Newspaper Page Text
SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS—JUNE I960—PAGE II
^dour (Covered ddducation
Excerpts from Reports by Civil Rights State Advisory Committees
The U.S. Civil Rights Commission recently re
leased the 1959 reports it received from its state
advisory committees. Of the 14 southern and her
der states submitting reports, four reported spe
cific developments in education in their states.
Excerpts from these follow:
Georgia Report
“A recent Federal court decision applicable to
Georgia State College in Atlanta said that dis
crimination in admittance because of race was
unconstitutional. At this writing, another suit
pends in Atlanta seeking to end segregation in
public schools.
“Four private institutions of higher learning in
the State, three of them Negro colleges, have de
cided to adopt nondiscriminatory admission poli
cies. Since the court ruling on Georgia State, the
regents of the University System have closed ad
mission to all new applicants, whatever their
race. The Governor and the regents now are
studying regulations to determine their next step.
The ruling has adversely affected enrollments at
the State’s smaller university units and at its
off-campus centers in several cities.
“Since 1952 Georgia General Assemblies have
passed a long list of laws designed to thwart in
tegration of any degree. Some of these contradict
each other; application of others appears to de
pend wholly on the interpretation of elected offi
cials and die attorney general. A direct act of
integration will make operative a law that closes
the school integrated and also the school from
which the Negro child is assigned. Other laws
might close all the schools in the district af
fected . . .
Not To Be Equated
“. . . Though technical segregation may have
ended on buses and on some golf courses without
open difficulties, these are not to be equated with
the schools in the peoples’ attitudes. Depending
on the type of desegregation suit, the entire school
system of the State could be closed.
“It has been reported to the Advisory Commit
tee that obtaining faculty members at State uni
versities is becoming increasingly more difficult
because of general tension, and that some teachers
at all levels have quit Georgia out of fear that
their children’s education might be interrupted.
“Georgia has made appreciable advancement
since World War II in equalizing building fa
cilities and faculty salaries in white and colored
schools. Some statistical research might be help
ful in determining population distributions within
specific school systems, the economics of a dual
school bus system, the amount of federal aid di
rectly and indirectly allocated to Georgia educa
tion, variations in the degree of local support as
related to the proportion of local Negro school
populations, Negro average daily attendance
figures and teacher salary allocations as compared
to white, etc. . .
Missouri Report
“In all, data were received by questionnaire and
by telephone from 100 districts, representing 59
counties. These districts embraced more than
310,764 school children. Of even great significance
was the fact that the data involved 91 percent of
all the 77,000 Negroes estimated enrolled in Mis
souri schools in 1958-59.
“Of the 100 districts reporting, 55 returned
replies as to the year in which desegregation was
begun or completed. Of these, 21 desegregated in
1954-55, 13 in 1955-56, 10 in 1956-57, 8 in 1957-
58, and 3 in 1958-59.
“But the vast majority of Negro pupils are still
attending segregated schools. This anomalous sit
uation is the direct result of residential segrega
tion. So long as the denial of free choice in home
buying and renting obtains, so long as the Negro
ghetto exists, just so long will integration in the
schools remain a mockery. Thus, despite the much
vaunted claims of complete integration in Kansas
City and St. Louis — admirable as are their
achievements thus far—high schools like Vashon
and Sumner and Banneker elementary in St.
Louis remain as segregated as before integration
started.
“Desegregation, in the main, has brought a re
duction in education costs. In fact, almost 60 per
cent of the school officials reporting claimed that
school expenses had dropped since desegregation.
Only 24 reported no decrease in school costs and
24 did not answer.
“Desegregation in the State has resulted in a
decrease of Negro teachers. Of 82 officials report
ing, 46 or about 56 percent admitted they had
dropped Negro teachers upon desegregating their
schools. Thirty-six or 44 percent reported they
had not reduced the number of Negro teachers.
Eighteen did not answer. The greatest mortality
was probably in rural or semirural areas with
one or two Negro teachers. Here the loss of Ne
gro teachers reached 100 percent.
“If the displaced teachers from former all-
Negro schools could have been absorbed in mixed
schools, the problem would have been minimized,
if not wholly solved. But the query as to whether
Negro teachers are employed in predominantly
white schools blasted this possibility. Fifty-eight,
or more than four-fifths of the districts reporting,
did not have Negro teachers in mixed schools.
“The overwhelming number of officials replying
stated that desegregation was complete. In other
words, they indicated that buses, school lunch
rooms, playgrounds, athletic programs, special in
terest groups (such as glee clubs, debating clubs)
and school social programs were all open to Ne
groes. One replied “yes” and “no.” But 72 out of
77 replying stated that all school activities were
open to all students.
Higher Learning
“Missouri’s publicly supported institutions of
higher learning, like its elementary and secondary
schools, were all segregated when the Supreme
Court handed down its epoch-making decision of
May 17, 1954. The net effect of the Supreme
Court’s ruling was to invalidate Missouri’s long
standing policy of excluding Negro students from
institutions of higher learning by constitutional
provisions.
“In all the 11 public colleges reporting, the
student body is representative of both races.
While at least one Negro is represented in each
formerly white college, white students comprise
a large proportion of the Lincoln University stu
dent body, which in May 1954 was entirely Negro.
“Teacher integration in public institutions of
higher learning has lagged far behind the mixing
of faculties in the elementary and high schools.
In only two public colleges or universities are
members of both races employed as regular staff
members. These are Harris Teachers College and
Lincoln University
Oklahoma Report
“While the constitutional and statutory school
segregation provisions in Oklahoma were pat
terned after those in the Deep South, due largely
to the fact that many of the early leaders in
Oklahoma political life came from the South, the
greater part of Oklahoma has a background of
Western tradition rather than Southern tradition.
Then, too, the Negro population in Oklahoma is
only about 8 per cent of the white population.
There are 32 counties in Oklahoma where the
nonwhite population is less than 5 percent and 15
of these counties have no Negro children. There
is no county in Oklahoma with a nonwhite popu
lation of more than 25 percent. There has been
some integration in all of the counties in Okla
homa in which there are Negro children of
school age, with the exception of five.
“Shortly after the action by the State regents
desegregating all of the State institutions of high
er education, the Board of Education, under the
leadership of Dr. Oliver Hodge, adopted a policy
favorable to integration but leaving the question
of when and how the common schools would de
segregate, in accord with the 1954 Supreme Court
decision, with the boards of control of the various
independent school districts. The elimination of
the separate tax for Negro schools made it eco
nomically advisable and in some instances eco
nomically necessary to eliminate the separate
school and transfer the Negroes to the white
school.
Two Questionnaires
“The office of the State superintendent of pub
lic instruction under the direction of Dr. Hodge
circulated two integration questionnaires in the
school districts, one in the fall of 1957 and the
other in the fall of 1958. We believe that an
analysis of some of the information obtained in
these surveys will indicate the trend in Okla
homa. The questionnaire indicated that there
were 15 counties in the State that did not have
any Negro children eligible to attend school; that
in 1957 there were 181 high schools with both
white and Negro children in attendance and in
1958 this number increased to 190; that in 1957
approximately 2,500 students were involved and
this had increased in 1958 to approximately 3,320;
that in 1957 there were 89 junior high schools
having both white and Negro children in attend
ance and in 1958 this had increased to 101; that
in 1957 approximately 1,080 students were in
volved and in 1958 this had increased to approxi
mately 1,700 students; that in 1957 there were 161
elementary schools having both white and Negro
children in attendance and in 1958 this number
had increased to 168 schools.
“The number of Negro elementary-school chil
dren involved in 1957 was approximately 3,030
and this number had increased in 1958 to approxi
mately 3,325. In 1957 there were 39 high schools
with only Negro children in attendance and in
1958 this number had decreased to 35; in 1957
there were 14 junior high schools with only Ne
gro children in attendance and in 1958 this num
ber had been reduced to 7; in 1957 there were
130 grade schools with only Negro children in
attendance and in 1958 this number had increased
to 135.
Surveys Also Show
“These surveys also showed that 78 elementary
schools, 4 junior high schools, and 56 senior high
schools had been abolished because of integration
and in 1958 this number had increased to 94 ele
mentary schools, 8 junior high schools, and 61
high schools.
“These surveys also showed that 298 Negro
teachers had lost their positions in 1957 because
of integration and in 1958 this number had in
creased to 344.
“While Oklahoma has made real progress in
the area of integration in its public school sys
tem at all levels, there are still many problems
and it is the feeling of this committee that Okla
homa may be getting too much favorable pub
licity and some of it no doubt paints the picture
brighter than it really is. It is the feeling of our
committee that better progress can be made quiet
ly and constructively. The biggest single problem
created as a result of integration is the loss of
positions by such a large number of qualified
Negro teachers. There are now employed in
mixed schools somewhere between 10 and 20 Ne
gro teachers which is not very many in the light
of the number that have lost positions.
“Another problem is the decline in the number
of Negro children attending all-white schools
where the separate Negro school has been abol
ished and the children transferred to white
schools. The policy of voluntary transfer has been
recognized by the districts where there is a choice
of schools but when the only Negro school has
been abolished there is no longer a question of
voluntary choice. One member of our committee
had information indicating that in two or three
schools the drop-out was rather large. On investi
gation of these schools by the committee, it was
found that the drop-out was not large or ab
normal.
“On the whole integration has worked well in
Oklahoma. There are a number of reasons for
this, some of which are;
“(1) Only 8 percent of Oklahomans are Negroes.
“(2) The State Regents for Higher Education
took prompt action at the higher education level
and the school boards were both fair and prac
tical all across the State.
“(3) The great majority of both the white and
Negro citizens wanted a peaceful approach to in
tegration and insisted on it. Generally the chil
dren of both races acted well and as time passed
the racial incidents diminished.
“(4) Oklahoma was extremely fortunate in the
quality of leadership. Too much credit cannot be
given to Governor Gary and Dr. Oliver Hodge
for their leadership, and to the State Regents for
Higher Education and the State Board of Edu
cation, and the educational leaders throughout the
State.
“(5) A reservoir of racial understanding and
good will, including a desire on the part of lead
ers of both races to give it an opportunity to
work. Leadership at the local level is very im
portant because all communities are different and
require different approaches to the problem.”
Texas Report
“Our public schools in Texas started the proc
ess of desegregation almost immediately after the
Supreme Court’s decision in 1956, and by the
close of the year, 122 independent school districts
in 65 counties were in the process of desegrega
tion. About 3,600 of the 258,000 Negro students in
the State were in these mixed schools. So far as
is known, no significant disturbances occurred
with reference to any of these integration efforts.
“During this period of time, integration was
started in 35 colleges and universities of Texas,
including some in east Texas where public school
segregation remains solid. Actually, desegregation
had begun in 8 or 10 other colleges and univer
sities before the Supreme Court’s ruling was
handed down. These colleges and universities in
which desegregation has been started, vary as to
control from tax-supported institutions to volun
tarily supported, and church related, institutions.
These also vary from junior colleges to all types
of institutions, including the State University. In
only one or two instances has there been evidence
of any disturbance whatsoever caused by the in
tegration efforts in these 40-odd institutions.
Complete Standstill
“Integration in public schools and in colleges
was brought almost to a complete standstill about
3 years ago, due primarily to the various laws
passed at that time by our State Legislature. In
tegration was moving along in normal fashion,
wtihout any significant disturbances, until the
enactment of such laws appeared to block the
progress. It seems likely, from the facts assem
bled, that the local communities would have
handled the matter in a satisfactory manner to
all parties concerned, if they had been left en
tirely to their own devices without intervention of
State legislation, the validity of which had not
yet been determined by the courts.
“In east Texas, where the situation is quite
different from that obtaining in other sections of
Texas, because of the heavy concentration of Ne
gro population, it is not surprising that the com
munities did not move forward with integration
as readily as did communities in other parts of
the State. All who look at the problem realistical
ly understand that the solution will be more
difficult of attaining in the areas where the Ne
gro population is concentrated, than in those
where the percentage of Negroes is comparatively
small.
“On the whole, it is both surprising and grati
fying that many public schools and many colleges
and universities in Texas have started the proc
ess of integration without any major disturbances
whatsoever.” # # #
Mississippi
(Continued From Page 10)
their jurisdiction in the face of threat
ened integration (Southern School
News, May 1960). Previously, that
authority was vested solely in the gov
ernor. At the 1958 session during for
mer Gov. Coleman’s administration, a
similar proposal was passed but ve
toed.
Passage of a bill giving the governor
majority control over textbook rating
committees stemmed from criticisms of
certain textbooks by the Daughters of
the American Revolution, the Ameri
can Legion and the General Legisla
tive Investigating Committee. The
companion proposal, which would have
given the governor immediate majority
control over the purchasing board,
passed the House but was left to die
in a Senate committee.
The governor will gain control of the
purchasing board under its staggered
term make-up in 1962. However, a ma
jor textbook adoption is scheduled be
fore then and he wanted immediate
control in view of the criticisms raised
by the various groups, including the
Citizens Councils, of which the gov
ernor is a member.
School authorities opposed the
“screening” powers given Gov. Bar
nett’s appointees under the statute, and
also a provision which permits him to
make appointments of other than edu
cators and school teachers.
About 11 separate committees study
textbooks offered by the publishing
firms and rate them as a guide to the
purchasing board. State Supt. J. M.
Tubb defended previous ratings by
committees of educators, including
classroom teachers, he had named un
der the old law. Now, he will name
three to each committee and the gov
ernor will appoint four to each.
Two proposed amendments would
make major changes in the state con
stitution, which now makes it manda
tory for the state to provide free pub
lic schools. Voters in the November
general election will decide whether to
remove the mandatory provisions.
Section 201 of the Constitution now
reads:
“It shall be the duty of the Legisla
ture to encourage by all suitable
means, the motion of intellectual, sci
entific, moral and agricultural im
provement, by establishing a uniform
system of free public schools by taxa
tion or otherwise, for all children be
tween the ages of six and 21 years,
and as soon as practicable to establish
schools of higher grade.”
The proposed amendment would have
the section read:
“The Legislature may, in its discre
tion, provide for the maintenance and
establishment of a free public school
or schools in each county in the state,
with such term, or terms, as the legis
lature may prescribe.”
Other final legislative enactments:
1) Give board of trustees of state in
stitutions of higher learning authority
to determine who shall be privileged
to enter, to remain in or to graduate
from those institutions.
2) Require all law enforcement of
ficers and judges of all courts to re
port violations of the law by any stu
dent enrolled in any school or educa
tional institution, public or private. A
copy of the report is to be sent to
school officials and to the secretary of
the College Board in Jackson.
3) Require general guardians of
minors to seek authority from chan
cery court judges to file suits.
4) Increase the appropriation for the
Sovereignty Commission, the state’s
segregation “watchdog” agency, from
$150,000 to $350,000 for 1960-62 bien
nium with sufficient leeway to permit
use of some funds in cooperation with
other southern states in a nationwide
promotional program to “tell the
South’s story.”
A bill to authorize the commission
to “aid and encourage” persons dissat
isfied with their economic and social
status in the state to become a resi
dent of another state died in commit
tee.
Officials of the City of Biloxi and
Harrison County on the Mississippi
coast are defendants in a suit filed by
the Justice Department in U.S. Dis
trict Court at Vicksburg seeking to
open the beach along the Gulf of
Mexico to Negroes. It will be heard
before District Judge Sidney Mize of
Gulfport, in the same county.
The suit followed a race riot that ac
companied attempts by Negroes to use
portions of the sand beach in the
Biloxi area. The beach traditionally has
been reserved for whites. Negroes have
organized a movement to gain use of
the beach.
The suit charges the officials with
breaking terms of a contract under
which the federal government con
tributed $1,133,000 for construction of
seawall facilities along the area in
1948. The petition states that when the
funds were made available, it was
agreed that the beach would be “for
use of the general public.”
Dr. Gilbert Mason, a Negro dentist
of Biloxi and leader in the movement
to gain use of the beach by members
of his race, said “the suit embraces
what we are trying to accomplish.”
Gov. Ross Barnett, as well as Atty.
Gen. Joe T. Patterson, have agreed to
assist local authorities in contesting the
suit.
Dr. Felix Dunn, Negro doctor of
Gulfport and head of the Gulfport
NAACP branch, said the area in dis
pute is a five-mile area on the 26-mile
white sand beach. He said officials at
Pass Christian, Long Beach and Gulf
port do not harrass Negroes using the
beaches in those sections but that such
interference centers around Biloxi.
# # #