Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 10—SEPTEMBER 1957—SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS
New Survey Shows 122 Texas Districts
Desegregated, None Added This Fall
AUSTIN, Tex.
NEW SURVEY DISCLOSED that at
least 122 Texas school dis
tricts established an official policy
of integration before a new law
requiring local voter approval
took effect. (See “Under Sur
vey.”)
The study also showed that
Negroes have been slow to apply
for admission to white schools,
when given a choice. Odessa offi
cially abolished segregation in the
high school in 1955 but has never
had a Negro ask to attend the
white school.
The U. S. Fifth Circuit Court of Ap
peals said that new pro-segregation
laws would not relieve the Dallas school
board of its duty to comply with the
constitution. (See “Legal Action.”)
No new districts will begin integra
tion this September. Mansfield, scene
of a disturbance in 1956 when Negroes
attempted to enroll, remains segregated.
(See “School Boards and Schoolman.”)
DALLAS STILL SEGREGATED
The Dallas school board ordered seg
regation to continue through the com
ing school year, after a federal court
ordered desegregation without setting a
deadline. (See “Legal Action.”)
San Antonio’s superintendent said in
tegration is proceeding smoothly into
its third year “but when it comes right
down to it they [Negroes] want to go
to their own schools.” (See “School
Boards and Schoolmen.”)
A statewide poll showed resistance to
integration remains strong. (See “Un
der Survey.”)
The Texas Research League, private
ly-supported, recommended that local
districts be required to bear a greater
share of public education’s cost. (See
“Under Survey.”)
NEGRO VOTE REPORT
Texas was reported to have 214,000
registered Negro voters. (See “Political
Activity.”)
Directors of Texas Technological Col
lege voted against a rehearing for three
ousted professors, where segregation
and political views were at issue. (See
“In the Colleges.”)
The state AFL-CIO convention
adopted a resolution urging immediate
abolition of segregated schools. (See
“Community Action.”)
Roy Wilkins, executive secretary of
the National Association for the Ad
vancement of Colored People, said in
Dallas that “Negroes in the North have
problems too.” (See “What They Say.”)
At least 122 Texas school districts took
steps to abolish segregation before a new
law effective Aug. 22 stopped further
integration, except by approval of the
voters. (See Southern School News,
August 1957).
The new list of integrated schools,
compiled by Southern Education Re
porting Service and the Dallas Morning
News, shows 24 districts took the step
by May 1957 without general publicity.
Of 254 counties, 65 now have some
integrated schools. A few counties have
no Negro scholastics.
Of 250,000 school-age Negroes in
Texas, an estimated 3,600 will be at
tending classes in September with ap
proximately 300,000 whites. Another
21,000 Negro pupils in “integrated situ
ations” still will go to segregated
schools, often by choice, the survey
showed.
ENROLLMENT INCREASES
There are 560,000 white students in
the integrated situations, of an esti
mated 1,685,000 white pupils in the
state. Enrollment of both races is ex
pected to total 1,885,640 in September,
compared to 1,816,000 a year ago.
The state will have 78,015 teachers
and administrators compared to 75,160
last year.
The salary of classroom teachers will
average about $4,250 for nine or 10
months duty, officials estimate. This is
about $400 more than last year, the re
sult of a raise provided from state
funds.
About 600 Texas districts still oper
ate segregated schools. There are 707
other districts with white pupils only
and 39 which are all-Negro.
ADD TO LIST
Added to the list of integrated schools
by the latest survey were the follow
ing:
Bexar County Rural High School,
Southwest Rural High School in Bexar
County; San Benito in Cameron
County; Dimmitt and Hart in Castro
County; Delhart in Dallam County; El
Paso County Rural Schools; Dublin in
Erath County; Donna, Pharr-San Juan
and Weslaco in Hidalgo County; Falls
City in Karnes County; Brackettville
in Kinney County; Natalia and Devine
in Medina County; Tuloso-Midway in
Nueces County; Farwell and Lazbuddie
in Parmer County; Refugio in Refugio
County; Happy and Tulia in Swisher
County; Sanderson in Terrell County;
Van Horn in Culberson County; and
Wink in Winkler County.
There is no official record on integra
tion in Texas. It is believed there are a
few other districts which have inte
grated besides the 122 listed. Some of
those “integrated” have no Negroes at
tending white schools, but they do have
an official policy to accept them upon
application.
In some cases, white schools lost their
Negro students by graduation or mov
ing away. The superintendent at Valley
View, a North Texas school which
planned to begin integration this fall,
reported that the only Negro family
had left town so its children could at
tend all-Negro schools.
UNIQUE ANGLES
There are numerous unusual angles
to integration in Texas. Castro County
schools reportedly teach whites and
Negroes in the same building but
separate rooms; with both races sharing
the lunchroom and being integrated in
athletics and extra-curricular activities.
Some districts started integration in
high school; others in the lower grades.
Brooks County, which has no Negro
students now, reportedly has one Negro
teacher. Generally, however, Texas
Negro teachers have lost through inte
gration.
The new survey disclosed that East
Texas districts are still spending large
sums to improve Negro schools, includ
ing gymnasiums, cafeterias and some
other facilities not previously afforded.
In some cases, superintendents report
that Negroes now are better equipped
for public schools than are white stu
dents.
The reluctance of many Negroes to
apply for integration was shown at
Odessa, a West Texas oil town which
had 13,026 white and 496 Negroes en
rolled last year.
The Odessa board adopted desegrega
tion in the high school as official policy
in August 1955 — without publicity —
and in two years there have been no
requests by Negroes to attend the white
school.
Dr. J. W. Edgar, state commissioner
of education, told Odessa officials that
they could integrate without holding an
election in the future (as required by a
new state law) since the policy was
adopted officially before the new law
took effect.
The election law stopped plans of
Galveston, Port Arthur and some other
districts to integrate this fall because
these boards had set a future date for
the move.
45 CHOSE DESEGREGATION
At Victoria, which started integration
last September, Supt. C. O. Chandler
reported that of 300 Negroes eligible to
attend the first three grades, only 45
chose integrated schools. Fewer appli
cations for integration are expected this
fall, Chandler said. Desegregation has
worked smoothly in Victoria, he added.
Negro parents have been accepted fully
in parent-teacher association activity.
Several superintendents said their
Dallas Administrators’ Opinions Are Recorded
Following is the text of a report, “Socal Life of the Chil
dren within the School,” by W. T. White, Dallas, Tex., school
superintendent, to the Dallas Board of Education covering
the results of a questionnaire submitted to school adminis
trators. It has been released to Southern School News for
publication by Superintendent White.
On April 9, 1957, in the school administration building
auditorium approximately 225 principals, assistant principals,
deans, counselors, coaches, band directors, commandants,
and sponsors of dramatics, speech, and class organizations
responded to my call for a meeting. They did not know the
purpose of the meeting. A mimeographed letter addressed to
participating personnel with enclosed sheets carrying 22
questions was handed each of them. After preliminary in
structions, the entire body set themselves about the business
of giving their judgment and opinions as requested. They did
not confer with each other. At all times they were most
serious and devoted.
These people came from all of the junior and senior high
schools in the Dallas Independent School District.
The following paragraphs give a brief summary of the
responses to the opinionnaire insofar as they could be classi
fied. Each respondent was assured of anonymity and was
urged to use complete frankness of expression in regard to
the questions. It will be borne in mind that this report is
not the opinion or judgment of any one person but rather
a consensus of the thinking of persons listed in paragraph
one above.
CLASSIFICATION OF RESPONSES
The responses to the opinionnaire tend to fall into four
distinct' groups:
1. Responses indicating a definite disfavoring of integra
tion (48.5%)
2. Responses indicating a favoring of integration on theor
etical bases but expressing grave misgivings as to the im
mediate practicality of such a step (23.2%)
3. Responses definitely favoring integration with a feeling
that it will be a positive force after some initial adjustment
difficulties (19.5%)
4. Responses indicating either an unwillingness or inability
to form a cohesive opinion (8.8%)
1. Summary of Opinions of Respondents Disfavoring Inte
gration
The respondents who express a definite disfavoring of inte
gration think that tensions would be quite high in the class
room as well as in other areas of school activities. They
predict that these tensions would tend to become less in
tense after a period of time, during which the Negro child
would experience much anxiety because of generalized
feelings of social and academic differences. These respond
ents believe that teachers in an integrated school would be
under strong pressures because of the necessity for their
being extremely careful lest their actions be described as
motivated by prejudices and negative attitudes. Administra
tive policies, these respondents believe, would have to be
very carefully worked out in great detail, and great care
would have to be exercised in carrying out these practices
with complete impartiality.
•
Those disfavoring integration are quite apprehensive about
the difficulty of interpersonal relationships that might
magnified in social situations. They believe that to minimize
negative aspects of this situation an augmented supervision
of children in and out of the classroom would be necess
They think that the most troublesome students in this area
would be those who are already disturbed from the stand
point of personal social involvements, and that they would
come primarily from the lower socio-economic groupings.
The anti-integrationists are quite concerned with what
they see as very real and significant academic deficiencies in
large numbers of Negro children. They believe that parent-
teacher relationships would have added areas of difficulties
in the integrated school. They believe that the Negro teacher
would be somewhat reluctant to confer freely and frankly
with some white parents, and that some Negro parents might
find it difficult to consult easily with white teachers in a
parent-teacher conference.
The respondents disfavoring integration fear that the inte
grated school and its attendant problems would provide
instances that would be exploited by extremists for the pur
pose of attacking public schools and school personnel. They
point out that the lower socio-economic groups would be
unable to follow the practice of some members of upper
income groups who may find it attractive to withdraw their
children from integrated public schools. The end results of
such trends would pose important problems for the schools
and the communities served by the schools.
2. Summary of Opinions Favoring Integration cm Theoretical
Bases but Doubting Practicality
The second largest group of respondents are in agreement
that integration should be effected on the basis of theoretical
considerations, and that the Supreme Court decisions relat
ing to this area are to be considered as imperative; however,
they believe that the implementation of these legal and
theoretical directives should be undertaken in a develop
mental manner that would envision carefully worked-out
plans projected over a span of years. They believe that the
planning should be as realistic as possible and that major
emphasis should be given to careful preparation of institu
tions and communities for integration.
3. Favorable Report
In the third group those who definitely favor integration
believe that there would be initial tension, even overt
clashes, between Negro and white students, but that these
tensions would be lessened as students come to see that
apparent differences between the races are not as great as
imagined or described and that the differences that do exist
are differences between individuals and not between races.
Those in favor of integration are very definitely committed
to the idea that a preparation period would be necessary to
acquaint parents, students, and teachers with the problems
that would probably exist initially and with methods for
meeting these problems as advantageously as possible. Thev
believe that administrative policies pertaining to the inte
grated school should be carefully planned and carefully fol
lowed with no deviation permitted because of race. They
believe that the troublemakers among students would be
those who are already troublemakers or who would be
troublemakers in any situation, and that they would prob
ably come from the “underprivileged” of both races. They
believe that the children of those parents who are greatly
disturbed about integration would also be disturbed. They
believe that the major initial social and academic problems
of the Negro child would center around a feeling of insecu
rity or lack of preparation. They say that teachers would
find parent conferences would require their best profession
alism. That the children themselves would adjust in direct
proportion to the adjustment of the adults in the community
is a strong conviction on the part of those who favor the
integration of schools. They believe that the management of
the classroom and the atmosphere that prevails would de
pend largely on the attitude of the teacher. This group be
lieves that the integrated school must eventuate in a a
cratic society, and that it will work.
4. The fourth group represents a small number whose an
swers appear incomplete and evasive.
RECREATIONAL AND SOCIAL ASPECTS
Each of the three groups reported above is concerned
about social contacts. There is an evident consensus that
social contacts in and about the school would have to be
closely supervised, and that parties, dances, and other out-
of-school social activities would of necessity be curtailed or
discontinued. The pro group thinks that with time the social
difficulty could be erased. School organizations that depend
upon some social activity to weld the group together as in
clubs, would not find it advisable to hold parties where
mixed groups would attend. Organizations where integrated
groups would be called upon to make trips together, such as
bands, athletic teams, dramatic clubs, or music groups, would
find immedate difficulty on encountering non-segregated
facilities in housing and eating. There is nearly universal
agreement that social contacts, whether on the individual
basis or in groups, would demand a supervision bordering
on “policing,” and that since personnel is limited in many
of these areas, there would need be a curtailment of oppor
tunity for incidents and social friction on the part of both
races. At the parent level all groups are fairly consistent in
expressions of doubt that a good social acceptance would be
possible at parties, banquets, teas, and other similar occa
sions. The first group mentions controversies that might de-
develop in the health area.
There is a general consensus among all groups that inte
gration would be easier in special activities such as music
band, athletics, or any place where talent and individual
accomplishment would show up and help in the acceDtanre
of the individual. While statements to this effect we™!
eral, the same people recognize that while integration
activity itself might be easier because of the contributSn
that could be made to the activity, social difficulties would
still prevail.
W. T. WHITE
Superintendent of Schools
boards are puzzled—at least one criti
cized the legislature for passing “con
fusing” laws. Supt. Ed Tate of Chilton,
Falls County, said he wished a clear
path could be outlined “before we all
go broke fixing up the Negro schools.”
Clyde M. Mason, superintendent of a
segregated school system at Tomball,
near Houston, said that other Texas
districts largely will follow the lead of
Houston and Dallas in setting future
integration policies.
SHIFT IN OPINION
The Texas Poll, a private agency, re
ported a shift of sentiment toward
gradual desegregation in the schools.
It said 47 per cent of all Texans now
favor desegregation, at least gradually,
while 42 per cent favor disobeying the
law or taking other steps to retain seg
regation.
A year ago, the poll showed 47 per
cent for disobeying the law if necessary
to preserve segregation. In each sur
vey, 11 per cent of those interviewed
had no comment.
The poll reported that 82 per cent of
the Latin-Americans and 61 per cent
of the Negroes are for integration, a
gain over last year in both racial
groups. The percentage of Anglo-Amer
icans in Texas favoring desegregation
declined from 39 to 36 during the year.
Two-thirds of the people interviewed
in East Texas said they would disobey
the law if necessary to preserve segre
gation. Ninty per cent of the state’s
Negroes live in this area.
FINANCE RECOMMENDATIONS
Another private organization, the
Texas Research League, advised the
Texas State Board of Education that
local districts should be required to pay
a larger share of the “minimum founda
tion program” for public schools.
Local districts are supposed to pay
20 per cent of the total cost, but actually
pay only about 15 per cent, the study
disclosed. It added that local property
taxes and valuations have not kept pace
with the growing needs of public
schools.
A 24-member committee of legislators
and laymen will investigate the need
for improving Texas schools and make
a report to the legislature in 1959. It
will look into financing, curriculum and
teacher supply.
Public schools in Texas are expected
to spend $562 million in the year start
ing Sept. 1, 1957. Eight years ago, when
the present financing method was set
up, the cost was $297 million.
Most Texas schools started the fall
term in the first week of September.
Mansfield, where white citizens dem
onstrated last year to keep Negroes
from attending the school, will remain
segregated.
“We hope everything will be quiet,
said O. C. Rawdon, president of the
school board.
L. Clifford Davis, a Fort Worth law
yer who handled the case for the Na
tional Association for the Advance
ment of Colored People, said he did not
know whether any Negro will attempt j
to enroll this year at Mansfield. The
Negro pupils have been transferred to
Fort Worth, 20 miles away.
SAN ANTONIO THIRD YEAR
San Antonio, which may be the first
big Texas city to abolish segregation
entirely, expects no trouble in the third
year since it started the change. Supt-
Thomas B. Portwocd of San Antonio
told the Associated Press that 200 Ne
groes attended formerly all-white
schools in 1955-56 and 471 last year. He
expects a further increase for 1957-58-
Every Negro school in the district
also snows growing enrollment, Port-
wool noted. All grades except the fif®
and sixth now are integrated and these
will be within two years. San Antonio
has approximately 49,000 white a 11 ®
4,400 Negro scholastics. It has a l ar *= c
Latin-American population, counted ®-
white.
“We haven’t forced anybody to.f>°
anywhere,” said Portwood. “And I thin*
the final analysis the enrollment fig ure *
show how the Negroes feel. They wan
the right to go to mixed schools, h®
when it comes right down to it tbw
want to go to their own schools.”
Both Dallas and Houston plan to co®
tinue segregation, despite lawsuits ®*
by Negroes seeking to enter wW
schools. . t
The Fifth U. S. Circuit Court held t
Dallas must desegregate “with all
liberate speed”. (Borders v. RipPV^ 0 a
merly Bell v. Rippy. See SSN, Au£' J>
1957 and previous issues.) ,j v ,
U. S. District Judge Ben C. Conn •
in late August still had under advis e
(Continued On Next Page)