About Southern school news. (Nashville, Tenn.) 1954-1965 | View Entire Issue (May 1, 1963)
SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS—MAY, 1963—PAGE 15 South Carolina (Continued From Page 14) the constitutional rights of the plain tiffs are being abused, they said. The South Carolina Pupil Assign ment Law outlines an administrative process of appeal by those seeking school transfers and provides further for an appeal to the state courts. Basis of Jurisdiction But in pending desegregation suits brought in Charleston, Darlington and Clarendon counties, the federal courts took jurisdiction on the basis that plaintiffs had exhausted all administra tive remedies. All were brought as “class actions,” as was the pending suit against the University of South Carolina and the action which secured the admission of Harvey B. Gantt to Clemson College. The “single plaintiff” proposal is a part of a new code of civil procedure for the state. The Judicial Council, which drafted the code, said: “The council committee found that the federal rule was generally criticized in this state as being subject to abuse by parties lacking a true legal interest in the action . . .” Legal Action Clemson Granted Additional Time To File Appeal Clemson College, desegregated at the beginning of the spring semester with the admission of Harvey B. Gantt, has been given until May 15 to perfect its appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The court granted an extension to that date for Clemson attorneys to pre pare briefs in support of a writ of cer tiorari. Under Supreme Court rules, four Justices must agree that the mat ter is worthy of consideration before the writ is issued. Clemson gave notice of appeal in January after Chief Justice Earl War ren refused to stay an order by the fourth Circuit Court of Appeals that Uantt be admitted. Clemson had 90 bays from that date (Jan. 21) to perfect ■ s appeal. This period was running out "hen the extension was granted, hi its appeal to Warren, Clemson ad contended, among other things, at the Fourth Circuit had over-ruled ™a>ngs of fact by District Judge C. C. yche “without determining that such hings were clearly erroneous.” Clemson, principally represented by ea\ lam k Catkins of Anderson, in the tai Ha faring on the case, has re- ^ tlj e services of Eugene Glass- ,°t Washington to assist in the a PPeal. the Colleges State’s Expense ^ Clemson $40,000 Peap 6 C ° S ^ *° ®° u th Carolina to insur segrpu^ Clemson College during de Ration has been fixed at $40,000. •Wjv„! 6m a PP e ared in the Deficienc aft er ,!L riation s Bill in the State Senat ^Uemson, the State Highway De Enfo r an< t the South Carolina Lai costs r I i lent ^'vision asked that thei cbargtvf ? tlve to the incident not b Sefj? th «*- for thp Brown, floor leade amount bU1, said that $11,000 of th at, -orn ev Was , * or legal fees to privat case tb S » W "° handled the long corn ^egr 0 prece ded the admission c 28 Stude «t Harvey B. Gantt on Jar Th foorTV covers the cost of lodgin "bforcem ° r the small army of lai officers on hand to pre *' rn am er i and the few that hav said on the scene ever since, h 0a th fesentpj day that the item wa hoards i > , rd ^4)i President Robei putt’s Clemson gave a report o dft tW-°P e : sa to reporters. He sai ^ooi _■ a d been no trouble at th I ^egrr, 1 ? an tt enrolled and the to him^u^ ent ^ad remained most ^ pa ssinv ’ Was stu dying hard an „ On ion r tr* da OUn i y ^ en - John D. Lon] >s, " y . foll °wing Edwards’ re Cle mso n 1 nr the .j Senate to say th; S^ent a” .P sident had issued th 8 *he Co ii Propaganda for integral c °Uege s of this state ” NORTH CAROLINA Special Bus Service Denied Negro Children WINSTON-SALEM pecial bus service was denied April 11 to 16 Negro children who entered formerly all-white Caswell County schools last Jan. 22. Judge Edwin M. Stanley of the U.S. Middle District Court of North Caro lina in Greensboro, who made the deci sion, also ruled against a Negro request that he order school authorities to stop alleged harassment of Negro students. In the meantime six more Negro students applied for transfer from the all-Negro Caswell County High School to the predominantly white Bartlett Yancey High School. These actions were the latest develop ment in the Jeffers v. Whitley case. They are aftermaths of a ruling Oct. 12, 1962 by the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ordering Caswell County to desegregate its schools. The six Negro children, who applied April 12, cannot be refused transfers, according to the court order. Caswell County is also under order to submit a desegregation plan to the U.S. Dis trict Court for approval. In the April 11 ruling Judge Stanley approved none of the requests of the Negro plaintiffs. Judge Stanley ruled that Negro chil dren transferred to white schools may walk to the nearest school bus route and ride with the white students, or they must walk to school or ride in automobiles. The judge refused to order the Cas well school board to provide protection from harassment of Negro students. The court, he said, is not prepared to handle such situations. Judge Stanley denied a motion call ing for an orientation program on de segregation. Schoolmen The City Board of Education of Dur ham announced April 19 a new plan for assignment of students on a non- racial basis. The plan was submitted to Judge Edwin M. Stanley of the U.S. Middle District Court in Greensboro. The action was in accordance with an order issued by Judge Stanley after an Oct. 12, 1962 decision of the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Wheeler and others v. Durham City Board of Education and Spaulding and others v. Durham City Board of Edu cation. The Durham board was ordered to submit a plan for desegregation by May 1, 1963, to be approved by the U.S. District Court by July 1, 1963. Durham’s new plan calls for the automatic promotion of children from two all-Negro elementary schools to predominantly white junior high schools—from Crest Street School (Negro) to Carr Junior High School (formerly white) and from Wall town Texas (Continued From Page 13) desegregation, if it comes. This is Sher man, in Grayson County, North Texas. Murray Nance, board president, said the board “has no plans to integrate at present.” In The Colleges College Censured By AAUP in Firing The American Association of Uni versity Professors voted to censure Sam Houston State College for dismissing Dr. Robert C. Koeninger in 1962, as head of the sociology department. (SSN, June, 1962.) Dr. Koeninger’s pro-integration ac tivities figured in the insistence of the governing board that his contract not be renewed. AAUP reported that adequate cause did not exist for dismissing the pro fessor, who had been at the college for 15 years. He now is teaching at Texas Southern University in Houston. North Carolina Highlights Negro parents failed in a court attempt to get special bus service for 16 Negro children attending de segregated schools in Caswell Coun ty. The Durham City Board of Edu cation announced a plan for de segregating its school system to the extent of automatic promotion of Negro children from two elemen tary schools to two predominantly white junior high schools. A plan which permits more de segregated schools was approved by the combined boards of the newly consolidated Winston- Salem-Forsyth County Board of Education. The North Carolina Council of Human Relations sent a letter to all school districts of North Carolina urging them to desegregate now. What They Say Relations Council Advises Schools To Desegregate Now School boards were advised to de segregate now in a statement mailed April 30 from Charlotte to all school districts by the North Carolina Coun cil of Human Relations. The statement said that federal court decisions involving Caswell County and Durham city schools indicated that un less there is planning, “any child may go to any school he may choose.” (On Oct. 12, 1962, the U. S. District Court of Appeals ruled in separate cases — Jeffers v. Whitley and Wheeler School (Negro) to Brogden Junior Sigh School (formerly white). It also permits transfer by re quest of parents of children from ele mentary schools they now are attending to schools closer to their homes. This will be done according to a single at tendance map for both races. Under the plan all first grade pupils will be assigned to schools as indicated by the assignment map. The board also stated: “A proposal for further desegregation of the junior and senior high schools will be submitted not later than May 1, 1966, to become effective at the opening of the school year 1966-67.” Currently, 75 Negro children are at tending previously all-white schools in Durham. The board has not estimated how many children will be desegre gated under the new system. ★ ★ ★ The newly consolidated Winston- Salem-Forsyth county school board ap proved a general assignment policy C. Smith Ramsey, the San Augustine lawyer who headed the teachers col lege board when Koeninger was dis missed, was replaced on the board when his term expired early this year. His opposition to the professor ap peared to be the main reason for the board’s action. ★ ★ ★ Baylor University’s governing board, meeting in Houston, postponed until November hearing a report on desegre gating the Waco school. Four members of the study committee were said to be in Japan on an evangelistic mission. Legislative Action Desegregation Bills Appear Stymied Desegregation legislation appeared bogged down completely at the Texas legislature’s session scheduled to end on May 27. A Senate committee killed Senate Bill 18 by Sen. Franklin Spears Jr. of San Antonio, which would have repealed pro-segregation school laws passed in 1957 and also established anti-discrimination penalties for all public agencies. (SSN, February- March.) and Spaulding v. Durham City Board of Education — that Caswell County and Durham were improperly applying the North Carolina Pupil Assignment Law.) These decisions, the human relations group said, “have made it quite clear that the Pupil Enrollment Act of North Carolina may no longer be used as a means of delaying or limiting the de segregation of our public schools.” “Grade a year plans at this late date are no longer acceptable to the courts. Tokenism is not an evidence of good faith compliance with the law,” the statement said. A biracial school system, the council said, is more economical and provides more quality education. “But most important of all,” the statement read, “an integrated system would do a much better job of prepar ing children to live and work in har mony with people of different races, colors and creeds.” The Council on Human Relations is a nonprofit, nonpolitical organization with headquarters in Charlotte. Dr. T. Frank Williams of Chapel Hill is chair man. Dr. S. E. Duncan of Salisbury, a Negro, is a vice chairman. ★ ★ ★ Dr. Robert Phillips, chairman of the Good Neighbor Council of Chapel Hill, told a Lincoln High School Parent- Teacher Association group: “We are concerned with the neces sity for preparing Negroes in the early school grades for competition on the open market. The leading factor in the preparation is an individual’s ability to comprehend what he reads. “General literacy skills also enter into early grade preparation, but the chief problem among many Negroes is in sufficient reading readiness. “It would be necessary to establish long range liaison between employing merchants and Negro schools.” ★ ★ ★ Jobs will keep Negro college gradu- April 30 that may bring more desegre gation to the area. Twenty Negro children are in two desegregated city schools. No county school is desegregated. Under the new assignment program, children in the county may enroll in the schools nearest their homes. This includes children at the Carver Con solidated School, which houses all Ne gro children attending school from the county. The Carver children may transfer to the school nearest their homes or re main at Carver. This may mean desegregation of the former Forsyth County school system. Children enrolling in the first grade also may attend the schools nearest their homes. The North Elementary School in the city, which saw an exodus of white pupils when it enrolled one Negro child, may become a fully desegregated school. Currently one Negro and 180 whites are attending. Under the new assignment map 395 Negro children have been tranferred from all-Negro schools to North. It appears that the white students there will be reassigned to North. The school board has not said whether the administration of the school will be white, Negro or biracial. ★ ★ ★ A legislative request by the Robeson County legislative delegation during the past month assured a biracial school board for the county. The request called for the increase of the membership of the school board from five to seven members. The two new members will be a Negro, Thur man Anderson of the Purvis communi ty, and Harry W. Locklear, an Indian of Pembroke. Both will serve until April, 1965. Anderson, 43, owns a farm. He has two children in college and one in high school. He is a church worker. Lock lear is a trustee of Pembroke State College and president of the Pembroke Chamber of Commerce. Robeson County’s population of 90,- 000 persons is 35 per cent Indian and 25 per cent Negro. ates in North Carolina, Dr. James T. Taylor of Raleigh said in an interview April 5. He is the first Negro to hold a statewide office with the Employment Security Commission. In The Colleges NAACP Pickets Nearby As New School Is Opened Pickets appeared across the street as state and federal officials participated in dedication ceremonies April 7 for a new School of Public Health at the Uni versity of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. The University’s NAACP chapter was protesting segregated “bedding facili ties” in the North Carolina Memorial Hospital. Participating in the dedication cere monies were Gov. Terry Sanford, U.S. Deputy Surgeon General David E. Price and U.S. Rep. Horace R. Komegay. David Dansby of Greensboro, presi dent of the protesting NAACP group, said the group hopes to bring the segre gation issue to file university’s board of trustees. He noted that Gov. San ford is chairman of the board. Dr. William C. Friday, president of the university, said Dansby had re quested permission to appear before the trustees at their next meeting, May 13. The University of North Carolina School of Public Health is open to Ne gro students. Various facilities of the hospital, including waiting rooms, are biracial. The wards and private rooms are segregated “bedding facilities.” Pickets were of both races. ★ ★ ★ Duke University will end segrega tion in its undergraduate school this fall. The Chronicle, campus newspaper, announced that several Negroes will be enrolled in September. Duke has accepted Negro students in graduate and professional schools since March, 1961. ★ ★ ★ The 118th annual North Carolina Convention of Christian Churches voted April 27 to encourage trustees of Atlantic Christian College of Wil son to open its enrollment to students without regard to race. Miscellaneous 384 Children Get Bids to Biracial Special School Invitations to 384 children, includ ing 27 Negroes, were distributed April 30 for the new Governor’s School, to be opened this summer at Salem Col lege in Winston-Salem. This school, named in honor of Gov. Terry Sanford who proposed the idea, is open free to the children to study in academic fields of English, foreign language, mathematics, natural science and social science and in the fields of art, dance, choral music and instru mental music. The school, open to rising high school juniors and seniors, is financed by $225,000 from the Carnegie Corpora tion and $235,000 from gifts in Win ston-Salem. It is set up for a three- year period at a cost of $150,000 a year. Georgia (Continued From Page 7) times “discouraging,” but added that he thought the time would come when Mississippi would reach the same stage as Georgia. Under Survey Isolated Area’s Preparation Studied About 300 young people, a third of them white, attended a conference April 11, 12, 13 on how to prepare an isolated community for desegregation. The meeting was the third spring conference of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and was held in Atlanta. Durham Announces Assistant Plan
