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- , Jfk Factual V ,jP SOlITHEr n £X Tl f\ A VOL- 10' NO. 12 sno is ia i o , »>»»o ,V'A'K12 2 8002-U-S9 *nr News Objective JUNE, 1964 High Cou GEORGIA Atlanta Grade-a-V Subject to More Hearings uestions ‘Deliberate Speed’ MACON I ''he U. S. Supreme Court on May 25 sent back to federal d strict court for more hearings complaints by Negroes that the Atlanta reverse-stairstep desegre- i gation plan is too slow to be called all deliberate speed.” Hie plan has been under attack sev eral times by Negro plaintiffs and each time U.S. Judge Frank Hooper has up held the grade-a-year desegregation schedule which began in 1961 when the 11th and 12th grades were desegre gated. Chief Justice Earl Warren read a brief unsigned Supreme Court opinion which said: “In light of the develop ments at and since the argument (in the Atlanta school desegregation suit), we deem it appropriate that the nature warren hooper and effect of the board’s resolution of April 8, 1964, be appraised by the dis- ftct court in a proper evidentiary hearing.” The resolution to which reference vas made was one in which the board I ^id grades eight through 12 would be i operat ed on a nonracial basis, with choice, proximity and capacity taken mto account in assigning stu dents to schools. Fewer Criteria . ^en the Atlanta desegregation plan es approved by Judge Hooper in 1960, included 20 criteria for transfers, e new schedule puts transfers on the 3i^ C °! space available, transportation distance from home to school. a ? w 'ii be required to give first second choices. T'Vi e Supreme Court told the district ^nd "though Atlanta’s com- is e ff°rt to effect desegregation *<«,’’ the entire Atlanta plan re ce e tes ted in the light of three Supreme Court decisions. One is the Prince Edward County, Va., ruling of May 25 in which Justice Hugo Black wrote that the county must reopen its public schools on a desegre gated basis, and saying, “There has been entirely too much deliberation and not enough speed.” The second is a case involving public parks in Memphis, Tenn., in which Justice Arthur Goldberg said in a rul ing a year ago that a desegregation plan that might have seemed “sufficient” in 1955 was not necessarily so any more. The third involves a ruling last year by the high tribunal that a Knoxville, Tenn., school desegregation plan was unconstitutional because, Justice Tom Clark stated, it was “a one-way ticket leading to but one destination . . . con tinued segregation.” Officials Reported Relieved Atlanta school officials were reported relieved that the court had gone no further than it did in ordering a new hearing in federal district court. Supt. of Schools John W. Letson said, “There was some feeling that the court might use the Atlanta case to redefine ‘deliberate speed.’ ” Dr. Rual Stephens, deputy school superintendent, said the court did not act to strike down gradual desegrega tion, as carried out in Atlanta’s grade- a-year plan, and “All of it adds up to a delay which I assume the school board regards as favorable as far as the basic plan is concerned.” The counsel for the Negro plaintiffs, Donald L. Hollowell, said the remand ing of the case to the district court at least indicates the Supreme Court “has not given approval to the plan in its present status.” He added, “That hollowell letson which was considered deliberate speed eight or nine years ago is apparently not considered deliberate speed now,” but he admitted that the decision “left something to be desired.” (See ATLANTA, Page 6) Handwriting on the Wall & Herblock, Washington Post D. C Tribunal Hints It Will Insist On Faster Pace WASHINGTON I n two major opinions handed down May 25, the U. S. Su preme Court strongly hinted that it will insist on more rapid com pliance with school desegregation decrees than the “deliberate speed” criterion it laid down in 1955. “The time for mere ‘deliberate speed’ has run out,” Justice Hugo L. Black wrote in the opinion directing Prince Edward County, Va., to reopen its pub lic schools, “and that phrase can no longer justify denying these . . . school- children their constitutional rights to an education equal to that afforded by the public schools in the other parts of Virginia.” (See Virginia report.) The opinion said “there has been en tirely too much deliberation and not enough speed in enforcing the consti tutional rights which we held (in 1954) had been denied Prince Edward County Negro children.” The same note was sounded in the case involving Atlanta’s gradual de segregation plan. (See Georgia report.) In sending the Atlanta case back to the lower court for reconsideration, the Supreme Court in a brie c , unsigned opinion admonished the lower court to bear in mind that times and circum stances have changed since 1954. Underscoring its interest in prompt action, the tribunal on June 1 granted an NAACP request that it send im mediate notice to the district court at Richmond of its Prince Edward de cision, rather than allow the formality to be carried out under normal routine (See TRIBUNAL, Page 12) VIRGINIA Prince Edward County Told It Must Reopen Schools RICHMOND r |'' he U. S. Supreme Court ruled May 25 that Prince Edward County must reopen its public schools. The court said that closing of the schools in 1959 to avoid desegregation violated the constitutional rights of Ne gro children. A week later, on June 1, according to a request from plaintiffs’ lawyers, the court speeded up normal procedures with the aim of expediting reopening of the schools. The high tribunal or dered that its May 25 decision be sent to the U. S. District Court of Richmond “forthwith.” This meant that the formal notice of the Supreme Court’s action reached the lower court about three weeks sooner than would have been the case if usual procedure had been fol lowed. In the May 25 opinion, the Supreme Court said the district court could re quire Prince Edward’s Board of Super visors to levy taxes in order to finance the public schools. The majority opinion was written by Justice Hugo L. Black. Two Justices Disagree Two members of the court—Justices Tom Clark and John M. Harlan—dis agreed with the holding that the fed eral courts are empowered to order the reopening of the public schools, but In This Issue Slate Reports Alabama .. Arkansas .. Delaware District of Colum Florida Georgia Kentucky Louisiana Maryland Mississippi .... Missouri North Carolina Oklahoma .... South Carolina Tennessee .... Texas Virginia West Virginia bia 4 . 7 . 6 1 . 2 1 .11 9 , 5 .14 ,12 13 8 .15 3 .16 . 1 8 Special Article NAACP Fund Convenes Text Prince Edward County . .10 otherwise they joined in the majority’s opinion. The majority declared that “the time for more ‘deliberate speed’ has run out, and that phrase can no longer justify denying these Prince Edward County children their constitutional rights to an education equal to that afforded by the public schools in the other parts of Virginia.” At another point, the court said that in Prince Edward “there has been en tirely too much deliberation and not enough speed” in enforcing the consti tutional rights set forth in the Supreme Court’s 1954 school desegregation de cision. The Prince Edward case was one of the five which figured in the 1954 ac tion. Since that time, the case has been up and down the line in the federal courts, and the Prince Edward situation also has been the subject of litigation in state courts. Upheld District Court In its May 25 decision, the Supreme Court specifically upheld Federal Dis trict Judge Oren R. Lewis, who had: • Enjoined the payment of tuition grants in Prince Edward County as long as the public schools there were dozed. e Held that “the public schools of Prince Edward County may not be closed to avoid the effect of the law of th^ land as interpreted by the Supreme Ccfcirt, while the commonwealth of Vir ginia permits other public schools to remain open at the expense of the tax payers.” The county had asked Judge Lewis to abstain from enforcing his rulings pending settlement in the state courts of legal questions relating to the Prince Edward situation. When he refused, an appeal was taken to the Fourth Circuit Court. The Circuit Court reversed Judge Lewis, saying he should have deferred ruling until the state courts had acted. Negro attorneys appealed that decision to the Supreme Court, which granted certiorari and later heard arguments on March 30 of this year. (The Virginia (See COURT, Page 10) NAACP Legal Fund By JIM LEESON r NEW YORK ^ U.S. Supreme Court rul- Edty' 11 ? 8 i* 1 May on the Prince r pUounty, Va., and the At- Jsed ’, ^ a '’ school cases will be ^greg s P ee d the pace of 'V hAArt> n k er g’ director-counsel for ^orial f P Defense and Edu- ^ that “ Un ^’ ann °unced here on May 0 f V e , Pe to get an accelerated rub .°>gs. des< , his egregation” from the ^ er .VI C /i a * e counse h Mrs. Constance >id ei r,'i ey ’ ex Plained that when J*®ct thp °gether, the rulings “will > from f ourse of school desegrega- ! ; now re on out .” “I think it is meet t! grade - a -year plans no the requirements of ‘all U she -r 1 - This concept has run d plans to push for complete and immediate desegregation in most of the 76 cases it now has pending on elementary and high schools in 13 states. This includes the three Mis sissippi districts under orders to initiate desegregation this fall, Mrs. Motley said. Prior to the latest Supreme Court rulings, Mrs. Motley said, “delay has been permitted for the sake of delay per se.” The Atlanta case shows that the comments on speed in the Prince Edward case have general application to other school cases, she added. “The time for ‘deliberate speed’ has run out,” Mrs. Motley said. The civil- rights lawyer said that the “future seems to suggest even greater difficul ties” but that she did not expect any state to put up “massive resistance,” except possibly Mississippi. Greenberg and Mrs. Motley com mented on the court’s rulings at a press conference held in conjunction with an “Anniversary Convocation” Plans Moves for Acceleration observing the 25th anniversary of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the 10th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 ruling on school segregation. Civil-rights leaders, educators, pub lic officials and legal officials gathered for the convocation held May 27-28 at the Americana Hotel. Several speak ers during the sessions related the solu tion of civil-rights problems to coping with larger problems of society—pov erty, unemployment and illiteracy. The Fund’s chief counsel, Greenberg, explained new programs being started “to make a social reality out of the legal victories we have won.” In ad dition to making motions for accelerated action in pending school cases, the Fund will provide scholarships for stu dents of both races to enter desegre gated schools and colleges, and the organization’s Southern school co ordinator will work at the local level to inform Negro parents of opportuni ties for their children to attend newly desegregated elementary and high schools. Dr. John W. Davis, former president of West Virginia State College and now director of the Fund’s Department of Teacher Information and Security, will administer the new Herbert Lehman Fund program. For this work, the fam ily of the late Sen. Herbert H. Lehman of New York made a $60,000 grant through the Carol Buttenwieser Loeb Foundation and the Adele and Arthur Lehman Foundation. Experimental work already has been conducted at the elementary and high- school level by Miss Betty Stevens, who later will be joined by two other school co-ordinators. Greenberg explained that Miss Stev ens had conducted campaigns in Ala bama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia communities, resulting in about 500 more Negroes applying for desegre gated schools for next fall. She informs Negroes of their rights to attend de segregated schools, publicizes enroll ment dates, assists in filling out applications, and helps allay fears that parents may have, he said. “This program seeks to fill the gap between court edict and the reality of follow-through in the daily lives of citizens,” Greenberg said. “She signed up 80 youngsters in Albany, Ga., in a single week; 50 in Jackson, Tenn., in two weeks; and 100 in Richmond, Va., in two weeks. She also launched cam paigns in Tampa, Fla., Lynchburg, Va., and Huntsville, Ala.” Earlier in the week, Greenberg had announced an anonymous gift of $500,- 000 made to the Fund. “There is reason to believe that . . . the main burden of the entire private legal effort for equal Negro rights will in practice have to be borne by the Legal Defense (See FASTER, Page 2)