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PAGE 2—MARCH, 1964—SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ♦ Johnson Denies Rumors of Compromise on Civil Right s (Continued From Page 1) regarded the question of bypassing the Judiciary Committee as a close one. Unlike the situation expected in the Senate, House debate on the civil- rights bill was restrained and generally good-humored. Passage followed nine days of debate on some 140 amend ments to the bill. The only noteworthy change affecting the school provisions was the addition of language stating that the term desegregation does not mean transporting students to end racial imbalance. As passed by the House, the bill authorizes the Attorney General to file school desegregation suits in cases where he determines that individual plaintiffs are unable to avail themselves of legal recourse. It also provides for federal financial and technical aid to desegregating school districts. State, Local Programs Another title potentially affecting education directs all federal agencies to act against racial discrimination in state and local programs receiving gov ernment grants, loans or contracts. It permits, but does not require, cutting off funds where discrimination persists. This title is expected to be one of the targets of Southern attack during Sen ate debate on the civil-rights bill. On the motion of Southern members, the House added to the bill a provision creating a community conciliation serv ice in the Commerce Department to help mediate racial disputes. This had been proposed last year by the admin istration, but had been dropped on grounds that it could be created by executive order. The final House vote on passage of the bill showed 152 Democrats and 138 Republicans voting in favor, with 96 Democrats and 34 Republicans opposed. Seven Democrats from states of the old Confederacy voted for the bill— Reps. Ross Bass (D-Tenn.), Richard H. Fulton (D-Tenn.), Claude Pepper (D- Fla.), Jack Brooks (D-Tex.), Henry B. Gonzalez (D-Tex.), J. J. (Jake) Pickle (D-Tex.) and Albert Thomas (D- Tex.). On the other hand, Reps. Louis Wy man (R-N.H.) and John Lesinski (D- Mich.) voted against the bill and issued statements denouncing it as unconsti tutional. ★ ★ ★ Johnson Appoints Missouri Woman To Rights Group Appointment of Frankie Muse Free man, a former Assistant Attorney Gen eral of Missouri, as the first woman member of the U.S. Civil Rights Com mission was announced by President Johnson Feb. 29. Mrs. Freeman, 47, an official of the National Council of Negro Women, was one of the NAACP attorneys in a suit that resulted in desegregation of St. Louis housing projects. She has been associate general counsel of the St. Louis Housing and Land Clearance Authority since 1956. Mrs. Freeman’s appointment, subject to confirmation by the Senate, will fill one of two vacancies on the commis sion. Last October, President Kennedy accepted the resignations of Robert Storey of Dallas, president of the Southwestern Legal Foundation, and Spottswood W. Robinson HI, who was named to a federal district court judge- ship in Washington. The commission, created under the ‘He Can’t See Where He’s Going, But You’ll Have To Admit It’s Stylish’ Payne, Charlotte Observer D. C. Highlights President Johnson denied rumors that the administration was willing to compromise sections of the civil- rights bill in order to obtain early passage in the Senate. He said he wanted a bill “exactly” in the form of the measure passed by the House Feb. 10. As the Senate prepared for a filibuster, Sen. Richard B. Russell (D-Ga.), leader of the Southern forces, called for an all-out effort to block passage. Frankie Muse Freeman, a Negro woman attorney from St. Louis, was named by the President to fill one of two vacancies on the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. The District Board of Education approved a new 130-page curriculum guide on “The Negro in American History.” Chairman Adam Clayton Powell (D-N.Y.) of the House Edu cation and Labor Committee an nounced that he would conduct an investigation of history textbooks to determine whether they ignore heroes from minority groups. Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) criticized District school officials for distributing in the schools copies of a pamphlet explaining the city’s new “fair housing” regulations. A student civil-rights group at George Washington University with drew its request for official recog nition, charging that the university had set unreasonable requirements. Civil Rights Act of 1957, investigates complaints of discrimination in voting, housing, employment, education and administration of justice. Under the civil-rights bill passed by the House of Representatives and now pending in the Senate, the commission’s life would be extended by four years and it would be given additional powers to investi gate allegations of vote fraud and to serve as an information clearing house on civil rights. Mrs. Freeman, a native of Danville, Va., has been a resident of St. Louis since 1948. She is a graduate of Hamp ton Institute and the Howard Univer sity law school. Her appointment to the commission was hailed by its chairman, President John Hannah of Michigan State Uni versity, who said she had “rendered valuable service as a member of the Missouri Advisory Committee to the commission since 1958.” Others now serving on the commis sion are Dean Erwin N. Griswold of the Harvard University law school; the Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, presi dent of the University of Notre Dame, and Robert S. Rankin, professor of po litical science at Duke University. ★ ★ ★ Two cities in Alabama and two in Georgia were refused Supreme Court reviews of school desegregation cases on Feb. 17. (See Alabama and Georgia reports.) The Justices refused to review school desegregation orders entered by lower Federal courts for Birmingham and Mobile, Ala., and for Savannah and Brunswick, Ga. ★ ★ ★ Board Approves Study of Negro Role in History “The Negro in American History,” a new 130-page curriculum guide, was approved by the D.C. Board of Educa tion Feb. 19 for use in the schools to “present a true picture of the place and contributions of the Negro in the his tory of our country.” The manual, prepared by a nine- member committee of Washington school officials, was designed specific ally for llth-grade American history classes. However, it also will be adopted for use in fifth- and eighth-grade his tory courses. The guide advises teachers to include material on the role of all minority groups in American history, and says Negroes should be presented “as one of the many ethnic groups that have contributed to the making of our civil ization.” Joseph E. Penn, supervising director for the school system’s history depart ment and editorial chairman for the guide, commented: “We don’t want instructors to teach Negro history separately from American history, but as a part of it.” More than 85 per cent of the pupils in Washington’s public schools are Negroes. The guide contains detailed informa tion on the Negro’s role in history from 1434, when the Portuguese became the first Europeans to take part in the slave trade, to the 1963 March on Wash ington. “We’re not trying to make Negro his tory,” Penn said. “If reports are not documented, we don’t include them. “The problem is that Negroes don’t even know their own history. In dis cussing the contributions of Negro Americans, the stress is on Americans more than anything else.” ★ ★ ★ Rev. Adam Clayton Powell (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, announced Feb. 27 that his committee soon would begin a study of history text books to see whether heroes who were members of minority groups have been omitted. Powell made the announcement in a speech to the Capitol Press Club, an organization of Negro newspapermen. He said there are indications that school texts have dealt unfairly with contri butions made by minority groups. In a recent conversation with a White House aide—“one of the most liberal men in a liberal group”— Powell suggested that a Navy ship be named for Crispus Attucks, the con gressman said. The White House aide asked, “Who’s he?” Attucks, a runaway slave, was the first man killed by British troops in the American revolution. ★ ★ ★ Senator Criticizes Use of Pamphlet Distribution in public schools of a pamphlet explaining the District of Columbia’s “fair housing” regulations was sharply criticized Feb. 27 by Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W. Va.). Byrd also questioned school officials about curriculum materials prepared by the District Commissioners’ Coun cil on Human Relations. The Senator, chairman of the Appro priations Subcommittee that handles District funds, complained that school children had been asked to take home copies of a pamphlet prepared by the council. The pamphlet dealt with the ‘Did Y’All Forget Me, Your Old Trainer?’ Engelhardt, St. Louis Post-Dispatch ban against housing discrimination is sued in January by the district com missioners. Byrd asked School Supt. Carl F. Hansen whether school children would be permitted to distribute birth-con trol information. Hansen replied that this would undoubtedly not be allowed. Controversial Material Byrd said he cited birth-control in formation to back up his view that no controversial material should be dis tributed by school children. He said the housing order is highly controversial, and may be unconstitutional. The fact that the housing order had been of ficially issued did not justify its dis tribution, he added. Hansen defended distribution of the pamphlets as official information. Byrd also questioned Hansen about social studies curriculum materials al legedly developed by the Human Re lations Council, but Hansen said these were still in the process of preparation. Byrd said he would seek more infor mation on the council’s operations. ★ ★ ★ Group Withdraws Request For University Sanction A student civil-rights group organ ized last October at the George Wash ington University withdrew on Feb. 13 its request for official sanction by school authorities. A spokesman for the group said the university had set un reasonable requirements for official recognition. The organization, made up 0 f ^ students and known as the Georg e Washington University Civil Rig},^ Group, said it would continue its a c tivities on a somewhat curtailed basis Without official sanction, organization; are not permitted to use university facilities. While seeking recognition, the group voiced support for the civil-rights bill pending in the Senate, helped regista, voters, raised about $120 for the Stu dent Non-Violent Coordinating Com. mittee and distributed civil-right; pamphlets. University officials gave the group permission to organize last fall. When official recognition was requested at the end of a two-month organizational period, the group was told that its activities during the 60 days had gone beyond signing up members, and that the organizational interval would there- fore have to be repeated. Officers of the group said university officials regarded it as “controversial.” ★ ★ ★ James Farmer, national director of the Congress of Racial Equality, said in New York City Feb. 23 that CORE national headquarters had given per. mission to their Washington local chapter to conduct a school boycott in the latter part of March. Local CORE officials had earlier in dicated that they were seeking approval of their national organization, as well as of other local civil-rights groups, for a boycott to protest inadequacies in the city’s public school system. No specific boycott plans had been announced at the end of February. Too Much Height Kennedy, Arkansas Democrat KENTUCKY Somerset Extends Desegregation i I < < - i 1 \ i ; I i ; i ! f a t f r e ' t s 1 : n > s « I l (I 0 a a _ a i 6 ci e j f, P I ^ I » « LOUISVILLE r I ’ he Somerset Independent School District, desegregated since 1956 at the high-school level, will be desegregated at the elementary and junior-high levels in September of this year. About 100 Negro pupils will be en rolled in formerly all-white schools as a result of the Board of Education’s action in deciding to discontinue the remaining Negro-only school, Dunbar Elementary, which includes grades 1-8. In announcing the action the week of Feb. 10, the school board said it had been requested by Negroes. Dr. John P. Hill, board chairman, said a formal request had been made by the Dunbar Parent-Teacher Asso ciation’s committee for action that “the second part of the petition presented to the board on March 5, 1956, be ap proved and activated.” Old Petition The eight-year-old petition bore the signatures of 113 Somerset citizens. It asked that the secondary schools in the city be desegregated immediately and that steps be taken toward desegrega tion in the elementary schools. The Negro high school was discon tinued that year and Somerset High School was desegregated. Last fall it enrolled 731 white students and 43 Negro students. The present enrollment at Dunbar Elementary is 102 pupils and Dr. Hill said: “Indications are that there would be less than 100 students enrolled through the first eight grades next year. Under the State’s minimum foundation program, schools with less than 100 in the enrollment, that are in non- Kentucky Highlights The Somerset Board of Education, prompted by Negro parents, acted to complete a desegregation program started in 1956. The director of a desegregated high school band complained that a Mardi Gras parade crowd in New Orleans abused his musicians be cause of the Negro band members. A bill seeking changes in state laws involving education and race was withdrawn the day after being introduced in the state legislature, apparently to ease the way for a public-accommodations bill. isolated areas, lose a large part of their State financial support.” This, he added, means that without full State aid, a school “cannot operate on a competitive basis with other schools and that academic standards will decline.” ★ ★ ★ Musicians Harassed, Says Band Director The director of a high-school band charged that his musicians were buf feted with rocks during a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans because there were Negroes in the organization. The band, from Jefferson County’s Eastern High School, took third place in a contest being held at New Orleans. And despite the rock incident, director C. Dexter Marsh said he hopes the band can make the trip again next > -ear if invited. . Marsh said the crowd “would cheering. Then they would spot a Negro. Then they would yell out^coo or Negro or something like that. : He said the rocks thrown were sm i but numerous and hit both band me ^ C bers and instruments, splitting 0 girl’s lip. Marsh said objects are sol® times thrown at bands in any P a ^ J but that the abuse at the Mardi ^ j was greater than usual and ^ tributable to the presence of Neg* in the band. There were eight/"* boys among the band’s 104 mem e . r . Eastern High School, as a part 0 ^ Jefferson County system which ser suburban Louisville, was desegreg in 1956. * Legislative Action Bill Affecting Race, Education Withdrawn Early e>V€<d A bill which would amend or r ^ several statutes concerning ra education was introduced in General Assembly, but was wi the next day. vil-rig^* 5 It was reported that other ci advocates had urged the b s Rep. Arthur L. Johnson, Jr., Negr0 es ville Democrat and one of two ^ in the House, to withdraw th'e th a cause they feared it wou u bliC' chances of passing a proposed y (See KENTUCKY, Page 3)