth year at Hoxie.
When the Hoxie board announced
on June 25 its decision to integrate,
it listed financial factors among the
three reasons for the move.
On Aug. 6, it was announced at
Pine Bluff that schools in Jefferson
County would continue segregation
for the 1955-56 school year.
On Aug. 27, Gordon Young, presi
dent of the Pine Bluff school board,
said a committee would be appointed
to study and outline plans for integra
tion in Pine Bluff schools.
Young said the committee would
cooperate with all groups in attempt
ing to comply with the rulings of the
Supreme Court.
The week before, the NAACP spon
sored a petition signed by 16 persons
requesting the school board to an
nounce plans to implement integra
tion. Young said the petition did not
ask for Immediate integration.
Young said a detailed and definite
program on integration would be an
nounced before the end of the year.
On Aug. 9 at Little Rock, the Pu
laski County Special (Rural) School
District Board told a Negro delega
tion that no integration plans were
being considered by the board “at
present.”
E. F. Dunn, superintendent, outlin
ing the board’s views, said immedi
ate integration was not practicable.
NAACP petitions asking immediate
integration have been on file with the
District since 1954.
Thad D. Williams of Little Rock,
Negro attorney representing the
NAACP, asked the board to begin in
tegration in September and complete
it by September 1956. He said Ne
groes asked for integration as Ameri
cans and not because of their color.
Dunn replied that the district had
set up a dual school program for the
1955-56 school year and that finances
prohibited any drastic changes this
year.
“Are there any plans for any school
year?” Williams asked.
“Not at present,” Dunn replied.
Williams declined to say what the
NAACP would do about the board’s
answer.
NEGRO SITE SELECTED
On Aug. 16, the North Little Rock
school board, which had voted on July
14, to begin integration within two
years at the high school level, se
lected a site for a new Negro ele
mentary school in a location which
will make it possible to maintain seg
regation by reason of geography.
The site selected is north of a rail
road line which provides a natural
boundary for an attendance area, but
the location will require the installa
tion of septic tanks for sewage. The
rejected site south of the tracks offers
connections with a regular sewer sys
tem. But a school built south of the
tracks might bring about immediate
integration of the large number of
Negro students living north of the
tracks.
On Aug. 25, the Walnut Ridge
school board announced it would not
end segregation this fall and would
not admit non-resident students from
Hoxie.
J. L. Bland, board president, said
the group had voted to assign all Ne
gro students in the elementary grades
to a Negro school at Walnut Ridge
and to continue to transport Negro
high school students to Jonesboro.
About 20 students from Hoxie had
inquired about transferring to the
Walnut Ridge district, adjacent to
Hoxie, or enrolling as non-resident
students paying tuition to avoid at
tending integrated schools at Hoxie.
Supt. A. W. Rainwater was told not
to approve transfers for other dis
tricts.
Bland said Walnut Ridge would
continue segregation because con
tracts had been signed for teachers
in the Negro elementary school and
for transportation for the seven Ne
gro high school students to Jones
boro.
On Aug. 26, the DeWitt school board
rejected a NAACP plea for immediate
desegregation of the public schools
At the meeting, Ed McCuistion, state
education department expert on Ne
gro education, reprimanded the
NAACP for exerting “outside” influ
ence on local integration problems.
McCuistion said that the “time is
past for rushing” the racial issue in
public schools. He said that “intelli
gent people everywhere are working
toward eventual integration.”
“The NAACP,” McCuistion said,
“could work better as citizens in their
own communities than by making
resolution for citizens in other com
munities.”
McCuistion addressed his remarks
to George Howard, a Pine Bluff Negro
attorney representing 85 signers of a
petition calling for immediate inte
gration in public schools at DeWitt.
School Board Chairman Harold C.
Stephenson told the audience of about
35 Negroes and 120 whites that the
meeting showed willingness of the
board to “work toward eventual in
tegration.”
Howard had asked the board to
announce its integration plans by
Sept. 1.
All integration in Arkansas thus
far has been on a voluntary basis.
The NAACP has had petitions
signed by patrons asking immediate
integration on file with 16 school
boards since August and September,
1954. Although several of those school
boards have given negative answers
to the petitions, the NAACP has not
announced any plans to file court ac
tion. Some observers think the
NAACP will delay court action until
it is able to obtain specific grounds
for a court case by presenting Negro
children for enrollment in September.
The NAACP petitions on file are at
Little Rock, North Little Rock, Pu
laski County, Newport, Dermott.
Bearden, DeWitt, Hot Springs, West
Memphis, Earle, Crawfordsville, Pine
Bluff, Fort Smith, Lake Village, Ed
monson and Jefferson County.
One integration case is pending in
federal district court. It is a suit filed
in 1952 by Negro patrons of the Bear
den district in Ouachita County with
out the help of the NAACP. It was
filed to force equalization of facilities
but a request for immediate integra
tion in the suit was activated by the
Supreme Court decisions. Federa
District Judge John E. Miller of Fon
Smith has promised to rule in the
case in the October term of court at
El Dorado.
On Aug. 2, at Little Rock, at 3
meeting of the Capital City Chap e
of White America, Inc., about 50 P e ^j
sons heard a plea for a constitutions*
amendment requiring segregation
public schools and heard a threa _
political reprisals in next y e
school elections and Democratic p
maries. .
Harve B. Thom, a Little Rock »
tomey, said an amendment to the ^
kansas constitution was needed 1 w
move the school system from the
thority of the Arkansas Supre
Court. . , ,35
The threat of political reprisal .
made by Amis Guthridge of L* ,
Rock, chief of White America s ^
staff. It was directed principal 1 ?
Gov. Faubus. #]}
“Pretty soon we’re going w ^
Faubus he’s either for the white
or for the NAACP, and we don ' .j
any smart remarks,” Guthridge ^
On Aug. 3 at Little Rock, Ar ^
school districts were advised ^
promptly to conform with trie v
of the U. S. Supreme Court
outlawing racial segregation in P
schools. .
The advice came from an E
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