Newspaper Page Text
SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS—JUNE, 1964—PAGE 11
Virginia
(Continued from Page 10)
KENTUCKY
State Board Considers Actions
Against Noncomplying Districts
The lone white graduate is Richard
\Ioss, son of Dr. C. G. Gordon Moss,
jean of Longwood College.
★ ★ ★
The U. S. Office of Education con
ned on May 20 that it had awarded
\ $61,570 grant to Dr. Robert Lee
Green of Michigan State University for
a study of Prince Edward County Ne
gro children.
It will be a follow-up study to one
made under Dr. Green’s direction last
summer by a team of white and Negro
college students. Purpose of the first
investigation was to determine how the
Negro children had been affected by the
lack of formal education for four years.
The new study will seek to find out how
the children have been affected edu
cationally and psychologically by a full
year of schooling.
A report on the new study is due by
Sept. 30, 1965.
Legal Action
Appellate Court
Announces Rulings
In Three Lawsuits
The U.S Fourth Circuit Court of Ap
peals on May 25 handed down rulings
in Richmond on three school desegre
gation cases. The cases involve Surry
and Greene counties and the city of
Hopewell.
In the Surry case (Pettaway v. Sur
ry County School Board), the court
declined to order the reopening of the
county’s only white school.
The court also declined to block the
payment of tuition grants to white
children who are attending a private
segregated school.
Instead, the court returned the case
to District Judge John D. Butzner Jr.
of Richmond for a hearing on the
merits.
Noted Pending Questions
The case had been taken to the Cir
cuit Court on appeal after Judge Butz-
ner refused to order reopening of the
school and a cutoff in state tuition
grants. He said at that time that simi
lar questions were pending in the U.S.
Supreme Court in the Prince Edward
case, and that action on the Surry
dispute should await the high court’s
ruling.
The Circuit Court disagreed. It said
l he Surry case should be considered
cu its merits, adding that this case may
“substantially different” from that
°f Prince Edward.
(The Circuit Court’s opinion was
tssued the same day the Supreme Court
acted on the Prince Edward case, but
obviously the opinion had been writ-
'en earlier.)
Dismissal Overruled
in the Green County case, (Buckner
t Greene County School Board), the
ourth Circuit Court overruled Dis-
n .ct Judge Thomas J. Michie’s dismis-
of the suit.
The case originally involved six Ne-
. children seeking admission to
j. he schools. Before Judge Michie’s
^missal action, three of the children
' re admitted to white schools, and a
r declined a transfer. The two
utaming children were wards of the
„ nty welfare department, which re-
*** that they be kept in the Negro
TK
, ? Plaintiff attorneys asked Judge
" A 'hit 16 t0 ass *§ n the two children to
- Sc hools and also to bar the oper-
' / -hool what they said was a dual
bei n sys tem in which segregation was
jS substantially maintained.
overturning Judge Michie’s dis-
clared- or ^ er ’ the Circuit Court de-
H
th e D ”^ le district court disregarded
■''here' eCe ^ en *“ S ' n this court and else-
Sw ’ 311 't indeed the decision of the
,£ et Pe Court itself.
to mi hally assigning Negro pupils
tiq^ e £ated schools and then permit-
the fVj e j n ' on ly upon application to
»Ut Q j Placement Board, to transfer
school iA hese segregated schools, the
5 pi an eoard has in effect formulated
eVer v ' c h will require each and
*ake th e " r ° s tudent individually to
?ati 0n e m ‘tiative in seeking desegre-
“It •
*h°oi S J*>° late in the day for this
tie to sav that merely by
°0t taki 1SS1 ° n a tew plaintiffs with-
'atisfvi ® any further action it is
0r good r . Supreme Court’s mandate
^ Prar.c eompliance at the earli-
lo th tlcab le date.’ ”
tJouewell case (Gilliam v.
° Urt die .’ l0( A Board) the Circuit
bussed an appeal by the city
school board from district court order
admitting 15 Negroes to predomin
antly white schools.
The court said the issue was moot,
since the pupils are attending predom
inantly white schools pending adop
tion of a permanent desegregation plan
by the school board and its approval
by the courts.
The court said the board apparently
had brought the appeal out of fear
that it would be swamped with trans
fer applications for next year. The
court told the board, in effect, not to
worry, that until a new assignment
plan is adopted the board will have
the right to “limit attendance at any
particular school in terms of that
school’s capacity.”
★ ★ ★
Court Briefs Contend
Segregation Continued
Fairfax County, where more than
400 Negroes are attending schools with
whites, is still operating a segregated
school system, according to briefs filed
with the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of
Appeals in Richmond. (Blackwell v.
Fairfax County School Board.) The
case is set for hearing at Asheville,
N.C., June 22.
The case is on appeal from a ruling
March 4 o c District Judge Oren R.
Lewis of Alexandria. Judge Lewis held
that although they still operate eight
all-Negro schools, Fairfax authorities
are not discriminating against Negroes
in school assignments.
He said that the 2,101 children who
attend the all-Negro schools do so
“solely on account of their place of
residence or by choice.”
Schoolmen
Pupil Transfers
Cited in Deficits
The State Board of Education on
May 22 allocated funds to help Pow
hatan and King and Queen counties
make up school operating deficits said
to have resulted partly from the trans
fer of large numbers of pupils from
the public schools to private schools.
The board granted $15,000 to King
and Queen and $11,000 to Powhatan.
The amount, in each case, represented
half of the anticipated deficit, with the
county expected to make up the other
half.
The two counties were among 10
localities given aid f rom the board’s
discretionary fund.
J. G. Blount, fiscal director of the
State Department of Education, ex
plained that the two counties in ques
tion sustained a drop in regular state
funds which are based on average
daily attendance in the schools. Attend
ance has dropped because many child
ren in the two counties have switched
to private schools, he said.
Blount said that school systems can
not reduce expenditures proportionately
when they suffer a sudden loss of stu
dents.
In the eight localities, other than
Powhatan and King and Queen, which
received money to help make up defi
cits, the deficits were caused by a
drop in attendance resulting from ill
ness on the part of students, and by
other unforseen situations, according
to Blount.
★ ★ ★
Ken McDaniel, 16, a Negro attend
ing the predominantly white Norfolk
Catholic High School, has been elected
president of the student government
for next year.
fit The Colleges
Women’s College
Accepts Negro
Mary Washington College, a state-
supported women’s school located at
Fredericksburg, has accepted a Negro
applicant for enrollment next Septem
ber, Chancellor Grellet C. Simpson
confirmed on May 13.
Negroes have attended summer ses
sions as day students, but the student
to be admitted in September will be
the first Negro dormitory resident and
the first Negro enrolled in a regular
winter session.
★ ★ ★
Grace Elizabeth Poindexter, 18-
year-old Negro senior at the Prince
Edward free schools, said April 30
that she had received a letter from
LOUISVILLE
HE possibility that the State
Board of Education might
take punitive action against
school districts lacking complete
desegregation of students and fac
ulty was raised at a board meet
ing at Frankfort May 28.
Board members mentioned cutting
state financial aid and canceling ac
creditation, as potential weapons.
Harry McAlpin, the board’s only Negro
member, will report at the board’s
next meeting June 24 on how much
power the board might have in using
such weapons.
The board in the past has discussed
the possibility of taking such punitive
action against segregated districts. The
present proposals appear much broader
than psast ones, however, in that
“complete” desegregation including
faculties might be demanded.
Thus a great many more districts
might be involved. For while only 12
districts with both whites and Negroes
enrolled lacked biracial classes in
1963-64, dozens of districts lacked de
segregated faculties and did not have
biracial classes at all grade levels.
Past Proposals
Past proposals for punitive action
have lost out as the board adhered to
a policy of “encouraging” compliance
with the 1954 Su
preme Court de
segregation ruling.
At the May 28
meeting, however,
four board mem
bers, including
chairman Roscoe
Miller, agreed that
the 10 years that
now have elapsed
since the ruling
have provided
enough time for
the school districts to comply volun
tarily.
McAlpin said that if the board has
the power to tell a district how many
nuts and bolts must be on a school
bus, then it surely should be able to
require equal educational opportunities
for every child before giving accredita
tion.
Miller said, “Why can’t we cut the
money off? That’ll stop things quicker
than anything.”
The board heard from Asst. State
this relief to enforce the discontinu
ance of the county’s racially discrimi
natory practices. It has long been es
tablished that actions against a county
can be maintained in United States
courts in order to vindicate federally
guaranteed rights. E. g., Lincoln County
v. Luning . . .; Kennecott Copper Corp.
v. State Tax Comm’n. . . . The injunc
tion against paying tuition grants and
giving tax credits while public schools
remain closed is appropriate and nec
essary since those grants and tax
credits have been essential parts of the
county’s program, successful thus r ar,
to deprive petitioners of the same ad
vantages of a public school education,
enjoyed by children in every other
part of Virginia. For the same reasons
the District Court may, if necessary to
prevent further racial discrimination,
require the Supervisors to exercise the
power that is theirs to levy taxes to
raise funds adequate to reopen, oper
ate, and maintain without racial dis
crimination a public school system in
Prince Edward County like that op
erated in other counties in Virginia.
The District Court held that “the
Longwood College turning down her
application r or admission as a day stu
dent.
Longwood, a state-supported wo
men’s school located at Farmville in
Prince Edward County, has never had
a Negro student.
Miss Poindexter said the letter ex
plained that her application had been
sent in too late. She applied on Feb.
19.
In answer to questions, Mrs. Frank
N. Watkins, Longwood’s director of
admissions, said that as of April 30,
a total of 693 applicants had been ad
vised that they could be admitted next
year because of lack of room.
Kentucky Highlights
The State Board of Education
launched a study of new proposals
for withholding aid and accredita
tion from school districts that lack
complete desegregation programs.
Louisville school officials disputed
testimony given in Jackson, Miss.,
which concluded that desegregation
lowered academic and disciplinary
standards at a Louisville high school.
An admissions policy barring Ne
groes was affirmed by trustees of
Midway Junior College, a church-
related institution.
Berea College withdrew its offer
to act as host for a training program
for civil-rights workers this summer.
Actual athletic desegregation at
the University of Kentucky apparent
ly was delayed for at least another
year when a Negro basketball star
decided to attend the University of
Louisville.
Supt. Don Bale that 16 all-Negro high
schools remain. He gave other figures
from the Department of Education’s
most recent desegregation report (SSN,
January).
★ ★ ★
School Officials Disagree
With Testimony in Jackson
Louisville school officials disagreed
with testimony given in federal court
in Jackson, Miss., to the effect that
racial desegregation at Louisville Male
High School had brought lower
standards in scholarship and discipline.
The testimony was given May 19
by a former Male High principal,
William S. Milbum. He was a defense
witness in suits attacking segregated
schools in Mississippi. (See Mississippi
report.)
Milburn contended that Male High
suffered “a general erosion of scholar
ship, a lowering of discipline, and a
lowering of the moral fiber of the
school” as a result of desegregation,
which started in 1956. He said that
many of the school’s “better white
students” had transferred to other
schools.
Commenting on the testimony, Supt.
public schools of Prince Edward Coun
ty may not be closed to avoid the
effect of the law of the land as inter
preted by the Supreme Court, while
the Commonwealth of Virginia permits
other public schools to remain open at
the expense of the taxpayers.” Allen
v. County School Board of Prince Ed
ward County ... At the same time
the court gave notice that it would
later consider an order to accomplish
this purpose i' the public schools were
not reopened by September 7, 1962.
That day has long passed, and the
schools are still closed. On remand,
therefore, the court may find it neces
sary to consider further such an order.
An order of this kind is within the
court’s power if required to assure
these petitioners that their constitu
tional rights will no longer be denied
them. The time for mere “deliberate
speed” has run out, and that phrase
can no longer justify denying these
Prince Edward County school children
their constitutional rights to an educa
tion equal to that afforded by the pub
lic schools in the other parts of Vir
ginia.
The judgment of the Court of Ap
peals is reversed, the judgment of the
District Court is affirmed, and the
cause is remanded to the District Court
with directions to enter a decree which
will guarantee that these petitioners
will get the kind of education that is
given in the State’s public schools. And,
if it becomes necessary to add new
parties to accomplish this end, the
District Court is r ree to do so.
It is so ordered.
Mr. Justice Clark and Mr. Justice
Harlan disagree with the holding that
the federal courts are empowered to
order the reopening of the public
schools in Prince Edward County, but
otherwise join in the Court’s opinion.
Samuel V. Noe said, “I would dispute
his statement that discipline has
broken down. It’s
true we are deal
ing with a higher
percentage of stu
dents—both white
and Negro — from
culturally de
prived homes,
but that does
not mean we have
had a deteriora
tion of discipline.”
Noe said a
flight to the sub
urbs by families in the higher socio
economic levels had begun long
before desegregation and: “Had there
not been desegregation, the student
body would have changed anyway.”
Academic Elite
Noe said that while Milbum at one
time had run what was virtually a
college-preparatory school for boys,
“with the academic elite from the city
and the county,” this was being
changed before desegregation by the
initiation of coeducation and by the
development of strong high schools
in Jefferson County.
Foster J. Sanders, who became prin
cipal of Male High when Milbum re
tired, said Milburn’s statements “came
out of the past—his era . . . . ” He said
that Male’s graduating class has re
ceived over $100,000 in college scholar
ships and the two with the highest
monetary value had gone to Negro
students.
Sanders said, “We have encountered
very few discipline problems. I think
the records at Male and the Board of
Education would show that our per
formance in this area is second to
none.”
Sanders cited several examples of
top achievements at Male High this
school year: a student paper won na
tional, state and local honors; a 135-
member band performed before more
people “than any other band in Ken
tucky”; a state champion football team
(about 8 Negroes were on the varsity
of about 60 players); and a district
champion baseball team.
Supt. Noe said he did not know that
Milbum, who was defeated in 1961 as
the Democratic candidate for mayor,
was to testify in Jackson. Noe said
that two Mississippi school superin
tendents—Kirby Walker of Jackson and
R. S. Brown of Biloxi—had visited
desegregated schools here, including
Male High, on April 24.
In the Colleges
Midway Trustees
Continue Policy
Of Segregation
The trustees of Midway Junior Col
lege, a church-related school at Mid
way, Ky., voted to continue a policy
of segregation even though the school
administration favored desegregation.
The board voted 12 to 1, with 11
abstentions, on May 13 to maintain an
admissions policy that bars Negroes.
The issue arose because Delois King,
a Negro girl from Louisville, had ap
plied for admission next fall.
The college is affiliated with the
Disciples of Christ and enrolls about
100 girls.
Lewis A. Piper, president, said he
was disappointed by the board’s action.
“I personally feel very stongly about
this,” he said.
It had been reported previously that
the college administration was pre
pared to give normal processing to an
application from a Negro and put the
final decision up to the trustees.
In other action at the board meeting,
Piper, 67, announced his retirement
after 19 years as president of the insti
tution.
Midway is the only institution of
higher education in Kentucky known
to have an official policy barring
Negroes.
★ ★ ★
Berea College canceled plans under
which its campus would have served
as a training center this month for
young civil-rights workers preparing
to spend much of the summer in
Mississippi.
(See KENTUCKY, Page 12)
Prince Edward Text
(Continued from Page 10)