Newspaper Page Text
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PAGE 4—MARCH, 1964—SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS
FLORIDA
Florida Education Association
Places Desegregation on Agenda
MIAMI
opening its
T he question of
membership to Negroes by
eliminating the word “white”
from its charter has been placed
on the agenda of the Florida Edu
cation Association meeting in
Miami Beach April 23-25.
This makes it a highly consequential
issue that some educators fear may
split the 40,000-member organization of
teachers and school officials. The FEA
by state law is responsible for setting
teacher standards and has a powerful
influence with the legislature in shap
ing laws affecting education and school
administration.
The question was passed to the mem
bership at the insistence of the Dade
Classroom Teachers Association, the
state group’s largest affiliate. The
DCTA, headed by Pat L. Tomillo Jr.,
removed all racial barriers last year
and had been working to extend this
policy to the state level.
Writing in the December issue of
the NEA Journal, Tomillo said elimi
nation of the racial bars had worked
well in Dade by
establishing a pro
fessional organi-
z a t i o n with a
single set of
standards. “T h e
choice of build
ing representa
tives, appointment
of committee
chairman and se
lection of commit
tee members,” he
tornillo wrote, “demon
strated that members were judged in
the terms of qualifications, not the
color of skin.”
The Dade school board considered a
motion to withdraw financial aid from
the FEA unless it opened membership
to all qualified teachers regardless of
Maryland
(Continued From Page 3)
tution in this country. I would say the
same thing about the University of
Mississippi even if it were a distin
guished institution. I would say that it
would be a better institution if it had
a great many colored students in at
tendance. I would say the same thing
about the best institutions in the coun
try.”
Dr. Jenkins pointed out that some of
America’s most esteemed academic cen
ters are now actively recruiting colored
students. He made specific reference to
Princeton University which has inaug
urated a new program to attract a
larger Negro enrollment.
Can’t Stand Still
Writing in the issue of the Howard
University Magazine current in Febru
ary, Dr. Jenkins praised the past ac
complishments of Negro colleges in
kindling “the Promethean fire for a
disadvantaged population” but he ad
ded, “the worth of the predominantly
colored institutions can no longer be
justified by their past accomplish
ments.”
Pointing to a “rising level of expec
tations for colleges,” Dr. Jenkins wrote,
“The qualitative gap between the best
American colleges and the just-average
is rapidly 'widening. In our dynamic
society no college can afford to stand
still, for if it does so, it goes backward.”
Dr. Jenkins called upon presidents
of predominantly colored institutions to
provide “effective leadership in bring
ing about improvement in the educa
tional programs in their colleges.” He
cited the need for teachers in the col
leges to “invent and utilize new
methods,” adding:
“My greatest criticism of predomin
antly colored colleges is precisely at
this point. Too few of these institutions
are testing in a fundamental way the
values of such things as team teach
ing, instruction by television, pro
grammed learning, variable class size,
independent study, cooperative work-
study programs.”
Morgan College itself is experiment
ing with a “track plan” of education.
The freshman program is three
pronged: one course of studies for
honor students, another for students
well prepared for college work, and a
third for students who demonstrate
ability but show a need for improve
ment in basics, such as English and
mathematics.
Florida Highlights
The question of desegregating the
membership of the Florida Education
Association has been placed on the
agenda of the organization’s annual
meeting in April.
The home of a Negro pupil at
tending a white school in Jackson
ville was dynamited, aggravating a
tense racial situation.
Florida’s first suit to desegregate
a private university was dismissed in
federal district court.
Florida State University research
ers have devised a new method of
testing Negro pupils in elementary
school which they say better meas
ures their intelligence and achieve
ment.
race. Although the proposal was fa
vored by a majority, it was not pressed
to a vote. The FEA already had de
cided to meet in Miami Beach with
the Dade Teachers as hosts. Dr. Joe
Hall, Dade school superintendent, is a
candidate for FEA president.
Tornillo, however, led the fight to
put the question on the FEA ballot.
Some members, who will not discuss
the matter publicly, fear the issue will
destroy the FEA’s political potency.
If the move fails, the Dade group
is considered certain to withdraw. The
Dade school board is already on rec
ord that the FEA will not be regarded
as a professional body if membership
is based on race.
If the vote is favorable the FEA’s
influence with the legislature could be
in question. Segregation sentiment is
strong in many areas of the state, and
51 of the 67 counties still have no
desegregation in schools.
★ ★ ★
A proposed John F. Kennedy Me
morial Program designed to upgrade
Negro schools in Dade County has
come out of committee study and is
now before Dade School Supt. Joe
Hall.
Jack D. Gordon, member of the Dade
County Board of Public Instruction,
made the original suggestion. Gordon
said Hall would issue his recommenda
tions for the program at the board’s
next meeting. Once studied by Hall,
the program would be ready for official
adoption and implementation, Gordon
said.
The original proposal called for 100
Kennedy Fellowships for 1964 college
graduates who would teach a year in
Dade’s underprivileged areas.
As amended by the John F. Kennedy
Memorial Fellowships Committee, the
program would provide for three over
all steps of action, including internship
by student teachers from Florida and
other parts of the country in desig
nated Dade County schools.
Gordon said the internship program
would “hopefully provide better trained
teachers to cope with the problems of
Negro and other culturally deprived
students in Dade and other systems
that will have to face this problem
sooner or later, particularly in major
Southern cities.”
Miscellaneous
Legal Action
Judge Dismisses
Suit Against
Tampa University
After almost a year in litigation, a
suit against the University of Tampa
to require acceptance of Negro stu
dents (Hammond v. University of
Tampa) was dismissed on Feb. 4.
Federal District Judge Joseph P. Lieb
ruled that the university is a private
institution and not subject to court
mandates requiring desegregation.
The suit was filed last March by
James A. Hammond, an electrical con
tractor, and Hazel Louise Gibson, a
school teacher. They charged they were
denied admission to the university be
cause of race.
The suit charged that the University
of Tampa received large federal sums,
as loans and grants for buildings and
to support special courses. This, it said,
required the university to accept all
qualified students regardless of race.
University Contention
The university, which by formal vote
of the board has maintained a policy
of segregation, contended it was within
its rights to accept or reject any stu
dent because it was a private insti
tution.
After taking testimony last August
in a nonjury trial, and studying briefs,
Judge Lieb ruled for the university.
“It is the conclusion of this court,”
he said in his written decree, “that
the university is a private academic
institution, whose activities have been
carried on without significant state
participation.”
The suit was the first in Florida
against a private university and was
regarded as a test for similar action
against segregated institutions in this
category.
★ ★ ★
‘Further Relief’ Asked
In Duval County Suit
In late February a motion for “fur
ther relief” was filed in the long-
pending Duval County school suit
(Braxton v. Board of Public Instruc
tion of Duval County.)
A group of Jacksonville Negroes said
the pace of school desegregation is
totally inadequate.
Although complete desegregation at
the first-grade level was ordered for
last September, the suit said, only 13
of some 25,000 Negroes in the county
are attending classes with whites and
only six of the 113 schools are affected.
No white child has been assigned to
a Negro school.
The plaintiffs asked Judge Bryan
Simpson to require a single standard
of school zoning and to extend deseg
regation to all grades from 1 to 12.
The suit also asked injunctive relief
compelling the school board to assign
teachers and administrative personnel
on a nonracial basis. This was part
of Judge Simpson’s original order, and
was affirmed by the Circuit Court of
Appeals in January in a widely noted
Southern School News
Southern School News is the official publication of the Southern Education
Reporting Service, an objective, fact-finding agency established by Southern
newspaper editors and educators with the aim of providing accurate, unbiased
information to school administrators, public officials and interested lay citizens
on developments in education arising from the U. S. Supreme Court opinion of
May 17, 1954, declaring compulsory segregation in the public schools unconstitu
tional. SERS is not an advocate, is neither pro-segregation nor anti-segregation
but simply reports the facts as it finds them, state-by-state.
Published monthly by Southern Education Reporting Service at 1109 19th Ave.
S., Nashville, Tennessee.
Second class postage paid at Nashville, Tennessee.
OFFICERS
Bert Struby Chairman
Thomas R. Waring Vice-Chairman
Reed Sarratt Executive Director
Tom Flake, Director of Publications
Jim Leeson, Director of Information and Research
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Frank R. Ahlgren, Editor, The Commer- Reed Sarratt, Executive Director,
cial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn. Southern Education Reporting Serv-
Luther H. Foster, President, Tuskegee , ! ce ' Nashville, J enn ‘,
Institute, Tuskegee Institute, Ala. J °i" Se, 9 e nthaler. Ed.tor, Nashville
lennessean, Nashville, Tenn.
Alexander Heard, Chancellor, Vander- Don Shoemaker, Editor, Miami Herald
bilt University, Nashville, Tenn. Miami, Fla.
r* a u i/ • 11 rj.. /-si . rs. Ber+ S+rub Y. General Manager, Macon
C. A. McKmght Editor Charlotte Ob- Telegraph and News, Macon, Ga
server, Charlotte, N.C. Thomas R Waringi Edito( . The New$
Charles Moss, Executive Editor, Nash- anc ^ Courier, Charleston, S.C.
ville Banner, Nashville, Tenn. [• Superintendent of
Schools, Richmond, Va.
Felix C. Robb, President, George Pea- Stephen J. Wright, President, Fist Uni
body College, Nashville, Tenn. versity, Nashville, Tenn.
CORRESPONDENTS
ALABAMA MISSISSIPPI
William H. McDonald, Chief Editor- Kenneth Toler, Jackson Bureau
ial Writer, Alabama Journal, Mont- Memphis Commercial Appeal
gomery MISSOURI
ARKANSAS Robert H. Collins, Staff Writer,
William T. Shelton, City Editor, Ar- S t. Lou!s p os+ -DTsp a t C h
r,c, a » n w*Dr ZeHe ' L ' Hle R ° Ck NORTH CAROLINA
DELAWARE Luix Qverbea, Staff Writer, The
James E Miller Managing Editor, Journal-Sentinel, Winston-Salem
Delaware State News, Dover Ai-mMA
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Newhouse Newspapers homa Clt * Oklahoman-Times
FLORIDA SOUTH CAROLINA
Bert Collier, Editorial Writer, Miami William E. Rone Jr., City Editor, The
H era |d State, Columbia
GEORGIA TENNESSEE
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Macon News Banner
KENTUCKY TEXAS
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Louisville Courier-Journal reau, Dallas News
LOUISIANA VIRGINIA
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MARYLAND WEST VIRGINIA
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I
ruling. Since then the school board
has petitioned for a rehearing and
plans to take the case to the U.S.
Supreme Court.
School authorities complain of a lack
of qualified teachers, the suit states.
Yet many qualified Negro teachers are
denied assignment to white schools
even when serious shortages exist.
The plaintiffs recalled that Judge
Simpson’s original order in the Brax
ton case said acceleration of desegre
gation is a matter for “recurring re
consideration” if the pace is not satis
factory.
A similar petition by Negro residents
of Volusia County was filed with Judge
Simpson several days earlier. His rul-
Dynamite Blasts Negro Pupil’s Home
The home of a Negro family whose
son has been attending a previously
all-white school in Jacksonville was
blasted by dynamite on the night of
Feb. 16.
Mrs. Iona Godfrey and her son Don
ald were asleep when the blast occur
red at 3 a.m. One side of the house was
demolished. Mother, son and six others
in the house, were tumbled from bed
and one, Mrs. George Gilliam, was
taken to the hospital for treatment.
Municipal and state authorities be
gan an investigation. A special team
of FBI agents was sent from Washing
ton to assist.
Police reported at least 10 sticks of
dynamite were used. They were placed
expertly to do maximum damage and
dug a hole 18 inches deep under the
house.
Mrs. Godfrey said Donald has been
attending the Lackawanna Elementary
School since last September when he
was assigned there under a court order
requiring desegregation at the first-
grade level. At that time groups of
white women picketed the school but
did not prevent the boy from entering.
There had been no incidents at the
school since.
Mrs. Godfrey said, however, she re
ceived a telephone call in December
threatening to blow up her home. The
anonymous caller gave no reason for
the act but Mrs. Godfrey believes it
was meant as a warning to withdraw
her child from the white school.
The mother was once active in the
NAACP but gives less time to the or
ganization now although she retains
her membership.
The incident served to increase ra
cial tension in Jacksonville where sev
eral arrests were made during the
month as the result of demonstrations
and attempts to desegregate downtown
restaurants and hotels. A number of
leading Negro ministers were jailed.
★ ★ ★
Developments in Duval County led
to demands for a biracial committee
with some legal authority to seek
understanding between the races.
Arthur W. Milam, chairman of an
advisory commission set up by the
Jacksonville Area Chamber of Com
merce, said a group with official status
and a broader base is needed to handle
the problem.
He urged that picketing and demon
strations be halted and that the entire
community seek peaceful solutions and
better relations.
Mayor Haydon Bums, who has de
clined to name an official biracial com
mission because he says it will have
no authority to act decisively, agreed
to cooperate in restoring lines of com
munications between the races if it
appears they have broken down.
ing in that case, Tillman et al. v. Boari
of Public Instruction of Volusia Coun
ty, was handed down on the same da;
and in almost identical terms as
Braxton ruling. About 30 Negro chil
dren attend white schools in Volusia.
In The Colleges
FSU Researchers
Compile Tests
For Negro Pupils
A group of researchers at ^° r s£ .
State University has compiled a
of intelligence and achievement
designed for Negro pupils. ^
These are to measure progr ^
these youngsters more accurately
tests presently used.
Dr. Wallace A. Kennedy,
for the group, said many ^ e ^ r ^ r j5or.
dren fail to measure up in comp 31 ,*
to white children because
the
tests
are prepared with white
mind. They do not take cu.- ,^ erS -
environmental factors into eo
tion. prkec
The FSU-designed tests were ^
out after considerable stu ?^, ^
which some 1,800 Negro c
schools throughout the Southe
examined.
If generally used, the re
say, a new picture of tne ^
r will
oajr, a. lien - •
progress of Negro pupils wilt
able.
★ ★ ★
A poll of students and facultt. ^
bers at the University of w' 0> '
cated that about 90 P er 0 f
Negro member
lit
welcome
faculty. nr JfatV
The study was made bv f
Taves as part of a junior-se
(See FLORIDA, Page V
&& X'*’ . v 3' A- » if # X k an