Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 10—MAY, 19&3—SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS
MISSISSIPPI
Committee
(Continued From Page 9)
committees of Congress will make a
full investigation.”
U. S. Rep. Thomas Abemethy of
Mississippi, asserted that “one might
expect such ruthlessness in Russia or
Cuba, but never in the United States.”
Mississippi U. S. Rep. Arthur Win
stead said “if this shocking conduct by
these officials, which is supported by
affidavits, is made fully known by all
news media, then the American people
will well understand the resentment of
the people of Mississippi.”
And U. S. Rep. John Bell Williams,
also of Mississippi, asserted that “Rob
ert Kennedy and his agents stand ac
cused of the most flagrant violation of
the civil rights of American citizens
which have ever occurred in the his
tory of this nation. If these men, who
beat the defenseless young and the de
fenseless lame in such a barbarous
fashion, are heroes, may God have
mercy on their souls.”
Legal Action
Hearings Delayed
On 3 Federal Suits
For Desegregation
Hearings in three federal suits for
desegregation of public schools in Mis
sissippi have been delayed until some
time in May by District Judge S. C.
Mize.
At Jackson, April 5, Judge Mize de
layed until about May 8 a decision on
separate motions to dismiss suits for
desegregation of
the public schools
in the city of
Jackson and in
Leake County
(Carthage), where
Gov. Ross Barnett
was born, to give
attorneys time to
file briefs.
The postpone
ments were or
dered after attor
neys for the city
of Jackson charged that parents of the
Negro children filing the litigation had
not exhausted administrative remedies
available to them. They said the parents
had not applied for transfers under the
individual pupil assignment plan in
effect since 1954. They also asserted
that three of the children had never
attended public schools.
Robert Cannada, attorney for the
Jackson school board, told the court
the city had eliminated separate white
and Negro school districting in 1954
and began assigning students to a
school “on an individual basis.” He said
any student could petition for transfer,
but that none of those in the suit had
done so.
Transfer Plea ‘Futile’
However, Negro attorney Jack
Young, representing the children, said
it would have been “futile” for a Negro
student to request transfer to a white
school because state law requires that
schools be segregated.
Attorney Young said the court
“should merely determine that the city
was operating a segregated school sys
tem and put a stop to it.”
It was stated in the preliminary
hearing on city of Jackson motions to
dismiss the suit that the children of
Medgar Evers, field representative of
the National Association for the Ad
vancement of Colored People, plain
tiffs in the suit, attend private and not
public schools.
Thomas Watkins, special attorney for
the city of Jackson, contended that
the United States Supreme Court’s
1954 desegregation decision “did not
prevent authorities from permitting,
authorizing or encouraging school seg
regation.” He said “it does not require
integration nor does it prohibit volun
tary segregation.”
“If the court should order desegre
gation, it would be telling the city it
must mix white and Negro children,
regardless of the individual desires of
the people,” Watkins said.
One Plaintiff Removed
In addition to gaining a delay in the
Leake County case, attorneys for the
school board were successful in having
the name of one of the plaintiffs re
moved on grounds she had not author
ized use of her name. The affidavit of
Ruthie Nell McBeth, mother of Gween-
nell McBeth, minor, also denied an
allegation in the suit that her home
had been shot into after the suit had
been filed.
Charges, Lawsuits Mark Month
Mrs. McBeth admitted she signed a
petition last February to desegregate
the Leake County schools, but con
tended it was “a threat in an attempt
to have the Harmony Attendance Cen
ter re-established.”
The original petition was filed after
the Negro attendance center was con
solidated with a school in another part
of the county. The school board has
taken no action on that petition from
which many names were withdrawn on
request of the Negro principal.
R. Jess Brown, Negro attorney in the
Leake County suit, was questioned by
the court relative to use of the woman’s
name.
Neither attorney for the desegrega
tion petitioners challenged postpone
ment of the cases. They agreed not to
push immediate desegregattion through
temporary injunctions pending a deci
sion on the motions to dismiss the two
suits.
‘Impacted Area’ Districts
The other desegregation suit, filed
by the federal Justice Department, in
volves the Gulfport and Biloxi sep
arate school districts on the Gulf
Coast in the “impacted area” where
children of military personnel and
federal workers are involved.
Judge Mize signed an order severing
the suit filed Jan. 18 as a joint issue.
The action against the Biloxi district
will be continued under the original
claim number, and the Gulfport suit
will be re-numbered in sequence on
the civil docket.
The suit alleges that there are 3,600
children of service personnel attend
ing Biloxi schools and 2,000 in the
Gulfport schools of which 250 at Biloxi
and 130 at Gulfport are Negroes.
Meanwhile, Judge Mize set May
6 for a hearing on a motion by trustees
of the Gulfport district to dismiss the
suit. Three points were set out in the
motion filed by Owen T. Palmer Jr.,
school board attorney. They are:
“That the court is vested with no
By ERWIN KNOLL
WASHINGTON
espite the government’s rul
ing that segregated schools
are “unsuitable” for children liv
ing on federal installations, sev
eral thousand of these children
will continue to attend segregated
off-base schools after this fall’s
deadline.
The Department of Health, Educa
tion and Welfare has persuaded 15
school districts in four states, serving
some 12,000 children living on military
posts, to desegregate in September.
Desegregated government schools be
ing built on eight installations will
accommodate another 4,000 students,
and 8,000 more could be affected by
Justice Department desegregation suits
now pending in five districts.
But these 24,000 children who may
attend desegregated schools as a result
of voluntary compliance or federal ac
tion constitute only a fraction of the
70,000 school-age children living on
360 federal installations in 17 Southern
and border states. Some of the others,
however, already are attending on-
base schools or desegregated schools
in nearby communities.
Major obstacles to full implementa
tion of the government’s year-old
“suitability ruling” are:
• Continuing negotiations with some
school districts which have not yet in
dicated willingness to desegregate, but
where the negotiations “have not yet
reached the point where a decision to
build on-base schools would be justi
fied,” according to U.S. Commissioner
of Education Francis Keppel.
“Pressing forward on these negotia
tions is certainly our number-one item
of business,” Keppel told a House edu
cation subcommittee on April 2.
• Difficulties involved in establishing
on-base government high schools. All
of the desegregated schools being built
on the installations so far would pro
vide only elementary instruction.
• Educational objections to building
on-base schools at installations with
small numbers of pupils. Such schools
jurisdiction of the parties or subject
matter as set out in the complaint.
“That the complaint fails to state
a claim upon which relief can be
granted.
“That the United States of America
has no standing as plaintiff in this
court for the reason that the USA does
not have the requisite interest in the
subject matter as alleged in said com
plaint to maintain such action.”
The Justice Department filed the suit
on behalf of dependents of military
and civilian personnel of the United
States who attend school in the Biloxi
and Gulfport districts. It points to the
federal funds granted for operation of
the schools.
Arguments Delayed
On Barnett, Johnson
The U.S. Supreme Court has delayed
until October arguments on a point of
law as to whether Gov. Ross Barnett
and Lt. Gov. Paul B. Johnson are en
titled to a trial by jury for defying
two federal court mandates for admis
sion of Negro James Meredith in the
University of Mississippi.
Both Mississippi officials physically
and personally blocked Meredith’s en
trance to the campus prior to his en
rollment Oct. 1.
The point at issue has been sub
mitted to the Supreme Court by the
U.S. Fifth Court of Appeals which split
four-to-four on the issue. The ninth
judge was ill and did not sit in the
case.
Gov. Barnett and Lt. Gov. Johnson
have demanded a trial by jury in the
criminal contempt charges filed against
them by the Justice Department on
behalf of the Court of Appeals.
Chief Judge Elbert Tuttle wrote an
opinion, with Judges Richard Rives,
John R. Brown and Minor Wisdom
concurring, expressing the view that
the question should be answered in the
negative. In separate opinions, Judges
Ben F. Cameron, Warren Jones, Wal-
would, of necessity, be one- or two-
room operations and would be “aca
demically inadequate,” according to
officials of the Department of Health,
Education and Welfare.
About 7,000 of the 70,000 school-age
children who could have been affected
by the “suitability ruling” live on 284
small installations where no attempt
is being made to build biracial on-base
schools.
Of the remaining 76 large govern
ment installations, 13 have no Negro
children in residence, and three already
provide on-base instruction for all
resident Negro children. Another 23
installations are in communities where
some off-base desegregation has taken
place.
The remaining 37 larger bases have
an on-base school-age population of
about 44,000—12,000 of whom already
are attending desegregated on-base
schools. Of the remaining 32,000, some
8,000 are so far not accounted for by
the government’s steps to obtain vol
untary desegregation, build on-base
schools or file desegregation suits.
“You may be assured,” Keppel told
the House subcommittee, “that with
the best thinking and greatest resource
fulness at our command we intend to
press forward toward full implemen
tation of the policy.”
Approach Criticized
Several members of the subcommit
tee expressed criticism of the govern
ment’s approach to the problem of
segregated schools for military de
pendents.
Chairman John H. Dent (D-Pa.)
cited the $4 million cost of building
on-base schools at eight installations
and asked if the Administration had
considered moving some installations to
nonsegregated communities.
Reps, N. G. Snyder (R-Ky.) and
Donald C. Bruce (R-Ind.) said if there
is a federal obligation to provide bi
racial schooling, Congress should enact
legislation barring ‘impacted areas” aid
to segregated school districts. A bill to
accomplish this has been introduced by
Rep. Charles Joelson (D-N.J.).
Keppel indicated that it was the Ad
ministration’s position that such legis-
ter Gewin and Griffin B. Bell expressed
the view that the question should be
answered in the affirmative.
Absent was Judge J. G. Hutcheson.
In The Colleges
Meredith Seeks
Summer Quarters
James H. Meredith has applied for
quarters for married students for the
summer term at the University of Mis-
sippi, according to reports published
on April 18.
The reports said that the 29-year-old
Negro, whose enrollment touched off
rioting at the university last September,
paid a $25 deposit and requested living
quarters in the veterans village unit
on the Ole Miss campus.
Meredith’s wife has been attending
Jackson State College for Negroes. They
have a three-year-old son.
★ ★ ★
A small bomb exploded outside a
men’s dormitory at the University of
Mississippi on the night of April 30,
but there were no injuries
A window in a vacant room and
another in a room occupied by the
dormitory manager, who was out of
the room at the time, were broken by
the blast. Campus police launched an
investigation.
A bomb scare on April 18 caused
officials to clear an Ole Miss library
where James H. Meredith was study
ing.
Officials said an anonymous telephone
caller reported a bomb had been placed
in the library. A search uncovered no
bomb and some 150 students were al
lowed to go back into the building
about 45 minutes later.
lation should be held up until the five
pending desegregation suits are settled
by the courts.
The suits are pending against Prince
George County, Va. (Fort Lee); Madi
son County, Ala. (Redstone Arsenal);
Mobile County, Ala. (Brookley Air
Force Base); Harrison County, Miss.
(Keesler Air Force Base), and Bossier
Parish, La. (Barksdale Air Force Base).
Off-Base Dependents
Rep. Edith Green (D-Ore.) com
plained that the construction of non
segregated schools for children living
on federal installations would be of no
help to military dependents living off-
base who must still attend segregated
schools.
The Administration has taken the
position that the law permits it to make
a determination of “suitability” only in
the case of schools serving children
who live on federal property.
The eight installations where ele
mentary schools are to be constructed
by this fall are Fort McClellan, Fort
Rucker and. Maxwell Air Force Base
in Alabama; Fort Stewart and Robins
Air Force Base in Georgia; Fort Jack-
son and Myrtle Beach Air Force Base
in South Carolina, and England Air
Force Base in Louisiana.
A dozen of the 15 school districts
which have agreed to desegregate next
fall have been publicly identified. They
are:
Florida—Hillsborough County (Mac-
Dill Air Force Base); Okaloosa Coun
ty (Elgin Air Force Base); Santa Rosa
County (Whiting Field Naval Air Sta
tion.
Tennessee—Shelby County (Memphis
Naval Air Station).
Texas—Abilene (Dyess Air Force
Base); Mineral Wells (Camp Wolters);
Colorado Consolidated School District
No. 36 (Bergstrom Air Force Base);
Burkbumett (Sheppard Air Force
Base); Potter County Consolidated
School District No. 3 (Amarillo Air
Force Base); Connally Consolidated
Independent School District (Connally
Air Force Base).
Virginia—York County (Langley Air
Force Base); City of Hampton (Fort
Monroe).
D. C. Highlights
The Civil Rights Commission
asked President Kennedy to study
the possibility of withholding fed
eral funds from Mississippi. The
President rejected the idea, but it
found favor in some quarters on
Capitol Hill, and led to a resurgence
of interest in the “Powell amend
ment.”
The District Board of Education,
after heated debate, rejected School
Supt. Carl F. Hansen’s proposal that
it lift the ban on corporal punish
ment in the schools.
The Supreme Court announced
that it will hear arguments next fall
on the question of a jury trial in the
contempt case against Mississippi
Gov. Ross R. Barnett and Lt. Gov.
Paul B. Johnson. (See Mississippi
report.)
The Justice Department denied
charges by a Mississippi legislative
committee that U.S. marshals brutal
ly mistreated prisoners during last
fall’s desegregation crisis at the
University of Mississippi. (See Mis
sissippi report.)
(Continued From Page 1)
to withhold funds from segregated pro
grams. Celebrezze said he did not be
lieve he had the authority to do so,
except in the case of schooling provided
for children living on federal installa
tions and possibly in the rural libraries
assistance program, where the question
is now under study.
Says Ban Would Block Passage
“Would you object to a provision in
the education bill forbidding funds to
states where racial discrimination ex
ists?” Prouty asked.
“If such a provision goes in the edu
cation bill, we will get no bill,” Cele
brezze answered. He said the question
should properly be left to the enact
ment of separate civil rights legislation.
In an April 27 interview with United
Press International, Congressman Pow
ell indicated that he was cancelling his
“truce” with the administration because
it was “slowing up” the civil rights
field.
When he became chairman of the
Education and Labor Committee in
1961, Powell announced that he would
refrain from supporting anti-discrim
ination amendments while the Admin
istration moved vigorously on the civil
rights front. He told UPI that he no
longer felt bound by that pledge.
Board Votes Down
Proposal To Allow
Corporal Punishment
By 5-to-4 vote, the District of Col
umbia Board of Education on April 1
rejected School Supt. Carl F. Hansens
proposal to end the ban on corpor
punishment in Washington public
schools. ,
Hansen had advanced the corpor
punishment proposal as part of a
point program to tighten discipline i®
the schools following racial disorde
at a high school championship footb n
game in the D.C. Stadium last Thanks
giving Day. a
The board gave tentative appro
to another key Hansen proposal —
change in dismissal policies to P rov '
for indefinite suspension of unruly stu
dents under 16.
The corporal punishment proposal'
which had been a matter of communi
controversy and Congressional conce
was rejected after a heated debate
the school board during which
asked to have some remarks by M°^
decai Johnson, former president
Howard University, struck from
record.
At the end of a 30-minute s P ee ?” s0 n.
posing corporal punishment,
one of four Negro members on ^
nine-member board, charged ^ .
Hansen had been “out of touch ^
school disciplinary problems before^
Thanksgiving Day disturbance,
was “an administrative failure of a s
ous kind,” Johnson said.
He charged that the superintena
tried to cover this “failure” by a m
ment to violence” . . . ‘ ‘whippy 1 ®
children.” When Johnson finished,
sen told the board: _u e s
“When a board member a 1 ^
charges of incompetence against ^
superintendent ... it seems to m ^
automatic sequel that a motion s ^
be placed before the board asking 0 t
his (the superintendent’s) dismiss ^
the remark should be expunged
the record.”
Some Pupils on U. S. Bases
To Stay in Uniracial Schools