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IS7J7 i/ 6 Factual Southern 2-C /N TTT VOL 6, NO. 10 N 0 I S I A I 0 V I C fc 0 3 0 • V 0 * S N 3 H i V soiiisinoov S 3 I 13 V I 1 JO AilSM3Al f *0 b iLi..... : - ; - 09 Of* Objective $2 PER YEAAPR 6 Per Cent of Negroes In Integrated Classes APRIL, I960 C IX PER CENT of the three mil- ^lion Negroes enrolled in the South’s public schools are attend ing classes with whites this school year. In the sixth school term since the U.S. Supreme Court declared school segregation unconstitution al, 524,425 of the Negro students are in integrated school districts. An estimated 182,104 actually at tend classes with whites. The 17 southern and border states, plus the District of Columbia, have 3,039,133 Negroes and 9,901,310 whites enrolled. A survey by Southern School News found the status of segregation-desegre gation in the region to be this way: The District of Columbia and West Virginia have complete integration in their school systems. Six other states have substantial integration, five have partial integration and the remaining five maintain complete segregation. Seventy-seven per cent of the Ne gro students are enrolled in the schools of the states with the least desegrega tion—the five with partial integration and the five with complete segregation. 21 NEGRO SCHOOLS The District of Columbia, which has a current enrollment of 90,403 Negroes and 27,481 whites, adopted complete integration in 1954. The District still has 21 all-Negro schools, with an enroll ment of 16,161. Three schools are all- white. All of West Virginia’s 24,010 Negro students are in integrated school dis tricts. An estimated 12,000 Negroes at tend schools with whites. The six states with substantial inte gration are Delaware, Kentucky, Mary land, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. southern or border state. Thirty-four Negroes attend formerly all-white schools in the Tar Heel state—the lowest number of any state desegregat ing. The Negro enrollment figures for the five partially integrated states are: May Court Dates For Dallas and Atlanta; Houston Action Indicated Negroes In Inte In Enrolled grated Districts Schools With Whites Arkansas 104,205 9,750 98 Florida 192,093 25,881 512 North Carolina 302,060 43,506 34 Tennessee 146,700 13,576 169 Virginia 203,229 21,743 103 The five Deep South states with com- plete segregation—Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Caro lina—have a total Negro enrollment of 1,391,921, representing 46 per cent of the region’s total. Georgia has the largest Negro enrollment of any southern or border state: 310,753. # # # these states: Negroes In Inte In Schools Enrolled grated With Delaware 14,277 Districts 7,576 Whites 6,328 Kentucky 42,778 32,000* 12,000* Maryland 126,678* 118,500 28,072 Missouri 82,000* 74.480* 35,000* Oklahoma 39,405 30,000* 10,246* Texas 279,374* 33,000* 3,300* (* Estimated) Several border states have discon tinued listing students by race and the racial statistics must be estimated. Five states—Arkansas, Florida, Geor gia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Vir ginia—have a combined Negro enroll ment of almost one million. Desegrega tion in these states has re ulted in 916 Ne-roes entering formerly all-white schools. (See the individual reports in this issue for a state breakdown by dis trict and school.) North Carolina’s Newo enrollment of 302,030 ranks the second highest cf any SERS Directors Re-Elect Ahlgren; Slate Fall Meeting NASHVILLE, Tenn. D irectors of Southern Edu cation Reporting Service re-elected board officers and four board members at the an nual meeting here March 27. Frank Ahlgren, editor of the Memphis Commercial Appeal, will continue as board chair man and Thomas R. Waring, editor of the Charleston News and Courier, Charleston, S.C., as vice chairman. A special meeting will be held in the fall to discuss future SERS operations. The board members re-elected at the meeting were Waring; Edward D. Ball, editor of the Nashville Ten nessean; Charles Moss, executive editor of the Nashville Banner; and Henry I. Willett, superintendent of schools, Richmond, Va. They will serve for three years. Other board members are Henry H. Hill, president of George Pea body College; Chancellor Harvie Branscomb, Vanderbilt University; Dean George N. Redd, Fisk Uni versity; C. A. McKnight, editor, the Charlotte Observer; Luther H. Fos ter, president, Tuskegee Institute; Don Shoemaker, editorial page edi tor, the Miami Herald; and Bert Struby, general manager, Macon Telegraph and News, Macon, Ga. Marvin Wall will continue as act ing executive director of SERS. CRC Hears School Heads; Widens Scope By GARRY FULLERTON GATLINBURG, Tenn. T he U.S. Civil Rights Com mission added a new dimen sion to its work when it an nounced at its March 20 meeting in Gatlinburg, Tenn., that it will probe alleged discrimination in the fields of law enforcement and the administration of justice. The announcement was the main news development at a two- day conference on school deseg regation problems attended by superintendents from 10 southern and border states. Dr. John A. Hannah, president of Michigan State University and chair man of the commission, told reporters the civil rights group has received complaints indicating that “in some areas justice is not administered equally.” He declined to name the areas, but said a pilot study made by the commis sion’s staff indicated that a full-fledged investigation would be worthwhile. Under the 1957 act that created it, the commission is required to probe denial of voting rights and is permitted to in vestigate denial of rights in other areas, provided that the discrimination is based on race or religion and involves governmental action of some sort. The commission is already probing discrimination in housing and education as well as voting. JOB DISCRIMINATION Hannah said the possibility of in vestigating job discrimination was also discussed but no decision was reached on that. However, the Tennessee state advisory committee to the commission announced it plans a study to determine whether there is job discrimination in Tennessee in federal government agencies and in private companies with federal contracts. Both individual members of the commission and chairmen of 17 state (See CIVIL RIGHTS, Page 3) DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Senate Gets ‘Moderate’ Rights Bill WASHINGTON, D.C. T he House of Representatives Passed and sent to the Senate a “moderate” civil rights bill keyed mainly to an election-ref eree provision. Omitted was an administration recommendation °f federal aid to communities that desegregate their schools. Senate liberals hoped to strengthen the House measure w hen it reached the floor March 30, and southern senators planned to resume their filibuster. But the leadership was confident that Congress might complete action on a measure along the lines of the House bill before the Easter recess in mid-April. (See “Na tional Affairs.”) President Eisenhower said sit- down strikes and demonstrations m the South were mainly a local problem, and called for “bi-racial conferences in every city and every community of the South-” Civil rights lawyers pledged all- out aid for the demonstrators. (See “National Affairs.”) Washington School Supt. Carl F. Valley Forge, 1960 Hansen said the school system should continue to keep racial statistics on pupils and teachers for the time be ing to avoid the impression of secrecy, (See D. C., Page 2) Advance on Political Gettysburg—1960 Baltimore Sun Judge Suggests Referendum; Georgia Group Tours State r F'WO MAJOR SOUTHERN cities with segregated school systems— Dallas and Atlanta—received orders in March to report to federal courts in May on their school desegregation plans. And a third city—Houston, the nation’s largest segregated school dis trict—had indications a federal judge would order district-wide deseg regation unless the school board comes up with a plan by September The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Ap peals at New Orleans ordered Dallas of ficials to produce a desegregation plan by May 21. For more than two years the district has been under a federal court order to desegregate “with deliberate speed.” The dilemma confronting Dallas is that state law calls for withdrawal of state aid if integration is ordered with out voter approval. U.S. District Judge T. Whitfield Davidson, who originally ordered the desegregation, suggested the district hold a referendum on inte gration. A special school study commission established by the Georgia Legislature sampled public opinion on school de segregation in each of the state’s 10 con. gressional districts during March. The Sibley commission will report to the governor and legislative leaders by May 1. Georgians have a legal dilemma over school desegregation since state law re quires schools to close if ordered to de segregate. U.S. District Judge Frank Hooper at Atlanta said he would wait until after the commission’s report to decide whether to order the Atlanta desegrega tion plan into effect this fall. Hooper has set a new hearing for May 9. The attorney for the Houston school board, Joe Reynolds, told its members that U.S. District Judge Ben C. Con- nally had given him the impression “the court expects us either to come forward with a definite plan of desegregation, naming a definite date, or else the court would be required to order district-wide desegregation.” Reynolds added that the judge indicated a September deadline. In another development during March, 13 Negroes applied to enroll at the University of Alabama’s Extension Service Center at Montgomery. One of the students was among nine expelled from Alabama State College (for Ne groes) for taking part in a segregation protest demonstration. Other students at Alabama State who participated in the demonstrations were placed on probation. The Alabama Board of Education directed the college to fire any faculty member who en courages student protests. State-by-state developments during March included: Alabama A series of protests begun by Negro students reached a climax March 6 with more than 400 law enforcement officers having to break up what threatened to be a dangerous race riot by some 5,000 whites and some 750 Negroes. (Page 9). Arkansas The Dollarway School district com plied with a federal court order to file a statement of affirmative policy on de segregation. (Page 6). Delaware Delaware’s Board of Education ap proved two-and-one-half million dol lars construction for Negro schools. (Page 11). District of Columbia The House-approved civil rights bill forwarded to the Senate did not include the administration recommendation of federal aid to communities desegregat ing schools. (Page 1). Florida Dade County officials followed a court-approved program by notifying parents of their rights to seek admis sion of their children to any school, regardless of race. (Page 16). Georgia The Sibley school study commission’s hearings on school desegregation showed that opinion on the issue is sharply di vided in Georgia. (Page 3). Kentucky Acts approved by the Kentucky Legis lature included one setting up an 11- member State Commission on Human Rights “to encourage fair treatment for . . . and to discourage discrimination against any racial group or its mem bers.” (Page 14). Louisiana The Orleans Parish court of appeals ruled that the Legislature, not school boards, had the right to say whether schools are segregated or integrated. (Page 15). Maryland New data show that the number and proportion of whites in Baltimore’s bi- racial public schools have declined in one year’s time. (Page 12). Mississippi Negro teachers urged the governor and other top leaders to start a move ment for more effective communication between the races on problems of com mon interest. (Page 7). Missouri Diverse racial and economic patterns are believed to have helped defeat the St. Louis Board of Education’s school construction and fire-safety bond issue proposals. (Page 15). North Carolina Gov. Luther Hodges called on officials of state-supported colleges to help stop the protests by Negro students against segregation. (Page 13). Oklahoma The dwindling ranks of Negro high schools in Oklahoma will lose at least one more member with the closing of Booker T. Washington of Enid this fall. (Page 10). South Carolina Anti-segregation demonstrations by Negro students resulted in action by the General Assembly, the governor and school officials. (Page 4). Tennessee The Chattanooga Board of Education rejected demands for total, immediate school desegregation, making it prac tically certain a suit will be filed. (Page 5). Texas A Negro member of the Houston school board accused it of stalling in complying with federal court orders to desegregate. (Page 11). Virginia Efforts to revive the policy of “mas sive resistance” to integration were narrowly defeated in the Virginia Gen eral Assembly. (Page 8). West Virginia Students from Bluefield State College picketed theaters and lunch counters to protest racial discrimination at public places. (Page 10). Also in This Issue A report on the number of Negroes attending school with whites (Page 1), the southwest regional meeting of the National Assn, for the Advancement of Colored People (Page 14), and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights education conference (Page 1). # # #