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PAGE 6—DECEMBER, 1962—SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS
NORTH CAROLINA
Negroes Attack Use of State
Assignment Law in Reidsville
WINSTON-SALEM
F our Negroes filed suit against
the Reidsville City Board of
Education on Friday, Nov. 30.
The suit in U.S. Middle District
Court in Greensboro, charged
that Reidsville improperly ap
plied the North Carolina Pupil
Assignment Act in the assignment
of pupils to city public schools.
The Negro suit cited the Oct. 12,
1962, ruling by the U.S. Fourth Circuit
Court of Appeals, which declared that
the Durham City Board of Education
and the Caswell County Board of Ed
ucation were administering the Pupil
Assignment Act in an unconstitutional
manner.
Titled Ziglar et al v. Reidsville Board
of Education, the suit is filed in behalf
of four Negro children as a class action.
The parents of three children and the
guardian of the fourth filed action in
behalf of the children.
The children are Herbert Ziglar Jr.,
Earl Ray Pass, Omat Bosal Thomas and
Lillian Bell. They accused the Reids
ville school board of using the Pupil
Assignment Act to maintain segrega
tion in the schools.
Their action alleged that the board
had refused all Negro requests for
transfer from an all-Negro school to
an all-white school. The suit further
charged that Negroes are assigned to
Negro schools, and whites are assigned
to white schools.
Exhausted Procedures
The suit claimed that three of the
children have exhausted administrative
procedures required by the Pupil
Assignment Act, but still have not been
reassigned. One child, Lillian Bell, is
not included among those using the ad
ministrative approach. She said she did
not seek reassignment from the Negro
Booker T. Washington High School to
a white high school nearer her home
because following the procedure set by
the board “would have been useless
and futile.” She therefore seeks her
transfer through court action.
The Lillian Bell approach is based
on the Durham and Caswell County
rulings, which stated that Negro chil
dren involved could be immediately
transferred if they could prove in court
that the school board procedure would
be futile in their cases.
Each child involved in this case lives
closer to a white school than to the
Negro school to which he or she is as
signed, the suit clai'ms. Young Ziglar
and young Thomas wanted to attend
the white South End Elementary
School, less than one block from their
homes, but were assigned to the Negro
Branch Street Elementary School, two
miles from their homes, the suit stated.
Earl Ray Pass, the action further
states, asked a transfer to white North
End Elementary School, not quite two
blocks from his home, but was as
signed to the Negro North Scales Street
School, seven blocks away.
Schoolmen
Durham Board Makes
New Assignments
Under Old Plan
N. C. Highlights
Parents of four Negro children
charged in a federal court suit that
the Reidsville City Board of Educa
tion improperly applied the North
Carolina Pupil Assignment Act in
assignment of pupils to public
schools.
The Durham City Board of Educa
tion took no formal action on the
U.S. Fourth Circuit of Appeals order
to set up a new pupil assignment
plan. The Durham board assigned
108 new students in accordance with
its old assignment program.
The school boards of Halifax and
Warren counties announced plans to
build a new $250,000 school for 325
Haliwa Indians now attending a
frame school building in Warren
County.
The Governor’s Commission on
Education Beyond the High School
report proposing sweeping changes
in post-high school education in
North Carolina will be discussed in
the General Assembly at its 1963 bi
ennial session. The report calls for
the admission of students to all
schools regardless of race.
Principals of three Negro high
schools withdrew their school bands
from the traditional Christmas pa
rade in Greensboro because of racial
tensions in downtown Greensboro.
for the school board in connection with
the court decision. From this conference
is expected a general plan for school
assignments in Durham. The date of
the announced conference has not been
given, but it is expected to take place
“soon.”
★ * ★
Two counties will combine their re
sources to build a $250,000 school for
Haliwa Indians. The Halifax County
and Warren County school boards
agreed on Nov. 23 to continue plans to
build a school for the Haliwa Indians,
W. Henry Overman, Halifax County
school superintendent, announced.
Currently, 325 Haliwa Indians attend
a frame school house near Areola in
Warren County.
The counties will share the cost of
the new building on the basis of the
number of students attending from each
county.
In the Colleges
Commission Report
Expected To Change
College Situation
The General Assembly of North
Carolina, at its 1963 biennial session
will take action on a report by the
Governor’s Commission on Education
Beyond the High School, a report that
is likely to change the public college
picture in the state, no matter what
action the legislature takes.
This report affects three units of the
University of North Carolina, three
white colleges, one Indian college, five
Negro colleges, three community col
leges and 15 industrial education cen
ters. The report proposes a co-ordinat
ed program for all state-supported post-
high school education projects.
One of the features is that there
would be no racial barriers in any of
the colleges. The 204-page report re
fers to race on page 9 under the topic,
admissions:
“It is now clear that racial discrim
ination in admissions to our public
educational institutions is no longer
legally permissible, and the policies of
those institutions have been adjusted
to that fact. Moreover, several of the
leading private institutions of higher
education in this state have voluntarily
adopted policies of racially nondiscrim-
inatory admissions.
“It appears probable that, for a va
riety of reasons—not the least of which
is the demonstrated preference of the
racial groups themselves—the public
institutions of higher education which
were established for nonwhite students
will for some time continue to serve
chiefly the members of these groups.
This fact should not be used as an ex
cuse for neglect of these institutions,
but rather to emphasize necessity for
continuing such support and aid with
out discrimination. We believe that
consistent with established law, stu
dents should be admitted to all post-
high school educational institutions
without discrimination as to race.”
Report Determines
Another phase of the report deter
mines what graduate degrees would be
offered by which particular college.
One proposal would permit only units
of the University of North Carolina
(the university at Chapel Hill, North
Carolina State College at Raleigh and
Woman’s College at Greensboro) to
award a Ph.D. degree.
This would eliminate the Negro
North Carolina College in Durham,
which has awarded several doctorates
in the past few years.
During the past month, Governor
Terry Stanford has headed the list of
speakers who have appeared in various
parts of the state in support of the new
proposals.
★ ★ ★
Two Methodist ministers connected
with two Negro colleges, the Agricul
tural and Technical College and Ben
nett College in Greensboro, became in
volved in the current series of sit-in
and picketing demonstrations in that
city Thursday, Nov. 29. They led a
prayer service on the sidewalk in front
of the S&W cafeteria downtown.
The two ministers were the Rev.
William T. Brown, director of the Wes
ley Foundation of A&T College, and
the Rev. John G. Cory, chaplain of
Bennett College. Both are pastors of
local churches.
Brown was arrested and released
without bond on a charge of holding a
religious service in the street without
a permit. Cory and eight students from
A&T and Dudley High School were not
arrested although they participated in
the demonstration.
Miscellaneous
Negro High School Principals
Withdraw Bands from Parade
The Durham City Board of Education
assigned 108 new students to city
schools on a geographical district basis
on Nov. 12. Race was not indicated in
the assignments.
Using its old geographical assignment
system, the school board took no action
in connection with a U.S. Fourth Cir
cuit Court of Appeals ruling made ex
actly one month earlier in connection
with the Wheeler v. Durham Board of
Education and Spaulding v. Durham
Board of Education cases. The appeals
court ruled that the Durham school
board was not properly administering
the North Carolina Pupil Assignment
Law. The court issued an injunction
and ordered:
“The injunction shall control all fu
ture assignments of pupils to schools
unless and until the defendants submit
to the District Court a suitable plan
for ending the existing discrimination.”
Herman A. Rhinehart, chairman of
the Durham board, refused to comment
on what Durham will do about the
court decision. He promised that rec
ommendations would be presented at
“a proper time.”
A conference is scheduled between
lawyers for the Negroes and attorneys
Three Greensboro principals of Ne
gro public schools withdrew their
school bands from the Friday, Nov. 23,
Christmas parade two days before the
parade. Their action stemmed from the
current series of sit-in, picketing and
praying demonstrations against the re
fusal of two chain restaurants to serve
Negroes downtown.
The Negro principals, J. A. Tarpley
of Dudley High School, V. H. Chavis
of Lincoln Junior High School and A.
H. Peeler of Price Junior High School,
wrote their letter to Luther R. Medlin,
band chairman of the “Holiday Jubilee
Parade,” sponsored by the Chamber of
Commerce, Junior Chamber of Com
merce and Merchants Association.
Negroes are currently conducting the
demonstrations and a “selective buying
campaign” against downtown stores in
Greensboro. Students from the three
public schools, A&T College and Ben
nett College, also Negro schools, are
participating in various demonstra
tions.
On Saturday, Nov. 17, 50 persons were
arrested in downtown Greensboro in
connection with a CORE (Congress of
Racial Equality) demonstration.
Although the three city schools with
drew from the parade, the A&T College
Band did participate.
The principals’ letter said in part:
“We have given most careful thought
to it and our best judgment leads us to
the unanimous conclusion that the sit
uation has now become charged with
such tensive actions and reactions that
it would probably be unwise to put the
bands out into the streets under such
controversial exposure. . . .
“This withdrawal is not to be con
strued as placing the three schools in a
position of favoring or not favoring
either side of the controversy.”
Forest School, Near Louisville
It will be abandoned.
KENTUCKY
Group Surveys All-Negro
Schools in 20 Districts
LOUISVILLE
A Kentucky Commission on
Human Rights study of 20
public school districts “without
known plans for desegregation”
indicated that 42 schools for Ne
groes only are operated within
these districts.
The study focused on shortcomings
seen as supporting a suggestion by the
commission that the State Department
on Education could speed desegrega
tion by finding an effective way to
crack down on the continued operation
of substandard schools.
Among the findings:
• Among the all-Negro elementary
schools in the 20 districts were 11 hav
ing only one teacher.
• Among the 10 all-Negro high
schools operated by 10 of the districts,
four had “temporary” ratings, four had
“provisional” ratings, and two had
“emergency” ratings.
• The State-supported Lincoln In
stitute in Shelby County was the only
Negro high school in the 20 districts
having a “standard” rating.
• Nine of the districts were found
to be sending their high-school-age
students to high schools in other dis
tricts.
In the Colleges
Kentucky Highlights
Eleven all-Negro, one-teacher ele
mentary schools and 10 substandard
all-Negro high schools were spot
lighted by a study of 20 school dis
tricts still practicing segregation.
An enrollment increase at the
state’s only predominantly Negro
college encouraged the school’s offi
cials. Enrollment figures for all eight
public colleges indicated that about
1,468 Negroes are attending classes
with some 34,602 whites.
The Jefferson County school board
adopted plans to eliminate one of
two remaining Negro-only schools in
the system.
Eastern Kentucky State College en
rolled 4,287 for the fall term, including
about 20 Negroes.
Morehead State estimated that 31
Negroes were in its overall enrollment
of 2,969.
Murray State had about 89 Negroes
among 3,609.
Paducah Junior College enrolled 739,
including 22 Negroes.
Western State College’s enrollment
was 5,127 with an estimated 65 Negroes.
170 Negroes at UK
Officials Cheered
By Enrollment Rise
At Kentucky State
An apparent reversal of a static or
declining enrollment trend cheered of
ficials of Kentucky State College.
The predominantly Negro school en
rolled a total of 868 students for the
first semester, an increase of 22.6 per
cent over the 708 enrolled for the first
semester last year.
“The increase is most encouraging,”
said a report from the dean and regis
trar, “coming, as it does, at a time
when much doubt had been created
over the future of the college.”
The statement referred to proposals
that KSC should assume some new role
in education because its traditional
role was rendered obsolete by desegre
gation of other state colleges.
Dr. Rufus B. Atwood, retiring presi
dent, met the proposals by calling for
a study. The study, made by three out-
of-state educators, recommended that
KSC continue as a four-year college
primarily for Negroes while assuming
some new duties in community educa
tion and vocational training.
Incoming president Dr. Carl M. Hill,
who assumed office Dec. 1, said he
would be guided by the study recom
mendations. (Sept. SSN, and previous
ly.)
77 White Students
KSC’s current enrollment of 868 in
cludes 77 white students, most of them
in the evening school. Evening school
enrollment jumped to 84 from last
year’s 24. It is operated jointly by KSC
and the University of Kentucky.
KSC’s faculty numbers 56, including
9 white members. Eight of the 9 white
teachers are employed part-time.
★ ★ ★
State Colleges Report
Enrollment Trend Up
Enrollment trends were generally up
at the seven predominantly white pub
lic institutions of higher learning.
The University of Kentucky counted
11,321, including approximately 170 Ne
groes.
And the University of Louisville esti
mated that about 280 Negroes were in
cluded in total enrollment of 7,150.
Total enrollment at the seven pre
dominantly white schools came to 35,-
202, including 677 Negroes. Overall en
rollment at all eight public colleges and
universities was 36,070, including an
estimated 1,468 Negroes.
The University of Louisville em
ployed one Negro faculty member,
making it and KSC the only public
colleges with biracial faculties. Western
State reported one Indian faculty
member.
Most schools reported that precise
racial breakdowns among whites and
Negroes were not available because
records do not indicate race.
Schoolmen
County To Close
All-Negro School
o-only
One of two remaining Negro-
schools in Jefferson County will W
closed next fall.
The Jefferson County system, serV'
ing suburban Louisville, plans a ne
school to replace the Forest Scho®
with 42 Negro pupils and the Eastwoo®
School with 175 pupils, about 90 P®
cent of them white. The new schoo}
will relieve crowding elsewhere as
well
X 1CUCVU UUWUHlg USCWUCH- X
absorbing the enrollments of F° re
and Eastwood. Both schools to be aban
doned are old wooden structures
outside toilets.
The other Negro-only school, Al e ^
ander-Ingram at Jefferson town, wifi ,
retained despite efforts of a g roU P
parents to get it shut down (SSN, N
vember).
School officials said Alexander-^
gram was inspected recently and
found to be in as good condition
other schools built at the same j
about 1928. Board member Gari
Cochrane said the complaining P are ^ e
were primarily interested in getting
(See KENTUCKY, Page 7)
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