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MISSISSIPPI
SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS—MARCH, 1964—PAGE II
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Court Orders Three
Systems Desegregated
(Continued From Page 1)
cataloguing all of the laws that may
militate against this position, it suf
fices to point to two.
“The Mississippi constitution requires
file maintenance of separate schools for
white and colored children. (Art. 8,
Section 207). Moreover, Section 6220.5,
code of 1942, forbids the attendance of
any member of the white race with
Negro children in any public school of
high school level or below on pain of
fine, imprisonment, or both.
“And,” the appellate court noted, “it
is precisely because of this state en
forced segregation of schools under
Mississippi law that the District Court
erred in dismissing the complaints.”
Continuing, the Court of Appeals
said:
“It is undisputed in each case that
appellants sought relief from the re
spective school boards prior to suit in
the form of petitioning for the activa
tion of a practice of permitting the
assignment of the minor appellants and
their class to public schools without re
gard to race.
“This was an ample basis for the
grant of the relief sought in the suits
in view of the prior decisions of this
court, where, as is the case in these
school districts in Mississippi, the Negro
appellants are not afforded a reason
able and conscious opportunity to at
tend any school, for which they are
otherwise eligible, without regard to
their race and color, and to have their
requests for admission thereto fairly
considered by the enrolling authorities.
Other Cases Noted
The court recalled a case involving
Dade County, Fla., in 1959, when it
held that “the petitioning of the school
board for abolition of racial segregation
in the public schools obviated the nec
essity, where segregated schools were
required, of exhaustion of administra
tive remedies under the Florida Pupil
Assignment Law.” (Gibson v. Board
of Public Instruction of Dade County,
Florida.)
Referring to citations by the school
boards of decisions in North Carolina,
Maryland and Arkansas holding that
administrative remedies must be ex
hausted, the appeals court said they
were based on “the rationale of the
law and custom and practice in those
states being such that applications for
assignment by Negro children to white
schools would be given good faith
consideration and were possible of
achievement.”
“It is impossible to apply that ra
tionale to Mississippi,” the court said.
“There cannot be voluntary segrega
tion where desegregation has been re
quested until inhibitions, legal and
otherwise, serving to enforce segrega
tion have been removed to the extent
that appellants and the class they
represent are ‘afforded a reasonable
a ud conscious opportunity to apply for
odnussion to any schools for which they
are eligible without regard to their
face or color, and to have that choice
a ' rl y considered by the enrolling
authorities.’ ”
“Rights . . . Proscribed’
. 'The court said “as matters now stand
ln Mississippi, racial segregation in the
Public schools is enforced, and the
S *h e appellants here under the
th Amendment to equal protection of
® law s are proscribed.”
paving said that it was error for the
uuct Court to dismiss their com-
juts seeking relief from such pro-
ription, it follows that each of the
ru/rt r ?, Us ^ ^us be reversed,” the court
‘Upon remand, pending disposi-
t i each on the merits, it will be
pr 0 ° Uty °t the District Court to give
r Uofi lPt consideration to the pending
. ons of appellants for preliminary
factions ”
Th
t^Hpo C ° Ur t asserted that “the grant of
the^y relief pending a hearing on
poll etu ts will in no wise deprive ap-
appv s °t the other usual procedures
hor^ - e an< t obtaining in civil ac-
cop,’.^utuding the right to answer the
issu^ts and to raise and litigate
ipg u °t tact, if any there be, regard-
Ip Jf m erits of each of these suits.”
listed 6 Jackson suit, the first plaintiff
of si 18 Uarrell Kenyatta Evers, son
lri NAACP leader Medgar Evers,
^he parents who have inter-
hrioios m t ' le Jackson case are Aleck
his cbif , restau rant owner, in behalf of
a«4 - uren, Jimmy, Claudia and Gale,
Goodman, laudromat oper
and q “shalf of his children, Doyle
Mijtp^htiQn asserts that it represents
s ke p o ^hildren and students who de-
1° be forcibly compelled to
Mississippi Highlights
The first public-school desegrega
tion in Mississippi was ordered in a
temporary injunction by a federal
judge for Jackson, Biloxi and Leake
County on a mandate from the Fifth
Circuit Court of Appeals. The cases
will be heard on their merits May 18.
Separation of public-school pupils
by sex is sought in a bill pending
in the legislature.
State legislators were asked to
repeal a charter granted in 1871 to
Tougaloo College, a biracial private
institution.
A state senator asked for an in
vestigation as to why five Negroes,
reportedly students of Rust College,
were permitted to attend a lecture
at the University of Mississippi.
associate with” the nine Negroes seek
ing desegregation of the Jackson
schools and “others of their ethnic
group.”
The white parents state that “there
is no modem psychological evidence of
mental or educational injury resulting
to Negro students by education in sep
arate schools.”
“Greater personality, stability and a
higher degree of learning accomplish
ments are achieved in the divided
school system,” they said in the suit
seeking to enjoin the Jackson school
board from desegregating schools.
Legislative Action
Legislator Proposes
Law to Authorize
Segregation by Sex
Segregation of public school students
by sex was proposed in a bill intro
duced in the current biennial session
of the Mississippi legislature by a group
of representatives headed by Frank
Shanahan of Vicksburg. It is House
Bill No. 290 and was referred to the
education committee.
The proposal would authorize any
board of trustees of any school district
to provide for the separation of stu
dents according to sex “when it de
termines that such separation is neces
sary in the interest of the public or
students.”
Section One of the bill would give
the school board the “authority to pro
vide by assignment or re-assignment,
or other appropriate means, for the
separation of students according to sex,
separately by classrooms or schools,
when such board, in its discretion, de
termines such separation will promote
or preserve the public peace, order, or
tranquility of the school district, or
the health, morals or education of the
students.”
★ ★ ★
Senator Seeks Repeal
Of Tougaloo’s Charter
A bill was introduced in the Missis
sippi legislature last month seeking re
peal of an 1871 statute which granted a
charter to Tougaloo Southern Christian
College. The proposal stems from par
ticipation by Tougaloo students and
some faculty members in antisegrega
tion demonstrations.
Introduction of the measure followed
a public statement by Lt. Gov. Carroll
Gartin proposing a legislative investi
gation of the institution, located about
seven miles north of Jackson.
“I want some official state agency to
investigate that so-called college to see
if it is doing what it was authorized to
do under a charter granted by the
state,” the lieutenant governor said in
charging that Tougaloo College “is a
haven for political agitators and possi
bly some Communists.”
“Tennessee got rid of the Highlander
Folk School which was a hangout for
Communists and agitators and we ought
to see if we have the same situation
right here in our backyard,” Lt. Gov.
Gartin asserted in an address to the
Jackson Exchange club Feb. 17.
Tougaloo College in recent years has
accepted white students, mostly from
other states. Previously, it was a pre
dominantly Negro institution with a
biracial faculty.
Dr. A. D. Beittel, white president of
the church-supported institution, said
he would welcome an investigation “by
an honorable and dependable commit
tee which would report honestly what
they see and learn.”
“I would not, however, welcome an
investigation by the Citizens Council,”
he added.
Dr. Beittel questioned whether the
state has a right to investigate a pri
vate institution although it operates
under a state charter. He said the
school is supported by the United
Church of Christ and the Disciples of
Christ.
Questions also were raised as to the
right of the state to investigate, as well
as to repeal the charter granted in 1871.
Authors of the bill seeking repeal of
the college’s charter are Sens. Bradford
Dye Jr. of Grenada; Jim Buck Ross of
Pelahatchie, and George Yarbrough of
Red Banks, the senate president pro-
tem. The bill, S. B. 1672, is before the
judiciary committee headed by Sen.
E. K. Collins of Laurel.
Charter Quoted
The preamble of the charter reads
in part:
“Whereas, the highest welfare of the
state requires that ample provision be
made for the education of all its citi-
bens, and . . .
“. . . whereas, said association (Amer
ican Missionary) is not under the ec
clesiastical control of any religious
denomination and said university is to
be accessible to all, irrespective of their
religious tenets, and conducted on the
most liberal principles for the benefit
of our citizens in general . . .”
The charter points out that the pur
pose is “for the instruction of students
in the arts and sciences, in the learned
professions, and in all the branches of
liberal and professional education as
taught in the best colleges and uni
versities of our country.”
The trustees were also empowered to
“organize any or all of the departments
of a university at any time, when in
their judgment the interests of the
institution and the public wants re
quire.”
SACSS Notified
Dr. Beittel said he had advised the
Southern Association of Colleges and
Secondary Schools, which has given
the college accreditation, of the pend
ing legislation.
Charles Evers, Mississippi field rep
resentative for the NAACP, said Feb.
24: “I have notified the SACSS that
Mississippians interested in education
are hopeful that the association will
keep a watchful eye on the legislature’s
planned evasion and attempt to dis
credit or eliminate Tougaloo College,
a near century old oasis of enlighten
ment in the educational desert that is
Mississippi.”
Proponents of the legislation indi
cated that repeal of the charter may
eliminate tax exemptions given such
institutions. There were differences of
opinion as to whether that can be done.
Meanwhile, a white instructor at the
biracial college reported to police that
he narrowly eluded a threatening
masked man and more than a dozen
others who blocked his car on Feb. 23
as he drove to church services at Fond-
ren Presbyterian Church (white) in
north Jackson.
The report was made by William
Hutchinson, instructor in speech and
dramatics, who has taken no public
part in a series of racial demonstrations
by other faculty members and students.
In The Colleges
Senator Seeks Probe
Of Negro Admissions
To Campus Lecture
State Sen. Edwin L. Pittman of
Hattiesburg on Feb. 25 demanded an
investigation to determine why five
Negroes were admitted to the Univer
sity of Mississippi chapel at Oxford for
a speech by television commentator
Howard K. Smith.
The Negroes were reported to be
students at Rust College for Negroes at
Holly Springs, near Oxford.
Campus police said the Negro stu
dents were asked to remain in a ca
pacity-filled Fulton Chapel until the
crowd of 1,200 left at the end of the
speech, which centered largely on the
civil-rights struggle. The Negroes were
hissed when they entered the chapel
and when they left.
In asking for the investigation, Sen.
Pittman said “as far as I know there
aren’t any Negro students at Ole Miss.”
“I think we ought to find some an
swer as to why these five were ad
mitted,” he said on the Senate floor.
University officials said Smith spoke
on the campus as part of a lecture se
ries attended by residents of Oxford
and other nearby areas.
Schoolmen
Greenville Negroes
Denied Admission
Five Negro students of Coleman High
School in Greenville, disciplined for
walking out in protest to no Lincoln
Day program, sought voluntary admis
sion to the white Greenville High
School Feb. 13. They made no formal
application for enrollment but appeared
at the white school and told the prin
cipal, “We just want to go to class.”
They were advised that disciplinary
action at one school was recognized at
others and were not permitted to attend
class. They left and no further effort
has been made to attend classes at the
white school.
Arkansas
Continued From Page 7)
versial.” The meeting was held at mid-
afternoon in the Dunbar Community
Center, a municipal facility for Negroes.
★ ★ ★
The Urban League of Greater Little
Rock has found that negotiation is the
most effective way of attaining equality
for the Negro, Dr. H. Solomon Hill of
North Little Rock said at the league’s
annual meeting Feb. 8, attended by
about 70 persons.
Dr. Hill, a Negro, president of Shorter
College, said other methods that should
be used when necessary are litigation,
political action and direct action.
Dr. Joseph A. Norton, league presi
dent, said he grew up in Pine Bluff and
like many white Southern boys did not
know that there was a racial problem
until he was an adult. “I am particu
larly indebted to Gov. Faubus for edu
cating me to an awareness of the prob
lem,” he said.
The meeting opened the league’s
campaign for $20,000. It has never
reached its goal in any year since it
was dropped from the United Fund as
one of the aftermaths of the school
crisis of 1957.
Community Action
Pine Bluff Group
Marks First Year
The Pine Bluff Movement celebrated
its first anniversary with a meeting
Jan. 26 attended by about 300 people
at St. Peter’s Rock Baptist Church.
The movement was started Jan. 23,
1963, by the Rev. Ben Grinage, Negro,
and William W. Hansen Jr., white, both
of Cincinnati, and eight students from
Arkansas AM&N College, a Negro in
stitution at Pine Bluff.
James Jones, one of the eight stu
dents, reported that demonstrations and
negotiations had brought desegregation'
of lunch counters, some restaurants,
theaters, the public library, Oakland
City Park and the public schools “after
the school board had its warning.”
The Rev. Mr. Grinage, John Lewis,
national chairman of the Student Non
violent Co-ordinating Committee and
other speakers promised continuing
demonstrations.
★ ★ ★
One of the mainstays of the deseg
regation organizations in Little Rock,
the Rev. David A. Boileau, 33, a Cath
olic priest, was transferred to an assist
ant pastorate at Stuttgart early in
February.
He was dean of studies at St. John’s
Missions Seminary, chaplain of the
Catholic Interracial Council, a founder
of the Little Rock Conference on Race
and Religion, a member of the Arkan
sas Council on Human Relations and
a member of the Arkansas Advisory
Committee to the United States Com
mission on Civil Rights.
The Region
(Continued From Page 1)
The 12-man jury, which included
two Negroes, held in its finding that
in setting up the indentures that cre
ated the university, the founder had
as his main purpose the development
of a “first-class school.” The jury de
cided that the restriction on race and
the failure to charge tuition made “im
practicable” the development of Rice
as a first-class school and that under
present conditions it is “impracticable”
to carry out the intent of William
Marsh Rice’s will.
Other private schools have been in
the courts because of similar racial
restrictions imposed on them by the
terms of their founders’ wills. Stephen
Girard, who died in 1831, established a
trust for the education of “poor male
white orphans” in Philadelphia, Pa., at
Girard College. Paul Tulane and Sophie
Newcomb, early donors to Tulane Uni
versity in New Orleans, restricted their
donations to “white young persons.”
Sweet Briar, a private girls’ college in
Virginia, had a racial restriction im
posed in 1900 in the will of the founder,
Indiana Fletcher Williams.
Girard Case
The Girard College case developed in
1955 from the application of a Negro
for admission to the school. His appli
cation was denied by the Orphan’s
Court of Philadelphia County, and the
decision was upheld by the Pennsyl
vania Supreme Court. The courts held
that even though the trust was admin
istered by a board that consisted in
part of elected city officials, the trust
was not to be construed as “state ac
tion.”
On appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court,
the state courts’ rulings were reversed
on the grounds that the board operat
ing the school was “an agency of the
State of Pennsylvania” and that the
refusal to admit Negroes was “discrimi
nation by the state.” The case was
returned to the Pennsylvania Supreme
Court, which remanded it to the Or
phan’s Court.
The Orphans’ Court found in 1957
that the dominant purpose of Girard’s
will was to establish a school for “poor
male white orphans” rather than to
provide for the administration of the
trust by city officials. The court dis
missed the petition of the Negro ap
plicants and directed the removal of
the Board of Directors of City Trusts
as trustees. The Orphan’s Court sub
stituted 13 private persons as trustees
for the school, and the Pennsylvania
Supreme Court affirmed the action.
Tulane Status at Issue
When two Negroes sought to enter
Tulane University (Guillory et al v.
the Administrators of the Tulane Uni
versity of Louisiana et al), the defend
ants contended that the school was a
private institution and that some of
the donations to the university were
restricted to whites. In 1962, the U.S.
District Court at New Orleans issued a
summary judgment to the plaintiffs.
Judge J. Skelly Wright held that the
school had been a public one since its
inception, and that its status had never
changed. Wright added that even if the
status had changed, the amount of state
support the school received and the
state management to which it was sub
jected would bring it within the 14th
Amendment.
Before the year ended, Judge Wright
had been succeeded by Judge Frank B.
Ellis, who vacated the summary judg
ment and granted a new trial on the
ground that there were genuine issues
as to whether the school was private
or public. The Fifth Circuit Court of
Appeals affirmed Judge Ellis, saying
that the case was not one for a sum
mary judgment.
After a new trial, Judge Ellis ruled
for the school administrators. The
court held that the 17-man board in
cluded only three state officials and
they had shown no disposition to affect
Tulane’s policy. The amount of state
financial support was not sufficient to
indicate state action, the judge ruled,
and the tax exemption on university
property had been granted to foster
education, rather than to further state
activity.
The district court also declared un
constitutional a state act of 1884, which
had forbidden the school’s ending seg
regation. Although the court did not
order the school to desegregate, it held
that private restrictive covenants were
unenforceable and that it was legally
permissible for the university to admit
Negroes, which the board later did.
The Sweet Briar racial restriction has
not yet been considered by the courts.
The board of overseers for the school
announced last fall that it was willing
to admit qualified students regardless
of race, but that it would have to seek
a court ruling on the issue.