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SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS—AUGUST I960—PAGE 11
r ALABAMA
Expelled Negro
Students Sue
for Readmission
MONTGOMERY, Ala.
S ix Negro students expelled
from Alabama State College
for taking part in pro-integration
demonstrations have filed suit in
federal court, demanding that
they be readmitted to the school.
(See “Legal Action.”)
Dr. H. Councill Trenholm, pres
ident of Alabama State, assured
the State Board of Education
July 20 that he had taken steps
to prevent any future racial
demonstrations at the school.
Gov. John Patterson, who had
recommended that the board con
sider firing Trenholm unless he
“cleaned up” the school, ex
pressed satisfaction with the pres-
* ident’s report. (See “In The Col
leges.”)
Referring to a school desegre
gation suit filed in Birmingham in
June, Patterson again warned
r; against “token integration” pro
posals, reaffirming his position in
* favor of total segregation at all
'■ costs. (See “What They Say.”)
Attorneys for the National
, Assn, for the Advancement of
e Colored People appealed to a fed-
<1 eral judge to order the reinstate-
e ment of the organization in Ala
bama. The state chapter has been
under a temporary injunction, in-
volked in 1956, banning all oper
ations. (See “Legal Action.”)
’ Six former students of Alabama State
1 College asked the U.S. District Court in
Montgomery July 14 to declare their
right to be readmitted and to order the
state and the school to comply.
The six—Elroy Embry, Bernard Lee,
Marzette Watts, St. John Dixon, Ed
ward English Jones and Joseph Peter
son—were identified as leaders in sit-in
demonstrations and other protests. On
the recommendation of Gov. John Pat
terson, the State Board of Education
March 2 (See Southern School News,
April 1960) ordered the expulsions of
nine students, including the six who
have now filed suit.
Their petition to Federal Judge Frank
M. Johnson Jr. alleges that the defen
dants—Gov. Patterson, the state board,
the college and its president—“merely
retaliated against, punished and sought
to intimidate plaintiffs for having law
fully sought service in a publicly owned
lunchroom.”
ISSUED MANDATE’
Patterson had “issued a mandate” to
the president, Dr. H. Councill Tren
holm, ordering him to expell them, the
suit further charges. The students con
tend that their expulsion violated their
institutional rights under the Four
teenth Amendment.
Plaintiff Lee was among Negroes ap
pearing at the Democratic and Repub-
lcan conventions to urge sit-in sup-
P Qr t in the party platforms.
NAACP appeals
Counsel for the NAACP appealed t
S. District Judge Frank M. Johnso
r - July 13 for relief from a state in
junction barring the organization’s ac
“Vities in Alabama.
Unless we get from this court, th
Ptamtiff (NAACP) is lost, and wii
e\er get a hearing,” attorney Frei
Ur ay argued.
or ganization has already sufferei
sparable damage” because of th
bg Unc ^ on > Gray said. The temporar
j, ,’ or dered by Montgomery Circui
ge Walter B. Jones, has been ii
ffect since 1956.
son* 1 fR* act * on brought by John Patter
uivok H attorney general, Judge Jone
a fin ? j restraining order pendin]
a. “'-termination of the question o
e NAACp, s having legally qualifie.
in tv, ° reign corporation to do busines
m fne state.
r-1
u nab] y t S£dd t ^ le organization would bi
of th,, 0 ° a bearing on the merit
order- CaS ? an< f that only a federal cour
ness ; CC ? d put NAACP back in busi-
7? ln Alabama.
case vft^ e state’s action in thi
tiousness = baan characterized by “vexa-
had ^ and vic iousness.” The NAACI
w ithom eiated ™ -Alabama since 1911
he sajrI act i°n being taken against it
, and no similar non-profi
organization had been forced to register
as a foreign corporation.
State attorneys replied that the fed
eral court did not have jurisdiction,
that an injunction would amount to an
act directed at the “sovereign state of
Alabama” and not just the defendants
named in the suit—Atty. Gen. Mac
Donald Gallion and Secretary of State
Bettye Frink.
The petition requests an injunction to
order Gallion and Mrs. Frink to license
the organization to operate in Alabama.
LOSE APPEALS
A part-time white minister and an
expelled Negro college student who at
tempted to have lunch together at one
of Montgomery’s largest hotels June 7
(SSN, July 1960) lost their appeals in
Montgomery Circuit Court July 12.
Montgomery Circuit Judge Eugene
Carter fined the Rev. Edwin King and
Elroy Embry $100 for the incident and
sentenced each to 90 days in jail. They
were found guilty of trespassing.
Embry was among the students ex
pelled from Alabama State College for
their part in racial demonstrations in
February and March. He is one of those
seeking readmission to the school
through federal court orders. (See
“Legal Action.”)
King later said that after he was re
turned to jail following Carter’s finding
of guilty, he was beaten by two pris
oners who shared his cell in the county
jail. The FBI in Washington said that
the incident had been reported by
King to the FBI office in Montgomery
but that no formal complaint had been
made.
King said that the pair kicked him,
knocked him down, stepped on him and
forced him to eat a newspaper picture
showing him with Embry.
Both defendants appealed and were
freed on bond.
DROP CHARGE
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.,
former Montgomery integration leader
now living in Atlanta, will not face
charges for a second indictment for
alleged perjury in connection with
state income tax returns.
In May an all-white jury acquitted
King of charges that he lied about his
1956 earnings (SSN, June 1960). The
second indictment, charging that he
had also falsified his 1958' return, was
dropped in J uly after Montgomery
Circuit Solicitor (prosecutor) William
Thetford said:
“When we tried him before the jury
didn’t think we had a case and I don’t
think this case is any better.”
Dr. H. Councill Trenholm, president
of Alabama State College (for Ne
groes) in Montgomery, told the state
Board of Education July 20 that he has
taken steps to prevent future racial
demonstrations by college students
such as those in February and March.
“We are going to redouble our ef
forts to maintain control, and you can
rest assured that anyone who stays out
there will do so because of proper con
duct.”
In apparent reference to his instruc
tions to screen out any faculty mem
bers who encouraged or took part in
the demonstrations, Trenholm said the
faculty for the coming school year will
“reflect an improved and clarified staff
resource.”
Gov. John Patterson, who had or
dered Trenholm to “clean up” the
DR. H. COUNCILL TRENHOLM
Reports on Alabama State
school, said he was satisfied with the
work the Negro college president has
done. Patterson had said that if Tren
holm failed, the board should consider
his dismissal.
Trenholm said he has received res
ignations from three professors with
doctoral degrees and “some additional
resignations have been intimated.” He
submitted a written review of devel
opments at the college since the dem
onstrations and the measures set up to
prevent a recurrence. Students and
their parents have been warned that
admission requirements will be en
forced more rigidly, he said.
11 READMITTED
Of the 51 students who received
some form of disciplinary action dur
ing the demonstrations, only 11 were
admitted to the summer quarter, Tren
holm said. There is “very little” evi
dence now of agitation on the campus,
he said, but he assured the board that
college authorities will remain watch
ful.
He gave the board a background re
port on each member of the faculty.
He had previously been ordered to get
rid of any professor considered dis
loyal and was specifically directed in
June (SSN, July, 1960) to fire the
head of the history department, Dr. L.
D. Reddick. Patterson accused Red
dick of being a communist sympathiz
er.
Reddick appealed earlier in July for
reinstatement. He sent a formal plea
to the board asking that it rescind the
June 14 order demanding that he be
fired “before sundown today.” Patter
son produced documents purporting to
show that Reddick, 50, had been a
member of several communist front
organizations, mostly during the 1940s.
In his appeal for review, Reddick said:
“My dismissal violated every prin
ciple of decency, fair play and justice
. . . The unproved charges against me
has resulted in defamation of charac
ter and serious injury to my reputa
tion.”
He had earlier denied being a com
munist, accusing Patterson of political
motivations for his charge.
The board has taken no action on
Reddick’s request for a hearing.
Referring to a school integration suit
filed in Birmingham in June (SSN,
July 1960) Gov. John Patterson said
in a July interview that a “showdown
battle” looms over the schools in Ala
bama.
He reaffirmed his adamant position
against even token integration:
“There is no such thing as token
integration, and we should watch very
closely those who advocate it. The
people of Alabama will not tolerate
integration, and I for one am for go
ing to private schools before submit
ting to public school integration.”
# # #
MISSOURI
Negro Population Growth
Puts Pressure on Schools
ST. LOUIS, Mo.
‘C’xpansion of Negroes into for-
merly white residential areas
in Kansas City has caused in
creasing population pressure at
some elementary schools. (See
“School Boards and Schoolmen.”)
The Kansas City Board of Edu
cation has approved the assign
ment of a Negro educator as as
sistant to the dean of Kansas City
Junior College. (See “In the Col
leges.”)
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch
stated in an editorial that it ap
pears inevitable the school board
will have “to go into the bus busi
ness” to relieve overcrowding in
some schools. (See “What They
Say.”)
The Congress of Racial Equality,
holding its annual convention in St.
Louis, commended student participants
in the recent sit-in demonstrations.
(See “Miscellaneous.”)
Expansion of Negroes into formerly
white residential areas in Kansas City
has caused increasing population pres
sure at some elementary schools. A
spokesman for the school system said
population studies will be undertaken
shortly, as a result of requests from
Negro parents and Negro groups, to
determine what steps can be taken to
improve school facilities and relieve
crowding in these transition areas.
Three of the elementary schools in
volved in the problem are Ladd, Lin-
wood, and Mann, all formerly all-white
elementary schools. Statistics last made
available to Southern School News
were for September 1959. The figures
showed a steady rise in the Negro pro
portion since 1955. As of last Sep
tember, Ladd had a total of 1,523 pupils,
more than 96 per cent Negro; Linwood
had 1,114, more than 84 per cent Negro,
and Mann had 974, of whom 53 per cent
were Negro. At present all three schools
still have some white children.
The Negro proportion in the total
Kansas City public schools enrollment
last September was about 26 per cent.
BUS PLAN
In the St. Louis public schools sys
tem, where the Negro proportion is
moving toward 50 per cent, overcrowd
ing of schools caused in part by shifting
of the Negro residential population
also is a problem. In mid-July the St.
Louis Board of Education approved
a plan whereby some 3,500 school chil
dren, most of them Negroes, will be
transported by bus each day to less
crowded schools outside their home
neighborhoods.
The plan, which is to be put into
effect in the September term, will in
volve the transporting of Negro chil
dren to schools that are now all-white
in student population, or virtually so.
The expedient of transporting children
to less crowded areas by bus became
unavoidable, school officials said, with
the defeat by the St. Louis electorate
of a $29,535,000 bond issue proposal for
school construction and fire-safety in
schools.
Voters defeated the bond issue pro
posal for the second time this year on
May 17, even though Supt. of Instruc
tion Philip J. Hickey had announced
in advance that the alternative would
be the bus transport plan. (See SSN,
June, 1960.)
REPORTED ON CROWDING
Hickey and his assistant, William
Kottmeyer, gave the Board of Educa
tion a detailed report early in July
showing that there were 26 elementary
schools with more children than could
be accommodated, and 37 elementary
schools with classroom space available.
In addition, seven of the 11 high schools
had rooms available for elementary
use.
The Board of Education was asked
to decide whether school administra
tors should transport children from
overcrowded schools to a few schools
with small enrollments, or distribute
them among many schools. On July 12,
the board decided to concentrate on
the few schools having many vacant
rooms.
On recommendation of Supt. James
A. Hazlett, the Kansas City Board of
Education in July approved the as
signment of Girard T. Bryant, Negro
educator, as assistant to the dean of
Kansas City Junior College. Bryant
was dean of the all-Negro Lincoln
Junior College until 1955, when Lincoln
Junior College was abandoned in the
course of the desegregation of Kansas
City public schools.
Since the all-Negro junior college
was shut down, Bryant has put in a
year of graduate study, followed by a
year in Thailand under a Fulbright
award. He was named vice principal of
Virginia
(Continued From Page 10)
white schools to follow established ad
ministrative procedures.
But, said the court, a board member
had stated in the district court that it
was “our general policy” never to as
sign a child to a school predominantly
of another race. Therefore, it would
have been futile for the four Negroes
to have followed the board’s proce
dures, declared the appeals court.
TWO FINED
A county court judge in Arlington
imposed suspended fines and jail terms
on two Howard University student
leaders of sit-ins in that county.
Judge Wesley Cooper suspended $25
fines and 10-day sentences levied
against Laurence Henry, 26, and Dion
Diamond, 19, who were charged with
violating the state’s new anti-trespass
ing law. Following the sit-ins, a large
number of eating places in Arlington
and other northern Virginia communi
ties voluntarily desegregated.
In Prince Edward County, where
public schools have been abandoned,
the board of supervisors enacted two
ordinances to promote the development
of private schools.
One ordinance provides a tuition
grant of $100 to each school age child.
This will be in addition to state grants
of $125 for each elementary pupil and
$150 for each high school student who
applies and qualifies.
The second ordinance provides that
county taxpayers may donate to pri
vate schools up to 25 per cent of their
real and personal property taxes. In
other words, if a citizen is due to pay
$100 in property taxes, he can pay the
county only $75 and donate the re
maining $25 to a private school.
The two local ordinances were adopt
ed under new state laws that became
effective June 27.
The only private school organization
now established in Prince Edward is
the Prince Edward School Foundation,
which operated schools for about 1,500
white pupils during the past year. The
foundation operated from donated
funds last year, but has announced tui
tion fees for the coming year of $245
for elementary pupils and $265 for high
school pupils.
FALL SHORT
The combined state and local grants
will fall slightly short of the founda
tion’s tuition fee charges. The ordin
ance provides that the local grant may
be increased later at the supervisors’
discretion.
In other Prince Edward develop
ments:
• A group of 17 county Negro lead
ers met with directors of Southside
Schools, Inc., to discuss that organiza
tion’s offer to aid Negroes in establish
ing private schools for Negro children.
The Farmville Herald reported that
about half the Negroes at the meeting
indicated interest in accepting the of
fer, while the other half were not in
terested. This was the second time that
white citizens who constitute Southside
Schools, Inc., had offered to help set
up private schools for Negroes. Last
December only one Negro family in the
county indicated interest in the move.
It appeared last month that interest
among Negroes was still too slight to
justify any definite move toward es
tablishing schools.
• The School Trustee Election Board,
after a public hearing, named five new
members to replace those who resigned
from the school board in April (See
SSN, June 1960). The appointees were:
W. L. Dickenson, a lumberman; Dr. W. E.
Smith, general practitioner; C. L. Jones
Jr., farmer; Joseph Glenn, farmer; and
L. C. Benedict, retired efficiency engi
neer. The trustees re-appointed the
sixth member, George W. Palmer, a
dairyman, who did not resign.
DESEGREGATION SPREADS
Lunch counter desegregation, which
began in northern Virginia in June,
spread to Norfolk and Portsmouth.
Petersburg closed its public library
July 6 when three Negro college stu
dents sought books in the area reserved
for white persons. # # #
Manual High School and more recently
of Central High, former all-white school
that now has a substantial proportion
of Negro students.
Bryant was regarded as the only Ne
gro teacher in Kansas City’s system
who lost status as a result of the shift
to desegregated schools. At Kansas City
Junior College, he will be the only
Negro on a faculty of about 75 persons.
The college itself has some 1,500 stu
dents in day school and 2,000 in night
(See MISSOURI, Page 12)