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PAGE 2—FEBRUARY 1961—SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS
Commission Reviews
College Backgrounds
(Continued from Page 1)
head of the Political Science Depart
ment at Duke University.
Dissent to Recommendation
Carlton also filed a dissent from the
recommendation to withhold funds
from public colleges that bar Negroes.
He wrote:
“I cannot approve the withholding
of money, coming as it does to the fed
eral government from the taxpayers of
the several states, as a club to forge
any fixed pattern set forth by a fed
eral agency.”
The majority of the commission took
pains to disavow any intent to impose
federal supervision or control of the
curricula and personnel of state col
leges.
After outlining the pattern of higher
education segregation in 17 Southern
and border states, the Commission re
ported that by 1960, 118 of the 162
public colleges and universities for
merly restricted to whites had admit
ted some Negroes or claimed to have
dropped segregation.
“In some, Negroes are admitted only
to the graduate division,” the report
stated. “In others, they are admitted
to the undergraduate division, but only
if they wish to enroll in a course of
study not offered in the college for
Negroes maintained by the state. Such
limitations are clearly in violation of
the 14th Amendment.”
‘Not Free From Suspicion’
Sixty-nine of the colleges in the
South ask the applicant to list his race
or submit a photograph when apply
ing, the commission found. Twenty per
cent of the colleges in the North and
West have similar requirements, sug
gesting that they are “not free from the
suspicion of discriminating against Ne
groes.”
Arthur S. Flemming, who retired last
month as secretary of health, educa
tion and welfare, said Jan. 17 that he
was in accord with the commission’s
recommendation to limit federal funds
to integrated public institutions, but
added that legislation would be needed
to establish the principle.
Flemming said there is no doubt that
the “separate but equal” concept in
higher education has led to “unequal
and totally inadequate” facilities for
Negroes.
★ ★ ★
At a Jan. 12 press conference, Flem
ming announced that the federal gov
ernment had turned down a request
for free government surplus property
for white segregated private schools in
Prince Edward County, Va. Flemming,
whose department distributes about
$30 million worth of surplus property
to private and public schools each
month, said it would be contrary to
public policy to allow the Prince Ed
ward School Foundation to take part
in the program.
The foundation provides schooling for
some 1,500 white youngsters in Prince
court’s order on the grounds that other
courts have approved similar stair
step plans for Nashville and Houston.
But the Supreme Court’s refusal to re
view was in keeping with its general
policy of leaving school desegregation
orders to lower courts. (See Delaware
Report).
★ ★ ★
Speaker Sam Rayburn (D-Tex) won
overwhelming support from House
Democrats Jan. 18 in his fight to break
the power of the conservative House
Rules Committee to block legislation.
His plan to regain control of the pow
erful committee by increasing its size
was shouted through a brief 15-minute
party caucus.
Democratic leaders expressed confi
dence that the plan would be approved
by the full House when it came to a
vote late in the month, but on Jan
23 House Republicans voted over
whelmingly to oppose what they called
“packing” the committee, raising pros
pects of a close final vote on the floor.
Democrats have held an 8-4 majority
on the committee, but Southern mem
bers have teamed up with Republicans
to create a 6-6 stalemate on liberal
legislation in such fields as education,
housing and civil rights. Talk of “purg
ing” Rep. William M. Colmer (D-Miss)
one of the Southern members, was
dropped in favor of Rayburn’s plan to
resolve the stalemate by adding two
Democrats and one Republican to the
committee.
cannot be spent, then we no longer
have need of a Congress or state legis
latures.”
In comments obviously directed at
school desegregation decisions, Tal-
madge charged that “sweeping edicts”
of the courts have reduced the Consti
tution to “an artifact of a free society
which no longer exists in anything but
name.”
Talmadge joined with eight other
Southern Democrats in reintroducing a
constitutional amendment, which, if
adopted, would provide that every state
have exclusive control of its public
schools and school systems.
Cosponsors of the proposal were
Democratic Senators Harry F. Byrd
and A. Willis Robertson (Va), Olin D.
Johnston (SC), Lister Hill and John
Sparkman (Ala), James O. Eastland
and John Stennis (Miss), and Russell
Long (La).
Senate Sidetracks Move
On the Senate side, a move to re
form the rules and curb filibusters was
sidetracked until later in the session
by a 50-46 vote on Jan. 11. On motion
of Senate Majority Leader Mike Mans
field (D-Mont) and Minority Leader
Everett M. Dirksen (R-Ill), the entire
rules battle was shifted to the Senate
Rules Committee for settlement.
Many liberals termed it a death blow
to their efforts to impose tighter de
bate curbs, but Mansfield, who also is
chairman of the Rules Committee, gave
the Senate “my word” that his emit
would report back a strengthened an
ti-filibuster rule in time for action
later this session.
★ ★ ★
In a blast at what he called recent
trends toward “judicial dictatorship,”
Sen. Herman E. Talmadge (D-Ga) de
clared Jan. 13 that “if federal courts
can dictate how public funds can and
Other Talmadge Bills
Talmadge also introduced bills to:
• Require the Supreme Court to ac
cord full hearings to all parties before
acting upon lower court decisions.
• Require jury trials in all cases of
contempt arising from disobedience of
any federal court order.
• Withdraw the jurisdiction of all
federal courts over matters relating to
the administration of public schools.
★ ★ ★
In his final State of the Union mes
sage to Congress Jan. 12, President
Eisenhower cited as major accomplish
ments of his administration in the field
of civil rights the passage of the Civil
Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960, establish
ment of the Civil Rights Division in
the Department of Justice, promotion
of greater job equality in federal em
ployment, completion of Civil Rights
Commission surveys in the fields of
housing, voting and education and
abolition of segregation in the armed
forces, veterans’ hospitals and “through
out the District of Columbia.”
“This pioneering work in civil rights
must go on,” Mr. Eisenhower said, “not
only because discrimination is morally
wrong, but also because its impact is
more than national—it is worldwide.”
★ ★ ★
Gordon M. Tiffany, who resigned
Jan. 1 as staff director of the Civil
Rights Commission, said in a last re
port to Mr. Eisenhower, President Ken
nedy and the members of the commis
sion that “civil rights have unquestion
ably been a White House orphan, not
withstanding the sincere efforts of both
the White House staff and the staff of
the commission to make it otherwise.”
Tiffany urged appointment of “a
special assistant to the President in
charge of a co-ordinating council on
civil rights.” He also recommended
consideration of a White House con-
'He Knows You . .
— Attach 7 -
Baltimore Sun
The Chicago Tribal
‘Partlner, This Country Isn’t
Big Enough For Both Of Us’
A Tree We’d Like To Grow In
Washington
Washington Post
ference on civil rights and early action
to extend the life of the commission,
now due to wind up its work by next
November.
“As to the Presidency and the White
House staff,” Tiffany said, “emphasis
should be placed on leadership and giv
ing a public impression of conviction
and continuing awareness of moral and
legal obligations in this area.”
★ ★ ★
Another outgoing official of the Eis
enhower administration, Deputy Attor
ney General Lawrence E. Walsh, said
in a report to Attorney General Wil
liam P. Rogers that every federal court
school desegregation order since 1958
has been enforced “not only without
military support, but without even the
resort to force by a single federal of
ficer.”
At his last press conference Jan. 17,
KENTUCKY
County Board Denies It Segregates
LOUISVILLE, Ky
n a reply to a federal court
suit, the Knox County Board
Edward County. Public schools were [ of Education denied that its
closed m September, 1959. when the u i , • . ,
schools were under court order to de! ! schools practice racial segregation
j but the plaintiff s attorney asked
dismissal of the reply. (See “Legal
segregate. I
“I am informed that the approxi
mately 1,700 colored children have been
virtually without school facilities of any
kind, public or private, since the clos
ing of the county public school sys
tem,” Flemming said. (See “Virginia.”)
Action.”)
The State Commission on Human
Rights named Galen A. Martin, Knox
ville, Tenn., as its first executive di
rector. (See “Community Action.”)
mission to all-white schools. It said
they would be admitted if they applied
and met standard qualifications.
The Knox board’s reply asserted that
none of its schools practices racial seg
regation and, therefore, asked for the
dismissal of the suit.
The next move on behalf of the plain
tiffs was made by James A. Crumlin,
Louisville, attorney for the National
Association for the Advancement of
Colored People.
Cites Time Element
Encourage Expansion
Under HEW regulations, surplus
property should be distributed so as to
“strengthen and encourage the devel
opment and expansion of educational
programs,” he noted.
“Any aid to the Prince Edward
School Foundation would not only con
stitute aid to a private school to the
detriment, so to speak, of a public
school system, but would also discour
age efforts to reactivate the public
schools in the county,” he said.
Flemming said he hoped the depart
ment would turn down any future re
quests “in which the donation of sur
plus property would contribute to the
abandonment of a public school system
rather than its furtherance.”
B. Blanton Hanbury, an officer of the
foundation, called the ruling discrimi
natory because “we operate a bona
fide private school system and had met
all requirements for qualifying to bid
on federal property.”
★ ★ ★
The Supreme Court refused Jan. 9
to review a lower court order that
struck down Delaware’s grade-a-year
stair-step school desegregation plan.
The effect of the refusal was to con
front Delaware authorities with a re
quirement that they submit a new plan
providing for the admission in 1961 of
all Negro students requesting transfers
to white schools.
Delaware had challenged the lower
Court Asked to Require
Biracial County Schools
Federal District Judge H. Church
Ford was asked by the defendants in
a school desegregation case to dismiss
the suit.
But the plaintiffs asked him to dis
miss the reply and request of the de
fendants.
The suit, listing several Negro chil
dren as plaintiffs, was filed at London,
Ky., in October and amended in No
vember. It originally sought to prevent
a desegregated city school system from
merging with the allegedly segregated
Knox County School District. As
amended, it asked that Knox schools
be desegregated. (See Southern School
News, December, 1960, and previous.)
The defendants are School Supt.
Jesse Lay and the Knox County Board
of Education.
He contended that the Knox reply
should be dismissed because it was filed
more than 20 days after the Knox
board had been informed of the suit.
Judge Ford took Crumlin’s motion
under consideration. If it is upheld, the
plaintiffs could then ask a default judg
ment on the suit. Otherwise a trial is
expected soon.
NAACP officials have maintained
that only two or three Negro pupils
attend Flat Lick Elementary School,
said to be Knox County’s only bi
racial school. All other Negro students,
elementary and high school, attend the
Negro-only Rosenwald School, accord
ing to the NAACP, and some of these
have been refused admittance else
where.
of the Kentucky Council of Human
Relations, a private organization with
financial support from the Southern
Regional Council.
Joined Church Group
New Orleans Times-Picayun
Rogers suggested that Congress should
change the civil rights laws to allow
the government to initiate school de
segregation cases when it looks as ii
the state involved is trying to evade
Supreme Court orders. Under present
law, school cases can be brought only
by private citizens. Rogers said this is
too great a burden for private citizens
to bear.
★ ★ ★
The Anti-Defamation League of
B’nai B’rith charged Jan. 10 that social
studies textbooks widely used in
American schools tend to present “a
largely white, Protestant, Anglo-Saxon
view of history and of the current so
cial scene” while ignoring the nature
and problems of minority groups.
After a 10-month study of 48 junior
and senior high school texts, the
League charged that American Negroes
are portrayed in the context of slavery
and Reconstruction so that “what
comes through in most books is a ster
eotype of a simple, childlike, supersti
tious people,” with little reference to
the achievements of Negro Americans-
The study also complained about
textbook treatment of other minority
groups and said accounts of efforts to
wipe out discrimination tend to “con
sist of complacent generalizations.”
He left this post to accept a posi
tion with a denominational human re
lations group in Knoxville.
In his new Kentucky job, Martin
will be working for a commission
charged with discouraging discrimina
tion and fostering understanding. His
first duty, in addition to setting up an
office, probably will be to implement
a commission decision to seek estab
lishment of interracial councils in all
communities.
Segregation Denied
In a recently-filed reply to the suit,
the Knox board acknowledged that
only one school in its system has bi
racial classes but contended that none
of the Negro children had sought ad-
A 33-year-old native of West Vir
ginia will be the first executive di
rector of the Commission on Human
Rights created by the 1960 Kentucky
General Assembly.
He is Galen A. Martin, Knoxville,
Tenn., who is no stranger to Kentucky
nor to the general field in which he
will be working.
Martin is a 1951 graduate of Berea
College, Berea, Ky. Prior to 1957, he
served for a time as executive director
Kentucky State College, the only
predominantly Negro state-supported
college, was the only state institution
of higher learning losing enrollment
from 1959-60 to 1960-61.
A report released by the Council on
Public Higher Education showed a de
cline from 673 to 641 at Kentucky
State, which was the scene of student
disorders last spring.
Predominantly-white state schools
marked up sizable enrollment gains.
The University of Kentucky (includ
ing extension centers) was listed at
8,873, up from 8,510. Others, with last
year’s enrollments in parentheses were-
Western, 3,599 (2,914); Morehead, 2 458
(2,091); Eastern, 3,451 (2,967)- and
Murray, 3,016 (2,701).
All the state institutions now operate
without racial barriers to admission
but the council report did not break
down enrollment by races.
Total enrollment in 33 accredited in
stitutions of higher learning, public and
private, was up 8 per cent over last
year.
# # #
DISTRICT SCHOOLS
Hansen Says Desegregation
Renewed Staff’s Enthusiasm
School Superintendent Carl F. Ha®
sen told the Board of Education J®'
18 that the capital is “beginning
grow more mature” in meeting its d* u
cational responsibilities to all child 1 ®’
in the community.
Hansen delivered his annual r e P®
on the 1959-60 school year—a y ear . f
called “significant in that it closes
six-year period of desegregation in
District public schools.”
Desegregation of the school sy#
has brought “a renewal of vigor, ^
er gy, enthusiasm and imagination
the staff, the Board of Education
the elements of the community
believe nothing is so vital to hu®^
welfare and to the nation as a s >’^ t
of free education equipped to do j
it is supposed to do,” Hansen ded
But he listed a number of ma i° r , ^1
solved problems confronting the s
system.
Although the citywide pupil
ratio in elementary schools was ^
last year, Hansen noted that thera ^
been overcrowding in some schoo
cause of “residential segregation
economic sanctions which have
tinued to be applied against
though on a diminishing scale.’ ** ^
listed 10 elementary schools with
sizes ranging from 35.5 to 37.8 pW f