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PAGE 10—DECEMBER, 1962—SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS
TEXAS
Three New Desegregation Suits Filed
AUSTIN
N ew suits were filed to deseg
regate public schools in
Longview, Waco and Carrollton
(near Dallas).
Robert L. Adams Jr., Yvonne Adams
and Thomas Liase filed suit in U.S.
District Court in Tyler on Nov. 23
to desegregate the Longview public
schools. Defendants are Dr. Charles F.
Mathews, superintendent of Longview
Independent School District (ISD) and
its board of trustees (Adams v. Ma
thews) .
The new case replaces two previously
filed and dropped. (Laise v. Longview
ISD and Adams v. Longview). The
original suits were filed in September,
but the plaintiffs enrolled in Negro
schools afterward.
At Waco, largest segregated school
system in Texas without previous court
action, a federal court case was filed
for desegregation (McGrue et al v.
Williams). Waco has about 15,000 white
and 3,000 Negro students.
Urges Dismissal
Fort Worth, which originally was
ordered on a grade-a-year plan in
September, 1962, (Flax v. Potts) urged
the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
to dismiss an appeal, because it was
said to be an individual rather than
class action.
Eleven Negro children of the Carroll
ton ISD served as plaintiffs for the
desegregation case filed in U.S. District
Court at Dallas (Rainwater v. Smith).
They applied for admission to Carroll
ton High in September, asserting they
are being discriminated against by
being required to travel 40 miles daily
to Negro schools in Denton. Petitions
are being circulated in Carrollton ISD
for an election to desegregate the
schools.
An opposite complaint was made in
a state court case filed at Post, near
Lubbock, by A. C. Cash v. Close City
ISD). He alleges discrimination against
white children, because the school dis
trict pays $225 each to transfer Negro
pupils to schools at Post ISD for in
struction but refuses to do the same
for white children.
Close City ISD has no Negro school,
and voted 26 to 25 against desegrega
tion in August, 1962. The district pays
Post ISD for instructing the eight Ne
groes who are transported daily to
Post, but has refused to pay on five
elementary school-age white young
sters whose parents have transferred
them from Close City to Post.
At Georgetown, a state district judge
denied an injunction — following an
earlier preliminary order—that sought
to prevent the school district from
spending $142,000 of bond funds for a
new Negro school. Opponents of the
funds favored desegregation. A federal
court case to desegregate Georgetown
ISD is pending in Austin (Miller v.
Barnes).
Schoolmen
Voters Approve
Desegregation
In Two Districts
Voters at Yoakum and Lyford, in
South Texas, approved immediate de
segregation, making a total of 174 de
segregated districts in Texas.
Voters at Yoakum gave 725-to-59
backing to the change, after parents
of two Negro children filed a suit in
federal court. School trustees then cir
culated the desegregation election peti
tion. Yoakum, in DeWitt County, has
approximately 1,250 white and 250 Ne
gro students.
Lyford, Willacy County, last year
had 1,651 white and no Negro students,
but Negroes applied for enrollment this
fall. The district then voted to deseg
regate.
A petition for a desegregation elec
tion was being circulated dining No
vember at Del Valle Independent
School District, serving Bergstrom Air
Force Base families near Austin. About
40 per cent of the district’s children
live at the air base. The district has
been advised by the U.S. Commissioner
of Education that the federal govern
ment will mak^athgrarrangements for
educatjjjgTE^n^ $J)jdei7(^unless segre-
gatiMTiS'abolished by li^t^September.
A/ sunilar notice went ‘ro\53 other
Texas sjhfoWUetiacti^, whicA receive
federal ’‘imposed £r«a”> isindsl Most of
thesk. however, already havgf desegre-
gatedNs<fr*ft.qf the distitftts^re in East
Texas where segregation remains the
policy.
The Ministerial Alliance at Lockhart,
30 miles southeast of Austin, voted to
recommend complete integration of the
local public schools, including faculty.
Eleven Protestant ministers belong to
the alliance. The group started circu
lating petitions for a desegregation
election. Meanwhile, the school board
was holding up plans for a $900,000
building program, including a $189,000
new school for Negroes.
State funds for Benavides ISD in
Duval County, South Texas, were be
ing held up by the Texas Education
Agency because an audit showed that
two Negro pupils had been admitted
to an all-white school last March.
State law prohibits desegregation with
out referendum approval, but Attorney
General Will Wilson has held this does
not apply when a court has ordered
desegregation.
Benavides officials apparently had
neither a court order nor an election.
At month’s end, they were considering
a request to Attorney General Wilson
concerning constitutionality of the ref
erendum law. Courts have never ruled
on that point, nor has Wilson given
his opinion of it. The U.S. Fifth Circuit
Court of Appeals in a Dallas case (Bor
ders v. Rippy) once noted that con
stitutional rights are at stake in seg
regation, and that such rights can
never be a matter of election.
The Benavides desegregation was dis
covered by state auditors. Texas law
requires reports on expenditure of state
funds to be made separately for whites
and for Negro students.
Political Activity
Democrats Win Most
State and Local
Offices in Election
Texas Republican candidates made
their best showings since Reconstruc
tion Days, but Democrats again won
most of the state and local offices at
the November election.
Democrat John B. Connally defeated
Republican Jack Cox, a former Demo
crat, for governor. Unofficial returns
gave Connally 781,563 votes to 661,126
for Cox. The final total to be can
vassed in January by the legislature
will run somewhat higher for both
candidates.
Connally, former Secretary of Navy
under President Kennedy — and a
longtime political associate of Vice
President Lyndon B. Johnson, received
substantial support from the state’s Ne
gro voters. Advertisements in Negro
newspapers before the election stressed
Connally’s association with Negroes
and with the Kennedy administration,
which had helped desegregate the Uni
versity of Mississippi and other in
stitutions.
The Dallas Tribune, a Negro paper,
estimated that Negroes cast 125,000
votes in the election and that 100,000
of these went to Connally. At Houston
and other places where Negro votes are
identifiable, the majority for Connally
| was overwhelming.
hand, Texas voters
e segregationist, Joe
Democrat) as Con
gressman -at-
large over Des
Barry, a well-
known Houston
truck line oper
ator who waged
an intensive cam
paign as a Re
publican candi
date. To some
observers, Pool’s
victory was al
most an upset be
cause of Barry’s
well-financed and smoothly-managed
campaign.
Pro-Segregation Bills
As a state legislator, 1953-1959, Pool
supported pro-segregation bills. Pool
said emphatically that he did not cam
paign for Congressman-at-large on a
segregationist platform, and that
pamphlets circulated calling him a
segregationist were done without his
consent.
“I was for segregation as long as it
had a chance to win, but there’s no
use beating a dead cat,” Pool com
mented.
“I believe that since the Supreme
Court of the United States has ruled
on segregation in the schools — it’s a
dead issue to this extent. I believe in
law and order. I certainly do not favor
mob rule or disobedience of the law.”
The 31-member Texas Senate will
remain all Democrat, as will 143 of
I the 150 state representatives. Demo-
On the other
elected a one-tir
Pool of Dallas
pool.
In the Colleges
Negro Enrollment in Biracial Colleges
A new survey disclosed that Negro
enrollment at formerly all-Negro col
leges increased more than at the state’s
34 desegregated former white institu
tions.
The study of 54 fax-supported col
leges by The Dallas Morning News
revealed:
Thirty-four formerly all-white and
two former all-Negro colleges now ac
cept all races. While the Southwest
Athletic Conference — to which the
University of Texas and other large
schools belong—still bans Negroes from
its teams, athletic segregation is rapid
ly disappearing in the area. Academic
facilities are generally desegregated.
At 17 state-supported senior colleges,
formerly all-white, enrollment of Ne
groes increased from an estimated 619
in October, 1962, to 801 this year.
Total enrollment rose from 106,982 to
116,850.
The enrollment at two state colleges
for Negroes, Texas Southern Univer
sity and Prairie View A&M, grew from
6,500 to 7,113. Thus Negro enrollment
at the two latter places increased three
fold over the rate at desegregated white
institutions. Texas Southern is deseg
regated too. It has about 10 white
pupils among 3,831 on its campus.
Prairie View’s 3,282 students represent
more than 10 per cent gain over last
year, and the increase would have
been greater except for lack of dor
mitory space there.
Nearly one-half of the Negroes at
predominantly white schools attend
The University of Texas, North Texas
State, and Lamar Tech. There are
about 200 Negroes at each place. Ne
groes play varsity sports at North
Texas, which has produced some out
standing Negro football players, and
at Lamar Tech, where intercollegiate
sports were integrated this year.
University Will Wait
The University of Texas has indi
cated it will wait until other South
west Athletic Conference members are
ready to desegregate their teams, be
fore using Negro athletes. Academic
desegregation has reached all confer
ence members except Texas A&M and
Baylor.
Five of the six schools under the
state teachers’ college governing board
still are segregated. So is Texas A&M
and two of its three branches. John
Tarleton remains all-white and Prairie
View A&M all-Negro.
Arlington State College was the first
unit of the A&M system to desegregate.
The step was taken in September, 1962.
There is no official record of the num
ber of Negroes among its 9,116 students,
but administrators believe the total is
somewhat above the “five or six” ini
tially estimated.
West Texas State College at Canyon
desegregated by court order in 1960,
and now has an estimated 27 Negroes
among 3,733 students. A desegregation
suit has been filed in federal court at
Austin against Southwest Texas State
at San Marcos. Other schools under
this board are Sam Houston, Stephen
F. Austin, Sul Ross, and East Texas
State.
Junior Colleges
Public junior colleges in Texas,
maintaining a definite segregation pol
icy are at Tyler, with both white and
Negro branches; Alvin; Blinn (Bren-
ham); Ranger; Lee (Baytown); Tex
arkana; Kilgore; Henderson County;
and Panola County.
Some administrators request that no
special attention be directed to the
fact they have accepted Negroes this
fall for the first time, for fear of stir
ring local reaction where no so far
has developed.
Among tax-supported state colleges
that accept Negroes, the Dallas News
survey brought the following estimates
(total enrollment figures given first,
Negroes second):
Arlington State 9,116 enrolled — 20
Negroes (estimate); Lamar State 7,050
and 200; Midwestern 2,356 and 40;
North Texas State 9,927 and 191; Texas
College of Arts & Industries 3,517 and
28; Texas Tech 11,181 and 15; Texas
Women’s University 2,970 and 7; Uni
versity of Texas 21,390 and 200; and
West Texas State 3,733 and 27.
Junior colleges supported mainly by
local taxes are moving away from seg
regation. Their enrollments this fall,
and estimated numbers of Negroes:
Amarillo 1,773 enrollment and about
100 Negroes; Cisco 339 and 7; Claren
don 176 and none; Cooke County 618
and 5; Del Mar (Corpus Christi) 2,-
519 and 20; Frank Phillips (Borger)
593 and 5; Hiill County 170 and none;
Howard County 766 and 30; Laredo 873
and 6; Navarro County 795 and 13;
Odessa 1,720 and 10; Paris 543 and five;
San Angelo 1,053 and 8; San Antonio
7,459 and 100; San Jacinto (Harris
County) 1,357 and 3; South Plains
(Levelland) 610 and 6; Southwest
Texas (Uvalde) 552 and 5; Temple 691
and 7; Brownsville 672 and 2; Victoria
956 and 10; Weatherford 351 and 4;
and Wharton County 1,224 and 48.
Also desegregated are the University
of Houston, with an estimated 15 Ne
groes among 13,850 students; and Pan-
American University at Mission with
2,105 students including 18 Negroes.
Both of these receive state aid on
freshmen and sophomores, but are sup
ported mainly by local taxes and tui
tion. The University of Houston will
become state-supported fully in 1963.
Colleges listed above without Negro
students are understood to have non
segregation policies if a qualified appli
cant appears.
Most of the junior colleges allow
Negroes to play on inter-school athletic
teams. Generally, there is no dormitory
problem as most junior college students
live at home.
Some areas remain segregated. One
South Texas junior college official re
ported that all its athletics are inte
grated.
“We are not yet ready to have Negro
girls on our girls’ drill team,” he added.
“We channel Negro males and females
into physical education classes other
than ballroom dancing.”
This educator commented on the
“high class manner” in which students
of both races had conducted themselves
during desegregation, now in the eighth
year. He attributed the peaceful per
formance to the fact that adult out
siders “leave this business alone” in
the community.
Enrollment Dipped
Enrollment at Negro colleges dipped
during the mid-1950’s when Lamar
State College, the University of Texas,
and North Texas State University were
desegregated.
These three institutions have about
200 Negroes each, and at least Texas
and North Texas State appear to have
reached a sort of plateau in Negro
enrollment. North Texas State draws
students mostly from the Dallas-Fort
Worth area. Admission of Negroes to
Arlington State this fall doubtlessly
reduced the enrollment at North Texas
State.
There seemed to be a tendency
among Negroes to “try out” the for
merly all-white campuses, the Dallas
News reported. Negroes generally en
counter social obstacles at desegre
gated institutions that do not exist at
schools for their race. Also, they have
had greater difficulty than white stu
dents in meeting the academic stand
ards at such places as the state univer
sity, North Texas State, and Lamar
Tech.
One important lure for Negroes from
private to public colleges has been
lower tuition. The tuition cost at Texas
state schools is $50 per semester. Pri
vate and church-sponsored colleges
cannot compete with these low prices
and survive.
Nevertheless, Negro church colleges
like Bishop, which moved from Mar
shall to Dallas, this fall showed sub-
Lawsuits were filed to desegregat,
public schools at Waco, Longvie*
and Carrollton.
A West Texan filed suit to stoj
alleged discrimination against white
pupils in Close City’s transfer pay.
ments on Negroes.
Two South Texas school districts,
Yoakum and Lyford, voted to de
segregate. Petitions for elections to
abolish segregation were circulated
at Lockhart, Del Valle and Carroll,
ton.
Benavides, in South Texas, had it
state school funds withheld for en.
rolling two Negroes in previously
all-white classes without authorize
tion at an election or by a court
order.
A new survey revealed that Negro
enrollment at predominantly Negro
colleges in Texas was rising faster
than at desegregated colleges.
Democrats swept statewide offices
in the November election, supported
by most Negro voters, but Repub
licans made substantial gains in local
and district races.
crats won all major state offices includ-
ing Waggoner Carr, Attorney Genera!
In Houston, Mrs. Charles E. Whitt
Negro member of the school board, wi
re-elected by plurality over five whit
opponents. Mrs. White received 54,25-
votes to 43,953 for Howard D. Moor
Other candidates received more that
17,000 votes.
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The Houston Informer, Negro news
paper, said editorially that Mrs. Whit
was supported by many whites as wel
as Negroes attesting “the fairness oi
having a Negro on the school board.”
Increases
stantial growth. Bishop enrolled 93i
students, compared to 651 a year ago
and only 440 in 1956.
Houston-Tillotson, whose campus is
in sight of the University of Texas
at Austin, dropped from 765 student
10 years ago to 385 in 1957. Recovery
has been under way since that low
Huston-Tillotson enrolled 575 student
this fall, up 99 from a year earlier.
Jarvis Christian College at Hawkins
has tripled its enrollment in five years
and increased from 405 to 602 this fa-
compared to a year ago.
Marshall’s Wiley College report#
524 students this year, four fewer than
last year. Its enrollment has remain#
fairly constant in recent years, how
ever.
Paul Quinn College at Waco slump#
tremendously a few years ago.
Texas Commission on Higher Educa
tion reported that the school’s enroll
ment dropped from 1,021 in 1954 '
just before the main desegregation $
higher education around Texas —
326 in 1956. The 90-year-old Method*
institution showed a modest gain tin®
September, however. Its enrollroe 81
totaled 307, compared to 296 in 1961-
Two tax-supported junior colleges *
Texas have Negro branches. Tylej’j
municipal college for Negroes has 2*
students, 10 more than last year.
St. Philip’s at San Antonio has 5*
pupils, including an estimated 100 non
Negroes. Most of the latter group at '
tends evening classes, which were re
stricted to Negroes before desegreg 3 '
tion.
Faculties at formerly all-wb^
higher education locations in Tex
have not added Negroes, with min ‘
exceptions. One Negro doctor n
served on the staff at the Galves
Medical School of the University ,
Texas, and Negroes are being empl°m
as laboratory and research assistants
some instances elsewhere.
Former Negro institutions ernpl
many white teachers, however. Tex'
Southern University, for example, c
rently has 142 Negroes and 33 vr
faculty members.
At Waco, trustees of Baylor Uni'^ j
sity authorized a committee to sw
possible desegregation of the Bap ^
school. It will report to the boaro
Houston on April 16. .. ,
At Austin, the Texas Associab^
of College Teachers adopted a ceI ^ r _,f
of the Board of Regents, Texas
Teachers College, for dismissing ^
Rupert C. Koeninger (SSN, ■R me '' e i4
study committee of the college teac
said Dr. Koeninger was fired for P^]
ical reasons, and denied proce
rights.
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