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Objective
VOL. 5, NO. 9
NASHVIUE, TENNESSEE
$2 PER YEAR
MARCH, 1959
3or and sdlc^ainAt
Desegregation Efforts,
Opposition Reported
TynEW pressures built up for de-
11 segregation in five states last
month while legislators in at least
seven states considered new seg
regation defenses.
Efforts by Negroes to enter
white schools were made in Bir
mingham, Ala., Wayne County,
N.C., and Richmond, Va. New
court actions were launched in
Pine Bluff, Ark., Greensboro and
Mecklenburg County, N.C. Other
court actions were threated in
Guilford County and Durham,
N.C.
At the same time, Arkansas’ Legisla
ture enacted four new laws designed
to help preserve segregation and had
33 more bills in the hopper. With three
Virginia school systems desegregated,
another planning the step this fall and
a fifth desegregated but with only Ne
groes attending, the General Assembly
there enacted new legislation intended
to curb the effects of the integration
moves.
TWO PLAN DESEGREGATION
School authorities in Charlottesville,
Va., and Dade County (Miami) Fla.,
planned to liegin gradual desegregation
programs in September; and a federal
district court ordered the Owen Coun
ty, Ky., school board to extend its de
segregation plan, begun last year, to
the elementary levels.
Charlottesville school authorities laid
plans under compulsion of a court or
der for immediate desegregation, which
had been stayed on the school board’s
plea that, allowed time, it would evolve
a workable plan for compliance with
the court’s decree.
In Miami, the Dade County Board
of Public Instruction, which for some
months has studied the possibility of a
“pilot” desegregation effort at the
Orchard Villa Elementary School, an
nounced inauguration of the plan for
the upcoming fall term. Under the plan,
four Negro children will be admitted
to the formerly all-white school in a
transition neighborhood rapidly becom
ing a Negro residential area.
PUPIL ASSIGNMENT FEATURES
Both the Charlottesville and Dade
County programs contain pupil assign
ment features. The Virginia univer
sity city’s plan is a local one which
seeks to assign the pupils on the basis
of educationally feasible but non-dis-
criminatory factors. The Miami plan is
based on the state’s pupil assignment
law which sets out similar criteria for
assignment. The Florida law last month
was found not invalid in a federal court
case.
Direct attempts to breech the segre
gation walls were made in Birming
ham, Ala., in Wayne County, N. C., and
in Richmond, Va.
In Birmingham, nine Negro children
were presented by their parents for en
rollment at the Graymont Elementary
School and Phillips High School. Seven
of the applicants were rejected; two
are undergoing placement tests. Since
five of the nine were plaintiffs in a
previous court action in Birmingham
the effort was viewed as another test
of the state’s pupil placement law. In
the previous court test, a three-judge
federal court found the placement law
to t>e “not unconstitutional on its face.”
The U. S. Supreme Court refused to
reverse the decision.
Near Goldsboro, N. C., a Negro Air
Force sergeant sought to have his child
transferred to the all-white Meadow
Lane school maintained as part of the
Wayne County school system for chil
dren of air base personnel. A new
policy announced by the board appar
ently means the request will be granted.
The requests of 11 Richmond, Va.,
Negro pupils for transfers to the all-
white Chandler Junior High School
were denied by the State Pupil Place
ment Board.
New court cases were filed last
month against school authorities in
Pine Bluff, Ark., Greensboro, N.C., and
Mecklenburg County (Charlotte), N.C.
In the Greensboro case, the legal effort
is aimed at extending the limited de
segregation which, in 1957, permitted
six Negro children to enter heretofore
white schools.
The Mecklenburg case seeks the first
desegregation in the county schools.
Charlotte’s city schools enrolled four
Negro children in 1957. Both suits at
tack the validity of the pupil place
ment law, previously upheld in state
and federal courts. Plaintiffs claim the
placement law was designed to impede
rather than to implement the Supreme
New Court Cases Indicate
Drive For Faster Face
/Campaigns to quicken the pace of desegregation in some southern states appeared developing last
^ month while one Deep South state made its first move toward public school integration.
New desegregation cases were filed in North Carolina, with indications of more to come, following the
end of massive resistance in neighboring Virginia. This gave rise to speculation of a concentrated drive
to broaden North Carolina’s integration beyond its existing “token” basis.
In Alabama efforts were renewed to A new tabulation showed there are
breach that state’s still-intact segrega
tion front and in Arkansas a move was
initiated to extend integration to an
other district.
Miami accounted for Florida’s first
step toward public school mixing with
a decision to desegregate an all-white
elementary school next fall.
Meanwhile desegregation of two
more districts in Virginia brought to
an even 800 the number which have
started the process in southern and
border states. There are 2,896 bi-racial
districts in the area.
‘Massive’s’ In De Cold, Cold
Ground!
‘Notice How It Has Simmered
Down Lately?’
—St. Petersburg Times
—Birmingham News
148,500 Negroes attending the region’s
racially mixed schools, out of a total of
437,000 Negro pupils in integrated sit
uations. By “integrated situations” is
meant the number enrolled in a dis
trict at grade levels which have begun
desegregation—not the number of chil
dren in mixed classes.
Other developments by states:
Alabama
The state Legislature passed laws
aimed to thwart investigation of voting
by the Civil Rights Commission.
Arkansas
A new desegregation suit was filed
at Pine Bluff—the state’s first since
Little Rock’s school crisis.
Delaware
The state Board of Education reject
ed an NAACP proposal for total school
desegregation in September 1959.
District of Columbia
President Eisenhower gave Congress
a seven-point civil rights program in
cluding legislation to encourage school
mixing.
Florida
A federal district court upheld the
state’s Pupil Assignment Law.
Georgia
The Legislature passed six adminis
tration bills designed to bolster the
state’s stand against integration.
Kentucky
A federal court turned down Owen
County’s staggered desegregation plan.
Louisiana
Resistance took shape to a Civil
Court’s school segregation decisions of
1954 and 1955.
In Pine Bluff, Ark., in an area with
a near 50-50 Negro-white population
ratio, a federal court suit was filed
on behalf of three Negro children seek
ing admission to the all-white Dollar
way school.
NEW LEGISLATION
Opposed to desegregation efforts, leg
islators in seven states were consider
ing new defenses. In a special session
the Virginia General Assembly, deter
mined to remove the compulsiveness
from desegregation in that state, re
pealed the state’s compulsory attend
ance law and made further provisions
for tuition grants for pupils who chose
to attend private, non-sectarian segre
gated schools.
Arkansas legislators enacted, and
Gov. Orval Faubus signed, measures
(1) to protect the retirement benefits
of public school teachers who move to
private schools and (2) to provide tui
tion grants to students who prefer pri
vate, segregated to public, integrated
schools. Some 33 other measures, in
cluding 14 to curb NAACP activities,
are pending.
A group of six segregation bills, in
cluding a tuition grant plan and pupil
placement law were enacted in Geor
gia. There was no attempt made to en
act a local option provision which
would permit local school systems to
work out their own segregation des
tinies.
Several school segregation measures
Collins State Level Plan
Fails At Governors Meet
By KENNETH TOLER
BILOXI, Miss.
A proposal of Florida Gov.
LeRoy Collins for state-level
participation in determining the
“whens” and “wheres” of school
desegregation has been shelved for
lack of cooperation from the three
groups intended to push it to en
actment.
Gov. Collins said after the nine-
member executive committee of
the National Governors’ Confer
ence, of which he is chairman,
side-stepped action on it that he
“sees no reason to pursue it fur
ther at this time.” That inaction
resulted at the committee meet
ing at Biloxi, Feb. 26-27.
STILL ALIVE
Despite that setback, which followed
inability to interest the White House
and congressional leaders, Collins has
not discarded the plan. Rather, he said
it is laid aside “in the hope that lead
ership will be developed that will pick
it up and move forward on a middle-
ground solution.”
Alabama 15
Arkansas 2
Delaware 10
Dist. of Columbia . 16
Florida 3
Georgia 7
INDEX
Kentucky 8
Louisiana 8
Maryland 6
Mississippi 12
Missouri 10
North Carolina ... 4
were offered the Tennessee General
Assembly. Gov. Collins’ plan called for a con-
Florida and Louisiana legislators, ference of the President, congressional
who meet in the spring, also were con- leaders and the nation’s governors to
sidering new means of strengthening work out the two-ply plan to:
segregation defenses. # # # 1} Faci i itate desegregation, when and
where desegregation is feasible.
2) Safeguard against imprudent
coerced desegregation, when and where
Oklahoma 13 dese ^gation is not feasible.
South Carolina 9 The governor said the “fixed feel-
T.nn« teo | o m S s ” of congressional leaders “on both
j j. extremes of the racial issue” contrib-
. ,? xa . s “ uted to inability to gain support at that
y ir 9' nia 14 level. He said from the White House
West Virginia .... I I there was simply “a lack of interest.”
The Florida executive said he still
thinks his somewhat “states’ rights”
plan “is the only way to work out a so
lution to avoid very grave and serious
developments on the race problem.”
“However, as governor of Florida, I
have no specific plans to carry the plan
forward,” he added, indicating he
might follow through at other levels.
He has been mentioned for the Demo
cratic vice presidential nomination.
Collins noted “the Democrats are
more willing to recognize emerging
new problems when they arise” than
are the Republicans.
NEEDS MIDDLE-GROUND
Gov. Collins told a news conference
a “middle-ground which will please
neither extreme” is needed to bring
about a solution to the problem.
“We’ve got two extremes that are go
ing to have to be brought together if
there is to be some yielding on both
sides,” he said. “This is a congressional
matter because it is a federal right
which has been declared.”
Gov. Collins said the proposed com
mission, appointed by the President
from names recommended by the gov
ernors, would take over from the fed
eral courts’ original jurisdiction to de
termine where and how desegregation
could best be carried out.
“The commission would adjust the
rights declared by the Supreme Court
along with other rights which are also
constitutional,” he said.
A governor, who asked not to l>e
quoted, said the reason there was no
response to the Collins proposal was:
1) Those favoring desegregation see
in it a slow-down.
2) Those against it feel it will take
from the states and place in the fed
eral government control over the public
schools through the proposed commis
sion.
# # #
Rights Commission probe of voter reg
istration.
Maryland
New data showed more than half of
Baltimore’s schools now have bi-racial
student bodies.
Mississippi
Mississippi State University turned
down an invitation to the National Col
legiate Athletic Association basketball
tournament because integrated teams
participate.
Missouri
A state agency reported compliance
with the Supreme Court’s desegrega
tion decision has been achieved
smoothly.
North Carolina
The Wayne County school board des
ignated a presently all-white grade
school for exclusive use of Seymour
Johnson Air Base personnel, apparent
ly clearing the way for acceptance of a
Negro pupil.
Oklahoma
The Oklahoma City school system
integrated the faculties of two bi-racial
schools.
South Carolina
The state granted “domestication” to
the NAACP.
Tennessee
A batch of new desegregation bills
was introduced in the 81st General
Assembly.
Texas
Gov. Price Daniel opposed repeal of
the state’s law requiring voter-approval
of further desegregation.
Virginia
Four additional schools opened de
segregated. Only Negroes enrolled at
formerly all-white Warren County
High.
West Virginia
Gov. Cecil H. Underwood said “emo
tional frenzy” was responsible for
school closings.
# # #
Library Film
Now Complete
The first installment of Facts On Film,
the complete SERS library on micro
film, has been finished and is being
delivered to subscribers.
Facts On Film includes Southern
Education Reporting Service publica
tions, Race Relations Law Reporter,
texts of court decisions, transcripts of
U. S. Supreme Court hearings, legis
lative enactments, scrapbook back
ground material, newspaper editorials,
editorial cartoons, letters to editors,
newspaper clippings, magazine articles,
pamphlets, miscellaneous publications,
miscellaneous materials such as texts
of speeches, official reports and studies.
The initial installment of more than
150,000 items covers the period 1954
through June 1958 on 44, 100-foot rolls
of 35 millimeter film. Four rolls are
the card catalogue. There also is a
printed index.
Annual supplements are guaranteed
through June 1961 with additional ones
depending on whether SERS continues
beyond that time.
Initial subscribers to Facts On Film,
which is available on a cost basis, in
clude the U. S. Civil Rights Commis
sion, University of South Carolina,
Dartmouth College, Memphis State
University, Cornell University, North
western College of Louisiana, South
ern Illinois University, Virginia State
College, Johns Hopkins University,
Mississippi Southern College, University
of Kentucky, Louisiana State Univer
sity, University of Arkansas, North
Carolina College at Durham, Ohio State
University, North Texas State College,
University of Pennsylvania and Win-
throp College.
# # #