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PAGE 16—JANUARY 1956^-SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS
1956 Federal Aid Bills
Facing Segregation Ban
WASHINGTON, D.C.
egislation providing federal aid
for school construction could bog
down in this session of Congress over
the school segregation issue.
Rep. Adam C. Powell Jr. (D., N.Y.),
Negro congressman, has served no
tice he will seek to amend any as
sistance measure so that funds would
be denied school districts that prac
tice racial segregation.
On the Powell unsuccessfully
National tried to hook such a pro-
Scene viso on the school build
ing bill which was ap
proved last July by the House Edu
cation and Labor committee, of which
he is a member.
This bill must clear the House Rules
committee before it can be debated
on the floor. Rules Committee Chair
man Howard Smith (D., Va.) has said
publicly he will not go for an anti
segregation amendment. Failure of his
group to adopt a rule for the bill
could hold the measure up indefi
nitely.
‘OUT THE WINDOW’
The amendment undoubtedly will
be offered on the House floor. If this
happens, the legislation will lose im
portant support of such Democratic
leaders as House Speaker Sam Ray-
bum of Texas and House Education
Committee Chairman Graham Bar
den of North Carolina. Barden has
said a school aid bill will “go out
the window” if it is to be made the
vehicle of social reforms.
Rayburn has promised “early ac
tion” on the bill and predicted some
form of school-aid legislation will
pass the House.
Both the Administration and the
Democrats in control of Congress
want to see some school construction
law before the end of the session be
cause of its political importance in an
election year.
ADMINISTRATION PROGRAM
President Eisenhower, in either his
State of the Union or budget message,
is expected to call for some form of
aid-to-education program. Legisla
tion carrying out his wishes prob
ably will be introduced in the Senate
by Administration friends.
Last year, the Senate Labor and
Welfare committee failed to approve
a federal aid bill. Threats of anti
segregation amendment reportedly
kept Chairman Lister Hill (D., Ala.)
from pressing for committee action.
During testimony on aid measures
before the Senate committee, power
ful lobby groups like the National
Education Association said such an
amendment is unnecessary. Spokes
men pointed out that funds would be
administered by state school officers
who would uphold the law of the
land.
Delegates to the recent White
House Conference on Education
(Nov. 28-Dec. 1) gave
White House some attention to the
Conference segregation issue in
work sessions on the
question: “How Can We Finance Our
Schools—Build and Operate Them?”
The final report to the assembly on
this topic stated:
“One table in 10 recommended that
federal aid should be made available
to states only for those districts cer
tifying that they are conforming to
the Supreme Court decision prohib
iting racially segregated school sys
tems.” There were 166 work tables of
10 persons each.
In an interview, Roy Wilkins, ex
ecutive director of the National Asso
ciation for the Advancement of Col
ored People and a conference dele
gate from New York, said he was
“disappointed” in the conclave. He
said he thought it a “disgrace” that
the problem of segregation was not
on the agenda for discussion. After
all, he said, the President called the
conference after the Supreme Court
decision.
WILKINS LEAVES
Wilkins said further he was sorry
the tables didn’t discuss segregation
when delegates turned their study
to these other questions on the con
ference agenda: “In What Ways Can
We Organize Our School Systems
More Efficiently and Economically?”
and “How Can We Get Enough
Good Teachers—and Keep Them?”
Wilkins left before the conference
ended, stating: “What’s the point in
staying?”
The racial issue was injected into
the conference at the first general ses
sion. Clarence Mitchell, director of
the Washington Bureau of the
NAACP, asked conference Chairman
Neil McElroy whether federal travel
money has been paid to delegates
who “do not support the Constitu
tion?” McElroy said he would look
into the matter.
“My only question,” Mitchell told
newsmen, “is whether the govern
ment can spend money on people
from states which have publicly an
nounced defiance of the federal gov
ernment.” He named four states,
South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi
and Louisiana.
NO ACTION YET
Five hours later, McElroy told a
news conference that the Administra
tion’s decision was to pay expenses
of all delegates. This decision was
made by Parke Banta, general coun
sel for the Department of Health,
Education and Welfare. Mitchell
later told reporters he will carry his
fight to the United States Comptroller
General. This action has yet to be
taken.
At the conference close, a group
of 31 individual delegates posted this
statement on the bulletin board in the
press room: “We must in conscience
express our belief that one of the
gravest moral issues facing our na
tion is acceptance and implementation
of the decision of the Supreme Court
for desegregation. We do not ask the
conference to vote on the issue or
take sides.
“We call on every citizen, edu
cator and public official in our local,
state and and national governments
to translate the law of the land into
a living reality.”
RUMOR DISPELLED
Last month, another rumor grow
ing out of District school integration
was dispelled. Police are satisfied
there is no serious knife-carrying
problem in Washington junior and
senior high schools as reports to head
quarters had indicated. But here is
what happened:
School Supt. Hobart M. Coming
was asked by police officials
On if they could contact second-
the ary school principals to find
Local out if there was any truth to
Scene rumors that some teen-agers
were carrying dangerous
weapons to class.
Coming replied, “Of course .. . the
schools are always glad to cooperate
with the police.” Subsequently, prin
cipals were told they might be visited
by member of the Juvenile Squad.
Many of the city’s 22 junior, 12
senior highs and five vocational
schools were surveyed “without a
hitch,” a school official said.
Then as the survey drew to an end,
two junior high principals of schools
with predominantly Negro enroll
ments misinterpreted the extent of
the police cooperation expected of
them in the citywide knife survey.
STUDENTS “FRISKED’
Principal Albert Brooks of Gamet-
Patterson junior high marched his
girls to one gym and his boys to an
other. The boys emptied their pockets
and the girls their handbags and
schoolbags.
Brooks found four knives among
the boys. He said one blade was 2%
inches, two were of 2% inch length
and the fourth blade was 2 Vi inches
long. All were returned.
“The kids took it in fun,” Brooks
said. He had told them “we have no
reason to want to find out the extent
of knife carrying . . . but it is part of
a citywide survey.”
At the same time, Mrs. Muriel Alex
ander, principal of Miller junior high,
had asked her boys to “turn out their
pockets” during an assembly.
This produced seven small knives,
including a quarter-inch one on a
key chain, two Boy Scout knives and
a Davy Crockett knife with a rabbit’s
foot on one end.
Asst. School Supt. Lawson Cantrell,
head of city junior highs, told both
principals in no uncertain terms they
had misinterpreted the handling of
the survey. “You just were supposed
to discuss with police whether you
had any knife problem,” Cantrell told
his officers.
Coming issued an immediate ban
on any further search of students for
knives after he learned of the em
barrassing mixup that resulted from
the routine program of police co
operation. Coming said it was a case
of “complete misunderstanding” and
done “completely without my knowl
edge.” The faux pas already had
brought angry calls of parents to his
office.
Both Corning and police, however,
were relieved when they were told
the unofficial frisking of 338 girls and
1,129 boys produced a total of 11
knives from the latter. All the blades
were of penknife length. There were
no lethal and illegal switchblade
knives found, officials said.
Police Inspector John E. Winters,
head of the Youth Aid Division, re
ported the survey—which is at an
end—“proves there is no knife prob
lem in the schools.”
REQUEST DENIED
Meanwhile last month, the District
Board of Recreation declined to take
action on a member’s request to per
mit a national Negro group to use
certain school facilities for a meeting
next summer.
At the same time, Col. West A.
Hamilton, Negro member of both the
recreation and school boards, said he
would make a case out of the fact
that the American Legion used cer
tain District schools while the Na
tional Order of Negro Shriners has
not been able to get permission.
Hamilton said the Shrine group had
asked the board of education for use
of halls in two schools next summer.
He said school officials have failed to
take action either way on the request.
Hamilton said the recreation board
could comply with the request be
cause it had delegated powers to per
mit use of school facilities for com
munity as well as recreational use.
OBJECTION VOICED
Walter Fowler, District Commis
sioners’ representative to the recrea
tion board, objected to such use of
school buildings. “I don’t think these
private meetings come under the
term of community use or private
recreation,” Fowler said.
Hamilton reminded that the Amer
ican Legion in its 1954 convention
made use of several District schools
and that all over the country schools
were used for meeting halls.
“Yes,” replied Fowler, the District
budget officer, “but in spots where no
other places can be used. If we do it,
we might put the hotels out of busi
ness.”
Most of the recreation board mem
bers agreed that the American Le
gion had been a special case and that
it should take no action regarding
Hamilton’s request. He declared he
intended to “make a case” out of the
matter. He didn’t say how.
Still hanging fire is a different kind
of fight over outside use of schools.
The board of education has notified
the Police Boys Club it must vacate
3 More W. Va. Counties
Desegregating Schools
CHARLESTON, W. Va.
chain reaction started two months
ago by the federal court case in
Greenbrier County, which brought
an agreement to desegregate this
month, now has the NAACP pre
paring for new legal action in other
counties.
Mercer, Summers and Raleigh
counties quit short of a court battle
after the Greenbrier Board of Edu
cation agreed to desegregate. They
scanned the decision rendered by
Judge Ben Moore and dissolved their
long-standing policies of “separate
but equal” educational opportunities.
T. G. Nutter of Charleston, state
president of the National Association
for the Advancement of Colored Peo
ple, said Dec. 17 his group is plan
ning actions against McDowell, Lo
gan and Mingo counties.
ACTION IN EASTERN AREA
Later, the NAACP will try simi
lar court tests in the eastern Pan
handle counties of Jefferson and
Berkeley, as well as another eastern
county, Hardy. All three border Vir
ginia, and have strong southern sym
pathies.
Greenbrier, where demonstrations
broke out in 1954 when the board
first tried to end segregation, will
begin integration Jan. 18 on a volun
tary “first come, first served” basis.
Then, next fall, integration will be
completed.
Mercer, threatened with federal
court action even before the hearing
in Greenbrier County, began moving
toward desegregation following
Judge Moore’s decision. Several con
ferences were held with board offi
cials, NAACP officers and the judge
present before it was decided that
integration should start Sept. 4, 1956.
FOLLOW GREENBIER PLAN
Summers was the next to decide in
favor of integration. Under NAACP
prodding, school authorities there
decided to follow the Greenbrier
plan. Voluntary integration will be
gin Jan. 19 and complete integration
next September.
Raleigh was warned by the
NAACP that court action was immi
nent after it backed away from a
gradual five-year integration plan in
the face of citizen threats of vio
lence. This happened in September
just before schools opened.
Later a suit was filed in federal
court, and subsequently the board
passed a resolution directing its legal
counsel to confer with Judge Moore
on a plan identical with that in Mer
cer. If the judge agrees, Raleigh
County schools will be fully integrat
ed next September.
Nutter didn’t say when the new
suits will be filed. But McDowell
holds priority. Next is Logan, and
third is Mingo.
Once these actions are completed,
the NAACP will concentrate on the
Panhandle area. Already overtures
have been made to Jefferson County,
but nothing definite has resulted
from them.
In other actions during December:
Brooke County school officials an
nounced they had gradually and
quietly ended segregation in the pub
lic schools. The process of desegrega
tion was started without fanfare in
1953.
Agreement was reached between
Brooke County school authorities and
Richard Woodard, Negro teacher who
by Dec. 31 clubrooms in Brookland
school because only white boys can
use them. School officials say this
can’t be allowed in integrated schools.
Originally, the club was told to get
out by Sept 1 because of its policy to
operate segregated units. The school
board was told club officials were
studying a policy change. None has
been made.
lost his job through a previous scW
merger. The board agreed to provij,
as much substitute teaching for ^
as possible and to place him in ^
active teaching assignment as so^
as possible.
Kanawha County School Supt. V !;
gil L. Flinn said plans are being m a - t
to completely integrate white and
Negro students next school yej,
Kanawha has the largest segment of
the state’s population.
While integration was moving
ahead at an erratic pace in the pub-
lie schools, a group of professional
educators met with a special citizens
committee on higher educatiot
formed by legislative directive to
study higher education shortcomings
growing out of one year of non-
segregated college programs.
These experts proposed several
sweeping changes in their meeting
here Dec. 5, among them the recom
mendation that the State Board of
Education “take steps immediately to
insure racial integration not only of
students but also of faculty and ad
ministrative staffs in all institutions
of higher learning.”
Racial integration at the college
level, the educators observed, “is pro
ceeding rapidly at West Virginia
State College,” an all-Negro school
until June, 1954. The fact-finders said
further:
“It is believed that further prog
ress would be made in the enroll
ment of white students at Bluefield
State College, which needs a larger
student body in order to reduce per
student costs, through the addition of
white persons to the instructional
staff.”
Bluefield has been under a legisla
tive cloud for more than a year as
the result of high per student operat
ing costs there. This imbalanced cost
factor, the educators said, “is due to
a large extent to the low enrollment.
They recommended, however, that
Bluefield not be closed. The college
is needed, they continued, to serve
the people of Mercer, West Virginias
southernmost county, whose needs
may not be met by larger and better
staffed Concord College a dozen
miles distant in the other end of the
county.
“Another basic issue facing the
legislature,” the educators said after
their six-month survey, “is whether
to continue the operation of the
land-grant colleges which the state
has maintained under racial segrega
tion, or to discontinue this function
at West Virginia State College.”
During the past year West Virgin 12
State enrolled approximately 25 stu
dents in agriculture, a normal situa
tion, and awarded degrees to fi v ®'
The educators recommended that at
future land-grant activities be con
centrated at West Virginia Univer
sity.
TWO-YEAR PROGRAM
The instructional program in agr 1
culture should not be abolished com
pletely at State, they said. It shout
be reduced to a two-year program
beginning in September, 1956, an^
special provisions should be made
transfer the 10 or fewer juniors an
seniors to the university.
Another recommendation was tba|
the Negro 4-H camp at Clifton
Fayette County, now operated 1
West Virginia State College, be
continued as soon as an 0T< * et ^
transition can be made for the us e
better facilities at Jackson’s Mill ^
Lewis County. The educators, as
result of their study, proposed
strengthening of the professing
program in engineering at West *
ginia State.
Because of the need for engV^.
in the chemical-rich Kanawha ,
ley, where the college is loca
they suggested that the engineer^
offerings be improved until they ^
equivalent to the first two years
engineering at the university.
New Member of the School
Board?
—Baltimore Sun