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Objective
VOL. IV, NO. 9
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
$2 PER YEAR
MARCH, 1958
First School Board ± sks Court To Delay
. . Greatest Challenge
P'or THE FIRST time since school desegregation went into effect in response to court orders, a school
board has requested a federal judge to postpone integration.
The action was taken in Little Rock, Ark., last month after months of disturbances at Central High
School and the expulsion of a Negro pupil.
Meanwhile, two more districts in Oklahoma disclosed that their schools had been desegregated and a
third announced further desegregation plans for next fall. This brought to 764 the number of biracial dis
tricts desegregated in practice or in principle in seven border states and the District of Columbia and
three mid-South states.
—Atlanta Constitution
Region’s School Bond Vote
Trend Traces U. S. Pattern
JT'or all its concern over the school
segregation-desegregation issue, the
South does not seem to be varying from
the national trend in providing—or de
clining to provide — funds for new
schools or school additions.
Data compiled by the research de
partment of the Investment Bankers
Association of America in Washington
show voters in southern school districts
are approving and disapproving school
bond issues at about the same rate as
the rest of the country. While directly
comparable figures for the whole pe
riod (July 1956 to December 1957)
covered in the table (below) are not
available, comparisons of specific quar
terly reports show little variation be
tween the South and the nation at
large.
In the last quarter of 1956, southern
voters approved issuance of $151,100,000
m school bonds and disapproved issues
totaling $12,007,000, for a disapproval
rate of 9.2 per cent. For the nation as
a whole, $851 million in bonds was ap
proved for issue and $58 million disap
proved, a rejection rate of 6.4 per cent.
REJECTION rates increase
For the like period of 1957, south
erners approved bond issues totaling
$53,024,000 and rejected $12,614,000, or
19.2 per cent of the total proposed. The
rate for the nation as a whole was
$565 million approved and $138 million
disapproved, or 19.7 per cent.
However, both comparisons show that
voters (and taxpayers) have grown
increasingly reluctant to approve school
bond issues. This is illustrated in the
southern states by the accompanying
table.
In the last half of 1956, 12.9 per cent
of the total number of issues placed
before the voters, representing 7.4 per
cent of the amount of the issues, were
disapproved. For the first half of 1957,
15.5 per cent of the issues and 22.9 per
cent of the total amount were rejected,
fyid during the last six months of 1957,
9-7 per cent of the issues and 21.8 per
cent of the sought amount were disap
proved. The tendency to reject bond
issues seems to have subsided slightly
during the first month of 1958, with the
approval of 14 issues totaling $7,340,000
and the disapproval of three issues
"paling $1,758,000 in four southern
rates. For the month, the rejection
rate was 17.6 per cent of the issues and
. 1 per cent of the total amount of the
issues.
The behavior of individual states
did not seem to vary greatly, regardless
of region. If, as the New York Times
reported Jan. 18, the voters of New
York rejected more than half the bond
issues placed before them during the
18-month period, so did Florida voters.
The border state of Missouri saw 38.3
per cent of the number of issues put
up and 40 per cent of the amount re
jected.
The Deep South states of Alabama,
Louisiana and Mississippi approved all
the issues placed before the voters, as
did the mid-South and border states
of Arkansas, Delaware, Kentucky,
Maryland and Tennessee.
For the 18-month period, the voters
in the 17 southern and border states
approved 498 school bond issues total
ing $389,126,000 and disapproved 95 is
sues totaling $78,151,000. This brought
(See BONDS, Page 4)
Court and legislative activity again
were conspicuous during February.
0 In Kentucky, a federal district
court ordered desegregation of the
Owen County High School and a
prompt start toward elementary school
desegregation.
0 In Maryland, Harford County won
circuit court acceptance of its gradual
desegregation plan.
0 In Tennessee, a district court re
jected the Nashville school board’s pro
posal for a “parents’ preference plan”
under which parents and pupils might
elect one ^ 4Ilr “-e types of schools.
0 In i ana, circu >urt orders
sustained icrwer cour'.s in iSdering de
segregation i.i New Orleans and in
voiding certain entrance bars to Ne
groes at four state colleges.
0 In North Carolina, trial date was
set for a lawsuit testing the state’s pupil
placement law.
LEGISLATIVE NEWS
On the legislative front, West Vir
ginia became the third state (after
Florida and Texas) to adopt a “Little
Rock bill” under which schools would
be closed automatically should federal
troops be sent to patrol them. A similar
bill was twice defeated in Delaware.
Virginia also moved to tighten loop
holes in its statewide anti-integration
laws.
Mississippi’s legislators had before
them constitutional amendments to
abolish requirements for “free public
schools.” West Virginia’s legrlature
Southern School News
Goes To 48 States,
22 Foreign Countries
The current (March) issue of South-
School News is being mailed to paid
subscribers in all 48 states, the U.S.
territories and 22 foreign countries.
The foreign countries are: Australia,
Austria, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba,
British East Africa, Southern Rhode
sia, Haiti, Holland, India, Indonesia,
Iraq, Japan, Liberia, France, Pakistan,
Sweden, Switzerland, West Germany,
Thailand, Tunisia, and the Union of
South Africa.
Overseas subscribers include govern
ment agencies (U.S. and foreign), uni
versities, libraries and news media.
In the continental United States, be
tween two-thirds and three-fourths of
SSN’s subscribers are in the southern
and border states.
INDEX
Alabama
12
Kentucky
8
Oklahoma
! 6
Arkansas
2
Louisiana
10
South Carolina
4
Delaware
12
Maryland
.11
Tennessee
14
Dist. of Columbia
7
Mississippi
. . 5
Texas
8
Florida
. 5
Missouri
15
Virginia
9
Georgia
13
North Carolina .
6
West Virginia .
15
took no action on school segregation-
desegregation and Georgia’s principal
legislative act was to tighten voter re
quirements in a session accented more
by politics than by the segregation
question.
A summary of major developments
state-by-state during February follows:
Alabama
The segregation issue dominated the
gubernatorial campaign, with 14 candi
dates entered in the Demorcatic pri
mary. Observers saw a moderating tone
to campaign speeches with warnings
against racial ill will.
Arkansas
Little Rock’s school board asked the
federal district court to postpone inte
gration at Central High School. One of
the nine Negro children in attendance
was expelled after a series of incidents
involving her and white pupils.
Delaware
The superintendent of Wilmington’s
desegregated schools reported “little
friction or difficulty.” Desegregation
problems affecting much of the rest of
the state ca.ne before federal circuit
court in Philadelphia.
District of Columbia
Retiring Supt. Hobart M. Coming
called desegregation in Washington
schools “tremendously successful” in
his final report. Congress was concerned
with the financing, policies and per
sonnel of the Civil Rights Commission.
Florida
A legislative committee was investi
gating the role of communism in racial
unrest and school integration efforts.
The attempt of a Negro to enter the
University of Florida law school
reached federal circuit court after dis
trict court denied his petition.
Georgia
The legislature ended a 40-day ses
sion with politics rather than segrega
tion the major point of interest. It pro
vided for stiffer registration require
ments for new voters and refused to
repeal the statewide compulsory school
attendance law.
Kentucky
Owen County was ordered by federal
School Bond Issues Approved and Rejected by Popular Vote
July 1956 through December 1957
(Amounts are in millions, 000 omitted)
Bond Issues Disapproved
Bond Issues Approved
July-Dee.
1956
Am’t. No. of
Issues
Alabama $ 6,000 1
Arkansas o
Delaware 351 3
Florida 16,850 4
Georgia 16,095 4
Kentucky 129 1
Louisiana 48,000 3
Maryland 29,500 1
Mississippi 400 1
Missouri 8,599 18
N. Carolina 2,000 1
Oklahoma 5,967 33
S. Carolina 0
Tennessee 0
Texas 29,234 60
Virginia 10,770 4
West Virginia 0
Total $173,895 134
Jan.-June
1957
Am’t. No. of
Issues
$ 0
350 2
0
2
3
0
9
0
4
48
5
80
1
0
78
2
0
234
July-Dee.
1957
July-Dee.
1956
Jan.-June
1957
Am’t.
$ 4,350
6,070
20,430
10,190
4,145
19,803
15,950
13,105
900
47,855
2,700
$141,498
5,602
550
3,046
6,608
5,960
7,710
3,280
80
4,466
25,226
5,855
$72,733
No. of
Issues
Am’t.
No. of
Issues
Am’t.
No. of
Issues
Am’t.
2
$
0
$
0
$
0
0
0
9
0
0
0
0
24,500
1
2,624
2
800
1
200
1
0
0
0
3
0
0
0
0
0
5
0
0
21
6,356
8
9,149
29
7,391
3
0
0
1,000
32
333
4
575
3
95
1
775
1
1,100
1
3
0
0
46
7,691
6
5,485
7
5,540
3
0
0
3,460
0
0
1,047
1
130
$15,995
20
$42,056
43
$20,110
l merica,
Washington, D.C.
July-Dee.
1957
No. of
Issues
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
17
1
3
0
0
7
2
0
32
district court to desegregate its high
school in September and to make a
prompt start toward elementary school
desegregation—the seventh such court
action in Kentucky.
Louisiana
The Fifth Circuit Court affirmed four
lower court desegregation orders, in
cluding one involving Orleans Parish
(New Orleans) and the other involving
four state colleges. Further appeals
were planned by the defendants from
these decisions which were considered
a sweeping legal setback to segrega
tionists.
Maryland
The U.S. Fourth Circuit Court UDheld
a disputed plan for gradual desegrega
tion and “selective integration” in Har
ford County. Plans were announced for
further integration in Frederick County
next fall.
Mississippi
Constitutional amendments removing
the requirement for maintenance of “a
uniform system of free public schools”
were reported favorably for floor action
in , the legislature. Other measures
called on certain organizations to file
membership lists.
Missouri
A special program was under way in
a Kansas City school to determine the
effectiveness of an intensive counseling
program among Negro students who
were judged potentially superior in
ability or aptitude.
North Carolina
Trial was set for May in the state’s
first thoroughgoing test of a student’s
rights under the pupil placement law.
A church-supported college became the
first private institution in the state to
admit a Negro student.
Oklahoma
Desegregation was reported in two
more districts, Berwyn and Oakdale,
and desegregation was extended in a
third district for economic reasons. A
college official proposed moving Lang
ston University, the state’s only all-
Negro institution, which is under legis
lative fire, to Oklahoma City or Tulsa.
South Carolina
Two Negro colleges in Columbia were
attacked and defended on charges of
Communist infiltration in their facul
ties. Two students from one of them
sought by mail application to gain ad
mission to the all-white University of
South Carolina.
Tennessee
Federal District Court in Nashville
rejected the city school system’s pro
posal for a “parents’ preference plan”
to carry out the court’s desegregation
order, now effective at the first grade
level.
Texas
“Upgrading” of Negro pupils began
in Houston as a prelude to desegrega
tion. Four Negroes were refused admit
tance to white schools in a Houston
suburb. In Dallas, the police chief dis
closed he had visited Little Rock to
study means of preventing disorders in
racial disputes.
Virginia
The General Assembly adopted a
“Little Rock bill” and moved to plug
loopholes in anti-integration laws as
the Fourth Circuit Court upheld de
segregation orders in Arlington County.
West Virginia
The legislature adjourned without
passing any bills dealing with school
segregation-desegregation. Seating ar
rangements at a boxing tournament led
to withdrawal of several Negro entries.
# # #