Newspaper Page Text
SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS—MAY, 1962—PAGE 9
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Tennessee Desegregation
District
Anderson Co. ...
Davidson Co
Elizabethton** ...
Humphreys Co. .
Jackson
Johnson City ....
Kingsport
Knox Co
Knoxville
Lebanon
Memphis
Nashville
Oak Ridge*** ...
Rutherford Co. ..
Washington Co.**
Watertown
Wilson Co
White
7,788
46,912
1,625
2,700
4,300
5.633
5,988
32,574
16,424
1,973
56,795
16,960
6.633
7,303
8,338
250
2,900
TOTALS 225,096
lent*
Negro
Negroes
w/Whites
Biracial
Schools
Grades
Date
Deseg.t
64
20
1
9-12
1956-C
2,353
110
15
1-5
1961-C
141
0
0
0
1961-V
180
8
3
1-2
1962-C
2,90C
3
1
8
1962-V
649
12
2
1
1961-V
466
7
2
1
1961-V
312
1
1
1-2
1960-V
4,924
51
9
1-2
1960-C
328
3
1
3-4
1961-C
46,467
13
4
1
1961-V
13,317
810
9
1-5
1957-C
272
100
2
1-12
1955-V
1,211
15
2
1-12
1959-C
90
0
0
0
1961-V
0
0
0
0
1962-C
850
14
2
10-12
1962-C
74,524
1,167
54
‘Estimate based on first month’s attendance of 1961-62.
i Under gr f, de 'fT year desegregation policy, but has no Ne
groes attending classes with whites.
***Oak Ridge number of Negroes in school with whites estimated because no
records are kept by race.
fV—Voluntary; C—Court Ordered
Tennessee
(Continued From Page 8)
session,” Robinson said. “In practically
every election, you and I are the bal
ance of power. Vote for those who will
help you. Buy where you can work.”
Tennessee’s four major candidates for
governor, all white, attended the meet
ing but did not speak. Williams said
they would be invited to speak later.
They are former Gov. Frank G. Clem
ent, William Farris, P. R. Olgiati and
Carl Fry.
Schoolmen
Bell said Negroes also were asking
admission to an electronics course of
fered at the white South Side High
School. He said the course is financed
jointly by federal and state funds, but
that Negroes are not admitted to it at
present.
★ ★ ★
In The Colleges
All Divisions
At Vanderbilt
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Shelby County Board
Considers Proposal
To Act Voluntarily
The Shelby County Board of Educa
tion deferred action on a proposal to
desegregate the county schools volun
tarily after debating the matter for two
hours behind closed doors April 11.
W. Percy McDonald Sr., board chair
man, said it was his personal opinion
that the county should desegregate vol
untarily rather than wait to be sued.
The county surrounds the city of
I Memphis which already has begun a
gradual desegregation of schools using
the Tennessee Pupil Assignment Law.
! However, a decision last month by the
, Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals threw
this procedure into question (SSN,
April, and another story in this issue).
McDonald called a special session of
j the county board to consider desegre-
I gation after receiving a letter from the
1 Memphis branch of the National As
sociation for the Advancement of Col
ored People urging immediate desegre
gation of all county schools.
Before the session, the board also
beard pleas from about 20 white per
sons not to desegregate the schools
without a court fight. Most of the peti
tioners were members of the Memphis
Citizens Council.
Brooks Norfleet, an attorney for the
council, told the board “it would be
Wrong to decide this issue until the
Memphis city school case is decided in
the courts.”
Norfleet said the council will petition
U.S. Supreme Court to enter the
Memphis case as amicus curiae
( friends of the court”). He said the
council desires to file a brief opposing
Integration on sociological grounds “of
tiie unspeakable detriment that would
arise toward the white school children
“ racial school integration is com
pelled.”
★ ★ ★
^ oluntary Desegregation
‘^sked in Madison County
Desegregated
The Vanderbilt University Board of
Trust voted May 4 to desegregate all
divisions of the university.
The resolution, adopted during an
executive session of the board, read as
follows:
“RESOLVED:
“1. That the policy adopted by this
Board in 1953, which has resulted in the
admission of qualified Negro students to
the School of Law, the School of Reli
gion and the Graduate School, be ex
tended to permit the admission of quali
fied students to all Schools and Colleges
of the University without regard to race
or creed. Admission to the university’s
courses of study shall be based upon
evidence of scholastic achievement, in
tellectual capacity, moral character, and
promise of leadership.
“2. That the Chancellor, in consulta
tion with the Vice Chancellors and
Deans of the University, be instructed
to use administrative care and discre
tion in implementing this policy, with
the view of insuring a continuing
atmosphere conducive to learning,
study, and good conduct compatible
with the high traditions of Vanderbilt
University.”
Under the previous policy, Vander
bilt’s undergraduate divisions had been
closed to Negroes, but qualified Negroes
had been admitted to the graduate di
visions to attend courses “not other
wise available” to them in the Nashvile
area. At the present time, there are 13
Negro students at the University, nine
in the Divinity School, three in the
Graduate School and one in the Law
School.
Under the new policy qualified Ne
groes will be eligible for admission to
the schools of arts and science, engi
neering, nursing and medicine.
The desegregation action had been
urged by the university’s graduate stu
dents, many faculty members, and the
student newspaper, The Hustler. Both
candidates for president of the student
government association had also en
dorsed the idea.
However, undergraduate students in
March of this year, voted down a re
solution favoring desegregation.
★ ★ ★
j
I
i
The Madison County board of educa-
|on tentatively scheduled a hearing for
■J** latter part of May on a Negro
Request for voluntary desegregation of
^e county schools.
City schools in Jackson, the Madison
°unty seat, were desegregated volun-
if r tiy last January under provision of
, ® Tennessee Pupil Assignment Law
(S SN, February).
an!? r N. Bell, a Negro dentist
d president of the Jackson-Madison
unty Chapter of the National Asso-
p la ti°n for the Advancement of Colored
f e °Ple, wrote the county school board
^questing a meeting to discuss deseg-
e gation arrangements.
WfV ^°°k s is chairman of the board
Ic h administers 14 white schools and
. 6 Negro schools. Present enrollment
V white schools is 4,178, and in the
' e §ro schools 3,264.
Clergymen Abandon Move
On Sewanee Restaurant
A biracial group of Episcopal clergy
men gave up a sit-in demonstration at
Claramont Restaurant at the Univer
sity of the South, April 13, after three
days of fruitless attempts to get service.
Mrs. Clara Shoemate, who operates
the restaurant in a building owned by
the Episcopal university, said her pol
icy is to serve all persons connected
with the university, regardless of race,
but no Negroes who are not connected
with the university. (The university,
desegregated in policy, has no Negro
students or faculty members at pres
ent.)
The Rev. John B. Morris of Atlanta,
executive secretary of the Episcopal So
ciety for Cultural and Racial Unity,
MISSISSIPPI
Legislators Get Several Plans
To Stop Court Racial Mandates
JACKSON
ills designed to erect addi
tional protective legal bul
warks against Federal court racial
desegregation mandates are be
fore the current biennial session
of the Mississippi legislature.
Several laws have been enacted,
although most of the proposals
still were pending as the no-limit
session reached the end of the
18th week on May 4.
A major enactment was a law mod
ernizing the state’s corporation statutes.
Inserted in it was a provision designed
to force the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People to
qualify in the state or else face injunc
tive processes. The NAACP is backing
desegregation suits filed by Negro citi
zens, and in some cases is furnishing
legal counsel.
The provision dealing with the
NAACP was inserted by the House on
recommendation of Attorney General
Joe Patterson and later concurred in
by the Senate, which had earlier passed
the measure without that section in it.
The provision reads:
“Any corporation or any person or
group of persons found carrying on any
of such corporation’s businesses or
functions by soliciting funds, holding
meetings, maintaining offices, circulat
ing literature or performing any other
business or function in the name of
such corporation that has not qualified
to do business in this state in the man
ner provided by law may be enjoined
by suit in the chancery court of the
First Judicial District of Hinds County
(Jackson) by the Attorney General in
the name of the state of Mississippi.”
Although not qualified in the state,
the NAACP holds regular and special
meetings and maintains a field office in
Jackson staffed by Medgar Evers.
Coleman Vetoed
A somewhat similar provision was
provided in a 1958 proposal aimed at
the NAACP, but former Gov. J. P.
Coleman vetoed the measure on
grounds it was too far-reaching. He
said the books of any corporation could
be obtained under the proposal, leaving
the way open to its possible use for
political purposes.
The new law, Senate Bill 1712, has
been signed by Gov. Ross Barnett.
Still pending is a proposal for crea
tion of a “Constitutional Rights Divi
sion” in the Attorney General’s Depart
ment to handle federal court cases at
tacking Mississippi’s segregation stat
utes in all areas. It would be staffed
with eight attorneys in addition to the
three assistant attorneys general now
handling civil rights cases for state and
local officials.
Three bills, apparently stemming
from a suit filed by James Meredith,
Negro of Attala County (Kosciusko) to
gain transfer from Jackson State Col
lege for Negroes to the University of
Mississippi, are before legislative com
mittees. Meredith’s appeal from dis
missal of his suit by Federal District
Judge S. C. Mize of Mississippi, is be
fore the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Ap
peals in New Orleans. Judge Mize ruled
that the University of Mississippi is
not “segregated” and that Meredith was
not turned down because of “race,
creed or color,” but because he failed
to meet entrance qualifications.
Also at issue in the Meredith case
announced that the sit-in had been dis
continued, but added:
“We came to Sewanee out of hope
that the responsibility for serving all
persons without regard to race would
be understood and met. Together with
churchmen here and elsewhere who
share this hope, we earnestly pray for
the renewal of the church and the re
covery of its integrity.”
Matter of Method
Dr. Edward McCrady, vice chancellor
of the university, told a student convo
cation that “the objectives of the group
(of protesting clergy) and the purpose
our governing board and faculty have
been working for all along do not rea’ly
differ. It seems to me that only the
methods differ.”
“The main point that I want to make,”
he continued, “is that we cannot let
just anybody set himself up as the
voice of the church. If we do submit to
dictation by any group that comes up
and makes demands, then it seems that
we would be equally subject to a group
from the other side to come up and
demand complete segregation.’ #' # #
Mississippi Highlights
Several hills dealing with the
school desegregation question have
been proposed in the current bien
nial session of the Mississippi legis
lature. They deal with the colleges
as well as common schools.
One new bill gives the state access
to the courts in either forcing the
National Association for the Ad
vancement of Colored People to
qualify in the state or else be en
joined from further activities. It has
been enacted by both houses and
signed by Gov. Ross Barnett.
Creation of a “Constitutional
Rights Division” in the attorney
general’s department is sought in
one of the bills. It would handle all
federal litigation designed to nulli
fy the state’s segregation laws in
all areas. Another proposal is aimed
at tightening laws on admission of
students to the state’s colleges, and
another would require all faculty
members to disclose their member
ships in all organizations as a con
dition to employment.
Inclusion of the book, “Race And
Reason, A Yankee View,” by Carle-
ton Putnam, in the state school cur
riculum has been urged by resolu
tion, as have seminars on the basic
principles of American government.
was his residence, since he had been
in service outside Mississippi; he had
attempted to register to vote in Hinds
County, while claiming his legal resi
dence to be Attala County.
One of the pending bills (House Bill
931) would prohibit the acceptance of
applications for admission or transfer
to any state institution of higher learn
ing without the written recommenda
tion of the county superintendent of
education or the state superintendent
of education. For residents of the state,
the recommendation would come from
the county superintendent of education
of the applicant’s legal residence or the
county where the applicant was gradu
ated from high school. Nonresidents’
transfers would have to be validated by
the state superintendent of education.
House Bill 530 to “more clearly define
the legal residence of persons for the
purpose of enrolling in the junior and
senior colleges” would carry a fine of
$100 for a false representation as to
legal residence.
A resident-applicant would have to
five in Mississippi “for a continuous
period of at least 12 months immedi
ately preceding his admission.” Any
person who had entered the state from
another state and enters an educational
institution within 12 months would be
considered a non-resident. The provi
sion relative to non-residency applies
“even though he may have been legally
adopted by a resident or may have
been a qualified voter or a landowner
(as Meredith is).” The bill states these
Board Elects
Seigenthaler
NASHVILLE, Tenn.
J ohn Seigenthaler, recently
named editor of the Nashville
Tennessean, last month was elect
ed to the board of directors of
Southern Education Reporting
Service.
He succeeds Ed
ward Ball, former
Tennessean editor,
who resigned dur
ing the board’s an
nual meeting in
March. Ball also is
former executive
director of SERS.
Seigen
thaler formerly
was administrative
assistant to U.S.
Attorney General
Robert F. Kennedy. Previously, he was
a reporter and assistant city editor of
the Tennessean, winner of a national
Headliner Award in 1954 and a Nieman
Fellow at Harvard University in 1958-
59. # # #
requirements would prevail “if he has
entered this state for the purpose of
enrolling in an educational institution.”
Another provision was that “nothing
in this act shall be construed to pro
vide that the board of trustees of state
institutions of higher learning or of any
junior college is required to consider
for admission the applicant of a non
resident as hereinbefore defined.”
Identical bills were pending in the
House (House Bill 403) and Senate
(Senate Bill 1728) relative to the pow
ers and duties of the board of trustees
of an institution of higher learning.
Under these proposals, the board would
be authorized to set standards of ad
mission “which need not be uniform
between the various institutions and
may be based upon such criteria as the
board may establish.”
Another pending proposal affecting
junior and senior colleges was House
Bill 522, which would require staffs of
these institutions to file affidavits as to
the names of organizations and associ
ations in which such persons have held
membership or office for the five pre
ceding years.” Submission of the affi
davit would be a “condition precedent
to their appointment, employment or
re-employment.”
Amends Segregation Law
The bill would amend a 1956 segre
gation enactment, which applies the
affidavits to common schools.
Under the bill, contracts made with
out adherence to its provisions would
be considered to be null and void, and
no funds would be paid under a con
tract signed without compliance. In
cases where funds were paid to those
not filing the affidavits, provision was
made for their recovery from the indi
vidual or the board in a suit filed in
circuit court.
Also pending was Senate Bill 1540,
which would provide that the certificate
of any school superintendent, school
principal or school teacher could be
suspended or revoked “for teaching a
child not legally assigned to the school.”
It would provide that “any certificate
may be suspended or revoked when
ever the holder shall knowingly enroll
or teach any child not legally assigned
to the school as authorized and pro
vided by law.” Mississippi has a pupil
assignment law enacted in a previous
administration.
A 1960 statute providing that when
a minor child seeks to enroll in any
public school one of his parents or
legal guardian must accompany him
would be repealed under House Bill 97.
Another bill, which removes the word
“Negro” from a statute for out-of-state-
financed graduate work, has been
passed and signed into law. It merely
re-enacts the previous statute with the
word “Negro” eliminated. It was House
Bill 124.
Legislators Urge Putnam
Book’s Use in Schools
The House and Senate, with adoption
of Senate Concurrent Resolution 158,
memorialized the State Board of Edu
cation to include in the state course of
study the book, “Race and Reason, A
Yankee View.” It was written by Carl
ton Putnam, a former airlines official.
The resolution said that “there is in
creasing evidence that the sciences of
biology and anthropology are being
distorted and perverted to serve the
purposes of certain pressure groups
whose aims are inimical to the customs,
mores and traditions of this nation.”
It stated that “an eminent American
scholar has written a book that exposes
the flagrant distortion and perversion
of scientific truth by so-called social
anthropologists and socialistically ori
ented sociologists” and the State Board
of Education “has the legal and moral
responsibility of prescribing the cur
ricular experiences offered in the
schools, which in the judgment of the
board, will best prepare students for
their duties and responsibilities as citi
zens of the United States.”
The resolution asserted that “it is the
consensus of this legislature that stu
dents in the high schools would profit
from the careful reading and study of
the book, RACE AND REASON, A
YANKEE VIEW, by Carleton Putnam,
published by Public Affairs Press, 419
New Jersey Avenue, Washington, D.C.”
The resolution states:
“We memorialize the State Depart
ment of Education to take such steps
as may be necessary to bring this book
to the attention of Mississippi school
administrators and teachers” and said
(See MISSISSIPPI, Page 12)
SEIGENTHALER