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SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS—SEPTEMBER, 1963—PAGE 5 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Despite Demonstration, Civil Rights Measures in Doubt (Continued from Page 1) 0 f enacting both measures before the en d of the session, which is now ex pected to last until almost the end of the year. ★ ★ ★ 4ttorney General Revises Language of Rights Bill Attorney General Robert F. Ken nedy, who spent much of the month before the Senate Judiciary Committee under persistent questioning by Sen. Sam J. Ervin (D-N.C.)), on Aug. 23 presented the committee with re vised language for Title VI of the administration bill, which deals with the federal government’s authority to withhold funds from segregated pro grams and institutions, including schools. As originally submitted by the President, Title VI would have given the administration discretion to with hold such funds. Vagueness of the language was attacked by supporters as well as by opponents of the civil rights program. As revised, the language would permit state and local agencies to go to court for judicial review of any withholding of aid funds. The attorney general told the committee that the proposed new language—the first change submitted by the administra tion in its civil rights package—spells out “in positive terms and in greater detail the action which is to be taken to effectuate the policy against dis crimination . . .” The President’s brother added: “With its emphasis on ending dis crimination, rather than terminating assistance, and its provision for ju dicial review, the revised Title VI constitutes an improvement on the original proposal.” ‘Clear Authority’ He said its enactment would “pro vide clear authority to end discrimi nation in federally assisted programs. It will put the Congress clearly on record as favoring a principle which ■s basic to the ideals of this country.” Sen. Ervin immediately attacked the Proposal and said it gave him “mental indigestion.” Sen. Kenneth B. Keating (R-N.Y.)’ who has along with several other Senators, proposed similar re- 'ision of the President’s original draft, commended it but suggested that in- widuals charging discrimination s °uld have the same access to the courts for redress as would be given to oonl or state government agencies. ★ ★ ★ Segregation Ban Loses in House B > 217-181 Vote of B R V ° te of 217 to 181 ’ the House on a r esentative s on Aug. 6 defeated ti 0 . em Pt to attach an anti-segrega- fedgj^^dment to a bill expanding Th *° vocational education, by 6 ^ 0Use approved the legislation "icsigngj^ 6 277 to 21. The measure, in- 6,1 to improve vocational train- I hiUioif°^ Uni ^ es ’ wou ^ authorize $450 next f a ^ditional funds over the rnent 0Ur ^ ears - The federal govem- ?ea r , n ° w appropriates $57 million a Ronroli. vocational education, the ant' 0311 ^ eac * ers w ho supported Poserj u Segregation amendment pro- said th Rep ' Alphonzo Bell (R-Calif.) ■hat w ere trying to make sure ^Portif^ 68 rece Ived equal training ^eth°cr / les Un< t er the legislation. But Ptent charged that the amend- to bill ,, as being offered m an effort Som ebU1 ' that th e ]P ernocrats also complained Jent e P u blican-sponsored amend- . y f 0r( . resigned to embarass them ^Ue i ? a vote on a civil rights jj'tekage 6 ? re . President Kennedy’s Hoqj. 0 dvil rights bills reaches PoU °wed Party Lines te on the amendment closely m^bcanslines, with most Re- °b n g in favor and Northern i^SUes l 0ui ing their Southern col- ^ats 01 °1 V ^Posing opposition. Among Demo- wr lng Lho amendment was L'Cn eI t CelIw (D-N.Y.), who .. JIl >mitt ee ,° the House Judiciary >ilri^ hich bas jurisdiction over belle,. Program. that the amendment i March on Washington Crowd faces Lincoln Memorial. was superfluous, since the civil rights legislation under consideration in his committee would bar segregation in such federally assisted programs as vocational education. Rep. James Roosevelt (D-Calif.), who has often sponsored “Powell amendments” barring federal funds for segregated programs, spoke against the amendment on grounds that its in clusion would destroy chances of pass age in the Senate. “In the other body, there will not be two civil rights fights,” Roosevelt declared. A strong speech against the amend ment was made by Rep. Augustus Hawkins (D-Calif.), a freshman Negro Congressman, who said he had “waited 20 years to tell some of these Re publicans how phony they are.” Rep. Charles Goodell (R-N.Y.) an swered Hawkins in an angry speech in which he attacked the “tortured reasoning” of the Democrats and their “painful thrashing trying to get out of this.” ★ ★ ★ The House voted 287 to 113 on Aug. 14 to approve a $1.2 billion bill to help colleges and universities build classrooms, libraries and laboratories. Though an attempt to attach an anti segregation rider had been widely ex pected, no such amendment was offered. Neither the vocational education bill nor the higher education aid measure has been acted upon in the Senate. Pending in the House Rules Committee is a bill extending the federal aid program for school dis tricts “impacted” with large numbers of government dependents. That bill carries an anti-segregation amendment which was approved by the House Education and Labor Committee. Senate Kills Bail on Aid To Segregated Hospitals By a 44-to-37 roll call vote, the Senate on Aug. 7 killed an amendment to the Health, Education and Welfare appropriations bill which would have withheld federal funds from racially segregated hospitals. Sen. Jacob K. Javits (R-N.Y.), who offered the amendment, noted that the Hill-Burton hospital construction act specifically “permits the separate-but- equal doctrine stricken down by the Supreme Court” in its school desegre gation rulings. Javits said the approp riations bill would allocate $56 million for new segregated hospitals in the deep South. At a labor subcommittee hearing the following day, Javits urged HEW Sec retary Anthony J. Celebrezze to use the Administration’s executive powers to withhold federal funds from seg regated institutions. But Celebrezze said, as he has before, that in the absence of congressional authoriza tion, the Administration would not be justified in withholding such funds. “If the civil rights bill is passed, then there’d be no question that we have the authority,” the secretary said. Celebrezze said he felt he could now withhold funds in only seven areas because of Congressional sanction. These were listed later as aid for li brary services, manpower training, civil defense adult education, impacted school districts, educational television, language institutes and guidance counseling programs. ★ ★ ★ Ferguson Named Law School Dean Clarence C. Ferguson Jr., 39, general counsel for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, was named dean of the Howard University Law School Aug. 2 to succeed Spottswood W. Robinson in. Ferguson, a native of Wilmington, N.C., is, like Robinson, a civil rights attorney who has been active in school desegregation cases. Robinson resigned as dean of the law school June 30, but continues to Military Urging Desegregation A Defense Department memorandum issued in July to all military base commanders in 15 Southern and border states directed the commanders to take an active part in spurring the de segregation of local public schools serving the children of service per sonnel. Contents of the memorandum were made public in news reports Aug. 6. The communication pointed out that official Pentagon policy not only re quires equal treatment of all service men regardless of race, but also seeks to “secure similar non-discriminatory treatment for servicemen and their dependents in the communities in which they live.” The memorandum instructed the commanders to implement this policy for the school year beginning this month. It directed them to take the initiative in learning from local boards the steps individual parents must fol low to arrange pupil assignments or transfers to desegregated schools, and to pass this information on to the parents affected. In localities where initial school as signments are being made on a racial basis and where pupil-placement pro cedures are available for reassignment or transfer, base commanders are to inform parents of deadlines, appeal procedures and legal recourse, the memorandum instructed. Reports Due Aug. 30 The memorandum was issued by Norman S. Paul, assistant secretary of defense for manpower, and was distributed to the base commanders through the secretaries of the Army, Navy and Air Force. It imposed an Aug. 30 deadline for reports on what the commanders had done “to assure that school registration counseling and assistance is provided to military per sonnel.” The directive specifically asked for “representative samples of written communications to parents regarding this matter.” Where complete reports could not be submitted by the Aug. 30 deadline, it asked for an interim accounting and a final report within 10 days after the fall opening of schools. States specified in the memorandum were Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mis souri, Texas and Oklahoma. According to the Gesell Committee Report on Equal Opportunity in the Armed Forces, issued in June, there are 248 military intallations or activi ties in areas where public schools are segregated—143 Navy, 53 Air Force, 48 Army and 4 Marine Corps. The report estimated that about 200,000 to 210,000 school-age dependents are as sociated with these installations, in cluding 15,000 to 20,000 Negro children. The memorandum to base com- Talk About Being Off-Limits! Alley, Memphis Commercial Appeal manders made no mention of a survey of service children attending segre gated schools, but it was reported that such information is being compiled by the Defense Department. The memorandum is in accord with one of the recommendations of the Gesell Report, which has been under heavy attack from Southern members of Congress. The report called for legislation requiring desegregation of schools serving military dependents, and urged base commanders to assist in the desegregation process. “As public schools are desegregated —through such legislation, through litigation, through efforts of the base command or by other means—local commanders should insure that chil dren of Negro military personnel are promptly placed in such recently de segregated schools,” the Gesell Report declared. “In accomplishing this, the full power and influence of the base com mander and of the service should be placed squarely on the side of Negro parents as they attempt to overcome the administrative barriers which often accompany desegregation.” ★ ★ ★ A Pentagon spokesman said Aug. 27 that Defense Department investigators were studying possible discrimination against Negro military personnel in communities near Greenville Air Force Base, Miss., Barksdale Air Force Base, La., and the Pensacola, Fla., Naval Air Station. Similar studies had been reported in July at Keesler and Columbus Air Force bases in Mississippi and at Brookley Air Force Base, Ala. Some of the studies were made in response to President Kennedy’s re quest for a general survey of off-base discrimination, while others were ordered in response to specific com plaints, the Pentagon spokesman said. D. C. Highlights Despite the large and orderly turnout for the Aug. 28 civil rights march on Washington, prospects for the administration’s civil rights leg islative package remained in some doubt. The Attorney General sub mitted revised language for a much- criticized section dealing with federal funds for segregated pro grams or institutions. The Pentagon issued a directive to base commanders in Southern and border states assigning them an ac tive role in spurring the desegrega tion of off-base schools serving chil dren of military personnel. The House of Representatives re jected an anti-segregation amend ment to a vocational education bill, and enacted a higher education aid bill to which no racial rider was at tached. Clarence C. Ferguson Jr., general counsel to the Civil Rights Commis sion and active in desegregation liti gation, was appointed dean of the Howard University law school. serve as a member of the Civil Rights Commission. He has been mentioned as a leading contender for apointment to a vacant U.S. District Court judgeship in Washington. Ferguson, a graduate of Ohio State University and Harvard Law School, was formerly a member of the law faculty at Rutgers University. In 1960 he represented the NAACP in a law suit charging school district gerry mandering in Newark, N.J. When Ferguson was named to the Civil Rights Commission post last year, he was believed to be the first Negro to serve as chief legal officer of a fed eral agency. Howard University President James M. Nabrit Jr. said Ferguson will take over his new duties at the predomi nantly Negro law school on Oct. 15. The Howard law school has served as a center for much of the desegre gation strategy planning of recent years. ★ ★ ★ NEA Invites Contributions To Prince Edward Schools The National Education Association (NEA) invited its 860,000 members around the country to contribute funds to the Prince Edward County (Va.) Free School Association which is to begin operating free schools in that county Sept. 16. (See Virginia report.) In a letter sent Aug 19 to each of its 8,000 state and local affiliates, the NEA said there will be “no quotas and no ligh pressure” in its appeal for funds. About $1 million is being sought from private sources to operate the schools, which will provide the first education in four years for many of the county’s 1,700 Negro children. Public schools were closed in a desegregation dispute in 1959, and most white students have been attending private schools. William G. Carr, executive secretary of the NEA, said: “While deploring the fact that court procedures have not yet led to the reopening of the public schools, the irreparable loss of education already suffered by these (Negro) children is a condition that the conscience of the American people cannot allow, to con tinue for even one more year.” ★ ★ ★ U.S. Catholics Urged to Back Negro Civil Bights Moves In a joint pastoral letter released by the National Catholic Welfare Con ference on Aug. 22, the Catholic Bi shops of the United States declared that the Nation’s 45 million Catholics have a “strict moral duty” to support Negro civil rights efforts. “We must act to remove obstacles that impede the rights and opportuni ties of our Negro brethren,” the letter said. “We should do our part to see that voting, jobs, housing, education and public facilities are freely available to every American.” The letter was read in many Catholic (Sec BOTH, Page 23)