Newspaper Page Text
V
PAGE 10—FEBRUARY, 1963—SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS
ALABAMA
Justice Department Begins Desegregation
Suits Against Officials of Two Districts
MONTGOMERY
he Justice Department filed
suits against Mobile and Mad
ison County Jan. 18 demanding j
desegregation of local schools at- j
tended by children of servicemen
stationed at Mobile’s Brookley Air i
Force base and at Madison Coun
ty’s Redstone Arsenal and related
space and missile facilities at
Huntsville in Northern Alabama.
The suits contend that segregation of
military dependents violates their con
stitutional rights under the 14th
Amendment. Both counties have re
ceived substantial “impacted areas” aid
from the federal government. The suits
further contend that segregation of
children of military and civilian per
sonnel is harmful to morale.
Stationed at Brookley are 987 mili
tary personnel and 15,441 civilians, the
government said. At Redstone, which
includes the Army Ordnance Missile
Command, Missile Support Agency and
Guided Missile School and the George
C. Marshall Space Flight Center, there
are 3,730 servicemen and 19,000 civilian
employes. The suits are similar to those
filed simultaneously in Mississippi and
Louisiana and to one filed last Sept.
14 in Virginia.
The legal action came four days after
Gov. George C. Wallace, 43, was inau
gurated with the pledge, “segregation
today, segregation tomorrow, segrega
tion forever.” (See What They Say.)
Three days before the Mobile suit was
filed, the Mobile School Board had
turned down a desegregation petition
filed last Nov. 14. (SSN, December.)
Resistance Counseled
Gov. Wallace, Attorney General Rich
mond Flowers (who had issued an in
augural statement which seemed in
sharp contrast to Wallace’s position)
and many of the state’s congressional
delegation members counseled resist
ance. They contended that the Justice
Department was without legal authority
to initiate the suits.
The Mobile school board said it
would seek dismissal of the suits.
Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy,
in announcing the suits, said the gov
ernment has a direct interest in seeking
an end to “unconstitutional school seg
regation in the areas because govern
ment employes and money are in
volved.” But, he added, “We are not
saying to the school districts, ‘Deseg
regate or the government will take its
money away.’ ”
Mobile County has received more
than $11,800,000 in federal assistance for
schools since 1950, according to the suit
there. The total includes $6,821,122 for
operations and $5,041,618 for buildings.
For the past few years, federal aid in
the county has averaged about $1,000,-
000 a year. Public schools of the county
have 14,251 students whose parents are
employed by the federal government—
Brookley, the U.S. Engineers, the Dau
phin Island air warning station, the
Coast Guard and other federal instal
lations and departments. This enroll
ment represents approximately 19 per
cent of the 74,234 students in the public
schools there.
Redstone Personnel
Madison County schools have re
ceived $1,500,000 in impacted areas aid
since the program began; city schools
of Huntsville, more than $8,000,000. The
suit affecting the city and county, filed
in Birmingham U.S. District Court,
states that there are about 2,000 chil
dren of Redstone military and civilian
personnel attending Madison County
schools. Some 250 of these are Negroes.
Approximately 9,000 children of Red
stone personnel attend Huntsville city
schools, including 500 Negroes.
The Mobile suit named the Mobile
County Board of School Commissioners
as defendants, along with board mem
bers and the school superintendent. The
suit filed against Huntsville and Mad
ison County named the County Board
of Education, the City Board of Educa-
| tion, their members and superintend
ents.
In Mobile, U.S. Attorney V. R. Jan
sen Jr. said: “We have a rather em
barrassing situation here so far as
timing is concerned. Two days after
LeFlore (J. L. FeFlore, postal worker
and Negro leader) announces he’s going
to take the segregation issue to court,
the Justice Department files suit. It
makes it appear that the Justice De
partment is reacting to the will of the
NAACP. Until now, suits involving
school desegregation have been private
suits. In this suit, and others filed si
multaneously in Birmingham and else
where, the federal government has be
come a principal.”
The Justice Department petition did
not specify the number of Negro chil
dren involved in Mobile.
NAACP Announcement
In his reference to the NAACP, Jan
sen presumably had in mind the or
ganization’s announcement in New York
two days earlier that it plans to take
legal action against the school board
for its denial of the desegregation peti
tion. (For details of the denial, see
Schoolmen.)
Jansen said he had signed the Mobile
suit “only because the law requires it.”
He said he had conferred with school
board members and advised them “what
to expect, based on information from
Washington.”
Gov. Wallace immediately denounced
the suits as “blackmail” and called in
his Committee on Constitution Law and
State Sovereignty, which numbers
among its members some of the state’s
most highly regarded constitutional
lawyers. Wallace said:
“The suits . . . will be resisted in
every way by the state of Alabama.
These suits are another example of a
destructive blow at the liberty and free
dom to which Americans are entitled.
It is a prime example of the federal ,
government, as now administered, tak- |
ing the hard-earned money from the |
pockets of Alabamians and then black
mailing and threatening them with a
loss of funds unless we conform to their
every whim.
“If we do not fall into the socialist-
liberal pattern of integration, moneys
which have been received from the
federal government will no longer be
available to these school systems . . .
This is another example of the federal
government going to great expense
merely for the purpose of political ex
pediency. It is apparent that this is
another part of the pattern set by the
attorney general ... to place all pow
ers in the federal government.
“I now call upon our U.S. senators
and our entire legislative delegation to
resist this new assault with every legis
lative weapon they have. I further call
upon all officials and every citizen of
this state to oppose this suit which will
destroy not only our Southern traditions
and customs, but will further restrict
the liberty and freedom we enjoy. . . .”
Convenes Committee
He then announced his call for the
newly created Committee on Constitu
tional Law and State Sovereignty of
the Alabama Bar Association to con
vene Jan. 21.
The committee of eight prominent
lawyers was named last fall by James
J. Carter, president of the Alabama Bar
Association, at the request of Wallace.
Serving are: James A. Simpson, Bir
mingham; James M. Albritton, Anda
lusia; John A. Caddell, Decatur; T. B.
Hill Jr., Montgomery; J. Kirkman
Jackson, Birmingham; Joseph F.
Johnston, Birmingham; John P. Kohn,
Montgomery; and John W. Vardaman,
Anniston.
Alabama Highlights
The Justice Department filed de
segregation suits against Mobile and
Madison County (Huntsville) school
officials. The two school systems re
ceive federal “impacted area” funds.
Suit was filed in Montgomery Dis
trict Court Jan. 28 in behalf of 16
Macon County Negro children seek
ing desegregation of schools there.
The new governor, the state attor
ney general and members of the
state’s congressional delegation ar
gued that Attorney General Robert
F. Kennedy had no authority to file
suits in the name of the United
States. State officials, aided by a re
cently created Committee on Consti
tutional Law and State Sovereigny,
mapped resistance plans.
In his inaugural address, Gov.
George C. Wallace, who had pledged
during his campaign to “stand in the
school house door” to prevent de
segregation, reaffirmed all his inten
tions of all-out defiance.
The new legislature, meeting in or
ganizational session in January, gave
Wallace unanimous support in a res
olution saying, “At no time will we in
Alabama voluntarily submit to inte
gration of our schools.”
It was disclosed Jan. 25 that the
University of Alabama campus had
been photographed, under orders
from the Justice Department, by
photo-reconnaissance jets of the Ala
bama National Guard and Shaw Air
Force Base, S.C. At least three Ne
groes have applied for admission to
the Tuscaloosa campus.
Caddell, Hill, Jackson and Vardaman
are all past-presidents of the state bar;
Johnston was instrumental in drafting
most of the state’s segregation legisla
tion, including the Placement Act and
the freedom of choice amendments to
the constitution.
After a three-hour meeting, the com
mittee said the federal government had
no legal right to file the suits and urged
that they be “vigorously defended."
Gov. Wallace said it was the opinion
(See SUITS, Page 11)
What They Say
Gov. W allace Reallirms Intent To Keep Segregation
Gov. Wallace Watches Inaugural Parade
He called for ‘segregation forever.’
In his inaugural address Jan. 14, Gov.
George C. Wallace reaffirmed his inten
tion to defy any school desegregation
effort in Alabama.
“In the name of the greatest people
that have ever trod this earth,” the 43-
year-old governor said, “I draw the
line in the dust and toss the gauntlet
before the feet of tyranny and I say
segregation now, segregation tomorrow,
segregation forever . . . What I have said
about segregation goes double this day
and what I have said to or about some
federal judges goes triple this day.”
He referred to desegregation as “com
munistic amalgamation” and said the
South had been “footballed about to the
favor of the Afro-Asian bloc.”
Wallace also declared:
“. . . We intend to take the offensive
and carry our fight for freedom across
this nation, wielding the balance of
power we know we possess in the
Southland . . . We, not the insipid bloc
voters of some sections, will determine
in the next election who shall sit in the
White House ... We will tolerate their
boot in our face no longer . . .”
While never suggesting that the state
or the South should vote Republican,
Wallace has repeatedly urged that the
South break away from the National
Democratic Party.
Much of his 35-minute speech was
devoted to states-rights and segrega
tion. He said he was ashamed of “the
fat well-fed whimperers who say that
it (desegregation) is inevitable, that our
cause is lost.”
★ ★ ★
New Attorney General Warns
Against ‘Blanket Defiance’
In sharp contrast to Wallace’s address,
Attorney General Richmond Flowers
issued an inaugural statement warning
that blanket defiance of federal deci
sions “can only bring disgrace to our
state, military law upon our people,
and political demagoguery to the lead
ers responsible.”
Flowers said officers of the state
must stand up for their people, “but
the people of this state must discern
and distinguish between a fighting
chance and a chance to fight.”
He counseled against defying the
“same federal arm that speaks for
America to Castro, Khrushchev, and
Mao Tse-tung” and pre-announcing
“that any decision concerning us that
is contrary to our likes will not be
heeded.”
However, he pledged “to do battle for
our Southern traditions” and that he
would fight to preserve segregation.
Lt. Gov. James B. Allen, who ex
pressed similar sentiments in a series
of speeches last fall, issued a brief
statement calling for responsible lead
ership. He made no direct reference to
segregation.
Outgoing Gov. John Patterson told an
organizational session of the state legis
lature Jan. 8 that it is possible to main
tain school segregation, “if we stand
firm, if we remain resolute and stead
fast.”
But, he warned: “We should make it
clear that we are not going to weaken
or surrender but are going to hold
steadfastly to our principles and be
liefs. We should not back up one inch
nor give in to the racial agitators or
would-be integrationists. We should
not listen for one minute to those
among us who are preaching surrender
before the fight even begins.”
★ ★ ★
Adding to the list of “law and order”
resolutions already adopted by various
religious, civic and college groups over
the state was a statement Jan. 16 by
five bishops and other regional leaders
of seven denominations.
Meeting in Birmingham two days aft
er Gov. Wallace was inaugurated, the
clergymen said that rebellion against
desegregation will bring “violence, dis
cord, confusion and disgrace” to Ala
bama.
The leaders represented the Baptist,
Methodist, Roman Catholic, Episcopal,
Jewish, Presbyterian and Greek Ortho
dox faiths.
In a statement captioned “An Appeal
For Law and Order and Commonsense,”
the churchmen acknowledged that many
people were disturbed by impending
segregation. They further conceded,
“We do not pretend to know all the
answers.” Nevertheless, “defiance is
neither the right answer nor the solu
tion. And we feel that inflammatory and
rebellious statements” can only lead to
violence and confusion.
‘With Firm Conviction’
“We believe our people expect and
deserve leadership from us, and we
speak with firm conviction for we do
know the ultimate spirit in which all
problems of human relations must be
solved,” the statement continued, add
ing:
“We therefore affirm, and commend
to our people—
• “That there may be disagreement
concerning laws and social change with
out advocating defiance, anarchy and
subversion.
• “That laws may be tested in the
courts or changed by legislatures, but
not ignored by whims of individuals.
• “That constitutions may be amend
ed or judges impeached by proper ac
tion, but our American way of life de
pends upon obedience to the decisions
of competent jurisdiction in the mean
time.
• “That no person’s freedom is safe
unless every person’s freedom is equal
ly protected.
• “That freedom of speech must at
all costs be preserved and exercised
without fear of recrimination or har
assment.
• “That every human being is created
in the image of God and is entitled to
respect as a fellow human being with
all basic rights, privileges and respon
sibilities which belong to humanity.”
Signers were: Bishop Nolan B. Har
mon, North Alabama Methodists; Bish
op Paul Hardin, Alabama-West Florida
Methodists; C. C. J. Carpenter, Episco
pal bishop of Alabama; Joseph A. Dur-
ick, auxiliary bishop of the Mobile-
Birmingham Roman Catholic diocese;
Earl Stallings, pastor of the First Bap
tist Church, Birmingham; George »■
Murray, bishop coadjutor, Episcopal
diocese; Rabbi Milton L. Graf man, Tem
ple Emanu-El, Birmingham; Edward B
Ramage, moderator, synod of the Ala
bama Presbyterian Church in the U.S ■
Soterios D. Gouvellis, priest of the Hoi.'
Trinity-Holy Cross Greek Orthodox
Church; Rabbi Eugene Blachschlegu-
Temple Beth-Or, Montgomery; 311
J. T. Beale, secretary-director, Chris
tian Churches of Alabama.
* * *
Episcopal Convention
Declines Endorsement
The 132nd convention of the Episo^
pal Diocese in Alabama, meeting
Montgomery, on Jan. 21 tabled a
posal to endorse the Birmingham rew
lution, which had been signed
Bishops Carpenter and Murray.
A resolution of endorsement was J > ,,,
sented by the Christian Social Re
tions Committee of the conven 1
Layman John B. Scott of Montgom®
made the motion to table with th e .
gument that “this is something
should be left alone at this time,
lay leaders agreed, although the ^
bishops argued in favor of the re
tion. . waS
The vote to table the resolution
110 to 94. About three-fourth ot ^
convention delegates were laymen,
others clergy.
In a speech to the convention, o
Murray criticized “politicians ^
promise more than they know they^
deliver while making such em ° j v e5
appeals for votes that they therns ^
eventually may often believe v} e
speaking.” He said few people ^ fl p.
have the courage to stand up 3X1
pose such appeals.