About Southern school news. (Nashville, Tenn.) 1954-1965 | View Entire Issue (May 1, 1963)
- SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS—MAY, 1963—PAGE 5 n ri r e 1 $ f i, p, e e e r, e - ARKANSAS Student Center Directors Fear Interracial Acts to Cost Jobs LITTLE ROCK Arkansas Highlights Conference on Religion and Human Relations Formed The Most Rev. Albert L. Fletcher, Roman Catholic bishop; African Methodist Epis copal Bishop John D. Bright; Rabbi Ira E. Sanders; the Rt. Rev. Robert R. Brown, Episcopal bishop; Methodist Bishop W. Kenneth Pope. T he directors of the Wesley Foundation student centers at the University of Arkansas, Fay- tteville, and at Arkansas State College, Jonesboro, told the Ar- tansas Gazette, April 13, that they apparently were going to lose their jobs because of their inter racial activities. Hey are James E. Loudermilk, as- gstant director of the student center at Fayetteville, and Don Franks, di rector at Jonesboro. But on May 1 the board of directors of the Fayetteville district recommend ed that Loudermilk be retained and Jnade director next year, succeeding the Rev. A. W. Martin, 71, who would re main as a consultant until his retire ment on Dec. 1. This action went against the recom mendation of the personnel committee and is subject to approval by a higher church committee which will meet later in May. The Rev. John A. Bayliss of Fayette ville, superintendent of the Fayetteville district of the Wesley Foundation, con firmed that the personnel committee had recommended that Loudermilk not be retained next year, but said it was not because of interracial activity. The F.ev. A. N. Storey of Jonesboro, su perintendent of the Jonesboro district, said it was likely that Franks would I not be reappointed next year, but did not elaborate. The university has about 20 Negro students and the state college about 14. Both are state-supported schools. The Wesley Foundation, a part of the Methodist Church, operates student centers at all eight state-supported colleges. The Rev. Mr. Bayliss said Louder- aiilk was hired as assistant director at the Fayetteville center for this year because the director, the Rev. Mr. Martin, was planning to retire after this year. Now, he said, the Rev. Mr. Martin had decided to remain longer end the personnel committee decided that it would not sustain two directors •or another year. ‘Other Reasons’ Directors of Wesley Foundation student centers at two state-support ed colleges charged they were losing their jobs because of their efforts to promote interracial activities. The state Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the validity of four 1958 acts designed to restrict the NAACP. Religious leaders of Arkansas formed a conference to combat racial discrimination and segregation. failed at least to face the issue of whether the ministry of the Wesley Foundation will be involved in the kind of work that makes progress pos sible in human relations. I would be very sorry if the leadership of our church didn’t uphold the right of the ministry to become involved.” At State College, where Franks is in his first year as director of the Wes ley Foundation student center, Franks said that the controversy began last fall with the first party of the year at the student center. A Negro girl, with permission, brought three friends to the party. Also at the party by invitation was Robert Moore, dean of the college. There were no complaints from the students, Franks said, but Dean Moore told him afterwards that allowing the Negro students to attend was against college policy. Dean Moore said that since the stu dent center was on college property, Franks said, the student center should abide by the college policy. The executive committee of the Wesley Foundation Board met 10 days later and agreed. Franks said the college allowed its Legal Action Negro students to sing in the choir and play in the band, while on the campus, and to eat in the Wigwam, the campus snack shop, but not to eat in the col lege dining halls, live in the dormi tories or participate in the planned ac tivities except for the military ball each spring. Franks said he told his students that most of them were surprised at the restrictions on the Negro stu dents. He said the students in the stu dent center then voted not to have “planned” social activities if Negro students could not attend. Negro stu dents continue to take part in student center activities, he said. Bishop Asks Caution Bishop W. Kenneth Pope of Little Rock, head of the Methodist Church in Arkansas, was out of town when this news came out, but he returned the next day and issued a statement calling for caution in judging the reports that the directors would be relieved because they had encouraged interracial ac tivities. The Wesley Foundation student cen ters are conducted by local bodies, not the bishop, and he said he had not had time to get the details of the situa tions, but “Whatever may be involved in the recent differences, two words need to be said. “The first is that the Methodist Church has made it quite clear that it stands for the dignity of human beings and against discrimination among races. This position is based upon the teachings of Jesus as recorded in the New Testament and upon His spirit in the world. Nothing that has or may happen will keep the Methodist Church from its steady movement to ward justice and the Christian rela tionship between all races and peoples. The Gospel of Christ is for the whole world. “The second is that no individual or group has a monopoly on the best method or methods to obtain these goals. There is always the possibility of making mistakes. “It has never been easy to be Chris tian but this is our main concern. We have no other obligation or interest. A good starting point is to have pa tience, respect honest differences and keep our Christian spirit. With this, we have faith that God will show us the way.” Community Action Church Leaders Attack Segregation Church leaders at Little Rock called a meeting April 22 to make a start to ward wiping out racial segregation. They called segregation and discrim ination sinful. About 100 persons from 40 churches and religious organizations attended by invitation. Among them were the Cath olic bishop of Arkansas, the Methodist bishop of Arkansas, the Episcopal bis hop of Arkansas, the Christian Meth odist Episcopal bishop for Arkansas, the African Methodist Episcopal bishop for Arkansas, the president of the Ar kansas Council of Churches, the rabbi of Temple B’nai Israel and the execu tive secretary of the Baptist State Convention. They formed the Greater Little Rock Conference on Religion and Human Relations. This is designated a local counterpart of the National Conference on Religion and Race, which held its first meeting at Chicago in January. The Rev. Colbert S. Cartwright, min ister of the Pulaski Heights Christian Church and chairman of the meeting, said of it, “For the first time in our history the religious forces of this community have united in a common ongoing religious witness.” What They Say Little Rock Called ‘Most Integrated’ The Negro magazine Jet in its edi tion of April 4 reported that Little Rock was “just about the most inte grated city in the South.” One Negro leader, L. C. Bates, field secretary for the NAACP, said Little Rock was a better place for Negroes to live just before the 1957 school crisis than it is now. But Jet said that all other Negro leaders in Little Rock dis agree. Arguments Court Hears 4 Segregation Law Both Martin and Loudermilk said that they thought there were other Masons for the decision not to re- jjPP°fflt Loudermilk. Said Martin, S come up over what we aught were very modest activities on ^ alf of better relations between the aes. We think we’re dealing with oung people who have a stake in all things. We think they should be „ ;/ - ® the opportunity by the powers tte' ° e • t0 *°°k ^ nto these things, to ilv '* A aa ^ on: ^ other words, to become wit W* because th^ are g°hig to pay most of the price.” *ith“ hwt the difficulty began ijsti- <n , a saaaall group of extremely con- ■',[ et , a ' ve Persons” in the Central hj- lat Church of Fayetteville, the rersitv Methodist church in the uni- Clt y- He said that the Pastoral i-WcW, *" omn aattee of the Central »- “ad adopted a resolution ask- >f xpoe: io* '•S that neither he nor Loudermilk be ?ear a !,j to *he student center next co®' aot bg ^t if they were, that they riuaii' 4 the n 0We< * to appear in the pulpit V i en ‘ ral n ChUrCh ' c e * -hath jl nembers of the Central fg^haa said, are upset because pros' *r participated last Decem- affe® >aty stu dent protest on the uni- iS'Usipg f am P Us against segregated Sid, h e y the university. Also, he >0 Hcin g « an< ? Loudermilk had been aD^" try . quietly and by persuasion” )l •°ti hj rm S about some desegrega- 13^ '’Mhui, e downtown businesses of c ° Ut ^ Chu^ S t rVative faction of the Cen- ^ sapf “hjected to all of that, ^ chtrrob ^ c ^ use they believe that ., holv ex * sts to approve and 100* . Mhch -, eV ? r ything that the society r P " ’Pprovp k T Ve d°es. They want us but not object,” he said. t°U<le^ largeS ksue Evaded vj** 0^ T^d the personnel com- - ^ e e , Lesley Foundation dis- ' p that! 1116 h^u® b y making M* V*, hetwi_ thf committee had to -- he n him and Martin next -ujff ^ ^ of w? rete d it as a move to Martin wn ia them because be O lo? U ^tireij, uld reach the manda- ha^d Fayetteville church :X.& C* -f*— ««* to * e . ministry of the ptv.,.. t lts obligation to a I would be very dis- ■jsic* £ the pesonnel committee Oral arguments over the constitu tionality of four segregation laws adopted by the special legislative ses sion of 1958 were heard April 22 by the state Supreme Court. They are on appeal by both sides from the Chancery Court of Pulaski County where Judge Murray O. Reed had ruled that three of them—Acts 12, 14 and 16—were unconstitutional but had upheld Act 13. The plaintiff is the NAACP and the defendant is the state. All four of the laws are part of a package of legislation submitted to the special session by Bruce Bennett, attorney general, and described by him as being aimed at restrict ing the NAACP. Act 12 would allow a county judge (in Arkan sas, the chief ad ministrative offi cer of a county) to call for the membership records of any organiza tion he deemed to be interfering with the operation of the public schools. Act 13 would allow the attorney general to obtain a court order for the examination of the records of any organization he deemed to be evading the payment of state taxes. Act 14 would amend the definition of barratry to include the instigation of lawsuits on school desegregation. Act 16 would make it illegal to so licit or donate money to help support a desegregation lawsuit George Howard Jr. of Pine Bluff, state NAACP president and a lawyer, argued for the NAACP, and the state was represented by Jack L. Lessen- berry, assistant attorney general. Ben nett attended but took no part in the argument. Opposing Arguments Howard said that the laws were aimed at the NAACP and that their mere presence in the lawbooks had caused the NAACP to lose members and contributions. While no attempt has been made to enforce any of the four laws, “the NAACP does not have to be completely destroyed before it can come in and seek relief,” said Howard. But Lessenberry said that since no LESSENBERRY HOWARD action had been taken under the laws, there was nothing for the court to rule on, the NAACP is basing its at tack on “future circumstances.” On Act 12, Howard said that the use of it would be an invasion of privacy and would interfere with a person’s right to contest in court the actions of a school board. Lessenberry said that the state had the right to see private records when it had a “compelling interest” in them, but that a later law—Act 225 of 1959— had superceded Act 12 so that it would not matter if the court threw it out. On Act 13 Howard argued vigorously. It would let an attorney general act capriciously, he said, even to the point of acting on the basis of a bad dream. Lessenberry said that no attorney general would act without cause and that “If the state has the power to tax, then it certainly must have the power to make investigations to see that the tax laws are carried out.” On Act 14 Howard said that it was vague and even had come incomplete sentences in it. Lessenberry said that it was sim ply a codification of the common law on barratry, which is the offense of stirring up unnecessary lawsuits. With out it Arkansas residents would lose needed protection, he said. Chief Justice Carleton Harris com mented that the state has other laws on barratry, but Lessenberry said that they were not adequate. On Act 16 Howard argued that its provisions would make a crime of the act of an individual or organization in providing legal assistance to poor per sons. Associate Justice Frank Holt of Lit tle Rock had disqualified himself in the cases of the four 1958 laws because, as prosecuting attorney at Little Rock before he was elected to the Supreme Court, he had defended them in the lower court. As a special judge to re place Holt in this instance, Gov. Orval E. Faubus appointed Boyd Tackett of Texarkana, former congressman. ★ ★ ★ NAACP Head’s Brother Seeks Trial Transfer Briefs were filed April 10 and 11 in Federal District Court at Little Rock in the attempt by William M. Howard, 33, of Pine Bluff, to have his trial on criminal charges transferred from the Circuit Court of Jefferson County to Federal Court. Howard, the brother of George How ard Jr., state NAACP president, is charged with assault with intent to kill and carrying a concealed weapon. The charges came out of an incident at the Dollarway School, Pine Bluff, where Howard had gone Jan. 22 to pick up the only two Negro children, one of them his niece, who attend the school. In the incident, a white student, Johnny Irvin, 18, suffered a minor stab wound. Brief Filed Prosecuting Attorney E. W. Brock man Jr. filed his brief April 10 saying that Howard’s petition for a transfer should be denied because no state law had encroached on his constitutional rights and that Howard could receive a fair trial in Jefferson County Circuit Court. The laws on assault with intent to kill and carrying concealed weapons apply regardless of race, Brockman said, and the laws on the selection of: juries do not mention race. If How ard’s complaint were take at face value, Brockman said, he could not get a fair trial in federal court either “because the juries in both federal and state courts are composed of citizens of Arkansas.” Howard’s brief was submitted the next day by Wiley A. Branton of Pine Bluff and Atlanta and by Frank H. Heffron, Jack Greenberg and Con stance Baker Motley, all of New York and all attorneys for the NAACP. Howard’s brief said that when a defendant is “denied or cannot en force” his civil rights in the state courts, he is entitled to get his case transferred to the federal court. The brief said this is exactly the kind of situation Congress had in mind when it authorized the removal of civil rights cases to federal courts. “This is an extreme case justifying this court in departing from the prece dent. It is obvious that the hostilities aroused against Negroes in Jefferson County who are involved in the school desegregation case would make a fair trial nearly impossible. It is also ap parent that the petitioner suffered criminal prosecution for his innocent conduct while malefactors of the white race enjoy immunity,” the brief said. The brief said that Howard had picked up the two Negro students at the Dollarway School and was leaving when a stone hit his car and broke a window. He got out of his car and started walking toward a telephone booth, the brief said. “On his way toward the highway, he heard a sound behind him and turned around. A white student, John ny Irvin, struck him a glancing blow,” the brief said. “Petitioner faced Johnny Irvin who drew back his arm to swing again with a metal object in his right hand. Petitioner grabbed the knife from his pocket and began swinging it in a wide arc in front of him in order to keep Irvin away. Irvin walked into the knife and was cut.” Howard had a knife in his pocket because he normally uses one in his work at a service station, the brief said. ★ ★ ★ The plaintiffs in eight lawsuits against the estate of the late Little Rock Police Chief Eugene G. Smith filed notice April 16 in Federal District Court at Little Rock that they would appeal to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals at St. Louis. District Judge Gordon E. Young dis missed the suits March 22 after a trial. The nine plaintiffs, seeking $50,000 each, contend that their civil rights were violated by Smith and the Little Rock police as the police were break ing up a segregationist march on Cen tral High School Aug. 12, 1959. Judge Young called them part of “an unlawful and riotous assembly” and ruled that none of their rights had been violated.
