About Southern school news. (Nashville, Tenn.) 1954-1965 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 1956)
I m 3 m IJSRAftfCS vife % Factual Sou *»0 * S N 3 H1V NO ISI A I Q GNOI1 I sinoov S3 I tJViJB IT * VO JO * A I Nfl 9002 99-0C-9 I iimn iiv/ jool News Objective VOL. II, NO. 8 NASHVILLE, TENN. $2 PER YEAR FEBRUARY, 1956 Litigation, Legislation Highlight Month 19 Rulings Rendered Since May Initial rulings or decrees have been rendered in approximately 25 of the 30-odd court cases involving school segregation in the 17 southern and border states. School segregation statutes and constitutional provisions have been voided in Florida, Arkansas, Tennes see and Texas—states which, until direct attacks were made upon such laws, maintained the Supreme Court decisions of 1954 and 1955 had left their school laws unaffected. At least 19 of the court decisions came down after the May 31, 1955 decision of the Supreme Court imple menting its May 17, 1954 decree. In all cases the lower courts abided by the principle established by the Su preme Court holding that enforced segregation of the races in the public schools is a denial of equal protection of the law. In several of the cases, notably in Florida, Texas, Oklahoma and North Carolina, the lower courts leaned heavily on those portions of the Supreme Court decision which Dlaced upon local school authorities “the primary responsibility for eluci dating, assessing and solving these problems,” allowing time for these problems to be worked out. Other lower courts stressed the “prompt and reasonable start” directive of the Supreme Court. Not included in the following state- by-state list of school segregation cases so far decided are cases in which decisions were rendered prior to the May 31 Supreme Court decree. Other cases in which initial or sub sequent rulings have been rendered on the basis of the Supreme Court’s decisions of 1954 and 1955 include the following: Alabama—Autherine Lucy et al v. Adams. U. S. District Judge Hobart Grooms of Birmingham, on Aug. 21 granted a permanent injunction against the University of Alabama policy of barring Negroes. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals at New Orleans on Dec. 7 upheld Grooms’ decision. Arkansas—Herbert Brewer et al Leslie Howell, president of the hoard of Hoxie School District No. 46 ofLawrence County. Chancery Judge Thomas Butt on Jan. 3 sustained de murrers filed by the defendant school hoard holding that he is without Jurisdiction to remove the board as P aintiffs requested. The ruling in this case was based on legal technicalities a her than on the Supreme Court’s es egregation decisions and is in- (See 19 Rulings, Page 4) Index State Alabama Page 6 Arkansas Delaware 10 3 Patriot of Columbia Georgia . Kentucky Louisiana Maryland 6 10 13 7 10 5 Mississippi Missouri 15 3 ok, 1 * Carolina Oklahoma 12 4 °uth Carolina Tennessee 16 *?*as , yUginia 14 Wes ‘ Virginia . 15 Going Through the Mill ■Louisville Courier-Journal 4 Southern Governors Endorse Interposition By Overton Jones RICHMOND, Va. he use of interposition as a weap on in the fight against enforced racial integration in the public schools received the endorsement of four Southern governors who conferred here on Jan. 24 at the invitation of Virginia’s Gov. Thomas B. Stanley. The governors — Timmerman of South Carolina, Griffin of Georgia, Coleman of Mississippi and Stanley —did not suggest the actual wording that a resolution of interposition should take. They left the way open for each state to phrase its own reso lution. But reporters got the impression that the Virginia, South Carolina and Mississippi chief executives favor resolutions that do not contain clauses stating that the Supreme Court’s segregation decision is “nullified,” while Georgia’s Gov. Griffin favors an all-out declaration that the court decision is null and void. (No report ers were present for the actual dis cussions.) The four governors who joined in the official statement are from states where legislatures are currently in session. Gov. Hodges of North Caro lina also attended the session, but did not join in the declaration because his state’s legislature is not now meeting. The statement, read to reporters by Gov. Timmerman, who served as chairman of the conference, asserted that “the states have not delegated to the federal government or any agen cy thereof the power to prohibit the segregation of the races in the public schools and we, therefore, shall rec ommend to the legislatures of our re spective states that the following action be taken: “1) That there be adopted a reso lution of interposition or protest in appropriate language against the en croachment of the central government upon the sovereignty of the several states and their people. “2) That a call be made upon the Congress of the United States to take such action within the limits of its constitutional authority as to protect the states and their people against present and future encroachment by the central government. “3) That each state exercise its right to enact and utilize such other appropriate legal measures as it may deem advisable to protect its sov ereignty and the rights of its people.” Gov. Hodges’ statement, issued separately, said: “My attendance at the meeting of several southern governors held in Richmond to discuss problems com mon to all our states with respect to our public schools and segregation was of substantial benefit and en couraging to us . . . “Inasmuch as our General Assem bly is not now in session, as are the legislatures of the states of the other governors attending the meeting, my attendance was primarily as an ob server, and our group did not partici pate in the formulation or adoption of the proposed resolution considered at the meeting. This proposal strives to give expression to the position of the South and will of course be given serious consideration by our Advisor 1 ' Committee on Education and myself for possible recommendations to our General Assembly at its next meet ing.” In general, the doctrine of inter position is that states have a right to interpose their sovereignty to chal lenge what they consider to be un constitutional acts of the federal government. gEVENTEEN southern and border states appeared to be moving into an era of litigation and legislation over the school racial question as court rulings increased in number and as legislative bodies met—in most cases to strengthen pro-segregation devices. Meantime, two more counties in West Virginia desegregated their schools in mid-year and Kentucky, with 40 desegregated districts, disclosed that every district in the state will have adopted a desegregation plan and “started the process in one area of service or another” by September. In Tennessee, a federal court ordered high school desegregation in Anderson County, and Nashville school officers began quiet discussions of the segregation-desegre gation question with parents, school-by-school. Eight legislatures were in session, with five of them discussing or passing on new pro-segregation legislation. Alabama became the first state to declare “null, void and of no effect” the Supreme Court’s 1954 decision against segregation. A Southern School News survey showed that the doctrine of interposition (SSN, Janu ary) was before legislatures or was being discussed to some degree in at least eight other states — Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana and North Carolina. An SSN survey of court action showed that rulings or decrees have been entered in 25 of 30-odd school cases, most of them since the second Supreme Court ruling of May 31, 1955. A state-by-state summary of major developments follows: Alabama Alabama’s legislature apparently was moving toward “freedom of choice” legislation embodied in the Boutwell bill providing for three sep arate school systems after passing a resolution declaring the 1954 Supreme Court decision “null, void and of no effect.” Gov. James E. Folsom criti cized the resolution but did not indi cate whether he would veto it. Arkansas The Hoxie case was finally resolved in a federal court decision making permanent a temporary injunction against pro-segregationists and again declaring Arkansas’ school segrega tion laws unconstitutional. A proposed constitutional amendment on inter position has been filed with the at torney general. At Van Buren the school board was ordered by a court to report by Aug. 15 on “progress and plans” for school desegregation. Delaware The letter “C” after a school district was approved by bond attorneys and is now interpreted as meaning “a school district that will not be re quired to raise its local share of the costs of a new school” (instead of designating a colored school.) The Greenwood school board in south Del aware reversed its ban on athletic engagements with desegregated schools while the Milford High School PTA withdrew from the state and na tional bodies. District of Columbia Supt. Hobart M. Coming said pub lic school integration, now in effect for one and one-half years, will be undermined if Congress does not re store budget funds to permit the hir ing of 180 more teachers. Florida The Florida Supreme Court, which had voided the state’s segrega tion laws in a college entrance case, was asked for more time for the col lection of information on the possible effects of college desegregation in an official move interpreted as a tactic of delay. County superintendents, who were called into session to dis cuss cooperation in a survey of atti tudes toward desegregation, adopted a hands-off policy. Georgia Gov. Marvin Griffin’s program for private schools was underwritten by the General Assembly as action was completed on five of six bills designed to implement the private school amendment of 1954. Griffin meanwhile was studying the interposition theory, and in Washington 10 members of the Georgia congressional delegation en dorsed the principle. Kentucky In a little-heralded report, the State Department of Education disclosed that 40 school districts have desegre gation “in some measure” or have “opened the way” to it, and that every district in the state will have adopted a desegregation plan and “started the process in one area of service or an other” by September. Meanwhile, a federal court ordered desegregation of the Adair County High School, and 17 Negroes were admitted Jan. 16 with out incident. Louisiana Louisiana’s new governor, third- termer Earl K. Long, will take office in May pledged to retain school segre gation, having answered “yes” (along with four other candidates) to the question whether he would close any school where integration is ordered by federal authority. Louisiana State University was directed by a court for the second time not to refuse admit tance to a Negro undergraduate. Maryland A pro-segregation group, the Mary land Petition Committee, is pressing for a private school plan similar to Virginia’s. An SSN analysis of Balti more’s desegregated school system shows 66 racially-mixed schools. About 7.4 per cent of Baltimore’s Negro school children are now en rolled in formerly all-white schools, compared with 3 per cent last year. Mississippi Five bills designed to strengthen the state’s official stand against de segregation are pending in the legis lature. Mississippi’s new governor, J. Also In This Issue • A special report on the gover nors’ conference in Richmond dealing with interposition, Pg. 1 • Table of basic legislation on school segregation in eight states, Pg. 2 • Detailed election returns from Virginia’s vote on constitution al convention, Pg. 14 • Texts of two significant court rulings, Pg. 8 and Pg. 12 • A special SSN roundup of low er court decisions since Su preme Court ruling, Pg. 1 P. Coleman, delivered an inaugural address interpreted as “stern on the matter of preserving segregation” but “temperate in its approach.” Missouri A special SSN survey of one year of integration at Soldan High School in St. Louis shows no problems of stu dent relationships or hygiene but a greater degree of absenteeism and a larger number of failures in most courses. North Carolina North Carolina is in an “enviable position” to retain segregation, ac cording to Gov. Luther H. Hodges, be cause of the state’s assignment law. Local study committees in a “confi- (See LITIGATION, Page 2)
