Newspaper Page Text
SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS—APRIL 1961—PAGE 13
MISSOURI
Negro Colleges
Desegregation Said Slow
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ST. LOUIS, Mo.
* T Poplar Bluff in Butler
,\ County, southeast Missouri,
Missouri Advisory Committee
3 { the United States Commission
(jq Civil Rights held on March
■?0 the third in a series of public
meetings in the state. It had been
announced in newspapers and by
other means that the committee
would receive any complaints of
discrimination or denial of equal
protection of the laws.
In general the cotton-growing Boot-
heel part of the state has been slower
than other sections to implement the
Supreme Court decision. The committee
heard evidence that this is still the
case.
It had requested that complaints be
in writing. In the area of schools, it
received one written complaint con
cerning Charleston, a town of more
than 5,000 persons in Mississippi Coun
ty, east of Poplar Bluff.
Other statements given orally indi
cated that in Poplar Bluff and various
communities residents have been in
no hurry to desegregate below the
high school level.
Missouri Highlights
The Missouri Advisory Committee
of the United States Commission on
Civil Rights was told at a meeting
'held in Poplar Bluff March 20 that
most school districts in southeast
Missouri had taken little or no
action recently to complete the
process of school desegregation
under the 1954 United States Su
preme Court ruling.
Msgr. Patrick J. Molloy, moder
ator of the Catholic Interracial
Council of St. Louis, urged at a
testimonial dinner in St. Louis Feb.
22 that the Catholic clergy and
laity in the South should take the
lead in school desegregation, with
out waiting for states to take the
first step.
population that has taken no action
toward desegregation.
The Missouri Advisory Commitee
will make a report to the United States
Commission on Civil Rights in April.
What They Say
Committee Members
Mrs. Frankie M. Freeman, vice-chair
man of the committee and associate
general counsel of the St. Louis Land
Clearance and Housing Authority, pre
sided. She is a Negro. Other committee
members present were:
Lorenzo J. Greene, chairman of the
subcommittee on education and pro
fessor of history at Lincoln University
in Jefferson City; John I. Rollings,
president of the AFXi-CIO Labor Coun
cil of Missouri; Abe J. Kaplan, presi
dent of Kaplan Fabrics, Kansas City;
Edmund Smith, an attorney of Kansas
City; the Rev. Arnold A. Wessler, ex
ecutive director of the Concordia Pub
lishing Co., which publishes the St.
Louis Lutheran News.
In an informal report given at St.
Louis the following day, Mrs. Freeman
said a written complaint had been filed
with the committee by Mrs. Marshall
Currin of Charleston, adviser to the
Youth Council of the National Asso
ciation for the Advancement of Colored
People in that locality.
Two Grades Desegregated
The complaint brought by Mrs. Cur-
nn, a Negro, was that although the
e Charleston high school had been de-
!• segregated in 1955, with respect to
I- grades 11 and 12, no further steps had
1 “eon taken. She said the town, reported
** 40 per cent Negro, still maintains a
> separate high school for Negroes at
' Lincoln School (grades 1-12), although
* ‘’ e §roes may transfer to the desegre-
gated high school after the 10th grade.
, Mrs. Currin said certain differences
j curriculum made it difficult for
%o students to transfer from Lin-
’ ®'in to the other school. The science
Program and music course at Lincoln
*' e re said to be inadequate, with the
r «ult in the latter case that Negroes
transfer cannot be eligible for
high school choral group,
was reported that the number of
' e groes applying for admission to the
.^segregated high school had decreased
l° ni about 27 the first year to seven at
e present time. The Negroes attend-
? the biracial school were said to be
“-treated, however, and to enjoy the
^e cafeteria and washroom facilities
to k!! w hite students. They were said
t “c restricted in attending social
atU^ 0ns ’ the extent that they must
in pairs.
Ministers’ Statement
4
L, Sfoup of Negro ministers of the
^denominational Ministerial Al
ik ce at Poplar Bluff, including the
Hri ^ ^Ti^ht and the Rev. D. A.
djg®? 01 )! signed a statement alleging
(wYUnation against Negroes at vari-
aces in Poplar Bluff,
ff^cstioning about schools brought
t^Ot r °" the ministers the remark
arg’^hegro teachers at Poplar Bluff
% ? Pushing for further desegrega-
johj ^eeuse of fear of losing their
i Tpr-
Missouri Advisory Committee
<f**ted that elementary and high
Sredes at Poplar Bluff were de-
4p® ated in 1957.
^Jtwdinately 16 persons, mostly
’ attended the Poplar Bluff
!?g tV . ere was no report concem-
u^iicV c °t County in the Boot-heel.
‘ s now reported to be the only
County with a Negro school
L
Msgr. Molloy Urges
Catholics to Work
For Desegregation
lVf'sGR. Patrick J. Molloy,
moderator of the Catholic
Interracial Council of St. Louis,
on Feb. 22 urged Southern Catho
lics to support school desegre
gation. He spoke at a dinner
honoring him for his work in
race relations and for his recent
elevation by Pope John XXIII
to the rank of Papal Chamberlain.
Father Molloy said that in traveling
thousands of miles in the South dur
ing the last three years he had found
among both clergy and laity the hope
that their Catholic bishops would take
action on school desegregation.
“On the other hand,” Father Molloy
said, “I am well aware that there is a
loud-mouthed articulate opposition.
However, I believe it makes noise far
out of proportion to its actual size.
Our Catholic people, by and large, and
our Catholic clergy, are loyal and
obedient to the church and to their
bishops.
“My sincere suggestion to all of them
would be, let your voice be heard.
By letter, telegram, phone, personal
call, tell your bishop you will support
him. Let him know that the opposition
is truly a minority. We learned this
in St. Louis 15 years ago. (Note: St.
Louis parochial schools were desegre
gated hy order of Archbishop, now
Cardinal, Ritter shortly after the end
of World War II.)
“I hope and pray that our bishops
and religious leaders of the Southland
will not wait until the state has taken
the lead in this necessary solution of
the proper Christian treatment of our
Negro people. The church should lead,
even at great sacrifices, in a moral
cause. This is a moral cause.”
Political Activity
Human Rights Group
Favors State Laws
M issouri Commission on Hu
man Rights, a state agency,
issued a statement and supporting
documents in March urging pas
sage of laws to eliminate certain
types of discrimination in the
state.
Bills concerning public accommoda
tions and job opportunities are pending
in the General Assembly. While educa
tion is not directly involved, the com
mission had the following to say about
apprenticeship training in Missouri:
“Kansas City and St. Louis report
that the apprenticeship training pro
gram (trade, craft and vocational
courses) taught at night in some of
their public schools by union crafts
men and some regular public high
school teachers, and financed in part by
federal and state tax monies, still deny
Negro students.
“There are no Negro apprentices in
the joint apprenticeship training pro-
(Continued from Page 12)
294 white students in the six academic
years since 1954. In the six academic
years 1948 through 1954, six schools
reported that seven white students had
graduated. In the six academic years
1954-1955 through 1959-60, eight schools
reported that 60 white students had
graduated.
On Recruiting Whites
On the question of Negro colleges
recruiting white students, 25 of the 38
colleges reporting stated specifically
that they did not recruit white stu
dents prior to 1954 and have not
recruited white students since 1954.
Only three colleges recruited white
students prior to 1954 and these three
have continued to do so since 1954.
Only two colleges stated without quali
fication that they did not recruit white
students prior to 1954 but do recruit
them now.
Eight colleges answered with modi
fications such as the following: “No”
before 1954, “by general announce
ment and through church agencies now
but not in local high schools;” “No”
before 1954, through publicity now;
“No” prior to 1954, none since, “largely
because we cannot get into white
schools.”
It is equally significant to note the
response to the question, “What faculty
changes do you anticipate in the future
as a result of the May 17, 1954, decision
of the United States Supreme Court?”
Fourteen colleges replied that they
anticipate no change in faculty com
plexion. It must be said, however, that
several of the colleges so answering
have integrated faculties and they mean
that this policy will continue and that
the 1954 decision did not bring this
about. Twenty colleges stated that
their faculties have either been inte
grated from the beginning or for a
mighty long time. In the 33 private
colleges of the United Negro College
Fund, an integrated faculty has been
and is the general rule.
A Few Quotations
A few quotations may prove helpful.
One college official states that the May
17, 1954, decision of the United States
Supreme Court outlawing segregation
in the public schools had no bearing
on the racial complexion of his faculty.
He says: “The faculty is already inte
grated and has always been so.”
Another writes: “The faculty has
been integrated through the years.”
Still another official declares: “Our
faculty from the very beginning was
integrated, the greater number being
white consistently along the years.”
Most of the quotations are along these
lines.
The Supreme Court decision did
change the employment practices in
a few schools. In one institution 26
white teachers have been added since
1954. One school had part-time white
teachers prior to 1954. It has white
teachers as regular members of the
faculty now.
As a result of the court’s decision one
college president expressed the belief
that his faculty would be integrated
within a few years. Another one made
no prediction—he only stated that the
charter would prohibit faculty inte
gration.
The vast majority of the colleges,
30 out of 38, expect more white students
than they now have. Those who al
ready have white students expect more
and those that have none would wel
come white students and expect them.
A few excerpts will illustrate the
point. One college president writes:
“We are in the process of trying to
gram in Kansas City, and only a few,
admitted under special arrangement, in
St. Louis. There is almost total ex
clusion of Negroes from apprenticeship
training in Missouri.”
Miscellaneous
Mayor Urges End
To Discrimination
IVTayor Raymond R. Tucker
(Dem.) of St. Louis was vic
tor by a narrow magin in the
March 7 primary election, win
ning his party’s nomination as
candidate to succeed himself.
In his address Feb. 21 before the St.
Louis chapter of Frontiers of America,
Negro civic club, he said St. Louis had
made great progress in race relations
but cannot afford to be complacent.
He said racial discrimination in em
ployment, housing and education would
have to be overcome to improve the
city’s economy. Negroes, he said, have
been victims of “a historical lack of
educational opportunity” and this has
intensified their difficulties in the field
of employment. # # #
interest white students to attend our
college.” Another president says: “The
board has voted to move toward an
integrated student body.” “We will
probably enroll white students soon,”
says a third official. Still another
writes: “We expect white students to
seek entrance in our school in the
near future.” A college already inte
grated comments that “We will con
tinue on an integrated basis.” Another
integrated college president says: “With
inevitable desegregation coming in the
South, I expect an increase in the
number of white students.”
One more quotation on this point:
“We are making a definite move to
wards the recruitment of white stu
dents.”
New Prospect: Competition
Of Negro, White Colleges
Speaking generally, federal decisions
had another effect on Negro colleges.
The 1954 Supreme Court decision out
lawing segregation in the public schools
made the Negro colleges shockingly
aware of the fact that Negro colleges
are now or soon will be in open com
petition with the white colleges in
their respective areas.
Since good students are relatively
few, when white colleges open their
doors to Negroes, they will be com
peting for the best minds irrespective
of race. There can be no complacency
on the part of the trustees, presidents
and faculties of predominantly Negro
colleges in the urgent need to seek at
all times to improve the quality of
their work.
Federal Court decisions influenced
Negro state and land grant colleges
prior to the May 17, 1954, decision.
Beginning in 1935 when Murray won
his case to enter the law school of the
University of Maryland, the leaders of
states with segregated education saw
that they had to move rapidly toward
the goal of equalizing educational op
portunities and facilities for Negroes
or admit them to the state universities.
So the states appropriated millions of
dollars for the improvement of tax-
supported Negro colleges. As a result
of this, Negro colleges are much better
than they would have been without
federal action.
Huge Appropriations
Even the decision declaring segre
gation in the public schools unconsti
tutional did not stop the huge appropri
ations for Negro colleges. Evidently the
reason behind this trend to continue
to improve education for Negroes is
the belief that if the Negro colleges are
first-rate, fewer Negroes will seek ad
mission to formerly all-white colleges
and universities.
Any way you look at it, the decisions
of the federal courts have led to better
tax-supported colleges for Negroes both
in the securing of better teachers and
providing more adequate equipment.
The predominantly Negro colleges
have two distinct roles to play in the
South. If the formerly Negro colleges
do not perform these two unique func
tions, they will hardly be performed.
It will take a long time for most
Negroes to overcome the disabilities
imposed upon them by 342 years of
slavery and segregation. Regardless of
the inherent ability of the Negro child,
he cannot escape being handicapped if
he is bom and is being reared in an
environment of semi-poverty, semi
literacy, and in homes and communities
where he is culturally restricted. Such
an environment is applicable to the
vast majority of Negro hoys and girls
currently enrolled in our schools.
Teachers’ Backgrounds
The encouragement and motivation
they need to make them aspire nobly
must come mainly from teachers who
themselves have experienced what it
means to be a Negro. In an integrated
situation where Negro and white
teachers work side by side, the needs
of the Negro student are more than
likely to be understood than in a situ
ation where there are Negro students
but no Negro professors.
This writer believes that the pre
dominantly white colleges in the South
will accept Negro students more readily
than they will accept Negro professors.
For a long time, except perhaps in a
few state universities, integration in
southern white colleges will be token.
And whenever possible only the best
Negro students will be sought. If the
admission of Negro students will be on
a fairly limited basis, the integration
of faculties in the predominantly white
colleges will be even more limited.
Faculty integration will he a slow pro
cess.
When all factors are taken into con
sideration—social, economic, cultural—
the predominantly Negro colleges will
have large enrollments when desegre
gation becomes a reality. Support for
this view is strengthened when we
recognize the inevitable increase in
enrollment in the years ahead, the fact
that some white colleges may not accept
Negroes and that token integration in
white colleges will be practiced for
some time to come.
If for some reason all Negro colleges
were abolished at the end of this
academic year, I believe that 80 per
cent of all Negro students now in col
lege would have nowhere to go and
the number of Negroes entering college
in the immediate future would be
greatly reduced.
It would be unrealistic to expect
the white colleges of the South, when
their doors are open to Negroes, to
recruit and welcome them in large
numbers. The white colleges will se
lect Negro students very carefully.
Major Responsibility
It follows, therefore, that a large
share of the responsibility for the
education of Negro youths in the years
to come must be borne by private and
state colleges now predominantly Ne
gro in characer. The Negro colleges
that are first-rate will have a large
number of Negro students and will
attract a reasonable number of white
students. There is a segment of Negro
students who must look to the desegre
gated Negro colleges for their training.
If the predominantly Negro colleges do
not perform this task, it will hardly
be done.
There is a second unique function
which must be performed by what we
now call Negro colleges. Certain centers
of Negro education will become the
main source of interracial, intercultural
and international education.
For example, Atlanta might well be
one of the centers. The six institutions,
Atlanta, Clark, the Interdenominational
Theological Center, Morehouse, Morris
Brown and Spelman, that make up the
Atlanta University Center, are by prac
tice and tradition a natural for develop
ing this kind of education. For decades
these colleges have been building
bridges of interracial understanding
and good will.
A score or more interracial gatherings
meet on these campuses annually, and
this has been true for decades. It can
not happen anywhere else in Atlanta
on such a wide scale. The faculties
have been integrated from the begin
ning, certainly as soon as Negroes were
qualified to teach in them. Speakers
of all races and cultures have always
spoken to students and faculties of
these colleges. White people have not
been segregated when they attended
cultural and educational programs.
No Prejudices or Fears
The Negro colleges have no prejudices
to overcome and no fears to subdue.
They are not bound by the customs
and traditions of yesteryears. Some of
them have been building bridges of
good human relations for 90 years. The
climate is ripe in centers of Negro
education for a faculty and student
body composed of teachers from all
over the world and students of every
culture, race, religion and nationality.
These colleges are free to become
experiments in democratic education
and living in the heart of the South.
This is a role which the predomi
nantly Negro colleges can play in the
future and if they do not play this
role it may not be performed anytime
in the near future.
In Summary
Summarizing briefly:
Federal decisions, and especially the
May 17, 1954, decision, have led to more
white students enrolling in Negro col
leges and more Negro students en
rolling in white colleges. The charters
in a few Negro colleges were changed
so they could accept all qualified stu
dents irrespective of race. The decisions
have made trustees, faculty and admin
istrators of Negro colleges keenly aware
of the fact that they are now in compe
tition with all colleges and that they
must be able to compete with all col
leges for the best student minds. Some
Negro colleges have added white
teachers to their faculties since May
17, 1954. Federal decisions resulted in
better Negro colleges, especially tax-
supported Negro colleges. Legislatures
have increased the appropriations to
Negro colleges. Negro colleges, on the
whole, have not suffered from loss of
enrollments because white schools now
accept Negroes.
As for the future of Negro colleges,
it seems clear that the future of the
predominantly Negro colleges will de
pend on need and quality. The ever-
increasing enrollments will establish
the need. If the quality of work is from
good to excellent, they will not only
have Negro students enrolled, but white
students as well.
The Negro colleges have two func
tions to fulfill which are peculiar to
them. They will be needed to admin
ister to the spiritual, social, economic
and cultural needs of the majority of
the Negro students.
And finally, certain centers of Negro
education will perform a unique func
tion of providing education on a
throughly integrated basis—supra-
racial, supra-cultural, supra-intema-
tional and supra-faith. # # #