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PAGE 6—MAY, 1963—SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS
LOUISIANA
Registration By Attendance Zones Ordered
NEW ORLEANS
egistration of first and sec
ond grade pupils in New Or
leans public schools on the basis
of single, nonracial attendance
zones was ordered by the federal
district court April 26, and oral
arguments on the school board’s
redistricting proposal were sched
uled for May 11.
Registration along the lines out
lined in the redistricting plan may pro
vide facts and figures that will justify
reopening the case at a later date,
Judge Frank B. Ellis indicated.
Judge Ellis’ order came after three
days of hearings on the board’s re
districting proposal which was adopted
March 11. Negro plaintiffs in the case
of Bush v. the Orleans Parish School
Board objected to the plan, claiming
it was discriminatory and an unduly
slow approach to desegregation.
During the hearings, School Supt. O.
Perry Walker said desegregation was
the toughest problem ever faced by the
local schools. He said that administra
tive matters such as teacher assign
ments and class organizations can be
worked out only after the new district
setup is in effect; and for these reasons
desegregation of more than one grade
a year would immensely complicate
the board’s problems.
Rate Called Slow
James M. Nabritt III, attorney for
the plaintiffs, countered that the rate
of desegregation under the board’s
proposal was too slow, that there was
no legal reason why it should not be
he hastened and that the board was
continuing to plan new school con
struction on a segregated basis.
Judge Ellis, however, remined Na
britt that the federal court already
had approved the rate of desegregation
for the New Orleans public schools
and said the purpose of the present
hearing was to determine if the specific
plan proposed by the school board
conformed with the court’s directive
to end segregated school zones in the
first two grades.
Dr. Stanley Fitzpatrick, director of
research, census and planning for the
school board, described the redistrict
ing plan and procedure to the court
(SSN, April), then said that since the
plan and the map illustrating it were
published six weeks previously sever
al objections to certain facets had been
received from white groups but none
from Negroes.
Under cross-examination Dr. Fitz
patrick, testified that in 1962, 12.1 per
cent of the white school classes had
more than 35 pupils each, while 62.6
per cent of the Negro schools were
over that figure, which is considered
the optimum number. However, he
noted that while Negro enrollment has
increased 25,726 in the past decade, new
facilities have been provided for
30,836 Negro children during the
period.
He previously had testified that since
1952, $28 million, or 65 per cent of the
system’s total construction outlay, had
been spent for schools to be attended
by Negroes.
Long a Problem
Matthew Sutherland, school board
president, testified that overcrowding
has been a school problem ever since
he became a board member in 1954
and that the board’s decisions on school
construction always emphasized
crowded neighborhoods and were not
based on racial considerations.
Under further cross-examination,
Dr. Fitzpatrick said that in many cases
school district lines will not be changed
under the board’s proposal and that
some overcrowding will continue in
Negro schools.
McDonogh No. 6, a Negro grade
school, is overcrowded now, he said,
but Negro children there who were
eligible to attend a nearby white school
with surplus facilities did not do so
this year. He added that complete de
segregation of all six grades at Mc
Donogh No. 6 would eliminate crowded
conditions there but would cause pro
blems elsewhere.
Dr. Fitzpatrick also admitted under
questioning that while Negro children
will be transported from one district
to a Negro school in another, desks
will go unused in an adjacent white
district.
Other school board witnesses testi
fied that there were no courses avail
able to white pupils in such special
programs as the Benjamin Franklin
High School (for exceptional pupils)
that were not also available to Negro
pupils in present Negro high schools
curricula.
Louisiana Highlights
The Orleans Parish School Board
was ordered by the federal court to
enroll first and second grade pupils
on the basis of unitary nonracial at
tendance districts for the next school
year.
Financial problems of the Orleans
Parish School Board were discussed
with members of the local legislative
delegation.
Three hundred sixty-three East
Baton Rouge citizens declared their
support for the school board in ful
filling its task of preparing a deseg
regation plan for presentation to the
federal district court.
A Catholic priest was struck dur
ing a confrontation with parishioners
protesting religious instruction of
white and Negro children in the
same class.
A move to elect unpledged presi
dential electors in 1964 got under
way with some of the state’s leading
segregationists in the van.
Tulane Decision
Appeal Dismissed
A plaintiff’s appeal against a federal
court decision that Tulane University
is a private institution and cannot be
forced to desegregate has been dis
missed by the federal district court.
The appeal was taken in the case of
Barbara M. Guillory and Pearle H.
Elloie v. Tulane Board of Administra
tors after Judge Frank B. Ellis ruled
Dec. 5, 1962, that though the university
is private it could not be prevented by
restrictive clauses in its endowments or
by legislative acts from admitting
Negroes if its administrators so di
rected.
The plaintiffs in the court action were
among the 11 Negroes admitted to the
university at the beginning of the cur
rent semester.
★ ★ ★
Assistance Program
Attack Withdrawn
A suit attacking the constitutionality
of the state’s financial assistance pro
gram (tuition grants) was voluntarily
withdrawn from the federal district
court by the plaintiff “because of per
sonal reasons which will not be div
ulged except at or by the request of the
court.”
The action was filed two months ago
by Arnold C. Klein, operator of a
private school in suburban Metairie,
charging discrimination in the distri
bution of the state funds.
A motion by the defendant Louis
iana Financial Assistance Commission
to dismiss the case had been scheduled
for hearing April 10 when the request
for withdrawal of the action was filed.
Community Action
363 Leaders
Three hundred sixty-three citizens
of Baton Rouge supported the East
Baton Rouge Parish School Board’s
preparation of a plan of school desegre
gation as ordered by the U. S. District
Court.
A “declaration of principles” signed
by the city’s business, professional and
labor leaders was entered into the
board’s records without comment.
The signers took cognizance of a
March 7 order by Judge E. Gordon
West that the board submit a desegre
gation plan to the court by July 5. They
noted that the board on March 9 di
rected a staff study of problems that
would be involved in desegregating the
parish school system, which enrolls
some 30,000 white and 20,000 Negro
pupils.
Said the declaration in part:
“The United States District Court has
ordered the school board of the Parish
of East Baton Rouge to present a plan
for the orderly desegregation of public
schools.
‘Wise’ Action’
“Our school board has indicated that
it will obey this order and will present
a plan to the court. We believe that
the school board will be acting wisely,
and in the best interest of the education
and safety of our children, by pre
senting such a plan.
“If the school board should fail to
Budgetary Control
Of Spending Upheld
State budgetary control over day to
day spending by schools and other
state agencies was upheld by a Louis
iana Supreme Court decision.
The decision overruled Judge Elmo
Lear of Baton Rouge who had said that
under the constitution only the legis
lature has the authority to allocate
state funds.
The action against the legislative
budget committee was brought by Dr.
Boyd Woodward of Lake Charles, a
member of the state board of education
who complained that the state officials
had usurped the authority of the state
and local school boards over their day
to day fiscal operations.
The case is pertinent to the school
segregation issue because of the fi
nancial control exercised by the state
over the Orleans Parish schools during
its 1960-61 desegregation troubles.
Miscellaneous
Segregationists Aid
Campaign To Name
Unpledged Electors
The drive to name unpledged presi
dential electors in 1964 picked up steam
in Louisiana during April, with some
of the state’s leading segregationists
prominent in the movement. Also some
organized opposition to the plan al
ready is developing.
The idea is to withhold electoral votes
from major party candidates and to
compromise on a conservative, or, that
failing, to throw the election into the
House of Representatives.
Fair size gatherings were held in
Baton Rouge and in Shreveport at
which proponents of the plan plotted
strategy. Another session is scheduled
May 10 in Baton Rouge, with more
than 100 persons invited from all parts
of the state.
Sparkplug of the movement has been
George Shannon, editor of the Shreve
port Journal, who has been mentioned
as a candidate for governor.
Gov. Jimmie Davis thus far has been
silent on his view of the move. How
ever, it is expected to be a certain is
sue before the legislature which opens
a 30-day fiscal session May 13.
A bill similar to the Mississippi un
pledged elector act was prepared sev
eral weeks ago by political boss
Leander Perez of Plaquemines Parish
in extreme southeast Louisiana and his
ally, Rep. John Garret of Claiborne
Parish in northwest Louisiana. The axis
spans the state and has proved active
and effective in guiding segregation
legislation through the state assembly.
Opposition to the free electors move
ment is centered chiefly in organized
labor.
Back Baton
present a plan this would not prevent
desegregation of the schools. In that
event, the federal judge would have no
choice but to devise a plan for our
schools.
“Our school board was elected to
direct public education and preserve
our public school system. We believe
that an acceptable plan, prepared by
our own well-informed school board,
would be less disturbing to our com
munity than a plan provided by the
court.
“We support the school board of this
parish for its dedicated and courage
ous service in this difficult situation.
“Baton Rouge is now faced with the
same situation that has recently con
fronted other Southern cities. This par
ish must choose whether it will follow
the path of law and order. What is done
here now will determine the welfare
and the economy, of the entire Baton
Rouge area for years to come.
Governing Principles
“We believe that the course to be
followed, by our people and by our
public officials, should be governed by
the following principles:
• Public education must be pre
served. Our children are entitled to a
schooling uninterrupted by violence
and danger.
• Law and order must be maintained.
State Tuition Grant
Administration Hit
William E. Dodd, president of the
State Board of Education, criticized the
administration of state tuition grants,
noting that some parents in parishes
not desegregated were receiving grants
to send their children to private
schools.
He also raised the question whether
children graduating from grant-in-aid
private schools would be qualified
academically to attend the state col
leges and universities.
Frank Voelker Jr., chairman of the
State Sovereignty Commission, said the
state constitution specifically authorized
the State Board of Education to ap
prove private schools. His comment was
in response to a resolution by the
United School Committee, a composite
group representing various educational
associations, calling for legislation to
bring private schools under state board
supervision.
Daniel A. Ellis, member of the Orl
eans Parish School Board, continued to
advocate separate schools for boys and
girls. He said:
“As the schools now are set up many
experts feel the standards of our schools
are too feminine. Famed anthropologist
Margaret Mead recently declared that
boys are trapped in a female school
world which squelches the male quali
ties of originality, creativity, stubborn
individuality of style and refusal to
conform merely to please.
“All-boy, all-girl schools reportedly
have better discipline and improved at
titudes; and have less classroom dis
tractions allowing for more studying
and more learning.”
Matthew R. Sutherland, president of
the Orleans Parish School Board, fore
saw another “happy and peaceful”
school term next fall despite further
court-ordered desegregation.
Dr. Albert W. Dent, president of Dil
lard University, said in Washington,
that young Southern Negroes are losing
out in employment because of segre
gated schools.
“Fair employment agreements mean
nothing to people who are denied ac
cess to the required training in this
age of rapidly increasing mechaniza
tion,” he told the National Conference
on Support of Public Schools in Wash
ington.
★ ★ ★
Legislators Told
Of School Needs
The Orleans Parish School Board,
which was addressed out of office by
the Louisiana legislature in 1960, met
with members of the local legislative
delegation April 25 to discuss fiscal
problems of the local school system.
Board President Matthew Sutherland
opened the session with references to
the board’s difficulties of 1960 when
the legislature sought to replace the
elected board with an appointed legis-
(See LOUISIANA, Page 7)
Rouge Plan
This requires compliance with the final
decisions of our courts. Any other
course would result in violence and
chaos.
• The right of parents to send then-
children to private schools should be
recognized.
“However, we believe that a private
school stystem cannot become an ad
equate substitute for the public system.
“We join in public support of these
principles.”
★ ★ ★
Arthur Jelks Sr., president of the
National Association for the Advance
ment of Colored People branch in
Baton Rouge, complained April 6 that
Negroes and whites had conspired to
prevent the appearance of James
Meredith, in a fund raising meeting
there. Jelks also accused Meredith of
reneging on the speech commitment.
Jelks said Meredith had agreed in
two telephone conversations to appear
at the branch meeting, but then suc
cumbed to pressure from Baton Rouge
Negro leaders to stay away. Meredith,
in Oxford, said he had never agreed
to attend the Baton Rouge meeting,
but that other students in his dormitory
had impersonated him in accepting
speaking invitations.
Jelks said he believes the person he
spoke to by phone was Meredith.
The Rev. Frank Ecimovich
A parishioner v/as charged.
Plaquemines
Priest Slugged
ByParishione
A Catholic priest in strongly segregi
tionist Plaquemines Parish was poke:
in the eye during a confrontation wit
parishioners protesting the instructs
of white and Negro children in tk
same class in preparation for their fci
communion.
The Rev. Frank Ecimovich, pastor k
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Churc:
at Belle Chasse, has filed charges«’]
simple battery against Leonard Heir
Mackenroth, 46. An archdiocesii
spokesman said excommunication c
Mackenroth will be automatic if tk
charge of attacking the priest is sus
tained.
Plaquemines Parish District Attorn?
Leander H. Perez Jr. said the char?
would be handled in a “routine” mai-j
ner. This means an investigation w-
be made to determine if it warrant
prosecution.
The district attorney is the son *
Leander H. Perez, the Plaquemin*
Parish political leader who was exco®'
municated last year because of k
opposition to desegregation of P 3 ^
chial schools.
In describing the circumstances s®
rounding the incident, Father Eci® 8,
vich said the retreat (a period of ®
struction and meditation) on April
preceding the first communion servi^
on April 21, was handled just as
been for the past two years.
Four Negro children were pl ac<
!iti*
the class with some 30 white chd
for the final retreat. All other P 6 ”
of instruction had been held sep 3 ^ .
at Belle Chasse for the white .
and at Scotville for the Negroes-^
communion services also were
separately, in the church at
Chasse for the whites and in the
ch^
at Myrtle Grove for the Negroes-^,
the children involved attend P
schools.
Father Ecimovich said the
pad 51
occurred April 20, when four ,
ioners, including Mackenroth,
him at the rectory to protest th a p
ence of white and Negro chil
gether in the retreat. v(i!
The priest said Mackenroth^ ^
him in the shoulder several ti®^ ^
his finger to emphasize his
when the pastor stood up, jjd'
Mackenroth struck him ® “ ^
and continued to pummel hint
of the other parishioners puu
enroth away.
Archbishop John P. Cody i- 11
ment said he was “profoundly 8
over the incident and added. ^.
“This deplorable occurrence .v
other evidence of the diffiu^ , jj d
the church has experience Q f t?
periencing only in this sec 1 £yi-
archdiocese in carrying ° u
teaching of brotherly love an
for all men. „po^ e -
“I caH upon our faithful P^ &
offer prayers of reparation^ „
sacrilege against the prie