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PAGE 16—JUNE 1961—SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS
DELAWARE
Court Reserves Judgment
On Desegregation Plan
DOVER, Del.
hief Judge Caleb M. Wright
of the Federal District Court
in Wilmington reserved judgment
after a May 22 hearing on the
modified desegregation plan pre
sented by the State Board of
Education.
In the event he disapproves the
plan, he will hold sessions with the
principals to draw up a plan accept
able to them and the court, he told
opposing attorneys.
Attorney General Januar D. Bove
Jr. represented the state board, and
Louis L. Redding, Wilmington attor
ney, represented the Negro litigants
who filed suit to enter seven white
schools in 1956.
Redding traced the historical back
ground of the case for the court, and
said that the modified state board plan
“does not abolish” segregation, and
that it violates the Third Circuit Court
of Appeals order of Aug. 29, 1960.
Rejected Grade-A-Year
The Philadelphia Circuit Court order
of last year was handed down as the
court rejected Delaware’s grade-a-year
program.
Redding said the special registration
of Negro pupils held in May “con
ceives a continuance of separate
schools.”
Consequently, he asked Judge
Wright to dissolve all Delaware Negro
school districts and to declare the
state’s tuition law unconstitutional.
Redding termed the tuition law “the
most serious impediment to desegre
gation.”
Pupil Transfers
The tuition law, passed by the Gen
eral Assembly in 1959 and signed by
Gov. J. Caleb Boggs, calls for approval
by both sending and receiving districts
for pupil transfers.
It further states, Redding told the
court, that such transfers may not be
approved when the same grades and
courses are available in each district.
Redding’s attack on the tuition law
was a new phase in the five-year old
case, an argument that had not been
touched upon previously.
Says It Means ‘Never’
Application of the law, Redding
said, “means that Negroes will never
get to go to white schools.”
He cited Ellendale, in Sussex Coun
ty, as an example of the dual school
system, having separate facilities for
Negroes and whites in grades one
through six.
“The least the court can do is order
the Negro district dissolved. The crux
of the matter is the impossibility of
transfer.”
If there were no Negro districts, he
said in answer to a question from
Judge Wright, the tuition act would
have no application.
“We say the Negro districts were
dissolved by the Supreme Court de
cision of 1954,” Redding said.
But Attorney General Bove, in sub
sequent arugment, denied they were
abolished.
“Their continued existence has been
clearly recognized. We do not under
stand they were wiped out,” Bove said.
Tuition Act
On the tuition act, Bove said:
“The state board is bound by the
statute.”
“Is the state board also bound by
the U.S. Constitution?” asked Judge
Wright. “Suppose I was to declare it
(the tuition act) unconstitutional?”
In that case, Bove stated, the state
board would comply with the decision.
The special Negro registration, Bove
said, was not intended to be discrim
inatory, nor was the tuition act.
“It (the tuition law) applies to all
students, white or Negro. I would say
the statute, on its face, is not uncon
stitutional,” he said.
Schoolmen
Early Enrollments
Indicate Influx
Of Colored Pupils
Tj^ inal figures won’t be avail-
A able until after June 30,
but preliminary enrollments in
dicate a heavy influx of colored
pupils into white schools in Kent
and Sussex counties in Septem
ber.
At least 264 Negroes and Moors ap
plied to enter white schools at a spe
cial May registration. Kent and Sussex,
which have resisted desegregation
more than New Castle, have but 94
Negroes now attending schools with
whites. Eighty-nine of these are in
Kent, five in Sussex.
Dr. George R. Miller, state superin
tendent of public instruction, declined
to reveal registration totals. The spe
cial registration was held May 12-16,
but children with justifiable excuses
will be allowed to register until June
30.
And, Dr. Miller added, registrations
are accepted until, and even after, the
opening day of school.
Objections Filed
The State Board of Education, at its
April meeting, decided to go ahead
with its special registration despite ob
jections filed against its plan in the
federal district court in Wilmington.
Under the state board plan, all pu
pils entering grade one and those de
siring to transfer were required to
make application at the May registra
tion.
In a directive sent to all school dis
tricts, the state board pointed out that
“... the number of Negroes desiring to
transfer to and enroll in white schools
in the district in which they reside
must be ascertained for the proper
organization of the receiving schools
beginning in September, 1961, and
thereafter.”
Notices of the registration were re
quired to be posted in at least five
conspicuous places, including the
school houses of the district.
185 Applications
A Delaware State News survey of
superintendents of the six largest
school districts in Kent County showed
that 185 Negroes and Moors applied
for admission to white schools.
At the moment, there are but 89
Negroes attending white schools in
these districts.
Smyrna, a town some 10 miles north
of Dover, received applications from
83 Negroes and Moors who desired to
transfer to white schools in Septem
ber.
Forty-three pupils requested trans
fers from the Thomas D. Clayton Ne
gro school to enter the Smyrna ele
mentary school, and an additional 40
requested transfers from the Clayton
and William Henry High School in
grades seven through 10.
At Dover, 45 Negroes and Moors
want to enter the elementary school,
and 24 wish to attend the junior high
school. An additional 12 enrolled to at
tend high school.
School For Moors
The Cheswold school for Moors par
ticularly would feel the impact if all
the transfers go through. The school
has an enrollment of 93 pupils, and
61 have enrolled at Dover.
Caesar Rodney enrolled 18 Negroes,
12 in the high school and six in the
elementary grades, while Milford re
ceived requests from three Negro pu
pils to enter the first grade.
Neither Felton nor Harrington re
ceived applications from Negroes to
transfer into the white schools.
Trend Repeated
A similar survey of five selected
schools in Sussex County revealed the
same trend. A sixth district declined
to reveal whether any Negroes had
applied.
Seaford, which currently has one
Negro pupil in its white school, en
rolled 28 Negroes, including 26 in the
high school and two at the elementary
level.
Six Negroes applied at Lewes, but
Supt. F. Robert Mercer emphasized
that “this isn’t a firm figure; it may
change.”
Other Reports
Twenty Negroes applied at Bridge-
ville, 12 to enter the high school, and
eight to enter elementary grades.
Twenty-five Negroes applied at El
lendale, all at the elementary level,
because Ellendale does not have a high
school.
No Negroes applied during the spe
cial registration at Georgetown, ac
cording to Supt. George H. Keen.
Leon B. Elder, Laurel superinten
dent, would not divulge any statistics
on the registration.
“The official report isn’t ready and
hasn’t been submitted to Dr. George
R. Miller, state superintendent. Fm
sure you can get it from him when it
is,” he told reporters.
Delaware Highlights
U. S. District Judge Caleb M.
Wright reserved judgment on the
State Board of Education’s modified
desegregation plan.
Two hundred and sixty-four Ne
groes and Moors have applied to en
ter white schools in Kent and Sussex
Counties, which now have 94 colored
pupils attending school with whites.
The first Negro elected to a white
school board in Delaware lost a bid
to retain her post on the Dover
Special School District board of
education.
Dr. William B. Simpson, a fre
quent critic of the desegregation
policies of the State Board of Edu
cation, has resigned as Caesar Rod
ney superintendent to accept a posi
tion on the Wesley College faculty
in Dover.
MRS. HENRY
First Negro Member
Of School Board
Loses Re-Election
Tl/T RS. Cecie P. Henry, the first
Negro elected to serve on a
white school board in Delaware,
lost a bid for another four-year
term on the Dover Special School
District board of education.
Mrs. Henry, who was the victor by
seven votes in a four-way race four
years ago, finished
second on May 13
in a three-way
contest.
Despite the fact
that she polled
192 more votes
than in 1957, Mrs.
Henry lost by a
margin of 119
votes to Alvin
Leisey.
Leisey defeated
Mrs. Henry by 698
to 569 with Leon Tarburton running
third with 186. The total vote of 1,458
set a new high for Dover district elec
tions.
Few Racial Aspects
There were few racial overtones
during the election campaign.
But both white candidates pledged
themselves to seek expansion of the
four-member school board. Leisey, a
former president of the elementary
PTA, said he will urge that the board
be increased to an odd number to
avoid tie votes.
Tarburton, a former school board
member, campaigned for geographical
representation. Each of Dover’s five
schools, he said, should have a spe
cific board member as its representa
tive.
This meant, he admitted, that the
Negro Booker T. Washington School
would have a representative, most
likely a Negro.
Both white candidates conducted an
extensive advertising campaign on ra
dio and in the Dover newspaper, but
Mrs. Henry did not.
Mrs. Henry’s voting strength, as ex
pected, showed up at the Negro school.
Voters were allowed to cast their
ballots at any of four school buildings
in Dover, but the majority of Negroes,
because of proximity, voted at Booker
T. Washington.
At the Negro school, Mrs. Henry
polled 432 votes to 51 for Leisey and
10 for Tarburton.
But, at the three white schools, Lei
sey received a total of 647 votes to 137
for Mrs. Henry, with Tarburton polling
176.
In The Colleges
Dr. Simpson, Critic
Of Board Policies,
Joins College Staff
T\ R. William B. Simpson, a
” frequent critic of the State
Board of Education and its de
segregation policies, who resigned
as superintendent at Caesar Rod
ney, has been appointed to the
faculty of Wesley College, Dover.
Dr. Simpson, who has exchanged
bitter words in public and in print
with Vincent A. Theisen, State Board
president, was at Caesar Rodney for
31 years.
Dr. Simpson will be replaced by F.
Niel Postlethwait, of Dayton, Va., who
will begin his duties on July 1.
# # #
KENTUCKY
Louisville School Board
Elects Negro Chairman
LOUISVILLE, Ky.
1%/f EMBERS OF THE Louisville
-'A Board of Education elected
a Negro, Woodford R. Porter, to
be chairman of the board.
Porter, a funeral-home operator, in
1958 became the first of his race to
win election to the five-member board.
Louisville’s public schools had de
segregated in 1956.
Since Porter’s election to the board,
the possibility that he eventually would
serve as chairman was anticipated be
cause of the board’s
custom of rotating
the chairmanship
and vice - chair -
manship. He
reached the top
post sooner than
expected, however,
and in a manner
that illustrated the
complexities of
changing racial
relationships.
Porterwasnom- , ' UK,tK
inated for chairman by fellow-board-
member L. Eugene Johnson, who in re
cent months has been a leader among
businessmen resisting desegregation of
downtown eating places.
Johnson is president of the Blue Boar
Cafeterias, scenes of numerous anti
segregation demonstrations since Feb
ruary. Scores of student demonstrators,
many of them from the Louisville pub
lic schools, were arrested at Johnson’s
cafeterias.
Avowed Integrationist
Yet Johnson not only nominated Por
ter for chairman of the school board,
he also nominated an avowed integra
tionist to fill a vacancy on the board.
It happened like this:
In January, Porter was elected vice-
chairman of the board and Scott Det
rick, a grocer, was elected chairman,
both to serve regular terms through
1961.
In April, however, Detrick filed for
the Democratic nomination for sheriff
of Jefferson County, and it was ruled
that in so doing he automatically va
cated his seat on the board and the
chairmanship.
Porter was nominated by Johnson to
succeed Detrick as chairman and was
elected. Johnson was elected vice-
chairman succeeding Porter.
In May, Johnson nominated Rabbi
Herbert S. Waller, a native of Mem
phis, to fill the vacant seat. Dr. Waller,
who last year joined with four other
rabbis in a statement pledging to work
for desegregation of business establish
ments, was elected.
Porter is the first Negro to serve
on the school board and the first to be
chairman. His 1958 election to the
board was a surprise. Negroes had tried
before and failed. Three seats were up
and a three-member “businessman’s
slate” was supposed to breeze in, as
usual.
‘Single Shot’
Porter, however, piled up more votes
than the low man on the slate. He was
credited with considerable support from
white voters, but the “single-shot”
voting tactic adopted by many Negroes
played a part in his victory.
Porter and his wife have five chil
dren, all students in Louisville public
schools. Porter is a partner in and
general manager of the A. D. Porter
& Sons Funeral Home.
He is a native of Louisville where
he attended public schools. He later
studied at Indiana University and the
Kentucky School of Embalming. He is
a Navy veteran, a Mason, and a trustee
of Broadway Temple A.M.E. Church.
Vote
Results
Compared
fl
eJ ©
be
U
£
® .s
—
£
B
U
Easi
S
O
x S
'c
H
DOVER SCHOOL ELECTION—
-1961
Leisey
330
61
256
51
698
Henry
76
20
41
432
569
Tarburton 93
36
47
10
186
DOVER SCHOOL ELECTION—
-1957
Henry
14
0
5
358
377
Fromm
264
26
73
7
370
Brown
261
24
77
4
366
Anderson 126
L—
18
36
5
185
Kentucky Highlights
The Louisville Board of Educ
tion elected its first Negro
to serve as chairman.
Desegregation in teaching
will be under study in a new suq s
authorized by a state commission,
A theological seminary drew qj
icism from the Deep South for ^
lowing a Negro desegregation leade
to speak on campus.
In the Colleges
Layman Criticises
Baptist Seminary
rpHE president of the Southe
A Baptist Theological Sere
ary in Louisville was critic®
by an Alabama Baptist lay®
leader after integration
Dr. Martin Luther King J:
spoke at the seminary.
Dean Fleming of Montgomery, sec
tary of a group called Baptist Lay--
of Alabama, said that Dr. Duke McCt
seminary president, should be oustec
any more Negroes are allowed to
at the school.
Later, Fleming asked for a list of i
seminary students who signed a pel
tion urging the desegregation of eat:
places. He suggested in a telegram
Dr. McCall that churches in the Sor
might not want to hire the petitions'
as pastors or church workers.
250 Students Sign
It was reported that the petite
signed by about 250 students, was &
tributed before Dr. King’s appearare
Dr. McCall said Fleming had a
to express his opinions. He said
the faculty had wanted to hear Dr. Kit
firsthand and a had a right to do so
The Alabama group was reported t
have no official connection with ft
Southern Baptist Convention.
Under Stirvey
Rights Group Plans
Survey Of Problem;
T I* he State Commission on He
A man Rights authorized a
500 survey to throw light on P
segregation problems involvte
school teachers, lunch counts 5
employment and other areas.
Galen Martin, executive director
the commission, was authorized to co-
tract for the survey.
As a result of the action, a sum
being carried out by the National
ciation for the Advancement of
People will be merged into the COTrJ jr.
sion’s survey, according to J-
Dearing. president of the Kentw
NAAC p . ^
The NAACP survey, announced
fall, was to include public school^
segregation. Dearing said, however,
the school situation is progressing^
factorily at the present time. A
court last month ordered one di^
desegregated, and other districts - ^
announced desegregation P 1
(Southern School News, May) J
The human rights commissioO
it’s *
announced plans for a governoi
held;
ference on human rights, to be j[
the State Capitol in Frankfort v.
Several interested organizations
represented.
Schoolmen
County To Close
All-Negro School
® , r &'
The Jefferson County Board o ^
cation voted to close one of e i
remaining all-Negro schools,
pupils now attending the Dorsey ■:
will be transfered next Sept eI H
schools where they will atten
white pupils. <,
The two-room Dorsey Sehoo ^
of the systems oldest frame b u gr-
The remaining all-Negro sch°° ^
the four- room, brick ^ c ^ elS °c c j\^
School and the large Newburg £,■
Four years ago, there were ^
Negro schools in the system. *