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PAGE 2—NOVEMBER, 1962—SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS OKLAHOMA Survey Planned Of Oklahoma’s X ’S Desegregation O O • v to? £■» OKLAHOMA CITY far-reaching survey to de termine the status of Ok*- lahoma’s apparently successful school desegregation program will be undertaken before the end of the year. Questionnaires will be circulated, probably in December, by the Okla homa Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights. Among other things, the survey should give the first accurate account ing of what has happened to Negro teachers displaced by the desegrega tion of Oklahoma’s public schools. Re sults on this score may provide Negro leaders a basis for launching a cam paign for more biracial faculties. This has long been a sore point with Negro educators. Savoie Lottinville, Norman, chairman of the Oklahoma committee, said the questionnaire would cover “the whole question of integration in Oklahoma.” 'Broad Spectrum’ “We shaned it ourselves sociologically and scientifically,” he explained. “It deals with the broad spectrum of in tegration.” He said he was referring to the school aspects of desegregation. Lottinville, director of the University of Oklahoma Press, succeeded John Rogers, Tulsa attorney, in the civil rights committee chairmanship. Rogers remains on the committee, however. The vice-chairman is F. D. Moon, Oklahoma City, retired Negro educator. Formerly he was principal of Oklahoma City’s Douglass High School. Lottinville said the questionnaire, after it was drawn up by the com mittee, had to be referred to the U.S. commission headquarters in Washing ton for approval. It has not been re turned yet. The Oklahoma Advisory Committee will meet early in November and it is hoped the commission will have re turned the questionnaire by then. A member of the U.S. commission is ex pected to be on hand to discuss its content with Oklahoma committeemen Great Care Lottinville explained the question naire had to be devised with great care in order to be effective. Copies will be sent to the district superintendents in all county seats of Oklahoma. “That pretty well spots the big population centers of the state,” the committee chairman pointed out. He said the 77 copies should go into the mail in December if the question naire can be approved at the Novem ber meeting. Lottinville pointedly avoided describ ing the questionnaire as a survey of the desegregation “problem” in Okla homa. He used the term “program,” observing that the state’s progress in desegregation schools has been excel lent. He conceded, however, that the fate of Negro teachers who lost their jobs because of desegregation is a matter of some concern and something should be done about it. Although accurate figures are not available, it is estimated nearly 400 Negro teachers in Oklahoma have been displaced for this reason since schools were first desegregated in 1955. Biracial Faculties The state may have as many as 27 or 28 Negro teachers employed on biracial faculties. Nineteen of these are at two schools in Tulsa. Burroughs, a former desegregated elementary school that now has an all-Negro student body, has 15 Negro and 14 white teachers on its staff. Emerson, an elementary school with a 60 percent Neg’-o majority, opened the fall term with four Negroes among its 14 teachers. As far as is known, Fay, Ponca City and Arcadia are the only other school districts with desegregated faculties. Moon told Southern School News there is less faculty desegregation in Oklahoma now than there was in 1955. When schools were desegregated, some districts retained a few Negro teachers with long se-vice and worked them into the faculties of their white schools. But this was done more to accommo date individuals than to serve the cause of desegregation, he maintained. Sub sequently, these teachers have retired or left and they have not been re placed. Lottinville said the civil rights com mittee has no statistical evidence what- Oklahoma Highlights The Oklahoma civil rights advis ory committee will survey the status of school desegregation in Okla- 'hojna. • Ah- Oklahoma City group from a residential section that has become biracial tried to establish a com- ^ munity wide committee to promote “open housing” throughout the city. / A hearing on a motion to dismiss / a racial discrimination suit against the Oklahoma City school board was set for early November in federal district court. ever yet on which to base such a state ment but this will be a point definitely covered in the survey. A group of Negro leaders, organized a year or so ago as Oklahomans for Progress, also has a committee dealing with teacher desegregation but it has not been active. Survey Postponed A survey, which will not be done this year, is one usually conducted by Dr. Oliver Hodge, state superintendent of public instruction. Each September for several years he has asked the 77 county superintendents and the district superintendents of some of the larger cities to report on the number of schools with both Negro and white children in attendance and the number of Negroes involved. Hodge said the survey has obtained substantially the same information the past two or three years and he could see nothing to gain by repeating it this year. He said he will probably send out questionnaires next September and ask the superintendents to make a com parison for a two-year period (1963 with 1961). Legal Action Court Reschedules School Suit Hearing A hearing on a motion to dismiss a racial discrimination suit against the Oklahoma City school board was re scheduled for early November. The hearing was to have been held Sept. 28 in U.S. District Court but was postponed because the judge, Luther Bohanon, was occupied in a jury trial and later, in out-of-town assignments. The court rescheduled the hearing for Nov. 7. The case is Dowell v. Board of Edu cation in the U.S. District Court for Western Oklahoma. Filed by Dr. A. L. Dowell, Negro optometrist, in behalf of his son, Robert, it seeks to have the Oklahoma City school board declared guilty of racial discrimination in opera tion of its special transfer policy. The motion to dismiss was filed Sept. 11 by W. A. Lybrand, attorney for the school board. It seeks outright dismis sal of the plaintiffs’ second amended petition, more definite information re garding the status of one of three in tervening plaintiffs, dismissal of the pe tition as to the intervenors, and striking of a certain portion of the petition. Community Action Group Promotes Biracial Housing A northeast Oklahoma City group that would like to see biracial housing throughout the community tried in Oc tober to set up a citywide committee to promote the cause. The initial effort appeared to meet with little success. Residents of the northeast section, into which Negro families have moved in the past year or so, believe they are carrying a burden the whole city should bear. They maintain a policy of “open housing” throughout the com munity would relieve the pressure on their area and end panic-selling of real estate by white families there. Achievement of their goal would bring desegregation of a number of ad ditional schools in the Oklahoma City district. Only 11 have biracial student bodies at present. Kirby Conley, druggist and a leader of the informally organized northeast group, said he and his colleagues sought to enlist the aid of several of the city’s better-known citizens. “What we need, instead of a localized group that could be accused of petti ness and a desire to protect the dollar, is a citywide committee of reputable men,” Conley explained. “We visited with some of those peo ple. But none was ready to go. They want an already established group in this field and that we don’t have.” # # # FLORIDA Court Receives Desegregation Plans from Three County Boards MIAMI T hree counties ordered to de segregate their schools have told the federal court how they propose to do it. Judge Bryan Simpson, who handed down the orders Aug. 21 in three sepa rate suits of long standing, took the plans under study. He gave no indica tion of when or whether he will ap prove them. All three plans are simi lar but not identical. The Duval County (Jacksonville) school board offered a five-point plan beginning with the first grade next September and extending to one addi tional grade each year. Under this ar rangement, new school districts would be set up and all children within the district limits would attend the nearest school regardless of race but under criteria of the state assignment law. A number of conditions were includ ed in the plan Separation by Sex “Nothing contained in this resolu tion,” said the board in its formal state ment for the court, “should be con strued to prevent the separation of boys and girls in any school or grade, or to prevent the assignment of boys and girls to separate schools.” The board also ordered a last-ditch court fight against Judge Simpson’s order. “We still haven’t relinquished our position that implementation of the as signment law was not a means of en forcing racial segregation,” said Charles W. Johnson Jr., school board member. Johnson said the stand would be de fended on appeal. Ask More Time On the question of desegregating teachers and administrative personnel, which was included in Judge Simp son’s order in this case, the school board asked for more time: “A system-wide study must be made to determine available spaces for stu dents, the availability and assignment of teachers, the creation of single school j districts based upon the location and capacity of school buildings, and for the institution of a program of non- racial testing for determination of their qualification for assignment, placement and transfer in the public schools.” The decision to submit a plan, as re quired by Judge Simpson, was not made until the last moment. The school board took opinion samples and con ferred with civic leaders in the course it should take. Fred H. Kent, special attorney for the school board, said four plans were considered before the final form was approved by the board. Hillsborough County Offers Similar Plan The Hillsborough County school board (Tampa) asked approval for a similar progressive desegregation pro gram starting with the first grade next | September. All children could attend the school nearest their home regard- ! less of race. Volusia County (Daytona Beach) also said it would desegregate one grade each year, starting with the first. The j school board added, however, that the j process would be voluntary and each j child would be given the choice of attending a predominantly white or Negro school. The Volusia proposal said the county I will continue to assign children under the placement law. Pupils not satisfied with their assignment could apply for ! transfer and receive a public hearing j on request if their application was de- j nied. There was no mention in either of these proposals of the desegregation of teaching or supervisory personnel. Unsuccessful Attempt The three plans were filed after an | unsuccessful attempt to have the origi- j nal order modified. A petition asked that the wording of the order be j changed from “required” to “requested” to submit desegregation plans. Judge Simpson declined, stating that it would “be beneath the dignity of the court” to request a plan in a situation that obviously called for a direct order, j He declared that evidence indicated outright discrimination against Negroes \ in the schools of the defendant coun- j ties. David Kerr, attorney for the Hills borough school board, challenged the court’s finding that no attempt had been made to desegregate schools in that county until the suit was filed. Negroes I Florida Highlights Three county school boards, sub mitting desegregation plans to a fed eral court, proposed progressive de segregation beginning with the first grade next year. There were no pro posals for desegregating teaching and administrative personnel, which had been included in the court’s order. Preliminary argument in the Leon County school case turned on the con tention that pupils may not legally sue for the desegregation of teachers. A suit in Lee County questioning use of bond money to build a Negro high school was tagged a “back door” move for desegregation. Florida Presbyterian College re versed its segregation policy and an nounced it will accept qualified stu dents regardless of race. had always had opportunities to seek admission to white schools, he said but had failed to use the avenues open under the placement law. Kerr added that Hillsborough had begun desegregation and cited one school which now has 64 Negro and 172 white pupils. Desegregation of one school does not constitute desegrega tion of an entire school system, Judge Simpson said in rejecting this argu ment. Volusia County attorneys asked elim ination from the order of the notation that two Negro children attending a white school in Daytona Beach were not plaintiffs in the suit. They said this was detrimental to their plans for an appeal. ★ ★ ★ Teacher Desegregation Becomes a Major Issue Desegregation of teachers quickly became a major issue in the Leon County school suit, which is pending before U.S. District Judge G. Harrold Carswell at Tallahassee. School board attorneys attacked a portion of the suit that asked that teaching and adminis trative personnel be included in any final order. The plaintiffs in this case, all parents of Negro school children, have failed to show there are grounds for injunctive relief, contended attorney William A. O’Bryan. “They have no right to assert in this action any alleged inferiority of their present teachers, principals and other Negro school personnel because of the race and color of these persons,” the school board’s motion declared. The board said: “Plaintiffs are not authorized by law or rules of practice to attack the dis cretion exercised by a school board in employment and assignment of its school personnel. “Legal relationships between a school board and its teachers, principals and other school personnel is a matter of contract not governed by the legal prin ciples applicable to pupils enrolled in the public school system. “The plaintiffs have no legal right to be taught or supervised by teachers, principals and other school personnel of any particular race or color . . . and the court is without jurisdiction in this suit to a degree touching the matter of employment and assignment of school personnel.” Judge Carswell declined to strike that portion of the plaintiff’s petition but said that should the case come to tria; he would not hear evidence on this point. In his motion to dismiss, O’Bryan contended that the plaintiffs had nevet been denied the right to attend any specific white school and therefore had no standing in court. To allow them to plead violation of rights without hav ing been specifically denied those rights, he said, would mean that future school cases could be brought without the need to prove direct discrimination “This is an attempt to carry integra- tion one step further,” he said. Judge Carswell denied the motion No date has been set for the taking of testimony. ★ ★ ★ St. Johns County Seeks Early Trial of Lawsuit The St. Johns County school suit moved toward an early trial after a motion to dismiss was rejected by U.S, District Judge Bryan Simpson. School board attorneys attacked the petition on several counts. Adam G. Adams said some individual defendants had been incorrectly identi fied in the petition. He also contended the school board has abided by terms of the state placement law and that plaintiffs had failed to exhaust other remedies. Denying the motion, Judge Simpson commented that application of the placement law “in cases where you have segregation is discrimination of the rankest sort.” The St. Johns case is the first in Florida involving a smaller county' without a large population center. ★ ★ ★ A suit filed in the Lee County Cir cuit Court at Fort Myers has attracted the attention of school officials throughout Florida as a “back door approach” to school desegregation. The case (Sears et al v. Board of Public Instruction of Lee County) alleged mis application of public funds by using bond money voted for a Negro ele mentary school to build a Negro high school. There is no need for the new Negro high school, the suit contends, since existing white schools have facilities to care for Negro students. The plaintiffs also objected to a sep arate Negro branch of the newly opened Edison Junior High School as unnecessary for the same reason. They said the new high school was being used by the junior college, which the school board denied. Community Action Advisory Committee Holds Conference The Florida Advisory Committee to the U. S. Commission on Civil Right- 5 scheduled a conference with civic lead' ers and public officials in the Tamp 8 ' St. Petersburg area to discuss P r0 ^' lems of segregation. , Of the 50 or more invited to atten only six appeared. Most of these we 1 * spokesmen for the minority viewpo* 8 Commission members said they wet* concerned by the lack of represent 8 tion. Most of those who received inv*' tations failed to respond or stated the. had previous commitments. This g r ° u ’. included school superintendents Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. In the Colleges Florida Presbyterian College Trustees \ ote To Desegregate Trustees of Florida Presbyterian College, which opened its doors in September, 1960, have adopted a policy of desegregation in the future. Action was taken by unanimous vote on a new admissions policy, which stated: “Applications for admission to Flor ida Presbyterian College are considered on the basis of the following evidences: Academic ability and interest, readiness for effective participation in the life of our Christian college community and personality characteristics which lead toward wholesome identification in the community life. Applicants being qualified on the consideration of t" ■, factors will be admitted without reg 3 * to race, creed or color.” ^ The unanimous vote was a rove of the action last March denying^, application of Howard Eugene ^ enI V; 0 i- a Negro students at Gibbs Junior ^ lege at St. Petersburg. At that time tll . board decided not to accept Negro (( dents until the college move permanent quarters in 1963. ^ -,e This resulted in a protest by iff, faculty members. Talks among & . jj administrate s and trustees resu __ ' the new policy.