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PAGE 16—MAY 1958—SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS
Order Entered In Dallas, Tex., Case;
Protestant Ministers Sign Statement
AUSTIN, Texas.
U NITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
W. H. Atwell entered his
order for Dallas public schools to
desegregate “with all deliberate
speed.”
Atty. Gen. Will Wilson mean
while asked the U. S. Fifth Cir
cuit Court to dismiss an auxiliary
Dallas case seeking to test two
new pro-segregation state laws.
(See “Legal Action.”)
Dr. J. C. Matthews, president of North
Texas State College, explained how
Texas’ most-integrated college has met
its racial problems. (See “In the Col
leges.”)
The University of Texas, still upgrad
ing its program, announced a new plan
to give college credit for advanced high
school work. (See “In the Colleges.”)
ENTERS RACE
William A. Blakley, former U.S. sen
ator from Dallas, announced for the
place now held by Sen. Ralph Yar
borough. Blakley, charged with segre
gation views, replied that he is only
against “forced integration.”
Gov. Price Daniel, who signed several
pro-segregation bills, announced for re-
election. (See “Political Activity.”)
The problem of improving teaching
and research received study both on the
public school and college levels. (See
“School Boards and Schoolmen.”)
A Dallas group asked the school
board to “abdicate” if it failed to halt
integration. The name of a Negro can
didate for the Dallas school board was
removed from the May election ballot
because he is an ex-convict. (See
“School Boards and Schoolmen.”)
Three hundred white Protestant min
isters representing 13 denominations
called forced segregation “morally and
spiritually wrong.” (See “Community
Action.”)
A Negro appealing in Dallas for sup
port of the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People said the
main battle is “against the Negro’s own
indifference.” (See “What They Say.”)
CURRENT STATUS: “Deliberate
speed,’’ district court order entered
in Dallas case after circuit court
order rescinding time limit. Deseg
regation ordered but no time limit
set in Houston.
missed. Wilson’s motion, defending state
officials named as defendants in the
Dallas suit, was filed in the Fifth Circuit
Court in New Orleans.
One of the state laws challenged by
the Dallas board prohibits payment of
state funds to any school district which
desegregates without approval at an
election (H.B. 65). It also calls for im
posing fines on the school officials. Un
der this act, Dallas stands to lose $1,-
500,000 a year in state funds. (See SSN,
June 1957.)
CREATES STANDARDS
The second law in question (H.B.
231, see SSN June 1957) sets up
standards for administrators to assign
pupils to different schools. These in
clude numerous factors—scholarship,
health and others—but would not allow
assignment solely upon a racial basis.
In dismissing the Dallas board’s suit
against the state, Judge Atwell com
mented: “We have no jurisdiction here.
There are plenty of state courts to pass
on the constitutionality of state laws.”
Atty. Gen. Wilson also took the posi
tion that the federal court has no juris
diction in the case. He said the Dallas
district failed to show any U.S. consti
tutional question. In fact, said Wilson,
the complaint is insufficient for basing
any lawsuit on it.
Major Developments
Since 1954
1) Integration started in 123
school districts, putting 3,600 of
the state’s 258,000 Negro students
in mixed classes.
2) Integration started in 35 col
leges, including some in East
Texas where public school seg
regation remains solid.
3) The legislature passed laws
prohibiting future public school
integration without voter-ap
proval, with loss of state funds as
the penalty. Other anti-integra
tion acts were passed.
4) Dallas and Houston, the
state’s two largest school districts,
are under court order to integrate
but without any deadline.
5) The Little Rock episode re
portedly stiffened opposition to
integration in Texas, making more
difficult the problems of officials
in Dallas, Houston and other
places. A new law calls for clos
ing any school where troops are
employed.
District Judge W. H. Atwell entered
his order for Dallas public schools to
desegregate “with all deliberate speed”
after the U. S. Circuit Court had re
versed his order for mixing to begin
in the January 1958 term. (Borders v.
Rippy, SSN April 1958 and previous
issues.)
State Atty. Gen. Will Wilson mean
while asked the circuit court to dis
miss a suit testing two state laws which
segregationists sponsored in 1957. (Dal
las ISD v. J. W. Edgar, SSN February
1958 and previous.)
Judge Atwell, who first tried to dis
miss the effort by Negroes to enroll in
Dallas public schools, later set a dead
line which the appeals court overruled.
The latest judgment did not mention
deadline.
SEES “GOOD FAITH”
W. J. Durham, Dallas attorney for the
National Association for the Advance
ment of Colored People representing 17
Negro applicants in Borders v. Rippy,
said he believed the Dallas board would
“show good faith by starting some type
of integration policy next fall.”
Dr. Edwin L. Rippy, president of the
board, declared that no announcement
concerning its plans will be made dur
ing this school year. The board has said
that it would not integrate while in
volved in litigation on the matter.
Rippy’s statement was repeated after
300 Dallas Protestant ministers declared
forced segregation to be “wrong.”
“It would be an act of major dis
loyalty to the state, which has tradi
tionally dictated broad rules by which
school districts operate, and it would
be a poor service to this city and to a
wide area which plans to follow the
Dallas lead, to announce specific plans
of time and method of integration until
a legal answer is provided for this
dilemma,” Rippy asserted.
The board filed Dallas ISD v. Edgar,
(against the Texas commissioner of ed
ucation) to see whether the courts
would uphold the law requiring its loss
of state funds if it integrated without
an election.
ASKS DISMISSAL
Atty. Gen. Wilson said Dallas’ suit
to test two new laws should be dis
Wilson said the assignment authority
rests entirely with the local school
board. The state officials named in the
lawsuit “are charged with no duties
whatsoever” under that law and could
not do anything to affect the Dallas
school district adversely, Wilson con
tended.
CURRENT STATUS: 27 of 47
public white colleges and 18 private
colleges desegregated in practice or
principle.
tions of higher learning. It allocated for
research and faculty improvement $1
million of endowment fund income pre
viously earmarked for building.
The second University of Texas im
provement was to set up a program of
giving college credit for advanced work
in high school, to students who pass the
Educational Testing Service—“college
board”—tests in the subjects given in
May before graduation from high
school.
Many of the state’s larger school sys
tems already give equivalent of college-
freshman courses in some subjects. The
state university will broaden its ad
vanced standing program for students
who take such examinations in Septem
ber, before registration as freshmen.
CURRENT STATUS: Guberna
torial and senatorial primaries July
26.
WILLIAM BLAKLEY
Seeks Senate Post
an anti-troops bill for school closing in
segregation disputes (see SSN, January
1958 and previous). He had signed sev
eral earlier bills sponsored by East
Texas pro-segregation members.
Don Booker, a Dallas insurance man
and former Republican, was Daniel’s
only announced opponent as of late
April.
William A. Blakley, a Dallas rancher-
businessman, announced that he will
seek the Democratic nomination to the
U.S. Senate seat now held by Ralph
Yarborough, Austin attorney.
Blakley served briefly in the Senate
under appointment by former Gov.
Allan Shivers, before being replaced by
Yarborough. Blakley did not run for
election to the unexpired term which
Yarborough won.
Yarborough is expected to rim again
for the Senate, although there was some
speculation he would file against Gov.
Price Daniel.
SECOND TERM
Daniel filed for his second term on a
states’ rights platform.
Both candidates Blakley and Daniel
are labeled as pro-segregationists. Yar
borough has been criticized in East
Texas because he voted in Congress for
the 1957 Civil Rights bill. Much of his
plurality support came from East Texas
last year.
When reporters asked how Blakley
stood on racial integration, he replied:
“Forced integration is not a constitu
tional procedure.”
“Could there be any other kind?” a
reporter asked.
“Yes, voluntary integration,” said
Blakley.
He called for “a return to constitu
tional government” and recognition
“once again and forever of the rights of
the sovereign states.”
ONLY OPPONENT
Gov. Daniel called a special session
of the legislature last November to pass
CURRENT STATUS: 123 of 722
districts known to have both white
and Negro students desegregated.
A pro-segregation group of 60 or 70
people in Dallas warned the school
board that it should “abdicate” if it can
not stop integration. “The school board
could build private schools for those
who do not want to attend integrated
schools,” said Leon Blount, spokesman
for the group. “Integration will cause
bloodshed.”
Blount said that “underground meet
ings are being held in eight or 10 places
in the city almost every night to fight
integration” and that some Dallas po
licemen are members of the “Ku Klux
Klan.”
Police Chief Carl Hansson said he
knew nothing of “underground” meet
ings and had no comment on the charge
that some policemen belong to the Klan.
ASKS EQUALIZATION
Another speaker, Mrs. Will L. Nash,
asserted that uneconomic “overlapping,
dilapidation and overcrowding” exists
in Dallas schools and that the white and
Negro schools should be “equalized.”
She urged the board to abandon its
“position of reluctance” towards inte
gration.
Mrs. Georgia Thomas, representing
the Parent-Teachers Association at a
Negro elementary school, asked the
board to improve its staff, building,
grounds and lunchroom.
A Negro religious leader, J. Von
Brown, said he would seek a court test
of a ruling keeping his name off the
ballot as a candidate for the Dallas
school board. School authorities or
dered Brown’s name removed, an
nouncing that he had served a three-
year prison term for mail fraud at a
federal reformatory following a convic
tion in 1948.
Brown said his civil rights had been
restored.
ENROLLMENT DROPS
The Houston school board, also under
court order to integrate “with all de
liberate speed,” announced that for the
first time in years enrollment declined
between October and March.
The district had 150,127 students en
rolled in October 1957 and a decrease
of 188 by March. Ordinarily there is a
3 per cent increase in enrollment dur
ing the period.
The loss was entirely in white scho
lastics, from 111,774 to 111,212. Negro
enrollment at Houston increased from
38,333 to 38,727.
ACCUSE BOARD
The Harris County (Houston) Coun
cil of Organizations Committee on
School Problems charged that the school
board was backing away from integra
tion, rather than toward it. The group
is composed of NAACP members.
The main objection is to a so-called
“peeping plan” whereby Negro teach
ers this summer will observe teaching
methods of white supervisors. The lab
oratory is arranged so the observers can
see but not be seen by the pupils being
taught.
A 6-foot tall wooden cross was
burned on the lawn of Mrs. A. S. Van-
dervoort, Jr., a “moderate” member of
the pro-segregation Houston school
board. Mrs. Vandervoort said she had
no idea who placed it there.
“The Negro must become a plague to
those holding him in slavery,” a Cal
ifornia Negro minister said at a Dallas
NAACP membership drive.
The Rev. J. Raymond Henderson said
the Negro must “rise up and assert his
rights.” A crowd of less than 100 at
tended what was advertised as a “mass
meeting” of the Dallas NAACP branch.
The speaker blamed rainshowers with
cutting attendance.
“When a Negro wants his freedom
and liberty bad enough, a few rain
drops will not deter him,” said Hender
son. “Ours is a battle against the Ne
gro’s own indifference.”
The Baptist preacher is on a 22-city
nationwide tour sponsored by the
NAACP.
# # #
Following is the text of the statement signed by 300 white
Protestant ministers of 13 denominations in Greater Dallas.
Dr. J. C. Matthews, president of
North Texas State College, said this
most-integrated college in Texas had
worked out its problems “in a manner
that would please anyone interested in
evaluating the situation.”
Sue Connally, reporter for The Dal
las Morning News, reported on the
Denton college’s integration. She found
that Negroes play on the football team,
live in the same dormitories as white
students, and make full use of school
facilities although keeping to them
selves socially.
North Texas State College, in an area
where segregation sentiment is consid
ered relatively strong, has 133 Negroes
attending class with 5,855 white students
—a much larger proportion than at the
University of Texas.
FROM NEARBY CITIES
President Matthews said “we have
not bragged about our situation” but
had tried to make the best of it. Many
of the Negroes come from Dallas, 37
miles away, and Fort Worth, 34 miles
distant. The closest segregated state col
lege for Negroes is Prairie View
A&M, nearly 250 miles away.
The president predicted there would
be no increase in Negro enrollment be
cause the school’s standards are being
raised.
The University of Texas meanwhile
took two more steps in its campaign to
become one of the nation’s top institu-
Statement, 300 Clergymen In Greater Dallas
1) These problems can be solved only as people seek God’
help. We should seek not to justify our own views in Hi;
sight but to obtain His guidance in all our actions. We urg'
that people of all faiths pray earnestly that God will giv
understanding, patience and guidance in meeting these SO'
cial issues.
2) Law and order must be maintained as Dallas face
desegregation of its public schools. The Supreme Court ha
ruled that segregation in the public schools on the basis o
race is unconstitutional. The lower federal courts will inforn
Dallas about local application of this decision. Their ruling
will be the law, and must be respected. If individuals o
groups defy court decisions, they are inviting anarchy n
which no one’s rights will be preserved. We urge that al
citizens encourage and support the declared intention of cit’
officials and law enforcement agencies to see that law ani
order are maintained in Dallas.
•
3) Churches, service clubs and community organizations
newspapers, radio and television have a responsibility ^
aid in the solution of this problem. We urge that thes
groups and enterprises join together in seeking actively 1
promote the spirit of harmony and peace among all peopk
both by aiding forces of order and goodwill, and by dis
couraging destructive actions.
4) The citizens of Dallas have a responsibility to assis
the school boards as they attempt to lead the communitj
In order that the school boards may have the understandin
support of the community in desegregating the publi
schools, we urge that plans should be made public as soo
as possible.
5) Christian parents can be of great help in creating prop e
attitudes toward race. We urge that all parents, by con
versation and example, set a pattern of responsible Christia
citizenship in a democracy which recognizes justice, fah
play and respect for the sacredness of human personality'
6) The exchange of views among people of different race
is necessary for a reasonable solution to the problem. ^
urge that religious, civic and educational groups of all race
seek to understand each other by a free interchange of idea
and opinions in order that there may be a full confidenc
and cooperation in arriving at solutions.”
Dallas, together with the rest of the nation, faces serious
social issues which must be resolved. We, the undersigned
ministers, here declare our conviction that racial problems
and their solution are moral and spiritual as well as political
matters, and that our understanding of the demands of God
impels us to speak. Godfearing citizens cannot ignore their
responsibilities in civil society. We speak as individuals only,
not as representatives of any group or organization.
We admit, in deep humility, our own sins of prejudice in
many areas, and the failure of our religious bodies to solve
problems of racial relationships.
We recognize that there are honest differences of opinion
among sincere people concerning desegregation in the public
schools. One of the most prized possessions of a free society,
however, is the right to discuss differences openly. We are
certain that thoughtful citizens, although they may differ
in their views on the race question, agree that these dif
ferences can be resolved only by following democratic
principles, such as respect for the rights of individuals, free
speech and due process of law through the courts, without
recourse to violence and lawlessness.
•
The only solution to this or any other problem of human
relations lies in the application of the New Testament con
cept of Christian love in which we seek for others that
which we desire for ourselves. We remember that Jesus
said, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another.” We remember that the
Holy Spirit led Peter to say, “God has shown me that I
should not call any man common or unclean.”
These scriptures, among others, call us as Christians to go
beyond simple justice to the practice of our Lord’s com
mandments. We must treat every individual as a person
made in the image of God and one for whom Christ died.
This impels us to express our concern in the social and
political situations of our times.
All of this leads us to the conviction that enforced segre
gation is morally and spiritually wrong, and in light of these
beliefs we present the following principles: