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PAGE 4—JUNE, 1964—SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS
ALABAMA
Suits Seek School Desegregation
In Montgomery, Bullock Counties
MONTGOMERY
Cuits WERE filed in the U.S.
^ District Court in Montgomery
in May asking for desegregation
of schools in Montgomery and
Bullock counties.
Both suits ask the court to enjoin
the county school boards (in Montgom
ery, the board is a city-county agency)
from “operating a dual school system”
for whites and Negroes.
Petitioners in both cases (Carr v.
Montgomery City-County Board of
Education and Harris v. Bullock County
Board of Education) asked for orders
outlawing discrimination against Ne
groes in assignment of students, teach
ers and other school officials, in con
struction o' new school buildings, in
preparation of school budgets and in
extra-curricular activities.
Fred Gray, Montgomery Negro at
torney, said he had written Montgom
ery School Supt. Walter McKee and
Bullock School Supt. Joe Stowers call
ing for an end to school segregation.
Gray said he received no reply from
either.
Assisting him in the case, which will
be heard by U.S. Judge Frank M. John
son Jr. when the hearing is scheduled,
is NAACP attorney Jack Greenberg of
New York.
Alternative Asked
As an alternative to a comprehensive
desegregation order, the petitioners
asked for “a complete plan in a period
of time to be determined by the court
for the reorganization of the entire
school system” on a desegregated basis.
The petitioners explained that they
had not sought desegregation under the
state’s School Placement Law because
the law has been used to perpetuate
segregation.
The five Montgomery petitioners
were listed as Arlam Carr Jr. by his
parents; Bathesheba L.. John W., James
G. and Phillip L. Thompson, by their
parents. The Bullock petitioners are
Ralph and George Hopson Harris, by
their parents; and Patricia Ann Tarver,
by her grandmother.
In September, 1954, a group of Negro
children sought admission to the then
newly built Harrison grammar school
in Montgomery. They were turned
away and, except for petitions and let
ters to the city-county board, this is
the first legal action on that subject in
the capital city. It also is the first in
Bullock County.
Other Systems
Last fall, school were desegregated
in Birmingham, Mobile, Huntsville and
Macon County (although all white
students withdrew from desegregated
classes in Macon—see Schoolmen). A
suit is pending to desegregate Gadsden
schools (Etowah County) and Madison
County (in which Huntsville is located
although the suits are separate).
All the desegregated districts are un
der orders to expand desegregation, by
some plan, by next fall.
The Montgomery City-County board
turned over legal action in the suit
against it to its legal counsel.
★ ★ ★
Guardsman’s Sentence
In Dynamiting Probated
A National Guardsman, indicted in
connection with a series of explosions
near the University of Alabama campus
at Tuscaloosa in November, was
granted a year’s probation May 19 on
his plea of guilty to a lesser charge of
attempting to set off dynamite.
Sgt. Norman R. Daniel of Fairfield,
one of five guardsmen indicted for the
explosions which caused no injuries and
negligible property damage, had been
sentenced to a 90-day jail term and
fined $100 by Circuit Judge Reuben
Wright. However, Wright accepted his
plea for probation.
The five were in the last remaining
contingent federalized after Gov.
George C. Wallace attempted to block
the entry o' two Negro students at the
university last June 11. Their com
manding officer contended that the
blasts were expressions of discontent
over being retained in federal service
and, as the men themselves said, were
not intended to hurt anyone.
Two of the blasts occurred near the
dormitory where Negro coed Vivian J.
Malone lived on the campus. The third
was near a Negro night club.
Two others also pleaded guilty and
applied for probation. Trials remained
to be held for the remaining two—
Alabama Highlights
Suits were filed in U.S. District
Court to desegregate schools in
Montgomery and Bullock counties.
Three Negroes were graduated
from Macon County High Srhool—
the first of their race to receive dip
lomas from a previously all-white
school in the state.
In Mobile, one of the two Negroes
who desegregated Murphy High re
ceived her diploma and immediately
announced plans to seek enrollment
at the University of Alabama.
In what was widely regarded as a
backlash to desegregation orders and
pending suits, as well as to the civil-
rights bill, Alabama voters gave a 6
to 1 victory to Gov. George C. Wal
lace’s slate of independent electors
(unpledged to support the national
ticket) slate of electors.
A Negro college professor, Tuske-
gee Institute’s Dr. C. G. Gomillion,
won Democratic nomination to the
Macon County school board. Three
other Negro candidates for other of
fices also were nominated.
Second Lt. James T. Perkins, 27, of Holt
and Sgt. Charles Hollifield, 25, of Ma
rion.
★ ★ ★
Alabamians Consider
Prince Edward Decision
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision
ordering the reopening of public schools
in Prince Edward County, Va., was in
terpreted in Alabama as meaning that
desegregation could not be avoided by
closing schools in a county.
However, most observers believed
that the court did not touch on the
issue in Macon County, where Tuske-
gee High was closed because there
were not enough white students to
justify its continued operation.
State Attorney General Richmond
Flowers said the ruling meant that
Alabamians “must decide whether
they want to have a statewide school
system or not.” He expressed the opin
ion that Macon Academy would not be
affected because it is a private school,
receiving no state funds.
Even so, a request is pending before
a three-judge panel, which completed
the hearings on the Macon case in
February (SSN, March, April, May) to
join the Academy as a party to the
orders the court may give.
Chief among the petitioners’ requests
is a statewide desegregation order
premised on the State Board of Educa
tion’s assumption o' local control (later
rescinded) in ordering the closing of
Tuskegee High. (SSN, February and
previous.)
★ ★ ★
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unani
mously June 1 that the Alabama courts
had unconstitutionally barred the
NAACP from doing business in the
state. The ruling climaxed an eight-
year legal battle that had three times
before gone to the Supreme Court
(NAACP v. Alabama).
In its decision, the court took note
of a history of evasion of its previous
rulings in the case. It told the Alabama
Supreme Court to enter a prompt
decree vacating the order that bars
the NAACP from registering as a
corporation in the state, and added:
“Should we unhappily be mistaken
in our belief that the Supreme Court
of Alabama will promptly implement
this disposition, leave is given the As
sociation to apply to this Court for
further appropriate relief.”
Observers noted that it is highly un
usual for the Supreme Court of the
United States to offer to fashion
“appropriate relief” for a state court.
The move was regarded as one reflect
ing impatience with the Alabama
courts, which have steadfastly denied
the NAACP an opportunity to comply
with state registration requirements
since 1956, when a “temporary” order
was issued against the civil rights
organization.
Schoolmen
Boycotted School
Awards Diplomas
To Three Negroes
Three Negroes were graduated from
Macon County High School at Notasul-
ga May 21—the first of their race to
receive diplomas from a previously all-
white school in Alabama.
They were ordered admitted to
Tuskegee High School in Tuskegee last
September, along with nine other
Negroes. All white students withdrew,
some to other public schools, others to
the newly formed Macon Academy, a
private school for whites instituted to
preserve segregation. The white boy
cott followed Gov. George Wallace’s
intervention with state troopers who
delayed school opening.
In January, the State Board of Edu
cation ordered Tuskegee High closed
because, as the board said, it was un
economic to operate a school for 12
children and 13 faculty members. U.S.
District Judge Frank M. Johnson Jr.
agreed that the operation was not
fiscally sound, but directed that the 12
be equally divided between high
schools at Notasulga and Shorter.
Whites withdrew from these schools,
too.
On April 18, the high school at
Notasulga was completely destroyed by
fire—the work of arsonists, officials
said. Threatening signs had been paint
ed on the school just prior to the fire
which destroyed the high-school wing
of the three-element building, leaving
only the grammar school and the audi
torium. (SSN, May.)
No White Students
Johnson ordered them readmitted to
whatever facilities were available. The
six returned to classes in the audi
torium April 30 and completed their
senior year without hirther serious
incident—but also without any white
students, most of whom had already
In the Colleges
Graduate of Biracial School
Applies at State
One of the two Negro students who
desegregated Murphy High in Mobile
last September said May 26 that she
intended to apply for admission to the
University of Alabama for the fall
term.
Dorothy Davis, 17-year-old daughter
of a longshoreman, received her di
ploma May 28, along with Henry
Hobdy. They were the first of their
race to attend dese grcg ted classes in
Mobile public schools. They were in a
graduating class with 798 white seniors.
Both were admitted to Murphy last
September under court orders, which
called for extension of deseg egation
when the 1964-65 school terms begins.
The young graduate said she planned
to file application with the university
as soon as possible. She intends to study
Home Economics and said she was
investigating the possibility of rooming
with Vivian J. Malone, also of Mobile,
who was admitted last June 11 despite
University
Gov. Wallace’s attempts to “stand in
the schoolhouse door.” (SSN, July,
1963.)
The university is under a permanent
injunction to admit all qualified
Negroes under a 1955 order.
Miss Davis said her year at Murphy
had been “all right,” adding that it
“wasn’t much trouble after the first
few days.” She said, however, that she
and the other Negro admitted to the
school were snubbed by white students.
★ ★ ★
One of the Negro students who
helped desegregate Birmingham public
schools last September has been ac
cepted for enrollment at the University
of Alabama, according to her attorney.
She is Josephine Powell, who gradu
ated from previously all-white West
End High School on May 31, one of
two Negroes admitted to that school
under court orders.
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 interred 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 unconsti
tutional. 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
C. A. McKnight Chairman
Alexander Heard Vice-Chairman
Reed Sarratt Executive Director
Tom Flake, Director of Publications
Jim Leeson, Director of Information and Research
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Luther H. Foster, President, Tuskegee Reed Sarratt, Executive Director,
Institute, Tuskegee Institute, Ala. Southern Education Reporting Serv-
Alexander Heard, Chancellor, Vander- ice, Nashville, Tenn.
bilt University, Nashville. Tenn. John Seigenthaler, Editor, Nashville
C. A. McKnight, Editor, Charlotte Ob- Tennessean, Nashville, Tenn.
server, Charlotte, N.C. Don Shoemaker, Editor, Miami Herald,
Charles Moss, Executive Editor, Nash- Miami. Fla.
ville Banner, Nashville, Tenn. Be l+ Struby General Manager, Macon
John N. Popham, General Managing Telegraph and News Macon, Ga.
a— Ch„„. '^cLEoShSS'sS'
r r. 00 ^ a 'n Te L n L n ' „ . , „ Henr y >• Willett, Superintendent of
Felix C. Robb, President, George Pea- Schools, Richmond, Va.
body College, Nashville, Tenn. Stephen J. Wright, President, Fisk Uni
versity, Nashville, Tenn.
CORRESPONDENTS
ALABAMA
William H. McDonald. Chief Edi-
to-ial Writer, Alabama Journal,
Montgomery
ARKANSAS
William T. Shelton, City Editor, Ar
kansas Gazette, Little Rock
DELAWARE
James E. Miller, Managing Editor,
De'aware State News, Dover
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Erwin Knoll, Washington Bureau,
Newhouse Newspapers
FLORIDA
Bert Collier, Editorial Writer, Miami
Herald
GEORGIA
Joseph B. Parham, Editor, The
Macon News
KENTUCKY
James S. Pope Jr., Sunday Staff,
Louisvil'e Courier-Journal
LOUISIANA
Patrick E. McCauley, Editorial
Writer, New Orleans Times-Picayune
MARYLAND
Edgar L. Jones, Editorial Writer,
Baltimore Sun
MISSISSIPPI
William Peart, Staff Writer, Jackson
Daily News
MISSOURI
Robert H. Collins, Staff Writer, St.
Louis Post-Dispatch
NORTH CAROLINA
Luix Ove-bea, Staff Writer, The
Journal-Sentinel, Winston-Salem
OKLAHOMA
Leonard Jackson, Staff Writer, Okla
homa City Oklahoman-Times
SOUTH CAROLINA
William E. Rone Jr., City Editor,
The State, Columbia
TENNESSEE
Ken Morrell, Staff Writer, Nashville
Banner
TEXAS
Richa'd M. Morehead, Austin Bu
reau, Dallas News
VIRGINIA
Overton Jones, Associate Editor,
Richmond Times-Dispatch
WEST VIRGINIA
Thomas F. Stafford, Assistant to the
Editor, Charleston Gazette
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P.O. Box 6156, Nashville, Tennessee 37212.
| enrolled in the Academy or in adjoin
ing counties.
The all-white grammar school, sep
arated from the auditorium by a cov
ered walkway, remained in operation.
The graduation ceremony was simple
and quiet, attended by the other three
Negroes at Notasulga—all underclass
men, as were the six assigned to the
boycotted school at Shorter.
The graduates were William Wyatt,
j Anthony Lee and Robert Judkins.
! They received their diplomas from
1 Principal Dan Clements.
Political Action
School-Race Issues
Figure in Victory
Of Unpledged Slate
In the May 5 Democratic primary in
Alabama, Gov. Geo.ge Wallace’s slate
of unpledged electors (not bound to
support the national party ticket in
November) won by a margin of six to
one over the “loyalist” slate.
The size of the sweep was generally
attributed to a protest against school
deseg egation and the civil-rights bill.
Wallace followed this up by getting
the biggest percentage of votes in the
three presidential primaries he has en
tered—Wisconsin, Indiana and Mary
land. He took 43 per cent of the Mary
land vote, campaigning primarly on
states rights and against what he called
federal encroachments in matters of
school segregation and against the
civil-rights bill. He said the size of tlie
vote was a victory for the Souther 11
viewpoint. (See Maryland report.)
In Tuskegee, Macon County, 1 1
Negroes now have the majority
voters, unpledged electors were ? e
jected and Dr. G. C. Gomillion, TusW |
gee Institute professor, was nomina
for a place on the Macon
school board. Three other Neg r oes >
nominations to offices unrelated
schools. I I
Negroes outnumber whites by 111
than five to one in the county.
Magic Carpet