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PAGE 4—MARCH I960—SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS SOUTH CAROLINA Legislation Introduced To Forestall Further ‘Sit-Down’ Demonstrations Southern School News Southern School News is the official publication of the Southern Education Reporting Service, an objective, fact-finding agency established by southern newspaper editors and educators with the aim of providing accurate, unbiased information to school administrators, public officials and interested lay citizens on developments in education arising from the U. S. Supreme Court opinion of May 17, 1954 declaring segregation in the public schools unconstitutional. SERS is not an advocate, is neither pro-segregation nor anti-segregation, but simply reports the facts as it finds them, state-by-state. Published monthly by Southern Education Reporting Service at 1109 19th Ave., S., Nashville, Tenn. Second class mail privileges authorized at Nashville, Tenn., under the authority of the act of March 3, 1879. OFFICERS Frank Ahlgren Chairman Thomas R. Waring Vice Chairman Marvin D. Wall Acting Executive Director Jim Leeson, Assistant to the Executive Director BOARD OF DIRECTORS Frank Ahlgren, Editor, Memphis Com- Charles Moss, Executive Editor, Nash- mercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn. ville Banner, Nashville, Tenn. Edward D. Ball, Editor, Nashville Ten- George N. Redd, Dean, Fisk Univer- nessean, Nashville, Tenn. sity, Nashville, Tenn. Harvie Branscomb, Chancellor, Van- Don Shoemaker, Editorial Page Editor, derbilt University, Nashville, Tenn. Miami Herald, Miami, Fla. Luther H. Foster, President, Tuskegee Bert Struby, General Manager, Macon Institute, Tuskegee, Ala. Telegraph and News, Macon, Ga. Henry H. Hill, President, George Pea- Thomas R. Waring, Editor, Charleston body College, Nashville, Tenn. News & Courier, Charleston, S.C. C. A. McKnight, Editor, Charlotte Ob- Henry I. Willett, Superintendent of server, Charlotte, N.C. Schools. Richmond, Va. CORRESPONDENTS ALABAMA MISSOURI William H. McDonald, Assistant Edi- William K. Wyant Jr., Staff Writer, tor, Montgomery Advertiser St. Louis Post-Dispatch A WaiKfl Shelton, City Editor, Ar- N ° R ™ City Edi- DELAWAtr . t0r ' Charl °” 9 James E. Miller, Managing Editor, OKLAHOMA Delaware State News Leonard Jackson, Staff Writer, Okla- DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA homa City Oklahoman-Times Erwin Knoll Staff Writer, Washing- SOUTH CAROLINA FLORID? meS 6ra W. D. Workman Jr., Special Corre- Bert Collier, Editorial Writer, Miami ‘P°ndent, Columbia, S.C. Herald TENNESSEE GEORGIA Tom Flake, Staff Writer, Nashville Joseph B. Parham, Editor, The Ma- Banner con News Garry Fullerton, Education Editor, KENTUCKY Nashville Tennessean Weldon James, Editorial Writer, Louisville Courier-Journal , , . . . . , .... „ LOUISIANA Richard M. Morehead, Austin Bu- Emile Comar, Staff Writer, New Or- reau, Dallas News leans States & Item VIRGINIA MARYLAND , . Overton Jones, Associate Editor, Edgar L. Jones, Editorial Writer, Richmond Times-Dispatch Baltimore Sun MISSISSIPPI WEST VIRGINIA Kenneth Toler, Mississippi Bureau, Thomas F. Stafford, Assistant to the Memphis Commercial Appeal Editor, Charleston Gazette MAIL ADDRESS P.O. Box 6156, Acklen Station, Nashville 12, Tenn. COLUMBIA, S. C. egro students demanded service at white lunch coun ters in Rock Hill in mid-Febru ary and provoked reaction from the South Carolina General As sembly. Several legislators introduced measures aimed at curbing “sit- down demonstrations.” Others criticized the Rock Hill develop ments. Initial steps were taken at Rock Hill to form a Citizens Council. (See “Community Ac tion” and “Legislative Action.”) Negro organizations protested the lack of Negro trustees on the board of South Carolina State College (See “In the Colleges,”) and asked the end of segregated bus seating in Charleston. (See “Community Action.”) State officials, including the attorney general, spoke out against enactment of federal legislation controlling election qualifications. (See “Political Activity.”) The South Carolina advisory commit tee to the U. S. Civil Rights Commission reported in February that it had re ceived no complaints of civil rights violations. (See “Under Survey.”) Rock Hill experienced several demon strations and some tension in Feb ruary when Negro students sought to be seated and served at downtown lunch counters. On Feb. 12, a number of young Negroes entered two variety stores and two drug stores and sought service on the same basis as white cus tomers. They were not served at any of the places. The two variety stores immediately posted signs indicating that the lunch counters were being closed for the time being. The two drug stores closed briefly to clear the premises but later reopened. The Rock Hill Evening Herald reported that one Negro student was knocked from a stool by a white youth at one of the drug stores and a bottle of ammonia was tossed into the other drug store while the Negro demonstrators were at the lunch counter. Telephoned bomb threats were made to the two variety stores, which closed after receipt of the warnings that bombs were on the premises. One Negro stu dent was struck by an egg as the group was moving away from the stores. Several of the Negro youths, including boys and girls, identified themselves as students of Friendship Junior College, an institution supported by the Baptist Church. The Rev. J. P. Diggs, director of religion at the junior college, told the press that the college had no hand in planning the demonstration but added: “Although this was not planned, I am not opposed to this movement.” OTHER DEVELOPMENTS The following developments came in short order after the sitdown demon strations at Rock Hill: The executive secretary of the Assn, of Citizens Councils of South Carolina was invited to address a group of white citizens with the view toward helping establish a council at Rock Hill, until now without a Citizens Council. In re sponse to that invitation, Farley Smith addressed a group of some 125 persons in the Union Hall of the Celanese Cor poration plant at Rock Hill. He coun seled against any show of violence, denied any intention of seeking to de prive anyone of their rights, and based his presentation on the need for hand ling demonstrators in a lawful and orderly manner. The Evening Herald credited Smith (in both news accounts and editorial comment) with helping to avert trouble. The front-page story telling of his ad dress said: “Farley Smith, son of former S. C. Senator ‘Cotton Ed’ Smith, waved a magical, verbal restraining wand last night over mounting racial tension in Rock Hill.” Editorially, the Herald commented: “Think what you will of the White Citizens Councils—Smith’s words prob ably did much toward wetting the fuse of an emotional powderkeg. And it could be that people of both races owe him a debt of gratitude.” Gov. Ernest F. Hollings termed the demonstrations “most regrettable” and said they were “purely to create viol ence and not to promote anyone’s rights.” He commended the people of Rock Hill for their conduct during the incidents. Continued demonstrations in Rock Hill provoked increased reaction from white citizens, including a number of youths who sought to thwart Negro de mands by occupying all seats at lunch counters and yielding their seats only to other whites. By the end of the month, the newly formed York County Citizens Council had a membership of about 350 white persons. Mayor John A. Hardin, with the full backing of Gov. Hollings, was seeking a declaration of policy at month’s end from the two national firms whose Rock Hill stores were involved in the demon strations: Woolworth’s and McCrory’s. At issue was the question of whether store managers would prefer charges against Negroes refusing to leave lunch counters upon request. Also in Columbia, members of the Legislature introduced bills designed to curb such lunch counter demonstra tions. (See “Legislative Action.”) The chairman of the state’s Special Segregation Committee, Sen. L. Marion Gressette, said operators of private eat ing establishments had the right to serve clientele of their own choosing. (See “Under Survey.”) On Feb. 18, a group of approximately 40 Negro youths in Charleston marched en masse down the main street and halted in front of a large variety store. No attempt was made to enter the premises, however, and the group dis banded quietly with the arrival of re porters, photographers and police. Also in Charleston, the local branch of the National Assn, for the Advancement of Colored People asked for an end to segregated seating on city buses. A pro test committee was appointed in Char leston to lodge the NAACP grievance following a January incident over mixed seating involving two women on a city bus. Later in the month, brief demonstra tions were held at Manning and at Orangeburg, where Negroes sought to obtain service at lunch counters. NAACP RESOLUTION In late January, the church work committee of the State NAACP Confer ence released a resolution calling for: “1. An end to the anti-Semitism so recently demonstrated, and the bias which jeopardizes the success of polit ical candidates because of religious persuasion. “2. An end to juvenile delinquency and crime and the conditions on which they thrive. “3. A more forthright effort on the part of churches to bring their racial practices into harmony with their pronouncements. “4. Our public schools will be pre served, open to all qualified students by nature of the fact that they are public schools. “5. Citizens will recognize the moral imperative of working for the best pos sible government through registering, voting, participating in local public af fairs, pressing for civil rights and ex hibiting the highest type of American citizenship.” On the heels of a sit-down demon stration by Negroes seeking service at white lunch counters in Rock Hill (See “Community Action.”) the following were introduced in the South Carolina General Assembly: A bill (by Rep. Rex L. Carter of Greenville, speaker pro tempore) call ing for a fine of up to $100 or imprison ment for as much as 30 days for anyone refusing to leave an eating place or other business establishment when re quested to do so by the management. Penalties also could be enforced against “agents” or organizations convicted of inciting sit-down demonstrations in such commercial establishments. The bill was referred to the Judiciary Com mittee. A bill (by Reps. Ryan C. Shealy and Albert J. Dooley of Lexington) allowing the management of an eating establish ment to impose a cover charge on any individual seeking service. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Military, Public and Municipal Affairs. Meanwhile, the Military, Public and Municipal Affairs Committee on Feb. 16 reported out, without recommendation, a 1959 bill requiring the labelling of blood in blood banks according to sex and race. The bill was introduced last year by Rep. George Sam Harrell of Florence and had been in committee since then. A concurrent resolution by Rep. John C. Hart of Union, calling on the State Democratic Party to send uninstructed delegates to the national convention was sent the Judiciary Committee for study. It recites the “hostile attitude” toward southern viewpoints on states’ rights and racial separation and says that the South should present a unified front to make its influence felt in choosing a nominee. The Special Segregation Committee established in 1951 by the South Caro lina General Assembly defended the right of private eating establishments to select their own clientele. A state ment to that effect was issued on Feb. 17 by State Sen. L. Marion Gressette, chairman of the committee, after the group had held a closed meeting at Co lumbia. His statement said: “The written laws and interpreta tions placed on the law by federal courts plainly indicate that the manage ment of private eating places have a legal and moral right to select clientele on any basis it sees fit. . . . “It appears that these incidents (such as at Rock Hill) .. . have been instigated by outside agitators who have no in terest other than creating racial dis turbances. ... It is the consenus of the committee that further spread of this agitation and the unfortunate incidents that are bound to follow can only lead to unpleasantness and tensions.” Gressette cited a recent federal ruling in Maryland to the effect that opera tors of eating establishments are within their rights in restricting their clientele. NO COMPLAINTS The South Carolina advisory commit tee to the U. S. Civil Rights Commission reported on Feb. 18 that it had received no complaints of civil rights violation since its formation in late December. The disclosure came at the advisory committee’s first regular meeting of 1980. The members of the committee did not take any action on the sit-down demonstration of Rock Hill Negroes at lunch counters, but several members expressed their personal views. The committee chairman, E. R. Mclver, only avowed segregationist on the group, said: “I think it’s a matter of dollars and cents. It looks like the merchant has to make up his mind whether he wants the colored or white trade. I don’t know of any civil law involved in the Rock Hill situation. I’m not sure I understand how the students found the time to sit around up town. When I went to college I didn’t have time to be fooling around sitting down up town.” A. McDow Secrest of Cheraw said: “Some people have had emotional sym pathy for the Negroes. But it appears to me the demonstration was asking for a reaction that might have been avoided. It looks like the demonstration was a poor place to start.” Dr. Thomas Carr McFall, Charleston Negro physician and member of the ad visory group, said: “Getting used to sitting by Negroes is nothing. I’ve seen southerners do it up North. But it’s ‘what my friends are going to think of me if I eat with a Negro.’ Japanese or Hawaiians can eat with whites and there are no questions about it. But here I am, bom in America, but because I am a Negro I can’t do it. It doesn’t make sense.” One member of the advisory commit tee, the Rev. Allan Jeffords, 48, died in a Columbia hospital two days after the group had met for its February gather ing. He was pastor of the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. R. Beverly Herbert, a Columbia law yer, told the Florence Rotary Club on Feb. 8 that “token integration in the South is a delusion and a snare . . . Our entire system of public education in the South, built up in poverty and toil, is now being threatened because we can’t accept mixed schools where there are large Negro populations. “The southern white man has the right to protect his children and at the same time to protect Negro children from conditions which arise when mix ing is attempted. We are compelled to do this by every instinct and every tie of parenthood and race preservation. Americans in any part of our land would claim the same right. We will claim no less.” Until recently, Herbert was a trustee of State College (for Negroes) at Or angeburg. The Rev. James P. Dees, pastor of the Statesville (N.C.) Protestant Episcopal Church and president of the North Car olina Defenders of States Rights, Inc., told the Florence Citizens Council on Feb. 15 that “interposition is the only salvation for the South and the nation in their right to preserve the integrity of the nation . . . The NAACP is not now nor ever was in favor of token in tegration in the public schools. This or ganization is dedicated to total integra tion in all phases of American life, re gardless of individual rights, by 1963. How long will Americans permit this total disregard for individual freedom to continue?” The State Educational Finance Com mission approved allotments totalling $678,776 for school projects at the com mission’s Feb. 11 meeting. The commission administers the state’s school equalization and expansion pro gram, which was adopted by the Gen eral Assembly in 1951. Since that time, the commission has approved allotments of $199,109,428 for new school construc tion, modernization, or improvement. A Negro political organization, the South Carolina Progressive Democrats, complained in February over the lack of Negro members on the board of trus tees of the South Carolina State College (for Negroes) at Orangeburg. Occasion for the protest was the election on Feb. 9 of two new white trustees to the state-supported Negro college. John H. McCray, one of the founders and principal spokesmen for the Pro gressive Democrats, said in letters to the governor and other state officials that it was “inexcusable and indefensi ble” to have an all-white board con trolling the Negro institution. The let ters said: “While we do not commit ourselves either way on the integration-segrega tion issue, we believe sincerely that acts of this sort do more to stimulate unrest and distrust than is motivated by gen eral trends.” The newly elected (by the Legisla ture) members of the State College board are Elliott F. Elam of Orange burg, vice the late Adam H. Moss, and W. Felix Wheeler of Columbia, vice R- Beverly Herbert, resigned. All members of the board of trustees are white and are elected by members of the General Assembly. Last Decem ber, however, the board named a seven- member “Board of Visitors” for the col lege and designated prominent Negroes from throughout the state to serve in that capacity. The board members are | Walker E. Solomon of Columbia, execu tive secretary of the Palmetto (Negro) Education Assn.; Dr. C. A. Green, Co- ' lumbia physician; Reginald Barrett, 1 Charleston businessman; C. C. Wood- son of Carver High School, Spartanburg; < Ben Sanders and Mrs. Larkin Walker, 1 both of Brewer High School, Green- 1 wood; and Alard Alston, Darlington < businessman. 1 . J POLITICAL ACTIVITY South Carolina’s attorney general) Daniel R. McLeod, testified in February against civil rights bills pending in Con- 1 gress. His chief objections were to \ measures which would establish federal t voting registrars or referees to facilitate j Negro voting. v McLeod said the determination of ( (See SOUTH CAROLINA, Page 5)