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OKLAHOMA SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS—MAY. 1963—PAGE 13 NEA Principals Demand Discrii ination End OKLAHOMA CITY A national principals’ group demanded an end to racial discrimination after some Negro convention delegates were turned away from motels where they had reservations. A strongly-worded resolution was passed unanimously by the 4,000 dele gates attending a meeting here of the National Education Association’s de partment of elementary school prin cipals during April. Robert Eaves, executive secretary, said at least 15 Negroes were turned away from motels in Oklahoma City where they had confirmed reservations. Others had to move from an out lying motel to a downtown hotel be cause no restaurants in the motel area would serve them, he said. This happened as delegates arrived for the four-day convention early in April. The furor appeared to evaporate when the convention and visitors’ bu reau of the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce quickly found alternate accommodations for the Negro dele gates. But on the second day of the con vention a resolution was adopted which stated: “We again strongly urge educators to direct their efforts toward devel oping that complete interracial under standing which alone can achieve hu man dignity, opportunity and happiness for all Americans.” Eaves said the NEA, parent organi zation to the elementary school prin cipals’ group, took a similar stand in 1955 and reaffirmed it every year through 1959. For the past three years, however, no such resolution has been brought to the floor, presumably be cause it already was on the books as the department’s policy. Eaves said the school principals met in Oklahoma City only on the assur ance there would be no racial discrimi nation. Louis F. Evans, manager of the chamber’s convention and visitors’ bu reau, expressed regret. He said the alleged discrimination occurred in “isolated instances.” There is no way of knowing how many Negroes were well pleased with iheir reception in Oklahoma City, but I know personally that more than 200 were placed with no difficulty,” he said. Marian Cranmore, president of the department, apologized personally to the Negroes who encountered difficulty. Community Action Organization Asks Oklahoma City To End Housing Bars f cor nmunity organization has called 3n end to race-based housing bar- " ers ® Oklahoma City to prevent con- n ration of any racial, religious or ethnic group. ouf S f UC ^ a suggestion were carried 0 f ’ " would result in desegregation many more Oklahoma City Public schools. ^ special committee of the Urban of re ^ eas ed in April the results • SI ’L' mon th survey of Negro hous- 5 m Oklahoma City. , In its th at r feport the committee concluded eoumf 1111 blighted conditions ac- muni vT the crime and com- munity 6 < ** seases m the Negro com- Unsatisfactory Answer ■nto ''tv, 0 conc l ut led the Negro migration City 6 nor iheast part of Oklahoma ^ e groe*^ S answer satisfactorily the for t i s bousing problem, especially Oklaho 6 ow 7 income family. Most of in repJ^f Oity’s school desegregation area. nt years has occurred in this Th effort s S ? ct ‘ on has also seen organized 10 renia' encour age white residents Elation 1° promote harmonious Neg rn t ..fween whites and incoming ta Milies. jPHk^ommittee making what was de- “PpraLsai^ 3 * •^ rst accurate > factual beaded u ° f m M or ity housing” was City att y Arnold Fagin, Oklahoma .Tlv attorney. ^egro ^ n f y showed that, while the 10 yeaiV atl0n has nearly doubled in ” >e groes ]' 6 ® eo S ra Pbical area in which lately fv, 1Ve has remained approxi- L tl d I960 th slze ' Between 1950 a °hia p , e Ne g r o population in Okla- x 1,017 - Nmi lumped from 22,664 to ^egrocg j. y 7a Per cent of the city’s re ferr er i 1 1Ve m the area commonly Mi ^ti 0n aS of the “ east ai de” of some Negro families Oklahoma Highlights The alleged failure of some motels to honor Negro delegates’ reserva tions led a national school principals’ convention to take a strong stand against racial discrimination. An Urban League committee called for an end to race-based housing bar riers in Oklahoma City to prevent concentration of any racial, religious or ethnic group. The date of a federal court trial of the Robert Dowell racial discrim ination suit against the Oklahoma City school board was set for May 9. across the traditional Northeast 23rd Street “boundary” has led to the de segregation of a high school and four elementary schools in the area in the last few years. The remaining 25 per cent of the Negro population, according to the sur vey, is scattered among three other smaller areas—southtown, westtown and Walnut Grove. The committee said “containment” of the Negro population has created a slum and blighted district that “har bors every social and physical illness.” Despite new housing additions designed to relieve the bulging boundaries and population, it declared, a congested housing situation and inadequate homes still exist for Negroes. Conditions Cited The committee spelled out some of these conditions: Some housing doesn’t meet basic minimum standards for dignified hu man habitation; at least half of the dwellings occupied by Negroes are without private baths; one-third are without running water; one house in three is totally unsanitary due to over crowded conditions; rent averages $28.80 a month for a single-family dwelling, and owner-occupied units have an average market value of around $3,500. Some Negroes, seeking a more de sirable environment for their families, have succeeded in crossing traditional “boundaries” and moved into formerly all-white neighborhoods, the commit tee’s report related. Practically all of this movement has occurred in the northeast part of the city. The committee suggested that artifi cial race-based housing barriers be removed to prevent the concentration of any racial, religious or ethnic group. Removal of such barriers, the report said, would reduce social tensions and provide for utilization of the “total Oklahoma City housing market for all of our citizens.” Economically sufficient Negroes, now restricted, then would have the oppor tunity of choice, thus providing mod erate and lower income housing for a large segment of the Negro population, the committee said. The constant in-flow of Negroes has strained present boundaries, the com mittee observed, adding that urban re newal will present even more prob lems in relocating families. Finally, the committee said good housing alone is not the answer. The solution to the Negro housing problem and its accompanying social ills, it de clared, must come from better oppor tunities for Negroes in employment and education and participation in over-all community life. Under Survey Trial Date Set On Suit Charging Transfers Unfair Trial was set for May 9 in a feder al court suit charging racial discrimi nation by the Oklahoma City school board in administration of its transfer policy. The case of Dotveil v. Board of edu cation was scheduled to be heard by U. S. District Judge Luther Bohan- on of Oklahoma City. A Negro student, Robert Dowell, through his father, Dr. A. L. Dowell, an optometrist, contends the school board has been guilty of racial dis crimination in maintaining attendance areas and a policy of special transfers in the Oklahoma City school system. Meanwhile, the board of education, on advice of its attorney, Walter A. Lybrand, officially adopted April 10 what he said has always been its policy on special transfers for students whose race is in the minority at a school. He said developments during the Dowell case prompted his recommendation. The board’s resolution states: “It is the policy of the school board to consider, pass upon and to practical ly always grant the applications of parents for the transfer of their chil dren from schools where the children’s race is in the minority to a school or schools solely of the child’s race or in which the child’s race is in the ma jority, providing that transfers under policy last above described be granted only when it is the opinion of the par ents of the child and the district that such transfer is necessary for the best interest of the child as a pupil.” Lybrand told SSN this has been the board’s policy but the students in seek ing transfers have not always stated the reason on their applications. He added: “Since the opposing attorneys (in the Dowell suit) brought up the point in the court case, we recommended the board pass a resolution to require that in the future on every application it be stated exactly why the student is asking for a transfer. “We’ve instructed personnel to do what they’d always done but to keep a written record of it. It’s highly tech nical, mainly to give proof, but we wanted it in writing so the issue wouldn’t come up again.” Under Survey Rights Committee Must Meet Again Another meeting of the Oklahoma civil rights committee is necessary be fore its study of school desegregation in the state is complete. Savoie Lottinville, chairman, said the group met April 23 but Dr. Jack Dod son, University of Oklahoma sociology professor, had not completed his sta tistical analysis of data gathered in the survey. All the statistical work is done except for that involving Tulsa, Lottin ville said. The committee’s next meeting is scheduled May 22. Lottinville said the group, an ad visory committee of the United States Civil Rights Commission, will work on racial problems in housing next. One problem, he said, exists in Okla homa City, where some Negro delegates to the national convention of the De partment of Elementary School Princi pals of the National Education Asso ciation found motel reservations not honored. He said the committee will get in formation on which facilities are de segregated and statements of policies from hotel and restaurant associations in a move to avoid such situations in the future. In The Colleges Langston University Again Defended Langston University’s president, who only two months ago said criticism of the institution appeared to be at low ebb, has spoken out in its defense again. Dr. William H. Hale testified before the State Senate Higher Education Committee. Members were critical of Langston’s per capita cost, highest of any Oklahoma college. They wanted to know why Lang ston’s per capita cost is $924.41. By contrast the figure for Northeastern State College at Tahlequah is only $355.81. Dr. Hale replied: “Because of our isolated condition and the economic level of the parents of our students, we have to supply more support for our students.” Langston is the only institution with an all-Negro enrollment in the Okla homa system of higher education. Dr. Hale said Langston had to fur nish more student support because there are no local jobs for them, and that moving the university to a larger city would remedy that situation. TEXAS Court Approves Fort Worth Plan AUSTIN S. District Judge Leo Brew ster approved a grade-a-year desegregation program for Fort Worth, the state’s largest still-seg regated school system. (Flax v. Potts-SSN April 1963 and previ ous). First-graders and adult education night classes will be desegregated in September 1963; second grade and kindergarten in September 1964; and other grades follow, one per year. The school board had opposed desegrega ting the adult classes and kindergarten on the ground that they occupied a different legal status because the stu dents pay tuition. On the other hand, the judge re jected most of the proposals by attor neys for Negro plaintiffs designed to speed up desegregation. Atwood Mc Donald, school board president, called the court-approved plan “one that we can live under.” There was no estimate of how many Negroes will be attend ing school next fall with white pupils in Fort Worth. The system has about 55,000 white and 12,500 Negroes en rolled. Judge Brewster delayed kindergarten desegregation for one year, saying it would allow time to cool the tempers of “extremists.” “It is well known that there are Texas Highlights A federal judge modified Fort Worth’s desegregation plan to start in September. Sterling City, in West Texas, de segregated by board order. Four other districts, with military installa tions, announced plans to abolish segregation in September, following previous announcements by two simi larly placed districts. The American Association of Uni versity Professors censured Sam Houston State College for dismissing Dr. Rupert C. Koeninger, partly for his pro-integration activity. University of Texas Student As sembly decided against withholding annual activity fees from the athletic department as a protest against bar ring Negroes from varsity teams. adult extremists on both sides of the segregation issue who put their own prejudices ahead of the welfare of the school children and the community,” Brewster commented. “To desegregate kindergarten classes at the beginning would make the small children pawns of those extremists.” The court knocked out a school board proposal to require that each Negro enrolled in a formely all-white school must report first to the principal of the Negro school which otherwise he would be attending. Judge Brewster termed this discriminatory. Under the court’s order, “each first- grade student, regardless of race or color, shall be permitted to go to the elementary school nearest his home for the purpose of enrolling just as if there had never been any racial segrega tion. . . ” Schoolmen Sterling City Ends Segregation Policy The board of trustees at Sterling City in West Texas voted to abolish its seg regation policy effective immediately. However, reports to the Texas Educa tion Agency did not indicate that the district has any Negro students; only 231 whites enrolled. ★ ★ ★ The U.S. Department of Health, Edu cation and Welfare reported in Wash ington that four more Texas districts had indicated they will desegregate in The Region (Continued From Page 1) “qualified” Negroes as day students, beginning in the fall of 1964, while the board of trustees of Mary Baldwin Col lege, a Presbyterian women’s school at Staunton, Va., voted to consider admis sion of applicants without regard to race. Several Negro undergraduates are expected to be enrolled at Duke Uni versity at Durham, N.C., this fall, under a policy adopted by its board of trus tees last year. Pending Court Cases In developments in federal court cases still pending, hearings were de layed until this month in three Missis sippi suits while the U.S. District Court set May 9 as the date for hearing a suit charging racial discrimination by the Oklahoma City school board in admin istration of its transfer policy. A federal judge at New Orleans or dered the Orleans Parish School Board to enroll first- and second-grade pupils on the basis of unitary nonracial at tendance districts. Oral arguments on the board’s proposal for redistricting zones were set for May 11. Presented to federal courts for con sideration were plans by the Freder icksburg, Va., school board, which pro posed grade-a-year desegregation, and by the Durham City Board of Educa tion in North Carolina, which offered a proposal for automatic promotion of children from two all-Negro elementary schools to predominantly white junior high schools. Federal Judge Harrold Carswell re served judgment in the Leon County desegregation suit in Florida. Negro plaintiffs asked federal courts to reject desegregation plans proposed by school boards in Roanoke, Va., and Frankfort, Ky. In Alabama, U.S. District Court re fused to order the Mobile school board to present a desegregation plan within 30 days and the Huntsville Board of Education asked dismissal of a suit seeking desegregation of its school sys tem. A pre-trial hearing was set for May 10 in a federal court suit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice against Prince George County School Board in Virginia. State Legislatures The legislatures of South Carolina, Delaware, Florida and Texas considered measures related, directly and indirect ly, to the school segregation issue. Attention on school-race legislation appeared to be the greatest in South Carolina, where a tuition-grant bill awaited action by the House of Repre sentatives. The House in April passed a measure eliminating “class actions” in school transfer suits in state courts while the Senate rejected a proposal to require segregation by sex in the public schools. On April 25 and 26, Attorney General Kennedy conferred with the governors of Alabama, Georgia and South Caro lina during a tour which took him to all three states. The reception with which he was met was varied. In the field of athletics, athletic director Bobby Dodd announced that Georgia Tech would play against bi- racial teams in Atlanta in the future, and the University of Kentucky adopted a policy of desegregated athletics. The Maryland Board of Education upheld the “freedom-of-choice” policies of Prince George’s county school dis trict. Negro attorney, Earl J. Amedee of New Orleans, announced he will be a candidate for governor in the Louisiana primary in December and Earl J. Wright, a Negro labor leader, said he will seek election as lieutenant gover nor. September rather than lose federal funds for teaching children of military personnel. These districts are Mineral Wells, Palo Alto County, with 2,819 white and 170 Negro children in average daily attendance; Burkbumett, Wichita County, 2,142 white and 64 Negroes; Potter County CSD No. 3 (near Ama rillo), 644 white; and Connally ISD, McLennan County, 1,396 white. Ne groes from Potter CSD No. 3 apparent ly are now being transferred to Ama rillo (which is desegregated) and those from Connally ISD taught at Waco, which has a dual school system, but is under attack in federal court. Abilene ISD and Colorado CSD (Del Valle, suburb of Austin) also listed by the federal agency for desegregation, previously had taken steps to abolish segregation. (SSN, February.) Another system receiving “impacted area” funds from the federal govern ment launched a study on the effect of (See TEXAS, Page 15)
