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ALABAMA
SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS—APRIL I960—PAGE 9
Protest Demonstration Stopped;
Negroes Apply at Extension Center
MONTGOMERY, Ala.
"|Y/|" ORE THAN 400 STATE, COUnty
-L'-*- and city law enforcement
officers broke up what threatened
to be a dangerous race riot near
the state capitol March 6.
Some 750 Negroes gathered at a
Negro church a block west of the
capitol early Sunday afternoon.
They were permitted to assemble
there but when they attempted to
march on the capitol, police
stopped them.
A mob of 5,000 whites—some
angry, some curious—surged for
ward and it was only the quick
use of mounted deputies and fire
trucks that prevented almost cer
tain violence.
The incident was the climax, but not
the conclusion, of a series of racial
demonstrations that began in Mont
gomery Feb. 25 (Southern School
News, March 1960) when 25 Negro
students from Alabama State College
converged on a snack bar in the
county courthouse and demanded
service. Nine of the students were later
expelled, others put on probation. For
participation in later protests, 35 stu
dents and a faculty member were ar
rested. (See “Community Action.”)
On March 22-24, at least three, prob
ably more, of the Negro students who
figured in the demonstrations applied
for registration at the Montgomery
Center of the University of Alabama
Extension Service. In all, 13 Negroes
applied during the three-day period.
(See “In The Colleges.”)
A race riot was narrowly averted in
Montgomery March 6 after Negroes
attempted to march on the state capitol
for a mass demonstration protesting
the expulsion of nine Alabama State
College students.
The nine were expelled by the State
Board of Education March 2 for their
part in the Feb. 25 action protesting
segregation at a snack bar in the coun
ty courthouse. Twenty other students
were put on probation.
The March 6 incident was the cli
mactic one in the series of demonstra
tions and protest picketings. Rev. Ralph
D. Abernathy, who succeeded the Rev.
Martin Luther King Jr., as head of the
Montgomery Improvement Assn., an
nounced March 4 that a prayer meet
ing would be held on the capitol steps
at 1:30 p.m. Sunday as a “protest by
the adult Negro community” to the
expulsion of the students.
SERVED NOTICE
Montgomery Police Commissioner L.
B. Sullivan served notice that the
meeting would not be allowed. In a
prepared statement, printed in full on
the front page of The Montgomery
Advertiser Sunday morning, March 6,
Sullivan said:
“Apparently it is the desire and pur
pose of the Negro troublemakers to
further incite the tense situation that
exists in Montgomery by their stated
intent to congregate at the state capitol
Sunday under the guise of a religious
service.
“No one wants to deprive any hu
man being of the privilege of wor
shipping God. However, we feel that
the Negroes, like the white people,
have their churches for this purpose.
Further, if the Negroes want to hold
a combined service, they have the
campus athletic field and facilities at
Alabama State College for such use.
“In view of the situation that exists
in Montgomery, if the Negroes persist
in flaunting their arrogance and defi
ance by congregating at the capitol
Sunday, the police will have no alter
native but to take whatever action that
might be necessary to disperse them...
“We are not going to have any fur
ther demonstrations by white or Negro
in the city of Montgomery that would
tend to create further racial tensions,
today, tomorrow, next week or here
after, and any attempt by any person,
white or Negro to do so will be dealt
with according to law.”
There were obvious indications that
tension had been mounting in the city
since the first snack bar incident. The
Saturday following that, a group of
some 25 men, carrying newly pur
chased miniature ball bats in paper
bags, had patrolled the city. One of
them clubbed a Negro woman down
town after an alleged shoving inci
dent.
Many Montgomerians who had lived
through the sometimes tense days of
the bus boycott expressed the opinion
that feeling was running higher than
during that period.
By noon on Sunday, March 6, whites
had begun to gather at the state capi
tol, which was completely encircled by
highway patrolmen. Arrayed in front
of them and down historic Dexter Ave
nue were city police, Civil Defense
workers wearing arm bands, county
officers and other elements of law en
forcement—some 400 in all.
After 1 p.m. Negroes began to as
semble at the Dexter Avenue Baptist
Church, a block west of the capitol.
This was Dr. King’s church before he
moved to Atlanta. The announced hour
for the march passed with the Negroes
still inside.
The crowd of whites had swelled to
around 5,000. The Negro group in the
church and on the steps outside to
taled about 800. Most of them appar
ently were Alabama State College stu
dents, despite Rev. Abernathy’s state
ment that it was to be a protest by
the adult community.
CROWD RESTIVE
The crowd, now restive and jeering,
began to close in on the church. One
man, whom some identified as a po
liceman, shouted to the assembled Ne
groes: “Can’t you tell time? It’s 2
o’clock. Somebody loan ’em a watch.”
Several policemen squared off to
face the marchers at the intersection
near the church. A few minutes after
2 p.m. the Rev. Robert E. DuBose Jr.
and the Rev. Abernathy moved out to
lead the procession. When they
reached the curb, Bibles in hand, po
licemen ordered them back. With that
the whites began edging forward.
Rev. DuBose and Rev. Abernathy
walked on, headed directly for the
mob. Police Capt. D. H. Lackey, in
charge of this element of police, threw
a body-block at DuBose; then he and
others pushed the clergymen and their
followers back to the curb. One Negro
fell and a white man rushed up to
kick him but was restrained by a po
liceman. There were a few flurries of
fists, with little apparent damage.
But as the Negroes stood on the curb
and on the church steps, the white
crowd closed in tighter. There were
cries of “get them.” For a brief period
it appeared the policemen at this po
sition could not control whatever was
to happen, despite their efforts to keep
the groups separated.
Then two fire trucks, sirens scream
ing, pushed through the mob, connect
ed hoses and threatened to use water
on either side if necessary. Almost
simultaneously a surprise force of 19
mounted deputies, armed and swing
ing clubs and lariats, galloped from
concealed positions behind one of the
state office buildings. They were led
by Montgomery County Sheriff Mac
Sim Butler.
Dressed in denim, wearing cowboy
hats and deputy sheriff arm bands, the
horsemen quickly forced the whites
back. Public Safety Director Floyd
Mann, Montgomery Police Commis
sioner Sullivan and Sheriff Butler ap
pealed to the crowd by public address
systems, assuring them that it was all
over and that they could handle any
eventuality.
SING HYMNS
At first neither whites nor Negroes
gave ground. Then the Negroes moved
into the church where they sang
hymns and patriotic songs, sometimes
inaudible above the noise outside.
Slowly, in small groups, whites began
to walk away. The Negroes remained
for about an hour, leaving in small
groups, just as they had arrived, under
the surveillance of officers.
Of this and the events to follow,
national Negroes protested that a cli
mate of terror existed in Montgomery.
Roy Wilkins, executive secretary of
the NAACP, wired President Eisen
hower to intervene.
Similar protests were wired by Dr.
King, who heads the Southern Chris
tian Leadership Conference out of At
lanta, and by labor leaders.
Answering these charges, Mrs. Tom
Abemethy, Republican National Com-
mitteewoman for Alabama, wired the
President that the allegations were
“false and ridiculous.” Mrs. Aber-
nethy’s wire said:
“The simple truth of the matter is
that a relatively small number of Ne
groes in Montgomery and elsewhere
through the South have engaged in
demonstrations with obvious intent to
provoke incidents. . .
“Any fair-minded person familiar
with the happenings of the past few
weeks would acknowledge that the
white community of Montgomery has
behaved with amazing restraint and
moderation in circumstances of ex
treme difficulty and resulting solely
from the work of agitators.”
Nine Negro students were expelled
from Alabama State College by the
State Board of Education March 2 for
their part in the Feb. 25 protest dem
onstration in the Montgomery County
courthouse snack bar. Twenty other
students were placed on probation.
The expulsions had been urged by
Gov. John Patterson on the day of the
incident and in subsequent statements.
The board took action under a regula
tion that empowers school authorities
to expel any student for conduct detri
mental to a college. Patterson con
tended that the demonstration threat
ened to cause bloodshed in Montgom
ery.
The Feb. 25th demonstration led a
chain of incidents. The next day, about
250 Negro students, men and women,
reappeared at the courthouse, this time
to protest—they said—the trial of one
of their fellow students for perjury in
connection with a voting application.
(He pleaded guilty to attempted per
jury.)
The following Tuesday, March 1, be
tween 750 and 1,000 Negroes, mostly
students, held a protest meeting on
the capitol steps—a privilege they had
enjoyed in previous demonstrations
but one which was denied in the
planned demonstration March 6.
In meetings following the expulsion
order, students vowed to quit in a
body in retaliation for the board’s ac
tion. Some threatened to apply for en
rollment at Auburn University. There
were student predictions that enroll
ment for the spring quarter would be
cut to near zero. After registration in
mid-March, however, it appeared that
normal spring enrollment was down
only about 200.
SOME WITHDRAW
Dr. H. Councill Trenholm, college
president, said some of these had de
cided to withdraw for financial rea
sons, some withdrew under pressure
from the parents either to cease the
demonstrations or quit school, and some
were intimidated into leaving.
One college official said the drop-outs
brought the total enrollment of 1,540
closer to the ideal of 1,000 considered
optimum “to raise eligibility standards,
which we have been working on for
two years.”
Dr. Trenholm, ordered by Patterson
to investigate the Feb. 25 demonstra
tion, reported his findings with a rec
ommendation that the punishment for
all should be probation. The governor
rejected this and the board unanimous
ly supported his position that the dem
onstration threatened public safety in
Montgomery.
In answer to student threats to walk
out and enroll at Auburn, Patterson
told the board: “If we bow to a mob, we
are on the way out. That could only
lead to worse. We ought not to do any
thing as a result of a threat. The ring
leaders ought to be expelled without
further hesitation.”
The nine expelled were:
Bernard Lee, Norfolk, Va., identified
as the leader of the group; St. John
Dixon, National City, Calif.; Edward E.
Jones, Pittsburgh, Pa.; Leon Rice, Chi
cago, Ill.; Howard Shipman, New York
City; Elroy Emory, Ragland, Ala.;
James McFadden, Prichard, Ala.; Jo
seph Peterson, Newcastle, Ala.; and
Marzette Watts, Montgomery.
Gov. Patterson also ordered an inde
pendent investigation conducted by
State Public Safety Director Floyd
Mann.
The courthouse snack bar, site of the
incident, was closed but later reopened
NEGROES APPLY FOR UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA CENTER
Dr. W. W. Kaempfer, Center Director, Stands At Rear Watching Students
with patronage restricted to county em
ployes and their invited guests. Identi
fication cards were issued for this pur
pose.
On March 25, the State Board of Edu
cation directed Dr. Trenholm to fire any
Alabama State faculty member who en
courages student protests. State School
Supt. Frank Stewart said an investiga
tion revealed that 11 faculty members
“have not been loyal to the school.”
It was made plain to Dr. Trenholm
that he was expected to “clean up” the
college or the board would find a new
president. He said he would work with
Stewart to purge the college of any
“disloyal” personnel.
He also agreed to put on probation
all students convicted in Montgomery
for their part in recent protests. The
board’s action came on a motion by Gov.
Patterson, ex-officio chairman of the
state board.
The end, temporarily at least, of the
Alabama State College student revolt
came March 7 when police arrested 35
students carrying signs in a demonstra
tion near the campus. Also arrested
were a faculty member and her phys
ician husband.
A Negro guard at the college sum
moned police after students had rough
ed up a building superintendent. Some
of the students carried signs protesting
expulsion of the nine who had been
charged with leading the march on the
courthouse snack bar. Among the pla
cards were some reading “Alabama vs.
Constitution,” “Nine Down and 2,000 To
Go,” and “We Want Justice.”
E. B. Campbell, building superinten
dent, said one or two of the group that
had started this incident displayed
knives. Campbell said he told the group
that signs and marches had been banned
on the campus and that city officials had
banned off-campus demonstrations.
. . They surrounded me and push
ed me some,” he said. “One or two had
knives.”
A campus guard, Robert Reynolds,
fired a shot in the air and police were
summoned. Police said that when they
arrived the demonstrators had blocked
the street and sidewalks near an inter
section of the campus.
“They were waving signs and when
we came up, they started hollering, ‘You
can’t put us all in jail,’ ” one officer
said. He said the demonstrators, boist
erous and cursing, disobeyed orders to
desist. “We then surrounded the group
and placed them under arrest,” he said.
The 35 students, plus the faculty
member and her husband, were tried in
Montgomery County court March 11 on
charges of disorderly conduct and fail
ure to obey the command of an officer.
FINED $100
Fines of $100 and costs on each of the
counts were assessed against 33 stu
dents; a $10 fine against the faculty
member, Mrs. Alene H. Underwood, who
had shouted at the arresting officers, ac
cording to testimony; and a $1 fine
against Mrs. Underwood’s physician
husband for failure to obey an officer.
Three students were acquitted. All
but Dr. and Mrs. Underwood appealed.
City Judge Eugene Loe found that
“duly constituted authority has been
deliberately defied in the massing for the
purpose of making a protest demonstra
tion.”
The arrests and the beginning of the
spring quarter seemed to subdue most
of the students.
Dr. Trenholm said there was no such
organization as “the Student Executive
Committee” Bernard Lee said he headed
and that most of the students decided,
after a meeting with members of the
Montgomery Negro community to “re
turn to their classes and disassociate
themselves from any future demonstra
tions.”
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed
to review a 1957 Alabama law, which
gerrymandered virtually all Tuskegee
Negroes outside the city limits. Some
400 Negro voters were thus excluded
from city elections.
The U.S. District Court in Mont
gomery refused to declare the action
unconstitutional, as did the U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals with the observation
that “an intrusion of national courts”
might prove more serious “than the
partial disenfranchisement of plain
tiffs.”
A total of 13 Negroes filled out en
rollment applications March 22-24 at
the University of Alabama’s Extension
Service Center in Montgomery.
At least three of the applicants fig
ured in the Alabama State College
demonstrations, which led to near-viol
ence March 6. They were identified as
Marzette Watts, expelled with eight
other Negroes for taking part in a “sit-
in” demonstration at the county court
house snack bar Feb. 25 (Southern
School News, March, 1960); and Floyd
Willis Coleman and Theophilus Moody,
both put on probation for their part in
the same demonstration.
Other Alabama State students were
among the applicants, but the center di
rector, Dr. W. W. Kaempfer, said it was
contrary to university policy to release
identities until the applications had
been acted upon at the main campus in
Tuscaloosa.
The Negroes were told that before the
applications could be approved, they
must furnish transcript from previous
schools they had attended.
On the first day of the appearances,
center officials notified police as a “pre
cautionary measure.” There were no
incidents and Dr. Kaempfer commented:
“I would like to emphasize that there is
no suggestion whatsoever that these
persons were trespassing. They were
not.”
UNDER ORDER
The university is still under a federal
court order prohibiting it from denying
admission to any applicant because of
race. The order, though it applies gen
erally, opened the doors of the all-white
university to Artherine Lucy, who was
driven from the campus by rioting in
1956. (She later was expelled for her ac
cusations that the university conspired
with the mob. A white student was also
expelled, but for criticism of an opposite
nature.) No other Negroes have been
admitted since.
No immediate action was taken on the
applications of the 13. Another Negro
student, appearing with the first-day
group, tore up his application before
leaving the center. He gave no explana
tion.
The Montgomery center is one of six
in the state offering night classes for
credit in degree subjects, though these
are chiefly freshman and sophomore,
courses. Admission to the center is con
sidered admission to the university
proper, provided students undertake to
complete all their credit courses and
spend their final year of study in resi
dence at Tuscaloosa.
University officials in Tuscaloosa is
sued a statement on admission proce
dure March 23, in which it was explain
ed that applications for enrollment,
together with transcripts of academic
qualifications, would be forwarded to
the university, where the determination
of eligibility would be made.
Dr. Kaempfer said none of the appli
cations would be sent to Tuscaloosa un
til all data had been collected from the
students. # # #