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SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS—JUNE, 1964—PAGE 13
rjORTH CAROLINA
Hendersonville Schools
May Desegregate all
WINSTON-SALEM
■ft "NDERSONVILLE schools may be
jj. fully desegregated during
the 1964-65 school year. The Hen
dersonville City School Board on
May 5 approved the reassignment
* 0 f 56 Negro children to currently
3]l-white schools in the system.
These children turned in requests for
reassignment by April 30. Negro chil
dren will be assigned to grades 1
j through 12 in the system under this
rcrion-
The Hendersonville school board
action was the result of agreements
made bv the nla-nHffs and defendants
in the case of WiVima et al v. Hender-
sonnlle City School Board.
The case was originally filed bv Ne-
irn olaintiffs in behalf of Rhonda K.
' ff'llians and others Oct. 11, 1003. in
the US. D ; strict Court in Asheville
Th“ court approved a settlement April
l J984.
This action mav mean the closing of
the all-Negro Ninth Avenue School.
s which mav not enroll the minimum inn
sMents next school vear as renumed
1 bv state law School offici-ds sa’d thev
j r>av close the school if this hanoens.
Then all Nearo child-en will be as-
si?"od to nreviouslv all-white schools
Ninth Avenue S-hool alreadv has
IfK* sOldert+a r’^nritv
because of legal action. (Conley v.
j Transylvania County Board of Educa-
j tionj
★ ★ ★
Mere than half of the 110 schools in
the rh a -)otte- 1 ' ,r eck1eoh U T-q Countv
school avstem 58. wll be covered bv
the desegregation program of the
Missouri
(Continued from Page 12)
in desecrating jts sc hools among
states whinfi formerly maintained sep
arate facilities.
. The commissioners pointed out that
shortly after th e Suoreme Court de
mon, the designation of race was
off all forms used bv the State
, enartment of Education. Because of
is, exa^t figures as to the extent of
Ration are not available.
Wheeler sa’d desegregation has come
•** °' tbe state’s school districts
*i hout much fanfare. Onlv in a few
“Ranees has additional court action
Ne<Jr needed t0 get a district to accept
Ole such court case led to the de-
. e ® t * on of the Pemiscot County
"°1 districts last fall.
, " E - n;rf!s to indicate whether desegre-
un IOn * s more than token also are
Uj'*e in Missouri. Charleston, in
County - was one of the first
schiv,i W . ^ issouri to desegregate its
facto S ’ . but the . result was not satis-
\ /J to city’s Negro community,
forth er j** court recently ruled that
er desegregation was required.
Teachers’ Jobs
been Missouri has on occasio
rl * ^° r ^ activity in desegregat
' ® som SSr<>0mS ' tbcre has been concer
;rig ink q ^ arters that progress in find
seen r, S ™ r Negro teachers has nc
Th rapid '
foshtl ^ iSS ° Uri Commission on Huma
"foie Jh C ° nductin S a study to deter
Heat n e . er ihe state’s fair employ
the s fo w is being followed i
°°1 systems throughout th
for o{ T fU Robertson, executive direc
Hissj 0n l corm nission, said the com
foliplaint ^ received m anv inform;
ieseg-p S * ba ^ when classrooms ai
:< >na et .]^ at ® d ’ tbe Negro teachers wh
fofo eith tau ^ t i n all-Negro schoo
^ased n , , 6r discharged or graduall
He ° f u their jobs.
^foplovm that oUhough the state la:
?r ivat e 6nt P ract ice law applies *
*° f ke r < ; en ?f l0yers with more than
the
state
Pi
"Hit
covers all governmen
^ e re ?ardless of size,
fog tV)oi, COmm ' ss 'o n has always tak
^ lat even without the la
"a-J in ? rted agencies should take t
"foifoiat^ lrbl = persons on a nond:
Robert ry basis ” he said.
ffohibitT 0 ?. noted also that the It
J, ; teachc tscrimination in placeme
p °ytnen t S ' Ne said that the fair er
j^foatir, P ! actlce j aw prohibits a
'Sfo'atirm f ° r a j° b t0 inclu
The s t? of race.
’"'red t ? te f °r several years has r
, ari &s a Negro teachers recei
-"her* «£ arable to those paid wh
^Withf^ 161 - recalled that 1
-fo U foea s t »?. d state funds from o
t**ths lm 7u Ss . our i district for sevei
“foegro 1 ^ increased salaries
teachers.
school board, it was announced May 14.
Dr. A. Craig Phillips, superintendent
of schools, announced that 350 addi
tional Neg'-o students will be assigned
to currently white schools and 50 white
students will be assigned to currently
Negro schools for the 1964-65 school
year.
Under the geographical plan, started
two years ago with the merger of the
Charlotte city and Mecklenburg Coun
ty schools, the desegregated system in
cludes 15 schools this year. Under this
setup, 80 Negro children are enrolled
in 10 predominantly white schools, and
10 white students attend the predomi
nantly Negro Bethune School.
Next Year
For next year, 37 elementary schools
and six junior high schools have been
added to the desegregation program.
For this year, no high schools or
iunior high schools are included in
desegregation. Next year, high schools
may be added to the 58 schools.
Th 5 s may result from the elimination
of the high-school programs of three all-
Negro schools in the rural area with
grades 1-12. Children in grades 10-12
have the option of attending all-Negro
York Road High School or all-white
South Mecklenburg High School. This
action will involve 100 students at
Sterling School.
A second Negro school, Billingsville
; n the city, may send its ninth-graders
going into 10th grade to their choice of
Second Ward Negro High School or
white Myers Park High. This involves
50 pupils.
Parents of the Negro children in
volved as well as whites will receive
option forms for making their choice
of schools by June 5, Phillios said. In
the elementary schools, pupils may at
tend their present school or the newly
assigned desegregated school.
★ ★ ★
Harnett County Board
Closing Indian School
Schools for Indians, started in 1924,
will be no more in Harnett County a c -
ter the current school year, the Board
of Education voted May 5. Glenn Prof-
fit, school suoerintendent, announced
that the 38 students now enrolled in the
Maple Grove Indian School near Dunn
will be assigned to the predominantly
white Dunn School.
Proffit did not announce plans for
the three Indian teachers employed at
the school. Their contracts expire at
the end of the current school year.
The Indian school was opened 40
years ago when Indian citizens who
objected to sending their children to
either white or Negro schools asked
for a school of their own. In 1960, how
ever, the Indians held a sit-in in the
white Dunn School. The school board
assigned 20 Indians to previously white
schools the following year. Currently
31 are enrolled in predominantly white
schools.
★ ★ ★
Geographical Policy
On Assignments Asked
The education subcommittee of the
Mayor’s Goodwill Committee of Wins
ton-Salem asked the Winston-Salem-
Forsyth County Board of Education
May 26 to establish a geographical
policy of assigning children to schools.
The school board in turn referred
the request to its policy committee
which will study the school board’s
assignment policy. Carver School, an
all-Negro consolidated school that en
rolls more than 1,000 students from
rural Forsyth County in grades 1-12,
will be affected if the proposed policy
goes into effect.
Under present school policy, students
at Carver may request transfer to
schools (all-white) nearest their homes
and get bus transportation. The board
has stated in the past that these re
quests would be granted. So far no
children have requested reassignment.
Mrs. David R. Wilson, a Negro, made
the request in behalf of the mayor’s
committee. Three Negro members of
the school board, Carl H. Russell, also
an alderman of the city; Richard C.
Erwin and Dr. Lillian B. Lewis, sup
ported the request for a new policy.
The new policy, Russell said, “takes
the initiative away from the parent and
places it where it belongs — with the
school board.” He said, “If the board
decides to assign children nearer their
homes it would take the pressure off
the parents.”
Russell said some Negro parents fear
economic reprisals, publicity and other
effects resulting from application for
transfers.
Marvin Ward, school superintendent,
North Carolina Highlights
Hendersonville city schools will
start desegregation in all 12 grades
this fall.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg County an
nounced plans to assign an additional
350 Negro children to predominantly
white schools and 50 white pupils to
predominantly Negro schools during
1964-65.
Negro plaintiffs and the Lexington
Board of Education agreed, with
U.S. court approval, on a plan for
desegregation of schools this year.
Western Carolina College enrolled
two Negro athletes as freshmen be
ginning this fall, desegregating var
sity sports.
L. Richardson Preyer and Dan K.
Moore are Democratic runoff candi
dates for governor after eliminating
avowed segregationist Dr. I. Beverly
Lake in the first primary. A Winston-
Salem Negro clergyman won Demo
cratic nomination for a seat in the
legislature—the first member of his
race to be nominated for that office
in North Carolina since Reconstruc
tion.
said children will be reassigned under
present policy until a change is made.
★ ★ ★
Negro Personnel Reported
Receiving More Training
Negro school personnel had more
training than white school personnel
during the 1962-63 school year, it was
reported in the April issue of State
School Facts.
According to the index set for scho
larship by certificate held, Negro per
sonnel rated a higher index figure than
white personnel in every category.
The 31,493 white personnel showed
a index of 808.7 for 1962-63 with 94.9
per cent having “A” certificates or
graduate study, compared to 28,470 with
93.5 per cent and an 806.5 index in
1959-60.
For Negro personnel totaling 12,118
in 1962-63, there were 99.0 per cent
with “A” certificates or graduate certi
ficates with an index of 826.1, compared
to 10,849 persons with an 825.9 index
with 99.4 per cent with “A” certificates
and graduate study three years before.
Three charts indicate that North
Carolina has increased its total teaching
personnel extensively for both white
and Negro schools. The teachers in
turn have improved their training dur
ing that time.
★ ★ ★
The Dunn-Hamett branch of the Na
tional Association for the Advancement
of Colored People asked the Lillington
and Harnett County school boards to
create a plan for systematic desegrega
tion of public schools. The NAACP
included this request in a letter to
officials of Harnett County May 18.
Legal Action
Court Approves
Plan as Agreed
For Lexington
Judge Edwin M. Stanley of the U.S.
Middle District Court in Greensboro
approved an agreement between Negro
plaintiffs and the Lexington City Board
of Education May 14, permitting Negro
children to request transfer to the
schools of their choice during the 1964-
65 school year.
The agreement was made in a pre
trial conference and signed by Judge
Stanley. The two groups will meet
Feb. 15, 1965, to review the approved
policy and to revise it if necessary and
formulate a permanent policy in the
future.
This case, Sowers et al v. Lexington
City Board of Education, was filed by
parents of nine Negro children March
4. It requested desegregation of the
school system in the assignment of
teachers and pupils. Lexington operates
six white schools and three Negro
schools.
Under the current procedure, each
pupil will be notified of his assignment
for the new school year. Each child
will also be notified of his right to
request reassignment to a school of
his choice, or of his second choice if
the first school is overcrowded. The re
assignment form must be given to the
school superintendent 10 days after the
original assignment has been made.
★ ★ ★
A plan for desegregating schools in
Durham will be reviewed by U.S. Dis
trict Judge Edward M. Stanley in June,
it was announced May 10.
The plan was submitted to the U.S.
Middle District Court April 20 in con
nection with Wheeler v. Durham City
Board of Education and Spaulding v.
Durham City Board of Education, now
in its fourth year of litigation.
Durham is currently under a “free-
choice” setup. Its previous plans for
desegregation were not approved by
the court.
The new proposal calls for a free-
choice plan with two requirements:
• Written applications for reassign
ment must be turned in to the school
board.
• Requests will be granted if space
is available in accordance with accredi
tation standards of the Southern Asso
ciation of Colleges and Schools, maxi
mum of 30 students for each class in
grades 1-3 and 35 in fourth grade and
above.
★ ★ ★
Parents of 11 Negro children filed
suit March 14 against the Statesville
City Board of Education in behalf of
Harriett D. Nesbitt and others, charg
ing that the school system was operated
on a racially segregated basis.
Negroes are seeking a court-ap
proved plan for desegregation, nonracial
assignment of students, teachers and
school personnel, and the operation of
Political Action
Preyer, Moore in Runoff;
L. Richardson Preyer and Dan K.
Moore are runoff candidates for the
Democratic nomination for governor
of North Carolina. In the state party
orimary May 30, they defeated Dr. I.
Beverly Lake, an avowed segregation
ist.
Preyer was described as the most
“liberal” of the gubernatorial aspirants
and Moore has been rated “middle-of-
the road” on race and related issues.
The runoff vote will be held June 27.
Election returns indicated that Ne
groes generally supported Preyer in the
first primary, and there were indica
tions that past supporters of Lake
would tend to cast their ballots for
Moore in the second balloting.
Preyer’s Position
Preyer has made this statement as
to civil rights:
“North Carolina must meet racial
problems, not sit back and let them
overwhelm us. If we can do that, there
will be no excuse for the federal gov
ernment or anyone else to come in and
try to impose solutions upon us.
“I pledge my administration to keep
ing peace in our state and order in our
streets, through the wise and careful
use of the governor’s powers.”
Moore has been quoted on civil rights
as follows:
“No one or group is legally justified
to block traffic, damage property or
prohibit free trade in privately owned
business establishments.
“As governor I will give considera
tion to any measures which offer great
er opportunity for any person or group,
so long as the measures are within the
laws of this state.”
Both Moore and Preyer are declared
opponents of federal civil-rights laws,
but neither expressed the idea of defi
ance of such laws that may be passed.
Charles Gavin, the Republican nomi
nee for governor, has made no state
ment on the civil-rights issue.
★ ★ ★
Negro Clergyman Wins
Nomination for Assembly
A Negro, the Rev. William R. Craw
ford of Winston-Salem, on May 30
became the first member of his race
to be nominated for the North Carolina
General Assembly since Reconstruction
days.
12 Grades
extra-curricular activities on a non
racial basis. They also are seeking to
prevent the building of new school
facilities on a racial basis.
The case was filed in a U.S. District
Court office in Statesville.
In the Colleges
Western Carolina
Signs Two Negroes
For Varsity Sports
Western Carolina College in Cullow-
hee became the first state-supported
college in North Carolina to begin a
program of biracial varsity sports by
signing up two athletes from the all-
Negro Stephens-Lee High School of
Asheville.
They were Henry Logan and Her
bert Moore, both basketball players.
Logan also is a football player, having
rated all-state in both sports among
Negro high schools, and will receive
an athletic scholarship. Moore did not
receive a grant but will try out for
the basketball team.
Coach Jim Gudger announced the
signing May 7. He said:
“The only consideration I gave the
recruiting of Logan and Moore was
their athletic ability. The fact that
they happen to be the first Negro
athletes in the Carolina Conference
can be attributed to that and no other
factor.”
Western Carolina has been admit
ting Negro students since 1957 on a
voluntary basis. Logan made history
March 26 when he became the first
Negro to play in the Blue-White bas
ketball game in Asheville and was
named the game’s most valuable play
er. (SSN April.)
★ ★ ★
Wake Forest College of Winston-
Salem, a Baptist-supported school,
awarded a grant-in-aid to a third
Negro football player May 6, Coach
Bill Tate announced. He is Robert
Grant of Jacksonville, N.C. The other
two players are Kenneth Henry of
Dudley High School in Greensboro,
N.C. and William Smith of Greenville,
S.C.
★ ★ ★
Davidson College enrolled its first
American Negroes, Dr. D. Grier Mar
tin, president of the college, an
nounced May 4. Davidson, a Presby
terian school, has two Negro students
currently enolled, but both are Con
golese students from Africa.
The new students are Leslie Brown
of Trenton, N.C. and Wayne Crumwell
of Chesapeake, Va., both honor stu
dents at their high schools.
The Agricultural and Technical Col
lege of North Carolina in Greensboro
awarded degrees to white students for
the first time Saturday, May 30 at its
73rd commencement. The two white
students were graduate students from
out of state. Several white students
are enrolled in undergraduate study.
Lake Loses
Crawford, who ran third among six
Democratic Primary candidates for
Forsyth County’s three seats in the
state House of
Representati v e s,
was the only one
of several Negro
candidates in the
state to win nom
ination for a
major post in
either the Demo
cratic or Republi
can primary. He
and two incumb
ents will run
crawford against three Re-
pubicans in November.
Crawford, a former Winston-Salem
city councilman for 10 years and a
member of the board of education
when city schools were desegregated
voluntarily in 1957, received an esti
mated 61 per cent of his votes on
“single-shot” ballots cast in predomi
nantly Negro precincts. A former vice-
chairman of the Forsyth County Dem
ocratic Party, he lost by a narrow
margin when he sought nomination for
the legislature two years ago.