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SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS—JANUARY, 1964—PAGE 11
North Carolina
(Continued From Page 10)
on progress made in their areas in
recent months. Reports were made by
representatives from Greensboro, Char
lotte, Winston-Salem and Rocky Mount.
Thompson Greenwood, executive direc
tor of the N.C. Merchants Association,
and George Esser, executive director of
the North Carolina Fund, also spoke.
Greensboro will set up a special job-
training and retraining program early
in 1964 to train unskilled Negroes to fill
jobs specified by prospective employers.
0. Conrad said more than half of
Greensboro’s employers have agreed
not to discriminate in hiring.
Few Negroes Enrolled
The Winston-Salem report indicated
that the local Industrial Education
Center was open on a biracial basis,
but only 13 Negroes are enrolled, and
200 whites. James A. Nelson of Char
lotte recommended that school coun
selors must motivate Negro children
to prepare themselves for skilled tech
nical work.
Rocky Mount will seek funds from
the North Carolina Fund to set up job
training for Negroes.
More reports will be made at the
January meeting. Coltrane said:
“The great mass of Negroes are more
concerned with where they work than
where they eat. Winning the right to
eat at a desegregated lunch counter is
small consolation to men who cannot
afford the cost of the meal.”
★ ★ ★
I
The North Carolina Council on Hu
man Relations on Dec. 4 recommended
the passage of proposed federal civil-
, rights legislation. The annual meeting
of the interracial organization attracted
250 persons.
T. F. Williams of Chapel Hill was
re-elected chairman and Dr. S. E. Dun
can of Salisbury, a Negro, was renamed
vice chairman.
A civil-rights organization accused
the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill of having an unfair policy
of promotions of Negro employes on
the campus. The accusation came at a
, meeting of the Chapel Hill Human Re
lations Committee Dec. 14.
Hilliard Caldwell, chairman of
CURED (Citizens United for Racial
Equality and Dignity), stated at the
public meeting:
“At present, UNC is the predominant
source of employment for the Chapel
Hill Negro. But aside from the hospital
there is not a single Negro employed
by UNC in a supervisory position.”
This meeting was called to discuss
local problems. Various groups and
leaders were invited, but only repre
sentatives from CURED and CORE
(Congress of Racial Equality) attended.
I don’t know why Negroes aren’t
eiven higher positions,” Caldwell said,
especially in janitorial jobs. I know
Negroes who have worked here for
?'er 20 years, but when the need for a
janitorial supervisor of a building
®nses, the job is given to someone
else - This is not fair.”
The committee said it would study
‘ho UNC situation.
Mrs. William Darrity criticized what
® e called social segregation in the
^ oohs because of geographical home
Action
Or. Lake Enters
Governor’s Race
f u i ' T Beverly Lake, an unsuccess-
PoutwIj 3te ^ or g° vern °r in 1960, an-
year’ Ce ° ° n ^ >ec ’ ® His candidacy in this
will- 8 Primary. He said he would be
Norther t0 mee ‘ “with responsible
a . . Carolina Negroes” and preserve
t ’ ri “mutual helpfulness” be-
g ‘he races.
Wonu * n H* s statement, he said he
°Pinio n0t " con ^ er wi ‘h or seek the
dejao ^ °^- huders of disorderly street
stated? r f^ ons or meddlers from other
“codsb “ e Promised his efforts to
d 0tn end develop . . . the free-
lo sele t Pr o P r i e ‘ 0 r of a business . . .
■ . » ^ his customers and employes
Pres er ,, e rnrther pledged his efforts “to
"hate v 6 Peace anc i order . . . from
and a; 6r , S0Ur ce a threat of violence
^rder may come.”
Ne * * *
■°ts v °ters Dec. 11 cast their bal-
k° n ds . r whelmingly in favor of school
School ° r *he Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Befo r yStem -
kad ers re i hond election, Negro
^°ard ha d. questioned the school
built
bond
Under ° t K whether new schools
"•°ui d ^15.6 million
bon j USe ^ to Promote segregation,
issue passed easily.
MISSISSIPPI
Colleges Removed From SACS Surveillance
JACKSON
ississippi’s eight institutions
of higher learning are no
longer under scrutiny of the
Southern Association of Colleges
and Schools, which had been
maintained because of Gov. Ross
Barnett’s intervention in the 1962
enrollment of a Negro, James
Meredith, at the University of
Mississippi.
The threat of accreditation loss was
removed by the SACS at its meeting
in Memphis Dec. 4 after a one-year
investigation brought a report that the
integrity of the institutions, partic
ularly the University of Mississippi,
had been maintained and there no
longer was political intervention.
The major issue involved the Uni
versity of Mississippi, where Gov. Bar
nett physically sought to prevent Mere
dith’s enrollment under federal court
orders. The Governor had also refused
to enroll Meredith earlier when, at the
chief executive’s insistence, the college
board had named Barnett acting regis
trar.
Meredith’s enrollment resulted in
rioting on the campus at Oxford, the
slaying of two men and the wounding
of hundreds others. An estimated 30,000
federal troops and 500 U.S. marshals
were sent to Oxford in the midst of
the rioting and they succeeded in plac
ing Meredith on the campus and gain
ing his admission.
Gave Assurances
Immediately afterwards, SACS an
nounced it was investigating the situa
tion and, pending the recent meeting,
had placed under scrutiny the Uni
versity of Mississippi, as well as the
other seven state institutions. In the
meantime, Gov. Barnett gave the as
sociation assurance he would not inter
fere in the operation of the institutions.
In an official report to the Memphis
meeting, the association’s commission
on colleges said:
“As a result of investigations and
after careful consideration of the evi
dence, the council finds that no overt
violation of the principle under scrut
iny have occurred since the last meet
ing.”
Law Review
Issue Surveys
Civil Rights
The most recent issue of the North
Carolina Law Review, published by the
Law School of the University of North
Carolina Press, is a symposium on the
general subject “Civil Rights and the
South.”
Robert F. Kennedy, attorney general
of the United States, wrote the intro
duction. Ten well-known lawyers with
diverse views toward civil rights con
tributed chapters.
This issue is a 176-page statement
of legal, sociological and psychological
attitudes toward civil rights in the
United States.
Writers and their topics are as fol
lows:
Sam J. Ervin Jr., United States
senator from North Carolina, “The
United States Congress and Civil
Rights Legislation.”
Arthur E. Sutherland Jr., Bussey
professor of law at Harvard University,
“Civil Rights, Congress and the Con
stitution.”
Paul R. Ervin, former member of the
North Carolina Advisory Committee on
Civil Rights, “Civil Rights in North
Carolina.”
Berl I. Bernhard, former staff di
rector, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
“Civil Rights after Five Years.”
Laurence W. Knowles, associate pro
fessor of law, University of Louisville,
“School Desegregation.”
R. Carter Pittman, member of the
Georgia bar, “The ‘Blessings of Lib
erty’ v. The ‘Blight of Equality.’ ”
Martin E. Sloane, office of the general
counsel, Housing and Home Finance
Agency, “Housing Discrimination—The
Response of Law.”
Charles J. Bloch, member of the
Georgia bar, “Property Rights—Are
There Any?”
John G. Feild, consultant to Eleanor
Roosevelt Memorial Foundation, “A
New Look at Employment.”
Marion A. Wright, vice president,
Southern Regional Council, “Sociology,
Psychology and Civil Rights.”
Mississippi Highlights
Mississippi’s eight institutions of
higher learning have been removed
from surveillance by the Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools.
They had been under scrutiny since
late in 1962 because of Gov. Ross
Barnett’s actions in connection with
the enrollment of a Negro, James
Meredith, at the University of Mis
sissippi.
A Citizens Educational Association
to combat “unAmerican” teachings
in Mississippi public schools has
been formed.
A Mississippi editor and a Univer
sity of Mississippi professor said
discrimination against Negroes is not
confined to the South but prevails in
the North.
The wife of the state president of
the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People lost
a federal suit to be rehired in the
Clarksdale school ssytem. She had
said that after 11 years service her
contract was not renewed because of
her civil rights activities.
However, the association warned that
all member institutions must resist any
political interference in maintaining
their integrity. In the case of the
Mississippi institutions, and particu
larly the University of Mississippi, the
association said it would maintain a
vigilant watch over the schools to see
that no undue political influence is
placed in the future.
Officials Cautioned
The association cautioned Mississippi
officials, the University of Mississippi
officials and college board that “any
encroachment by pressure groups, in
vestigating committees or other agen
cies upon the freedom of the faculty
to maintain through normal student
discipline a climate conducive to in
tellectual pursuits will be cause for
immediate and rigorous re-examina
tion of the accredited status of the
Mississippi institutions.”
During the surveillance, the commis
sion said several special teams visited
the University of Mississippi, the Uni
versity of Southern Mississippi and
Mississippi State College for Women.
Finding that no political interference
had been exerted since the decree at
the November, 1962, meeting of the
association in Dallas, the commission
recommended that “the institutions of
higher learning in Mississippi be re
moved from extraordinary status (or
surveillance).”
Board Commended
The Board of Trustees of State In
stitutions of Higher Learning and ad
ministrative officials of the University
of Mississippi was commended by the
accrediting association for taking steps
“toward stabilization of the situation.”
Dr. J. D. Williams, chancellor of the
University of Mississippi, issued the
following statement after full status
was restored;
“Careful supervision and evaluation
of the operation of the University of
Mississippi by the Southern Association
during the past year has clearly and
definitely determined that the integrity
Community Action
Formation of the Citizens Educational
Association to combat “unAmerican”
teachings in Mississippi public schools
was announced in Jackson Dec. 2. El
more Greaves of Jackson, public re
lations director, said its membership is
composed of “citizens of both sexes
and from all professions who are con
cerned about subversion in the text
books.”
The group formed after a series
of protests to Guv. Ross Barnett about
certain textbooks used in Mississippi
schools. Some of the group’s leaders
were among a group meeting with the
governor and other members of the
State Textbook Purchasing Board in
an effort to have certain books re
moved from the accredited list. The
board, headed by Gov. Barnett as ex-
officio chairman, postponed action on
the request.
Greaves said Mrs. Orley M. Hood
of Vicksburg, was named president of
of the University has been maintained.
“It is our determination to continue
the high quality of our education ser
vice to our students and the people
of Mississippi.
“I express my appreciation to the
commission for the valuable aid and
time and to the board of trustees,
faculty and students for their under
standing and sympathy during this
difficult time.”
Expressing “delight” that the insti
tutions were no longer under scrutiny,
Dr. E. R. Jobe, executive secretary of
the college board, said, “we are just
plain folks again.”
James Meredith, the first Negro to
graduate from the University of Missis
sippi, said in Washington Dec. 27 that
he plans to enroll at Ibadan University
in Nigeria next fall. He will work
toward an advanced degree in some
phase of international politics or social
studies.
Meredith also announced he has
dropped plans to devote full time to
the James Meredith Educational Fund
because he has concluded that “pro
viding education for the underprivi
leged is a task the government must
handle.”
He plans to leave in April for a trip
to Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Meredith, who was bom in Attala
County, Miss., is now a resident of
Washington, D.C.
When the University of Mississippi
expelled another Negro, Cleve Mc
Dowell, last fall, Meredith had an
nounced he might try to return to the
school.
Legal Action
Negro Teacher
Loses Court Suit
Mrs. Aaron Henry, wife of the state
president of the National Association
for the advancement of Colored People,
lost a federal suit seeking to be re
hired as a Coahoma County school
teacher at Clarksdale. She claimed her
What They Say
A Mississippi editor and a University
of Mississippi professor, in separate
addresses to Northern audiences, said
discrimination against Negroes is not
confined to the south.
Speaking to a convocation at Mac-
Alester College in St. Paul, Minn., on
Dec. 2, Pulitzer prize-winning Editor
Hodding Carter, said Negroes are in
revolt against “an imposed second-class
citizenship in the North as well as the
South.”
It is generally perceived now but
it was not so apparent a year ago that
the Negro is in revolt against an im
posed second-class citizenship in the
North and South,” he said. “This revo
lution has increasingly threatened our
domestic tranquility. The worst prob
ably lies ahead, especially if the civil-
rights package isn’t passed.”
At New Brunswick, N.J., on Dec.
the CEA. Dr. Curtis Caine of Jackson
was elected secretary-treasurer, and
Mrs. Willie W. Lee of Jackson, secre
tary.
In a public statement, the CEA an
nounced a series of statewide meetings
“to oppose this dangerous trend in
textbooks.”
“We find that children in public
schools are being exposed to the teach
ings of socialism, race amalgamation
and one-worldism, as opposed to in
dividual respect for, and desire of, a
sovereign nation,” the organization said.
At its first meeting in Greenwood
Dec. 9, the CEA criticized standard
guidance and counselling testing pro
grams administered throughout the
state. Those programs were called
“shocking, immoral, sinister and ex
amples of planned tyranny.”
Otis W. Allen of Greenwood, Le
flore County superintendent of educa
tion and president of the Mississippi
civil-rights activities had resulted in
the school board not renewing her
1962-63 contract.
U. S. District Judge Claude Clayton
of Tupelo, in a Dec. 27 ruling, said
that no such discrimination was at
issue in the case. Judge Clayton noted
that Mrs. Henry spent 11 years teach
ing and during some of these years
her activities with civil-rights groups
were known.
Pointing out that the Mississippi sys
tem is based on a contract basis, the
judge said teachers have no tenure.
He said the contracts are developed
by the principal of each school recom
mending to the county superintendent
of education those teachers for em
ployment in his school.
‘Board Powerless’
“If the superintendent of education
agrees or disagrees with the recom
mendations, the board of education is
powerless to employ anyone as a
teacher in such public school system
unless the person is recommended by
the county superintendent,” Judge
Clayton said. “It was plain and un
contradicted that the county superin
tendent did not recommend the plaintiff
for employment. Hence, the board was
without any authority to employ her
and should not therefore do so.”
Judge Clayton said neither Mrs.
Henry’s membership or the position
of her husband in the NAACP had
anything to do with the refusal of the
county superintendent to rehire her.
“She was not recommended by the
superintendent and that ends the mat
ter,” he said.
Mrs. Henry also challenged a state
law requiring teachers to file annually
an affidavit listing all organizations of
which they are members.
“Inasmuch as she, in her present
status as a non-teacher is not affected
by this requirement, this issue is now
(See MISSISSIPPI, Page 12)
New Group To Check Textbooks
Two Mississippians Speak
In North on Racial Issue
16, Dr. James W. Silver asserted that
New Jersey is “not very far ahead
of my own state in coping with racial
segregation.” The professor’s remarks
were before an American history work
shop of the New Jersey Civil War
Centennial Commission at Rutgers
University.
“The difference between the two
states,” he said, “is that New Jersey
leaders are trying to do something
about it (segregation) and in Missis
sippi they are not.” Asserting he does
not “want to exploit Mississippi,” the
history professor and president of the
Southern Historical Society said, “I’m
not too sure of New Jersey’s superior
ity.”
Dr. Silver said the reason he is mak
ing speeches outside Mississippi is “that
is the only way I can talk to Mississippi.
I have not been invited to speak in
Mississippi.”
Association of School Administrators,
on Dec. 11, defended the tests. He said
that educators have found aptitude and
achievement tests of value in determin
ing a child’s academic strength so that
more help can be given where it is
needed.
Allen said he is confident “our
teachers can take any of the books
selected for the teaching of their spe
cific subjects and teach our boys and
girls to have an appreciation of religion,
family, state, nation and free enter
prise.”
“No one is taking a stand against
the Bible and the constitution in any
Mississippi school,” he continued, “and
if any parents know of an individual
or a location where the wrong thing
is being done they should be specific
enough to work with that situation and
not attempt to downgrade all of Mis
sissippi because of a few instances with
which they might be familiar.”