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SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS—MARCH, 1964—PAGE 13 VIRGINIA Legislators Kill Proposal Requiring School Opening RICHMOND epublican - sponsored meas ures to force the reopening of Prince Edward County’s public schools and to put the compulsory school-attendance statute on a statewide basis were killed in General Assembly committees. The House Education Committee on Feb. 18 killed a bill, sponsored by Dele gate M. Caldwell Butler of Roanoke, which would have required all locali ties to operate public schools. The practical impact of the measure, if it had been enacted into law, would have been felt only in Prince Edward, as all other localities are operating public schools. Another Butler bill was killed by the same committee on Feb. 20. This one would have eliminated the local- option provision of the state compul sory school-attendance law. In 1956, the Virginia General Assem bly in effect modified the compulsory attendance law then on the books by providing that no child would be re quired to attend a desegregated school. 1959 Provisions In 1959, a new compulsory attend ance law was enacted which provided that its provisions would apply only in those cities and counties in which local governing bodies voted for such cover age on recommendation of the local school boards. (For a report on the number of localities which have come under the law see “Schoolmen.”) Delegate George M. Cochran of Staunton, who opposed the Butler bill on compulsory attendance, told the committee that the local-option provi sion was adopted “when the entire public school system was in jeopardy.” It was a key part of the “freedom of choice” plan that eased the segregation crisis in the state, he declared, adding: “To say that the crisis is passed to the extent we can change that law ... is a matter of judgment. Having been through the fire ... I am not ready to risk what has been gained.” Bills similar to those killed by the House committee were defeated by the Senate Education Committee on Feb. 26. These measures also were sponsored by Republicans, who constitute a small minority (14 of 140) in the predomin- antly Democratic state legislature. Schoolmen State Board Notes Attendance Law In 68 Localities Sixty-eight of Virginia’s 130 cities j counties have come under the ! ® s optional compulsory school-at- 'endance law, the State Board of Edu ction reported Feb. 17. at ,^ y ~® ne had come under the law ago 6 ^ me 3 surve y was m ade a year a nd°?^ y ~^ Ve date’s 96 counties . , °t the 34 cities now have com- sory school attendance. W hj C | aa ^ y ’ the statute has a loophole chiW P errn it s parents to keep their the 6n ou t of a particular school if S ° ^ es ^ re - Whether a parent could dear 3 ° u t of all schools is not atte^°^ °® c c^ s who favor compulsory S p; t n ® nce say the statute is useful, de- m ” e ®°PHole. They say that in 'ken CaS6S: the parents want the chil- g] a d ln school, and that parents are 10 have a law to back them up. ★ ★ ★ ^rrow Elected Chairman State Education Board F Jr, 0 ?h er State Sen. Mosby G. Perrow the “f ^ nc hburg, who led the fight for in the e ^ om °f choice” school policy elected ^® nera l Assembly of 1959, was of pj, c hairman of the State Board Ration Feb. 21. Sec ° t id°T’ ^ i ust beginning his T*as j , 0Ur -year term on the board, le-elp . eate d last year in his bid for be had 10n to the State Senate, where Perr 0 Servec * ^ or 20 years. 'dipjp- w was chairman of the state of SI< L, n . w hich drew up the “free ze Sep f °’ ce ” program. It got through In an a e hy the margin of one vote. Oon a wterview following his elec- Edu j.^rman of the State Board ^tion.p lon ’ H err °w said that the bon "pants plan, which his commis- cornmended, is “beginning to Mosby G. Perrow ‘Wear and tear' show signs of wear and tear.” “Probably it eventually will no longer be needed,” he said. “But it very definitely had its place in a period of transition. It certainly helped.” Perrow’s comment drew criticism from Leon Dure, a private citizen and former newspaper executive, who was one of the leaders in urging adoption of “freedom-of-choice.” Dure, in a letter published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, said Per row’s comment “tells you a good bit about the real beliefs of some of those who proclaimed educational freedom— as a temporary expedient.” He added: “It foreshadows a political fight which now appears inescapable. This fight will be between those who really do believe in freedom and those who never have.” ★ ★ ★ In Arlington County, where a total of 281 Negroes were assigned this year to attend 22 predominantly white schools, the school board is being urged to speed up the desegregation process. On Feb. 20 representatives of several integrationist groups urged the board to redraw school district lines to elimi nate what they said were “gerryman dered districts.” Among groups repre sented were Congress on Racial Equality and the Community Council of Social Progress. Board member James Stockard said that the normal time for redistricting would be during the 1965 school census. Desegregation began in Arlington in 1959. About one-third of the county’s schools now have racially mixed classes. Prince Edward County Group Opposes Private School Tuition Grants Citizens for Educational Freedom (CEF) filed a brief with the U.S. Su preme Court Feb. 15 expressing op position to the use of public tuition grants by children attending segregated private schools in Prince Edward County. CEF filed as a friend-of-the-court in anticipation of the March 30 hearing on the Prince Edward school case. (Griffin vs. County School Board of Prince Edward.) The brief said the organization fav ors tuition grants to permit children to attend the schools of their choice, but that it opposes the use of grants in such a situation as exists in Prince Edward, where public schools are closed. (Grants are not being used in Prince Edward now due to a court order, but they were used previously by white children attending the pri vate-school system.) Citizens for Educational Freedom described itself as a national organi zation with 25,000 members of many races, creeds and political affiliations, most of the members being parents or educators. David La Drieare of St. Louis was listed as executive secretary and Glen Andreas of Pella, Iowa, as chairman of the board. Attorneys representing the Negro plaintiffs in the Prince Edward case filed their brief Feb. 25. The brief concluded: “It is respectfully submitted that this court should enter a judgment ordering and requiring: Virginia Highlights General Assembly committees killed bills which would have removed the local - option provision from the state’s compulsory school-attendance law and which would have required the re-opening of Prince Edward County’s public schools. Sixty-eight of Virginia’s 130 cities and counties have adopted local com pulsory school-attendance laws, the State Department of Education re ported. Opposing sides filed briefs in the Prince Edward school case in prep aration for the March 30 hearing before the United States Supreme Court. “(1) That respondents take all nec essary steps, individually and collec tively, to re-open and operate the public schools on a non-discriminatory basis in Prince Edward County by September, 1964 and thereafter, and “(2) That no state or local tuition grants, tax credits or other public funds be used to underwrite attendance at any institution in Prince Edward County, or in the state of Virginia, that practices racial discrimination, and “(3) That the district court, upon remand, retain jurisdiction in order to implement, promptly and effectively, this court’s decree and mandate.” ★ ★ ★ Other Prince Edward County devel opments: • About 30 Hampden-Sydney Col lege students volunteered to tutor Prince Edward Free School pupils dur ing after-school hours. Hampden-Syd ney is a Presbyterian-related men’s college located in Prince Edward. The children they volunteered to tutor are among the 1,600, mostly Negroes, at tending the schools set up for school- less Negro children through co-opera tion of federal, state and local governmental authorities and financed by private contributions. • Hot lunches and warm clothing given to students have helped keep up the attendance in the free school sys tem, Supt. Neil V. Sullivan said on Feb. 25. Twenty-nine per cent of the students are given free lunches, while others pay only 15 cents each, he said. Also, he said, “We made a careful study of why children were absent and found that a high percentage were absent because of improper clothing to wear on cold or inclement days.” Donated clothing has been distributed to such children. ★ ★ ★ Prince Edward Academy, the private segregated school for whites in Prince Edward, was the object of a bomb scare on Feb. 18. Someone called a reporter on the Farmville Herald at 1:10 p.m. and said that a bomb would go off at the academy at 1:30. The reporter called Farmville Police Chief Otto S. Over- ton, who ordered evacuation of the school. The children and teachers left the school immediately, the building was searched without any bomb being found, and students and teachers re turned to the building at about 2:30. The students and teachers spent the time away from school at the Farm ville Memorial Armory, where school cheerleaders conducted an impromptu pep rally. ★ ★ ★ Six Prince Edward youths, charged with damaging the automobile of Supt. Neil V. Sullivan of the Prince Edward Free Schools, have had their driving permits suspended, have been placed under a 9 pm. curfew, and have been released in custody of their parents under $1,000 recognizance bonds re quiring them to keep the peace. Action was taken in the county’s Juvenile and Domestic Court against the youths, who range in age from 16 to 18. The boys were charged with damaging Dr. Sullivan’s car on Hallo ween night while the Sullivans were out of town. (SSN, February, 1964.) In The Colleges Richmond Admits First Negroes To Night Courses A University of Richmond official, in answer to questions, issued a statement Feb. 11 saying that 12 Negroes had been admitted to American Institute of Banking courses offered in the univer sity’s night program. This marks the (See VIRGINIA, Page 14) School-Race Issues Get Less Campaign Attention (Continued From Page 1) contempt charges growing out of their joint resistance to desegregation of the University of Mississippi. Some segre gationist leadership in Mississippi has been critical of Stennis’ backing of the national Democratic administration on various issues, although Stennis is among the opponents of national civil- rights legislation. In Louisiana, John J. McKeithen was elected governor this month after win ning the Democratic nomination for governor over deLesseps Morrison, who had been called an “integrationist” by McKeithen supporters during the campaign. McKeithen nevertheless made few direct references to school- race or other civil-rights questions. Promises to Fight The governor-elect did say, “We strongly believe in segregation and the preservation of states’ rights” and promised to “fight any move by the federal government to take over any phase of our state government.” But he also said he was “not a hell-raising segregationist” and that he would “not close the schools to keep them from integrating,” while promising to “do everything legally possible to maintain our Southern way of life.” McKeithen observed that it would have been ad visable for the candidates to take a concurrent stand on civil-rights ques tions—then omit such issues from their campaigns. In the general-election campaign, McKeithen’s Republican opponent, Charlton Lyons said "... I believe in equal and impartial law enforcement and the equal application of justice to everyone, regardless of race, creed or color,” while supporting the Louisiana grant-in-aid program for pupils to attend private schools with public funds. Lyons won 38 per cent of the vote—the largest share for a Repub lican candidate in Louisiana in 68 years, while a States’ Rights Party candidate received scant support. Louisiana’s incoming state superin tendent of education, William J. Dodd, who has been president of the State Board of Education for the past four years, is categorized as a “moderate” on segregation-desegregation as well as other issues. He will succeed Shelby M. Jackson, who has been a leader in the state’s efforts to maintain segre gation in education. In Alabama, the third of the Deep South states where official resistance to desegregation has been strongest in recent years, Gov. George C. Wallace has shown no signs of altering his ardent pro-segregation position. He has resumed a widespread speaking cam paign in defense of uniracial policies and has continued to resist additional school desegregation. Wallace’s vigorous stand against de segregation through federal action has overshadowed more “moderate” posi tions taken by two other Alabama offi cials, Lt. Gov. James Allen and At torney General Richmond Flowers, and by some local leaders. Despite Allen’s past criticisms of Wallace’s actions, he now has accepted the governor’s invitation to head a group of candi dates for independent presidential electors unpledged to this year’s na tional Democratic nominees. Both U.S. senators from Alabama, Lister Hill and John Sparkman, were supporters of the Kennedy adminis tration and now advocate loyalty to President Johnson and the national Democratic ticket. Lt. Gov. Allen said recently he was considering a race for the Senate against Sparkman in 1966. In 1962, Sen. Hill won re-election by only 6,800 votes over a Republican, James D. Martin, who campaigned on a segregationist platform. Louisiana’s McKeithen said on March 5 he planned to confer with the governors of Mississippi, Alabama, Ar kansas and Texas as to “what course we should pursue in the presidential election.” He added that he hoped also to meet President Johnson and talk over civil rights, among other things. Three Years Left Gov. Wallace has almost three years remaining in his four-year term; Govs. Johnson and McKeithen will serve until 1968. In the other 14 states of the region, except Arkansas, governors now in office generally have followed “moderate” or largely noncommital courses or, in some border states, have promoted desegregation in education and elsewhere. In Arkansas, Gov. Or- val Faubus has given much less em phasis to the issue than was the case during his earlier years as chief executive. Faubus, who will complete his fifth two-year term next January, has not announced whether he will seek re- election. However, in the midst of a dispute with members of the Arkansas Council on Human Relations about segregation, the governor said in Jan uary that the antisegregationist coun cil might be developing an issue which could induce him to run. He contended that the mistakes of his enemies had been his principal benefit in previous campaigns. (See POLITICS, Page 14) Delaware (Continued From Page 12) dent teacher supervisor at Delaware State, this offer will be accepted for the fall semester. Three schools, the closest districts to the college, said they were unable to accept teachers at this time because of a lack of positions. Dr. Caldwell said he did not believe Dover, Caesar Rodney, or Smyrna re jected the students for racial reasons. Dover, for example, has Negro teach ers working in desegregated schools. Two members of the State Board in vited Dr. Mishoe to re-appear before the board if the problem again be comes acute. Kentucky Request Both Dr. Tiram C. Lasher and David Zutz urged Dr. Mishoe to keep the board posted on the problem. Dr. Mishoe also requested, and re ceived permission, to submit data on the Delaware situation, and its solution, to the Kentucky State Commission on Human Relations. Galen Martin, executive director of the Kentucky unit, said he read about the problem in Southern School News. “This problem is of keen interest to us,” Martin said, adding that Kentucky is interested in the December statement Dr. Mishoe presented to the board “plus any other information you can supply.” Schoolmen Board Members In Disagreement At least two of the six members of the State Board of Education do not agree on the desegregation policy of the board. Dr. Woodrow Wilson, first Negro to serve on the board, stated on Feb. 11 that giving Negro children a choice of attending segregated or desegregated schools violates the spirit of the 1954 Supreme Court decision. In addition, he said, this puts great pressure on “those parents and chil dren who choose to break tradition and leave the Negro schools.” But Dr. Hiram C. Lasher, in re buttal to Dr. Wilson, endorsed the “free choice” system. Progress Cited Delaware, he said, “has made tre mendous strides in this field during the past 10 years with no major incidents.” Dr. Lasher stated that he favors the free choice system and “gradual school integration over the years,” and warned against “radicals like Cecil Moore.” Moore is president of the NAACP Branch in Philadelphia. “If we could keep radicals like Cecil Moore out of the state we would be better off,” Dr. Lasher said. ( THIS \ / OUGHTA GET \ | MY NAME IN / \ THE HEAD- \ LINES Caufman, Wilmington Morning News