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SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS—OCTOBER, 1961—PAGE 5
DELAWARE
Desegregated High School
Regains Its Football Foes
DOVER
D over High School is gradually
regaining the traditional foot
ball foes it lost when it desegre
gated its schools in 1954.
Most recent to renew athletic rela
tions with the capital city is Caesar
Rodney, a backyard rival, which broke
0 ff in 1955. The two teams will meet
at Caesar Rodney on Nov. 10.
Another to return to the Dover
schedule is Seaford, which will visit
Dover on Oct. 27.
Athletic officials at each school hailed
the Dover-CR renewal, suspended
when the Dover Board of Education
insisted that all of its students, includ
ing Negroes, were eligible to partici
pate in any program offered by the
district.
Caesar Rodney offered to continue
athletic relations with Dover after it
desegregated, but made the following
stipulations:
• Caesar Rodney would play against
Negro athletes when the contest was
held at Dover.
• Dover would not be allowed to
use Negro athletes when the teams
met at Camden, the home of Caesar
Rodney.
Dover refused the proposal, and re
lations were suspended.
‘ We are looking forward to the re
newal with great anticipation,” said
John C. Branner, athletic director at
Caesar Rodney.
I doubt that a complete overall
schedule with Dover can be arranged
this year inasmuch as each school al
ready has some commitments. The way
is cleared if we each should have open
rates, however.”
Sentiments Echoed
Reaction at Dover echoed the Caesar
Rodney sentiments.
Supt. David M. Green noted that
were very glad to resume relation-
snips with Caesar Rodney.”
‘Tm very happy to think that Dover
and Caesar Rodney are again getting
together,” said Elmo C. Hackett, Dover
director of athletics.
“And you can say we’re getting to-
ether m every sport, right on down
t«e line,” he added.
Seaford, however, is the only Sussex
ounty school on the Dover football
schedule, which still includes three
Jaryland teams. They are Elkton,
icomico (Salisbury) and Havre de
race. Dover also will meet William
try, an all-Negro school.
Among those missing is Milford, the
ditiona! Thanksgiving Day rival,
ch was subsequently replaced with
^ rna > a Kent County school.
Problems Arose
over experienced severe scheduling
^ulhes in Delaware when it de-
% egatec f Each school south of the
T ev fi e , ntuall y severed relations.
f 0r °, * ths schedule, Dover was
wo n° T Play SUch schoo . ls as Swedes-
ri, ’. .“■> an d a vocational training
shed* 1 m Bndtimore. It padded its
«ortt, Ule with desegregated schools in
3 ern Delaware.
C resu mption of relations between
by r an d Caesar Rodney was hailed
eP'esentatives of the Diamond
on ference, a league composed of
'-uesar '"embers. They are Milford,
M ., Rodney, Smyrna, Dover, Lau-
^eorgetown, Lewes and Seaford.
Baseball Prospect
t Cf , 6 acc lamation came as the confer-
bll Aruiounced it may play its first
^Ihsal 6 “ u * e “ baseball next spring.
^ j n °r certain schools to play oth-
W the Diamond State, because of
-<li 6( j e ® a ^ on policies, has previously
‘If v Pr ° gress in the new league.
^(J^®, can get things started with
* th ’ a spokesman, “it could
: 5ort s 6 * Urnin 8 point for all other
hy a c decision to have each school
^1 .Same conference schedule is
,^ive eCt to a PP rov al by the re-
%i 0n school boards, with a final
Af| 0v -due at a conference meeting
[. ★ ★ ★
C Vear 'Old Whi *e Boy
A j^ 8 ^ e g r o High School
Sff .'/ ear -old white student has en-
’O® ninth grade at William W.
%Ui~ y Comprehensive High School,
ifi e Ihe first of his race to enroll
~^ e S ro school.
Hardcastle, supervising
^ i ’ declined to reveal the boy’s
,n' called the action a “healthy
d said he hoped more white
'vould enroll.
^ e just take them as they come.
We didn’t ask any questions,” Hard
castle said.
There was no tension whatsoever,”
he added.
The William Henry enrollment is ex
pected to reach about 600.
Hardcastle said that, to his knowl
edge, the boy is the first white student
to enter a Negro school in either Kent
or Sussex counties.
Four More Districts
Are Desegregated
Four more Delaware school districts
were desegregated in September as 59
Negro pupils enrolled at white schools,
bringing the total to 28 desegregated
districts of 92. Included with the num
ber of Negro pupils, were Greenwood
(30), Milton (2), Stanton (1), and
Ellendale (26).
In addition two other districts admit
ted pupils of other races. Kenton ac
cepted four Moors and Millsboro, six
Nanticoke Indians.
According to the State Department of
Public Instruction, a total of 441 colored
pupils applied at 19 white schools dur
ing the special registration held from
Aug. 25-31.
The registration was scheduled after
the District Court approved a plan
whereby Negro pupils at all grade
levels were allowed to transfer to white
schools.
Final enrollment figures were not to
be available until after Sept. 30, when
all districts submit their totals to the
state.
All the schools were desegregated
without incident.
“I would have been surprised if there
had been any trouble,” said Dr. George
R. Miller, state superintendent of pub
lic instruction.
‘I think the real trouble is behind
us,” he added.
Gov. Elbert N. Carvel, at a press con
ference the day before schools opened,
expressed similar sentiments.
He said he had received no advance
indication that there would be any
trouble and added:
“I don’t expect any.”
Among the factors aiding Delaware in
peaceful desegregation, he said, was the
experience at Little Rock.
He also mentioned that Milford, scene
of a desegregation dispute in 1954, de
segregated its schools two years ago
without incident.
Schoolmen
Delaware Highlights
Football foes that dropped Dover
when it desegregated its schools are
returning to the schedule.
One white pupil has entered a
Negro high school.
A Kent County school for Moors
lost almost two-thirds of its student
body to white schools.
Enrollments increased at both
Delaware State College and at the
University of Delaware.
Four additional Delaware districts
were desegregated, bringing the
total to 28 of 92.
Moors and Indians
Enter Previously
All-White Schools
Four Moors and six Nanticoke In
dians have enrolled in previously
white schools in Delaware. And each
of their home districts—particularly
that of the Moors—feels the pinch in
student population.
Delaware’s only school for Moors, at
Cheswold, lost almost two-thirds of its
student body to neighboring white
schools, mostly to Dover, which had
accepted them at the high school level
since 1954.
But this year four of the Moors en
tered Kenton, marking the first time
that school had accepted colored
pupils.
Last year, the enrollment at Ches
wold numbered 101 students, composed
of 91 Moors and 10 Negro migrants.
This year, only 35 students, all of
them Moors, reported. All of the eighth
grade students transferred to white
schools.
“I’ve never had so few students,”
said Mrs. Mary E. Dunning, school
principal.
She said that “we will try to keep
the school open as long as Cheswold
stands. The people have a good deal
of pride in it. But I think eventually
all the smaller schools will close. We
just have to face that. We can’t last
forever.”
Two Alternatives
Harry N. Morgan, chairman of the
board of trustees, sees these alterna
tives:
“Either it will close down or they
will add to it and make it a consoli
dated school. I have heard people
mention both possibilities.”
There are those who favor the
school’s continuance:
“I would hate to see the Cheswold
school close down,” said Mrs. Charles
Reed, whose husband is a member of
the board of trustees.
“I like having a Moor school, it’s like
having our separate church,” she said.
Her own son, however, transferred
this year to the seventh grade in Dover.
She said she transferred her son
now so that he would not be at a dis
advantage when he enters Dover High
School. Cheswold has grades 1-8.
Prior to Dover’s desegregation policy,
most Moors entered the William W. M.
Henry Comprehensive High School (for
Kent County Negroes) in Dover.
Closing Not Imminent
But there doesn’t seem to be any
immediate likelihood that the Moor
school will close.
Dr. George R. Miller, state superin
tendent of public instruction, told the
State Board of Education that he wants
to be certain the trend is permanent
before he takes any action.
Under the present law, the State
Board has the option of closing any
school if its enrollment falls below an
average of 15 for three consecutive
years.
★ ★ ★
The transfer of six Nanticoke In
dians to the Millsboro white school left
the Nanticoke Indian School with ex
actly 15 students on opening day.
They began classes in the seventh,
eighth and ninth grades at the pre
viously white school without incident.
They included three boys and three
girls.
Delaware, since 1937, has assumed
the entire expense of running the In
dian school. The state constitution calls
for separate schools for Indians,
Whites, Negroes and Moors.
In the Colleges
Record Enrollment
At Negro Colleges
Enrollment at Delaware State Col
lege, supported 100 per cent by the
state to educate Negro students,
reached a record high enrollment of
480, according to Dr. Luna I. Mishoe,
president.
The enrollment compares to 356 last
year, making the increase approximate
ly 34 per cent.
Two hundred and sixty-five of the
students are from Delaware, 201 are
from out-of-state, and 14 are serv
icemen from Dover Air Force Base.
The enrollment at the University of
Delaware, meanwhile, climbed to more
than 3,100. The university does not
maintain statistics by race.
More Growth Expected
Dr. Mishoe, in announcing the Dela
ware State enrollment, foresees further
growth. By 1970, he said, he expects
that the enrollment will nearly double,
reaching 800 or more.
New construction, including a new
dormitory at a cost of $545,000, is ex
pected to alleviate a housing shortage.
Earlier, John M. McDowell, Dela
ware’s Secretary of State under Gov. J.
Caleb Boggs, was re-elected to a fifth
term as president of the board of
trustees.
Thelma T. Young was renamed vice-
president and Harold H. Keller secre
tary. Other board members include
Harold C. Schmittinger, Dr. Oliver C.
Short, Dr. Asher B. Carey, Jr., Mrs. Ed
mund N. Carpenter H, Bernard Young,
Howard C. Stevenson, Edward W.
Hagemeyer, and the Rev. James H. Wil
liams.
Legal Action
Attendance Areas
Pose Legal Question
Are attendance areas drawn up prior
to the most recent District Court de
cision still valid?
The State Board of Education believes
an opinion of that nature is outside its
province, and will refer it to the at
torney general.
The inquiry was received from the
Rose Hill-Minquadale district in New
Castle County. # # #
ALABAMA
Committee Says ‘Struggle’
Necessary to Desegregate
MONTGOMERY
A labama public schools opened
for the fall semester with no
reported desegregation attempts.
All public schools in the state re
main segregated. Only one desegrega
tion suit is pending, that in Birming
ham, where a Negro leader said no
move is planned until the case is
settled. The suit was filed last year.
Meanwhile, the State Advisory Com
mittee on Civil Rights said in its of
ficial report that there is no immedi
ate prospect of voluntary school de
segregation in Alabama.
Alabama has seen a “comparatively
grave worsening of (racial) affairs in
the past decade,” the report said. Al
though much of the report was ad
dressed to allegations of police brutal
ity—notably in Montgomery and Bir
mingham—to prejudiced judges, juries
and state officials, these conditions
“were indicative of the struggle that
lies ahead if the goal of an unsegre
gated public school system is to be
achieved in Alabama.”
The report said Montgomery led
in alleged cases of police brutality
against minority groups, though Bir
mingham and other cities were also
cited.
Questionnaire Circulated
The Rev. Albert S. Foley, chairman
of the committee, said the conclusions
in the report were drawn from replies
to 120 copies of a questionnaire mailed
to “leading citizens” in the state. “We
received 46 replies,” Father Foley said.
“Of these, 25 were from Negroes and
21 from white persons. I believe 12
or 15 of the replies came from Mont
gomery . . . About 45 per cent of those
answering for Montgomery were
white,” he said.
Father Foley is a Jesuit priest and
professor of sociology at Spring Hill
College, Mobile.
Other members of the committee are
Dr. E. B. Goode, a Negro physician
in Mobile; Dr. Walter Agnew, a white
Methodist minister and former presi
dent of Montgomery’s Huntingdon Col
lege; Louis A. Eckl, editor of the
Florence Times; Mrs. Vera Foster of
Tuskegee, Negro wife of Tuskegee
Institute President Luther Foster; Dr.
Arthur Gray, Negro, president of Tal
ladega College; Mrs. Frances P. Mc
Leod, white, Montgomery, wife of a
retired Methodist minister; and the
Rev. Charles M. Prestwood, Eutaw, a
white Methodist minister.
Legislative Action
Several New Laws
Involve Race Issues
The Alabama legislature, which ad
journed in September after a regular
biennial session and a special session,
passed several bills relating to race.
One empowers school boards to close
desegregation-threatened schools “in
the public interest.”
Another, a local bill similar to those
already enacted at the request of sev
eral other counties in the state, abol
ished teacher tenure in Dallas County.
Another new law makes it a misde
meanor for anyone to pre-announce
Alabama Highlights
With all Alabama public schools
still segregated for another year,
the State Advisory Committee to
the Civil Rights Commission said “a
struggle” would be necessary to at
tain unsegregated education in the
state.
State legislators directed several
bills against desegregation move
ments and leaders.
Former Gov. James E. (Big Jim)
Folsom, a prospective candidate for
office next year, promised that he
“can keep segregation.” His op
ponents previously have criticized
him for a “moderate” attitude on
racial issues.
FOLSOM
STATEMENT REQUIRED BY THE ACT OF
AUGUST 24. 1912, AS AMENDED BY THE
ACTS OF MARCH 3, 1933, AND JULY 2,
1946 (TITLE 39, UNITED STATES CODE
SECTION 233) SHOWING THE OWNER
SHIP, MANAGEMENT, AND CIRCULA
TION OF SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS,
published monthly at Nashville, Term., for
October, 1961.
1. The names and addresses of the pub
lisher, editor, managing editor, and business
managers are: Publisher, Southern Educa
tion Reporting Service, 1109 19th Ave. S,
Nashville, Tenn.; Editor, Reed Sarratt, 1109
19th Ave. S., Nashville, Tenn.; Managing
Editor, Tom Flake, 1109 19th Ave. S„
Nashville, Tenn.; and Business Manager,
None. 2. The owner is: Southern Education
Reporting Service, 1109 19th Ave. S„ Nash
ville, Tenn. 3. The known bondholders,
mortgagees, and other security holders own
ing or holding one per cent or more of
total amount of bonds, mortgages, or other
securities are: None. 4. Paragraphs 2 and 3
include, in cases where the stockholder or
security holder appears upon the books of
the company as trustee or in any other
fiduciary relation, the name of the person
or corporation for whom such trustee is
acting; also the statements in the two para-
graps show the affiant's full knowledge and
belief as to the circumstances and condi
tions under which stockholders and security
holders do not appear upon the books of
the company as trustees, hold stock and
securities in a capacity other than that of a
bona fide owner. 5. The average number of
copies of each issue of this publication sold
or distributed, through the mails or other
wise, to paid subscribers during the 12
months preceding the date shown above
was: 4,676.
Reed Sarratt. Editor
Sworn to and subscribed before me this
26th day of September, 1961. (Seal)
Mary McNulty, Notary Public
(My commission expires Feb. 5, 1962)
and then carry out a challenge to Ala
bama’s segregation barriers—this aimed
at “freedom rides.”
Finally, a new law was passed to
make it easier to sue out-of-state
newspapers in Alabama—this in re
sponse to a U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals ruling that The New York
Times could not be sued for libel in
Alabama because the action on which
the suit was based was not completed
in Alabama.
Political Activity
Race for Governor
Unofficially Opens
The race for the 1962 gubernatorial
nomination got underway, unofficially,
Labor Day and it was obvious that
once again the racial controversy would
play a big role.
This was apparent when former
governor (two terms) James E. (Big
Jim) Folsom told
a Labor Day
crowd in Talla
dega:
“These freedom
riders: I’d ’a put
them in jail like
they did in Mis
sissippi. I would
have put them
sorry whites folks
(among the rid
ers) in a cell with
the blackest Ne
groes in Atmore Prison. I think those
Negroes would have beaten them up.
They don’t like them either.”
He added: “Old Big Jim can keep
segregation.”
Observers concluded that Folsom
was “running scared” this time because
of the attacks on his previously mod
erate position on race relations. During
his last administration, he entertained
U.S. Rep. Adam Clayton Powell at
the governor’s mansion and never made
a school segregation statement strong
er than the one which had everybody
laughing: “I’m not gonna make the
little colored children go to school
with the white kids.”
Folsom’s racial record has been at
tacked in a series of anonymously dis
tributed cartoons, some mentioning the
NAACPBJ”—The National Associa
tion for the Advancement of Colored
Parties thrown by Big Jim.”
The Talladega statement was gener-
ally regarded as the first defensive
utterance by Folsom on the issue and
thus and indication of his concern and
his awareness of the temper of the
state.
Other aspirants for the governor’s
office also were taking every oppor
tunity to depict themselves as un
yielding segregationists.
What They Say
South Gains Support
In North: Barnett
Mississippi’s Gov. Ross Barnett told
a Citizens Council rally in Montgom
ery Sept. 12 that the South is gaining
support in the North in its fight to
preserve segregation.
The changing attitude among non-
Southemers is, he said, attributable to
the “ruthless actions of the National
Association for the Advancement of
Colored People, the ruthless actions of
Earl Warren and his crowd, and to the
‘freedom riders’.”
Barnett said Northerners are awak-
ening to the fact that what Negroes
want is to be treated “as superiors
with special rights and privileges.”
# # #