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SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS—AUtzUSI, ivw—rAt»t id
Mrs. Cole Gives Views
On Races and Schools
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(Continued From Page 14)
original assignments based solely on
race. It is always possible that a
countv board could establish admin
istrative reasons why it could not
do more at a particular moment. But
that would be a temporary situation.
Is county action a matter of urgency
in your opinion?
Unauestionably, schools are better
run bv citizens and educators than
by courts. It is imperative that
county boards take stock and run
their schools and not abdicate re
sponsibility to the courts. Always
there are administrative problems
and questions to he considered in
desegregation, which school authori
ties know better than anyone else.
: D : d the state board have any par
ticular countv situation in mind
when it decided to issue its policy
statement?
: The statement had the advantage of
not being directed at anv on°
countv. It set forth policy for all
counties. I don’t know of an othe-
formerlv segregated state that v<>1-
untarily has issued a desegregation
policy statement that has the breachh
and depth of importance of the
Marvland statement. Delaware also
has a strong position, but by court
order.
lntei ‘An Important Step
eporte
ar thfi : Did the board’s Jan. 30 statement
becaus represent a change of attitude on the
>n” at board’s part
colvedX : It was an important step. The board
scha took an affirmative position. Pre-
:nt ha viouslv we have had appeals to the
n Sep board from individuals who claimed
t Negi that they had been denied rights
titutioi under countv board policies. A num
ber of times, the cases were settled
before the state board could give a
. _ | decision. These were individual ap-
' peals from actions of local school
M'ddl sur,er ' n * ;en ^ en t s - Individual cases do
not give the state board an oooor-
" s . tunitv to look bevond an isolated
. y complaint to county policies. I oer-
lmo1 ’ socially hope that the new policy
5) will <rive the board the opportunity
to be effective in supporting its
policy. In the past, a number of
cases have been mooted before de
cision.
5: Has the board departed from past
policy by deciding to hear a gen
eralized complaint about desegrega
tion policies in Prince George’s
County, in contrast to past appeals
from individuals denied admission
lcles to a particular school?
he JaA" * Personally don’t think so. If there
f dead Is a precedent, it was set in the
recent successful appeal against a
temet school consolidation move in Carroll
liberal County. That appeal was not from
woii an individual aggrieved party but
sc ® from the Mayor, City Council and
a °blel resident s Taney town under Sec-
52 nil ** on of Article 77 [Maryland
y staff ^notated Code] which gives the
rken i state board broad powers to settle
comp! school disputes.
yearQ-: Is Section 21 something new?
The section isn’t new, but it only
assigf reC6ntly ^ as come back into use.
; sole desegregation appellants up to now
consif bave used Section 150, I believe be
lt be
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154 #
cause Judge Thomsen (Chief U.S.
District Judge Roszel C. Thomsen)
in 1956 told Negro plaintiffs in the
St. Mary’s County case that they
must first exhaust their administra
tive remedies and that they had a
right of appeal to the state board
under Section 150. That section of
the Maryland school laws provides
an appeal only from actions of
icisio" c °unty superintendents. Section 21
ice. ° ers broader scope to appellants
boa? a nd also to the state board.
onsic Board's Powers
^ are the board’s powers under
g t n
e Maryland Court of Appeals has
®^d that under Section 21 we can
, ec * county school boards: tell
hint 8 - t , em their mistakes and what they
ing | f°uld (Jq Section 21 gives the state
be fc ar d power to bring legal action to
ff quire counties to comply with the
the , w ' Dur statements of state educa-
t U i lona l policy are enforceable as state
!’ UI1 j; , aw ' course, it would be an ex-
rivilfc t^ 6 / 35 , 6 bef ° re the state board
nea r y, legal action. But considering
e S P j. Sard’s powers, our Jan. 30
perfc • ° lcy s tatement is an important step
. m desegregation.
Q.: Has the board any plans to follow
up its statement with a check on
how the counties are responding?
A.: No decision as to a follow-up has
been made. The board’s powers un
der Section 21. however, are broad
enough for such a check. The board
could do so any time its members
thought it was appropriate.
Q.: Does the fact that some Marvland
counties after seven years of de c eg-
reeation have no Neeroes in white
schools indicate something less than
full comDliance in your opinion?
A.: Nobodv knows whv there have been
no Ne"ro transfer reouests in some
areas. Former Gov. Battle of Virginia
has told the Civil Rights Commission
on several occasions that it indicated
Negro “apathy.” Some others feel
that it is an undue burden on the
Negro who is financially insecure
and has to get on in his community
to have to make an application for
something that is his constitutional
right. “Getting on” is a large factor
in the lives of the underprivileged.
Manv Negroes recognize their de
pendence on the white community
and are scared of disturbing pre
vailing patterns.
What Is the Obligation?
Q.: An all-Negro school is not neces
sarily a sign of compulsory segrega
tion?
A.: When school segregation is the re
sult of residential segregation, no
one can give you the answer as to
the school board’s obligation. Balti
more. for example, freely permits
transfers from one school to another
on a non-racial basis and has ended
up with some desegregated school
becoming all-Negro while others
have remained all-white. So far
there have been no constitut’ooal
obiections to the Baltimore nlan
Presumably under present court de
cisions there has to be some inten
tional act by the school board to
produce segregation.
In Delaware the district jud*e
threw out that nart of the desegre
gation plan that said a Negro could
attend only the nearest school, when
the nearest school was in fact an all-
Negro school. It was changed to the
nearest white or formerly white
school to overcome the effects of
residential segregation.
Nashville, which is the classic case
of geographic districting, imposed
no burden on Negroes to get into
white schools in their district but
permitted pupils to transfer out of
any school or class in which their
race was in the minority. The Sixth
Circuit Court of Appeals found the
Nashville transfer rule to be consti
tutional and has consistently held
that position since then. When Dal
las, however, adopted the Nashville
transfer rule, the Fifth Circuit held
that it was based on race and thus
unconstitutional. The Fourth Circuit
has not yet spoken.
It has always been my notion that
a transfer policy such as that used
in Nashville would meet legal re
quirements during the transition
period and would help those who
are afraid or violently opposed to
desegregation to avoid a quick
change. There would then arise the
question of the duration of the
transfer rule in relation to “all delib
erate speed.”
Q.: You find encouraging some things
that have happened in Maryland,
don’t you?
A.: Oh yes. Montgomery County has
done a good job in closing out its
former all-Negro schools, and so
has Allegany County. Frederick
County is moving in the same di
rection, and so is Washington
County. When the percentage of
Negroes in a school system is low,
the sensible thing is to close down
the Negro schools in a fairly short
period. The question of how fast to
do it depends on the administrative
problems involved.
Q.: Is closing down Negro schools the
eventual goal for all Maryland?
A.: Disbanding Negro schools as such
is certainly the goal, but how long
it will take is a much more difficult
question to answer. One thing is
sure, though. It would constitute
“full compliance.” # # #
Texas
(Continued From Page 13)
segregation of that city’s school system.
No immediate action was taken on it.
Clifford Davis, attorney for the Fort
Worth branch of the NAACP and for
the plaintiffs, two Negro families, said
the motion was filed because the dis
trict had failed to submit a desegrega-
gation plan ordered by the courts.
He contended a final order was en
tered last Dec. 14 directing the district
to submit the plan. A district appeal
was turned down in March and the
district was given 30 days in which to
file a plan.
The district, however, has taken the
position the desegregation judgment
does not become final until all avenues
of appeal have been exhausted. An ap
peal currently is before the Fifth U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals at New Or
leans, which is in summer recess and
not scheduled to resume regular meet
ings until October.
No date was set for a hearing on
Davis’ motion. Federal Judge Leo
Brewster of Fort Worth, who tried the
suit, is holding court elsewhere in the
district and probably will not hold court
in Fort Worth again until late summer.
Spokesmen for the NAACP said it
was by coincidence that at about the
same time the motion was filed in the
Fort Worth court the NAACP’s Dallas
chapter petitioned the Dallas school
board by resolution to complete deseg
regation of all city schools.
Leeal Action
Regents May Use
Private Counsel
University of Texas regents got an
initial Federal District Court decision
that they may employ private counsel
and not depend on the State Attorney
General to handle a suit brought by
three Negroes, challenging segregation
in some of the University’s dormitories.
Normally the Attorney General would
represent the university regents, as all
other state officials, in their defense of
suits. Regents, however, wanted to em
ploy their own counsel and did so
choosing Edward Clark and Frank
Denius of Austin and Leon Jaworski of
Houston.
Attorney General Will Wilson chal
lenged their authority to do so, asking
the federal court to dismiss all them
pleadings. The judge declined, authoriz
ing the private attorneys to proceed
with their case.
Regents had said earlier that Wilson
had refused to co-operate. That was at
a time when he was a candidate for
the Democratic nomination for Gover
nor, which he lost in the partv primary.
Some men’s dormitory units at the
university, are desegregated but all of
those for women students still are seg
regated. Plaintiffs, for themselves and
others similarly situated as a class, are
Leroy Sanders, Sherryl Griffin and
Maudie Ates.
★ ★ ★
In Georgetown, near Austin, a tax
payers’ suit was filed in state district
court to block construction of a new
$142,640 12-grade high school for
Negroes as a segregated school. It is
part of the district’s $525,000 bond issue
to upgrade its public school facilities.
The suit alleges that use of funds for
construction of a segregated school
would be a diversion from their proper
use and purpose since segregation had
been declared in violation of the U.S.
Constitution.
A hearing on temporary injunction
was set in 26th District Court for Aug.
15.
Attorneys said the 18 plaintiff tax
payers included both whites and Ne
groes.
Attorney Price Ashton for the group
also said school segregation in the
Georgetown Independent School Dis
trict will be challenged in the federal
courts if racial barriers are not low
ered when classes start this fall.
The taxpayers’ suit was the begin
ning, it was said, of a systematic court
assault planned on the district’s seg
regation policy.
★ ★ ★
In Dallas, the Civil Liberties Union
filed a suit in federal district court
charging that constitutional rights of
Jesse Ritter were violated when North
Texas State University failed to renew
his teaching contract for 1962-1963.
(Ritter v. Matthews.)
The petition alleged that no hearing
was held before Ritter’s contract was
allowed to expire. It contended that the
actions of President J. C. Matthews and
the governing bord were based on Rit
ter’s assistance to persons seeking de
segregation of stores and theaters in the
Denton, Texas, area. # # #
Louisiana
(Continued from Page 13)
education. But the commission, the state
officials feel, is less susceptible to court
attack.
A proposed constitutional amendment
passed by the Legislature and awaiting
ratification in the November general
election would empower the commis
sion to issue up to $20 million in bonds
for the grants.
Under another law passed by the
legislature, the grants may be given to
children attending private, nonsectarian
schools whether or not they are non
profit. Previously, grants were restrict
ed to nonprofit schools.
Gravolet said he anticipated at least
five new private schools will open in
Orleans Parish, where 24 public schools
face possible desegregation. He said
another is planned at Baton Rouge,
where an “all deliberate speed” order
is pending.
Gravolet, principal whip on the seg
regation legislation, described the sev
eral acts of the legislature dealing with
grants-in-aid as a program designed to
provide students with a freedom of
choice.
“We will have to keep the public
schools open in every parish,” he said
after the legislature adjourned. “Inte
gration is here to stay and we have to
live with it.”
Not A11 He Wanted
The legislature, which adjourned in
mid-July after a relatively calm 60
days on the segregation issue, did not
give Gravolet everything he wanted.
At the last minute, he attempted to
amend the general appropriations bill
to give the state power to withhold
state funds from any previously all-
white school which admitted Negro
students.
In the face of opposition from an
gered New Orleans lawmakers in the
Senate. Gravolet withdrew his proposed
amendment.
Sen. Adrian Duplantier of New Or
leans argued heatedly with Gravolet
away from the rostrum, charging an
attempt to gut the public schools of
New Orleans.
Gravolet, vice-chairman of the joint
legislative committee on segregation,
was not acting for the committee in fil
ing the amendment. The committee ap
proach to this session had been one of
quiet deliberation and it avoided the
marginal disputes on desegregation.
Administration Stand
The administration forces of Gov.
Jimmie H. Davis also prevailed on
Gravolet to withdraw the amendment,
fearing that an amendment to the gen
eral appropriations bill would open a
tide of undercurrent resentment to the
administration financial policies.
City legislators had threatened to
support on the Senate floor every at
tempt to increase the $497 million gen
eral appropriations bill though Davis
leaders were arguing that it was im
perative to hold the line.
In the final night of the session, the
legislature approved two resolutions
which authorize the legislature, through
Rep. Risley C. Triche, to continue to
hold the reins on state public school
funds for New Orleans.
Triche was head of a special commit
tee which handled the funds during the
desegregation crisis. Though the Or
leans school board suffered delays in
receipts of funds under the procedure,
it finally received all its money.
Political Activity
Davis Appointees
Lose in Voting
For Board Seats
Gov. Jimmie H. Davis last year added
membership to the East Baton Rouge
Parish school board through appoint
ment when it appeared that a date
would be set for desegregation of the
parish’s schools by federal court.
Two of the Davis appointees were
defeated in the July 28 Democratic pri
mary for their school board positions
and another is trailing in the runoff.
A Negro also enters the second pri
mary in one of the East Baton Rouge
Congressional incumbents swept back
into office in the July 28 voting except
in one race. Rep. Harold McSween of
the Eighth District was unseated by a
new Long on the political scene in Lou
isiana—Gillis Long, a cousin to the
Huey Long family.
Sen. Russell B. Long, Huey’s son,
got more than 80 per cent of the votes
in his race for re-election against Phil
St. Amant of Baton Rouge.
Boggs Is Victor
Key interest, however, was in the
Second Congressional District race
where Rep. Hale Boggs, majority whip
and stout defender and sunnorter of
President Kennedy, easily tonnled three
opDonents. including the arch conserva
tive candidate. Stuart McClendon.
In the Baton Rouge school board vot
ing. Randall Goodwin, a newcomer
backed bv business interests and wom
en’s grouos. UDset Charles S. Davis, in
cumbent and annointee of the gover
nor. and Mrs. Stella Allphin in Third
Ward voting.
“T think a good nercentage of the vote
in Ward 3 was a renudiation of the
governor’s board packing action,” said
Goodwin.
His term runs for six years.
Irving Bourgeois defeated another
Dams annointee for a six-vear term in
Ward 2. The Davis annointee was
Chauev Calmes. who blamed the Raton
Rouge newsnaoers for his defeat. The
naners had asked votes against the
Davis annointees on grounds that the
governor had violated home rule in
making the annointments rather than
calling an election.
Incumbent Runs Second
Lovd Rockhold was a first nrimarv
leader over incumbent annointee I. M.
Shelton in the race for a four-year
term from Ward 1.
Rockhold said: “I don’t think it was
a vote lust against the board nacking
move alone, but a vote against the gov
ernor himself. All school board mem
bers he had annointed in other narishes,
lust to fill unexpired terms, were de
feated.”
Davis annointeees were beaten in
West Baton Rouge, Lafayette and Cal
casieu parishes.
Acie J. Belton, a Negro, ran second
to A. T. Furr Jr. in Baton Rouge’s
Ward 2 contest for a four-year term.
Belton polled 2,363 votes to 2,651 for
Furr. A third candidate, Samuel C.
Goode, got 2,194.
What They Say
Rainach Criticizes
Governor’s Record
As to Segregation
William M. Rainach, former state
Senator and once the principal segre
gation voice in Louisiana, attacked Gov.
Jimmie H. Davis’ record on segregation
in a speech before the Citizens Council
of Greater New Orleans.
Rainach recalled that Gov. Davis had
pledged to go to jail if necessary to
prevent integration, a pledge which was
made as part of the pact under which
Rainach endorsed Davis in the second
primary of the 1960 gubernatorial elec
tion.
Rainach, noting the desegregation
that has occurred since 1960, said:
“Gov. Davis may go to jail, but it
won’t be for preserving segregation.”
The one time chairman of the joint
legislative committee on segregation,
who was an unsuccessful candidate for
governor in 1960 and who has made
only limited appearances since then, in
dicated he might be getting ready for
a political comeback.
He said a reorganization of his busi
ness in upstate Louisiana would be
completed in September “and I will
look for new fields in the state.”
# # #
■ ■ ' :
WOMACK
LEAKE
DAVIS
RAINACH