Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 2—AUGUST I960—SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS
)ecii ion
ri
eJ&elaware (jrade-a- year 2)e
Ruling Says Stairstep Plan Not in Accordance with Court’s Mandate,
On July 19, the U.S. Third Circuit Court of
Appeals ordered Delaware to end its grade-a-year
school desgregation plan in 1961 and begin com
plete integration. The text of the decision follows
in part:
The background of these appeals is stated in
Evans v. Buchanan . . .
“It is sufficient to state here that the plan as
approved provides for the desegregation of the
Delaware Public School System on a grade-a-
year basis over a period of 12 years beginning
with all first grades at the Fall term, 1959. The
plaintiffs-appellants object to this plan on two
grounds. First, they assert that the plan is not in
accord with the mandate of this court which they
say in substance approved the order of Judge
Leahy entered in the court below on July 15,
1957, and which in their view required immediate
state-wide desegregation in all schools and at all
grades . . . The plaintiffs’ second objection is that
the plan as approved by the court below does
not follow the intent and substance of the de
cisions of the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board
of Education of Topeka ... in that the plan does
not effect desegregation ‘with all deliberate speed’
-md is not a ‘reasonable start toward full com
pliance with the ruling of the Supreme Court
in its Brown opinion of May 17, 1954.
‘Undesirable Impact’
In its opinions the court below has reached
the conclusion that the plan approved is a neces
sary and proper, if not the only feasible, one,
and that integration at a more rapid rate would
overcrowd the schoolrooms, overtax the teachers,
and have a most undesirable emotional impact on
some of the racially segregated communities of
Delaware . . .
“We cannot agree. We affirmed the decree of
Judge Leahy which in plain terms required state
wide integration of the public school system of
Delaware in all classes by an adequate plan by
the Fall term 1957, and which enjoined designated
defendants from refusing admission to Negro
children on a racially discriminatory basis. The
plan approved by the court below is not in
accordance with Judge Leahy’s decree or with the
mandate of this court. Desegregation of the Dela
ware public school system on a grade-a-year
basis over a period of 12 years, beginning as it
did in the Fall of 1959, does not follow the intent
and substance of the rulings of the Supreme Court
in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, supra.
‘Fraught With Unreality’
“The plan and the evidence of many of its pro
ponents seem to us to be fraught with unreality,
though undoubtedly the witnesses, the defendants,
and indeed all concerned, have acted in good
faith. . . . Doubtless there would be some over
crowding in particular schools . . . and many
temporary or permanent rearrangements in school
facilities relating to teachers, school houses,
school rooms, and transportation would have to
be made, but it is unrealistic to suggest that all
Negro pupils now in segregated schools would
immediately seek admission to desegregated
schools. ... It has been the experience in school
desegregation that a large number of Negro
children do not seek integration when offered the
opportunity. This is common knowledge. ... It is
the fact that if the plan as approved by the court
below be not drastically modified a large number
of the Negro children of Delaware will be de
prived of education in integrated schools despite
the fact that the Supreme Court has unqualifiedly
declared integration to be their constitutional
right. . . .
“As we have indicated one of the main thrusts
of the opinion of the court below is that the
emotional impact of desegregation on a faster
basis than that ordered would prove disruptive
not only to the Delaware School System but also
to law and order in some of the localities which
would be affected by integration. We point out,
however, that approximately six years have passed
since the first decision of the Supreme Court in
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka and that
the American people and, we believe, the citizens
of Delaware, have become more accustomed to
the concept of desegregated schools and to an
integrated operation of their School Systems.
Concededly there is still some way to go to
complete an unqualified acceptance but we cannot
conclude that the citizens of Delaware will create
incidents of the sort which occurred in the Mil
ford area some five years ago. ... In any event
the Supreme Court has made it plain . . . that
opposition is not a supportable ground for delay
ing a plan of integration of a public school
system. . . .
‘Integration Will Cost’
“Doubtless integration will cost the citizens of
Delaware money which otherwise might not have
to be spent. The education of the young always
requires, indeed demands, sacrifice by the older
and more mature and resolute members of the
community. Education is a prime necessity of our
modem world and of the State of Delaware. . . .
“For the reasons stated we disapprove the plan
insofar as it postpones full integration. . . . The
court below will be directed to enter an order
requiring the State Board of Education of Dela
ware and the State Superintendent of Publi
Instruction to submit to fhe court below on o:
before December 1, 1960, for its approval a modi.l
fled plan which will provide for full integration oJ
all grades of the public schools of Delaware comt
mencing with the Fall term 1961. The court belovj •
also will be directed to order the individua
defendants, respectively members of the Boards of.
Trustees or of the Boards of Education in thi
School Districts as named above, to integral
commencing with the Fall term 1960, the respec j
tive individual infant plaintiffs who presently
actively seek integration. The court below als
will be directed to enter an order requiring . . “
the continuation of the grade-by-grade integration
presently in effect until the modified plan pro-I
viding for full integration as contemplated by thi^.
opinion be put in operation. .
Goodrich, Circuit Judge, dissenting. t
“. . . The direction is to proceed with desegre
gation with all deliberate speed. The school au-,
thorities in this case may well be charged wit:
proceeding with more deliberation than they have
with speed. 1
“Nevertheless, I am unable to join with my col-(
leagues in the order which they propose. It woulc‘
be better, perhaps, if the program submitted t<
the district judge and approved by him had
provided for speedier integration. But a plan wai
submitted and a plan was approved and has bee?
put into effect. While it will take a comparatively
long time before it is completed it, nevertheless
provides for steady progress. It seems to me thal
in view of the local social inertia against any plan
at all that the one submitted and approved is as j
good as we can expect in view of the obstacle
to be overcome in making it work, , ■ ,# # t j
Delaware
SOUTH CAROLINA
(Continued From Page 1)
Theisen left, voted to appeal. Theisen,
incidentally, was re-elected president.
Delaware was allowed 15 days to re
quest a rehearing before the full court
and 90 days to appeal to the U. S. Su
preme Court.
Included on the full seven-judge
Court of Appeals is Judge William H.
Hastie, a Negro jurist.
The three-judge appellate tribunal,
holding that the stairstep integration
plan did not meet the “deliberate
speed” requirement of the U. S. Su
preme Court, ordered full desegrega
tion of the public schools in the fall
of 1961.
It further directed that some 20 Ne
gro plaintiffs be admitted to various
grades in white schools this Septem
ber, and that the grade-by-grade de
segregation plan continue until the
plan for full integration is put into
effect.
Chief Judge John Biggs Jr., himself
a resident of Delaware, wrote the ma
jority opinion, which was joined by
Judge Harry E. Kalodner. Judge Her
bert F. Goodrich dissented.
BEGAN IN ’56
The Delaware case (Evans v. Bu
chanan) dates back to 1956 when 42
Negro pupils, represented by Louis L.
Redding, sued to enter seven white
schools in Kent and Sussex counties.
On July 15, 1957, District Judge Paul
Leahy ordered immediate desegrega
tion, but the state board appealed. The
circuit court upheld Judge Leahy and
directed the board to submit a desegre
gation plan to the district court.
On July 6, 1959, District Judge Caleb
R. Layton ni approved the grade-a-
year plan, which went into effect in
September 1959, with 25 Negro chil
dren entering the first grades at white
schools.
REDDING APPEALED
Redding appealed on two counts:
that the plan was not in accord with
the mandate of the circuit court which
approved Judge Leahy’s order, and
that it did not follow the substance
of the Brown decision.
The circuit court agreed with Red
ding on both counts, and directed that
a new plan to provide for full inte
gration of all grades be submitted by
the state board to the District Corut
by Dec. 1, 1960.
The court of appeals rejected (see
text) the three main arguments ad
vanced by the state board:
1) Differences in intelligence between
whites and Negroes.
2) The emotional impact of a more
immediate integration plan upon a pre
dominantly southern society.
3) Increased financial burdens.
SCHOOL BOARDS
AND SCHOOLMEN
The percentage of Negro pupils in
Delaware schools has remained con
stant (18 per cent) since 1957, but the
rate of growth in the Negro enrollment
! s greater than that of the whites.
This was one conclusion drawn from
enrollment figures since 1956 compiled
by the research and publications di
vision of the State Dept, of Public In
struction.
The total enrollment in Delaware
schools has grown from 65,915 in
1956-57 to 77,761 in 1959-60, with a
projection of over 80,000 when schools
reopen in September.
NEGRO INCREASE
In 1956, the Negro enrollment was
11,410 as compared to 14,277 in 1959-60.
This represents an increase of 2,867 Ne
gro pupils, a rise of 25.57 per cent.
The white enrollment in 1956, in con
trast, was 54,505, compared to 63,484
when schools closed in June. The in
crease of 8,979 is a percentage jump of
but 16.47, or 9.10 per cent lower than
the Negro figure.
In 1956, the total percentage of Ne
gro enrollment was 17 per cent, climb
ing to 18 per cent in 1957-58 and re
maining the same since.
NUMBER DOUBLED
But the number of Negro pupils in
desegregated schools more than dou
bled since 1956, climbing from 3,175 to
7,536 by last June.
And the percentage of Negro pupils
in desegregated schools has nearly dou
bled in the five-year period, climbing
from 28 per cent to 53 per cent.
The percentage of the total enroll
ment in desegregated schools has risen
from 34 per cent to 46 per cent during
the same period.
The total enrollment in desegregated
districts went up from 47 to 60 per
cent.
An estimated two million dollars for
new buildings will be needed by 1963
at Delaware State College, with its pre
dominantly Negro enrollment, accord
ing to a report made by the outgoing
president to the Board of Trustees.
Dr. Jerome Holland, pointing to a
continuing enrollment growth, said that
the college must expand its facilities.
The freshman class this fall, he said,
will be the largest
in the school’s
history. A total of
351 students ap
plied for admis
sion but 163 were
all that could be
accepted, partly
because of lack of
accommodations.
This was par
ticularly true in
the case of female
students, he said, noting that limited
housing for women students prohibits
the acceptance of many qualified stu
dents.
The Board of Trustees, which has
not yet adopted a program to present
to the General Assembly, agreed that
additions are necessary.
Holland recommended that $140,000
be used to expand Tubman Hall, a
dormitory for women, increasing the
capacity from 115 to 150.
It would cost an estimated $200,000,
he said, to improve Conrad Hall, the
men’s dormitory, adding a cafeteria
HOLLAND
State’s Negro High School Graduates
Increase 200 Per Cent in Ten Years
COLUMBIA, S. C.
r¥1 HE STATE DEPARTMENT of Edu-
" cation reported that the
number of Negro graduates from
South Carolina high schools in
creased 200 per cent between
1950 and 1960.
Consolidation of smaller schools
during the same period resulted
in the number of white high
schools decreasing from 291 to
231, the state agency reported.
(See “School Boards and School
men.”)
The state advisory committee to
the Civil Rights Commission rec
ommended that local officials “be
more active” in seeking solutions
to racial grievances. (See “What
They Say.”)
The number of Negro graduates
from South Carolina high schools in
creased 200 per cent between 1950 and
1960. That disclosure was made in early
July by the State Department of Edu
cation.
The number of white high schools
decreased from 291 in 1950 to 231 in
system and a campus store for the first
time in the history of the college.
Needed in the early future, Holland
noted, will be new residence halls for
both men and women, each to cost
about $700,000, and a science building
at a cost of $600,000.
At one time, after the University of
Delaware began to accept Negro stu
dents, there were efforts made to close
Delaware State.
But the General Assembly, during
the past six years, has allocated, with
out argument, funds for continued con
struction. # # #
1960, a change resulting from con
solidation of smaller schools. At the
same time, Negro high schools in
creased in number from 50 accredited
schools to 138.
Department spokesmen attributed the
increase in Negro high schools, and in
graduates, to these factors:
1) The consolidation of school dis
tricts brought together small schools,
which previously had not met ac
creditation standards.
2) The construction of new schools
and the providing of improved school
bus transportation facilities.
3) The more effective work of state
supervisors with principals and others
in providing programs of accredited
education.
The State Department of Education’s
report made this comment:
“The results (of the above factors)
are that now there is an accredited
Negro senior high school within the
reach of every Negro boy and girl who
wishes to attend.”
Federal District Judge Ashton H.
Williams of Charleston has set Sept.
7 to begin a hearing on a lawsuit
brought by a group of Charleston Ne
groes seeking integration of the city’s
Municipal Golf Course.
The litigation grew out of the de
nial in November 1958 of the Negroes’
admission to the course.
The end of June brought conviction
of a Rock Hill Negro minister, the Rev.
C. A. Ivory, on charges of trespassing.
The minister, local head of the Na
tional Assn, for the Advancement of
Colored People, was arrested with a
student of Friendship Junior College,
Arthur Hamm ; who faces similar
charges. Both have been active in sit-in
and other anti-segregation demonstra
tions.
Negro-White Enrollment in Delaware
1956-57
1957-58
1958-59
1959-60
Total Enrollment
....65,915
69,342
73,551
77,761
Negro
....11,410
12,429
13,410
14,277
White
....54,505
56,913
60,141
63,484
Negroes in Desegregated Schools ....
Percentage of Negroes in
.... 3,175
4,497
6,208
7,536
Desegregated Schools
Total Enrollment in
28
36
46
53
Desegregated Schools
Percentage of Total Enrollment in
....22,131
26,991
27,355
35,898
Desegregated Schools
Total Enrollment in
34
39
37
46
Desegregated Districts
Percentage of Enrollment in
....30,787
33,296
35,533
46,649
Desegregated Districts
47
48
48
60
Number of Schools Desegregated ....
31
39
46
59
Ivory was sentenced to a $100 fine oi
30 days in jail.
Greenville city officials clamped a 8
p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew on all persons 2t
years of age and under on July 28
after a series of racial incidents, mostlj
between teen-agers or young men.
Gangs of youths of both races had
roamed the city streets on two nights
and there were incidents of rock
throwing and even shotgunning of cars
The incidents began in the textile
city when the Negroes held several sit-
down demonstrations in the white pub
lic library. Eight Negroes were ar
rested. A group of Negroes assembled
at the city courtroom for the trial but
when it was postponed, they left te
stage sit-in demonstrations in thref
Main Street variety store lunch coun
ters.
A brief fight broke out between Ne
groes and whites outside one store
Two white high school students ar
rested for participation in the affra!
forfeited bond. A third white, Dennl
E. Nevis, a day college student, re
quested a jury trial on charges of dis
orderly conduct and possession of at
unlawful weapon.
Another clash between white an*
Negro teen-agers occurred outside *
drive-in restaurant near Greenville
Apparently none of the 200 youngster*
were injured before police broke a!
the melee.
Other communities in which the 1 *
were sit-in or similar demonstration- 1
during July included Columbia, Or
angeburg, Rock Hill, and Charleston.
The state advisory committee to tb
Civil Rights Commission recommend^
on July 21 that the local officials d
South Carolina communities “be mod
active in seeking fair and peace! 1 -’
solutions” to racial grievances.
The recommendation, issued aft e '
consideration of various types of ant'
segregation demonstrations about &
state in recent months, carried with ’
the suggestion that “representative
committees be created on the \o&.
level to discuss the causes of rad®
friction.
The committee’s proposals were e 1 ®
bodied in a letter drafted for submit
sion to the Civil Rights Commissi 0 :
itself. # # ’