Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 12—MAY, 1965—SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS
ARKANSAS
Little Rock Board Decides To Desegregate Faculties
(Continued from Page 11)
Education. The Jonesboro plan has
been rejected, and other districts, Pine
Bluff, Little Rock and El Dorado in
cluded, have revised theirs because of
the rights act.
Law Appears Dead
The apparent death of the pupil
assignment law occurred during April.
The two rejected plans, at Pine Bluff
and El Dorado, made use of the law.
The Little Rock board was advised by
counsel that the use of the law prob
ably would be found unconstitutional
under the Civil Rights Act if tested in
court
resides Pine Bluff and El Dorado,
both Little Rock and North Little Rock
abandoned use of the law during April
and turned to freedom-of-choice plans.
The 44 districts that announced in
April with their 1964 school enumera
tions (all persons aged 6 through 17)
follow:
District
White
Negro
Freedom of
Choice Plans
Newport
2,428
935
Newark
375
5
Hampton
374
205
Woodlawn
365
15
McGehee
922
632
Watson
274
255
Grady
178
629
White Hall
1,365
122
Lewisville
409
425
Bradley
393
526
Stamps
536
490
Trumann
1,987
96
Humphrey
276
154
Desha County
67
73
Gould
288
499
Glendale
163
99
Lonoke
1,092
637
Forrest City
2,995
3,933
Rison
518
276
Desha Central
270
354
Alread
103
1
Jefferson County
51
219
Melbourne
392
2
Walker
4
243
Leola
125
13
Wells Bayou
143
249
Desha-Drew
187
390
Arkansas City
116
117
Foreman
540
267
Malvern
2,740
993
Ashdown
955
646
Bald Knob
1,429
49
Beebe
1,014
40
Blytheville
3,629
2,487
Hope
1,525
1,092
Wynne
1,856
875
Caddo Gap
209
3
Plans To Be Announced
Lake Village
948
1,115
Gillett
385
97
Hamburg
984
398
Warren
1,440
996
Hermitage
444
470
Banks
200
50*
Fordyce
772
617
Selma
112
170
Wilmar
162
233
Grapevine
129
68
Eudora
658
1235
Sparkman
320
364
Dierks
605
34
Drew Central
270
350
Linwood
141
460
Kintsland
252
88
Under Court Order
El Dorado
5,150
2,134
West Memphis
3,187
3,333
Twenty of the districts in
Southeast
Arkansas made their announcements
on the same day—Thursday April 22—
timed to catch the weekly newspapers
which come out on Thursdays (and
which almost uniformly treated the an
nouncements with reserve and brevity).
This was planned after meetings of
their superintendents and school boards
for several weeks.
Some Board Actions
Details on some of the districts:
HUMPHREY—Supt. W. A. Joyner
announced April 27 that Humphrey had
adopted a freedom-of-choice plan the
month before. The district has two
schools, one for whites with 260 en
rolled and one for Negroes with 136
enrolled. Joyner said the students
could choose which school to attend
as they entered the first and seventh
grades.
TRUMANN — Trumann announced
April 26 that it would use freedom of
choice to desegregate all 12 grades by
1968. This year, the first grade and
grades eight through 12 will be de
segregated; the second and third grades
in 1966, the fourth and fifth in 1967 and
the sixth and seventh grades in 1968.
Trumann has 1,987 white and 96 Negro
pupils.
DOLLARWAY—Supt. Charles L.
Fallis said April 26 that Dollarway had
filed a plan more than a month before.
He gave no details. Dollarway has been
desegregated under federal court order
since 1960. This year, two of its 1,698
Negro pupils are in desegregated
classes with 1,447 white pupils.
CROSS ETT—The Crossett School
Board, which had announced earlier
that it would comply (SSN, March),
announced its plan at a meeting April
27. It is a grade-a-year plan starting
in the first grade in September using
school attendance zones. Crossett has
2,152 white and 911 Negro students.
WHITE HALL—The board adopted a
desegregation plan April 26 to take
effect in September. The first eight
grades will be desegregated under free
dom of choice. In the top four grades,
all students will attend the same
schools. The district has three elemen
tary schools for white children and one
for Negro children with 85 enrolled. It
has 35 Negro students in the top four
grades who now attend Pine Bluff
schools on a tuition basis paid by the
district. White Hall has 1,310 white
students.
GREENBRIER—Supt. Doyle Crown-
over announced April 28 that the
district would desegregate all 12 grades
in September. Its intention had been
reported earlier (SSN April). It has 33
Negro pupils and 643 whites. It has
been paying tuition to have its Negro
pupils attend Conway schools.
LAFAYETTE COUNTY—All three
districts in the county, Lewisville,
Bradley and Stamps, announced April
28 that they would desegregate under
freedom-of-choice plans in September.
The plans will cover all 12 grades. The
enumeration of the districts gives
Lewisville 409 white and 425 Negro
pupils, Bradley 393 and 526 and Stamps
536 and 490.
DESHA COUNTY — The Desha
County District, which administers the
schools at Snow Lake, announced its
freedom-of-choice plan April 28. The
notice sent to parents by Supt. C. C.
Stuart said they could choose to enroll
their children in the nearest white or
Negro school to their home, regardless
of race. “The choice is granted to you
and your child. Teachers, principals
and other school personnel are not
permitted to advise, recommend or
otherwise influence your decision. Nor
will school personnel either favor or
penalize children because of the choice
made,” the notice said. The district has
67 white and 73 Negro pupils.
WARREN—The school board adopted
the folowing resolution which was pub
lished in full in the Warren Eagle-
Democrat:
“Whereas after careful consideration
by the Board of Directors of the War
ren School District it is the judgment
of the board that it is in the best
interest of the Warren school program
for education for the district to comply
with the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and
“Whereas it has been found necessary
for the school district to proceed in
compliance with its legal obligation by
the submitting of a plan.
“Therefore be it resolved that the
school board hereby declares its intent
to comply with the law and to join
other school districts in southeast
Arkansas in making public announce
ments.”
The paper said similar resolutions
had been adopted by the other districts.
Hermitage and Banks, the only other
Federal Judge J. Smith Henley of
Little Rock scheduled a hearing for
May 6 in the University of Arkansas
desegregation lawsuit (Whitfield v.
Raney) and on April 27 directed the
university to answer requests for in
formation on its policies filed by the
plaintiffs, Robert Whitfield and Miss
Joanna Edwards, students.
There were seven requests, two about
housing which the university had an
swered previously by saying that it no
longer handled housing requests on a
racial basis. The university had ob
jected to answering the other requests
because it said they were irrelevant
and that the plaintiffs did not have the
right to raise the other issues.
The university filed its answers April
28. One inquiry was about the lack of
Negro teachers on the faculty. In re
sponse, the university said that while
it had no Negro teachers, there was
no policy making race a factor in the
selection of teachers. Employment
forms do not have questions about race
two school districts in Bradley County
with Warren, took the same action.
HAMBURG—Supt. S. P. Portis said
the board had been discussing the issue
since last fall and thought it had
reached the proper decision. He said
the board was “highly appreciative of
the public’s understanding of their re
sponsibility in implementing this new
law.” Portis said the text of the plan
when ready would be published in the
Ashley County Leader of Hamburg, a
step the other districts also are taking.
The Leader got this news into four
paragraphs without using the words
segregation, desegregation, integration
or Negro.
LINCOLN COUNTY—All five dis
tricts—Glendale, Grady, Star City,
Gould and Wells Bayou—made the
same announcement, a freedom-of-
choice plan to cover all 12 grades start
ing September, 1965. Their resolutions
say no person will be assigned to any
school on the ground of race, color or
national origin and that none will be
excluded from participation in or
denied the benefits of or subjected to
discrimination under any program or
activity of the school district.
Reassignments will be made or facili
ties provided regardless of race, color
or national origin if crowded conditions
result from the freedom-of-choice
selections, their resolutions said.
At Gould, the Negro PTA objected
to the plan. A. B. Allen, president of
the PTA, said April 27 the plan was
unfair to Negro students because it
would not essentially change the pat
tern of segregation and because the
Negro school building is unfit for use
and should be condemned. The Rev.
Ben Grinage of Pine Bluff, a field
secretary for the Student Non-violent
Co-ordinating Committee, said at Gould
that the Negro students would be
afraid to choose the white school be
cause of “subtle intimidation.” “There’s
a lot of fear down here,” Grinage said.
The district has two schools with 288
enrolled in the white school and 499
in the Negro school. Supt. T. Raymond
Sage said a new school for the Negroes
would be built when money became
available. He said the white school was
not large enough to accommodate all
of the district’s students by itself.
FORDYCE—The school board adopt
ed the following resolution: “The For-
dyce School Board has voted to comply
with the federal law under the provi
sions of Title VI of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964 ordering desegregation of
the public schools. The plan of com
pliance will be submitted at a later
date, at which time registration pro
cedures will be made known in a legal
notice to be carried by local newspapers
of general circulation in the Fordyce
area.”
Sparkman, in Dallas County with
Fordyce, adopted a similar resolution
April 14. There are two other districts
in Dallas County, Carthage and the
County District.
NEWPORT—School board president
Jim DuPree and Supt. John W. Mullins
announced Newport’s plans April 20
and 21 at meetings with the school
staff and civic groups. Dupree said the
board had worked for months to com
ply with the Civil Rights Act and avoid
losing about $30,000 a year in federal
aid. But failure to comply, he said,
would make court action against the
district inevitable.
He said the Newport school board
understood the U.S. Office of Educa-
or color, the university said, and it has
Negroes in staff positions on the Fay
etteville campus. The other issues
were:
Request—Defendants do not recruit
Negro students to participate in the
university varsity athletic program.
Answer—True.
Request—Prior to the 1964-65 school
term, university representatives made
numerous visits to “white” high
schools for student recruitment pur
poses but made no such visit to “Ne
gro” high schools. Answer—The
university does not recruit students.
Representatives, limited to the extent
that personnel and travel funds are
available, attempt to respond to invita
tions from particular schools, not to
recruit, but to give information to
students and parents, answer questions
concerning the university and describe
opportunities available. Official visits
are made to “Negro” schools.
Request—Prior to the 1964-65 school
term, defendants offered full or part
tion’s guidelines for compliance to be
the following: Desegregation must be
gin in 1965 in at least three grades or
more, it must be earried out in good
faith without subterfuges or schemes,
it must be set out in great detail and
be well-publicized and there must be
no coercion or threats toward any per
son making use of the plan.
Newport’s plan is to desegregate the
first three grades this year, then three
more a year until all 12 are desegre
gated. DuPree also said the faculty
would be desegregated, beginning with
joint meetings.
DuPree said the plan “has been re
viewed by a consultant in the U.S.
Office of Education who reviews these
plans. He was very complimentary of
it. We believe they will go along with
the recommendation of the reviewer.
We believe we’ve gone as far as the
community would want us to go, and
at the same time have complied with
the requirements of the Department of
Health, Education and Welfare.”
Both he and Mullins urged those at
the meetings to take correct informa
tion about the plan back to their homes
and neighborhoods and to counter any
false information that might be circu
lated about it.
BLYTHEVILLE — Board President
William Wyatt announced a freedom-
of-choice plan April 19. It will cover
the first grade in 1965, grades two and
three in 1966, then three grades a year
until all 12 grades are included.
Under this system, no student will be
required to attend a school different
from the one he is now attending,
though he may if wants to and if there
is room, Wyatt said. Any student, white
or Negro, may apply to enter any
school in the system, he said.
Blytheville gets about $100,000 a year
in federal aid and this will look small
when the new aid programs goes into
effect, said Supt. W. D. Tommey.
Wyatt said, “We could refuse to file
such a plan and lose all federal aid,
stay out from under a court order and
file this plan.”
But he said he had no assurance that
it would be approved. He said one of
the difficulties of writing the plan was
“the fact that the government has given
us practically no idea of what it wants
or what it will accept.”
“If this plan is turned down, we’ll go
to work on another one,” Wyatt said.
MONTICELLO—Monticello had an
nounced in March that it was going to
comply, and its plan was released in
April by Supt. Clyde Ross. It is a
freedom-of-choice plan covering grades
one through four and nine through 12
in 1965. The other four grades will be
desegregated the next year.
DREW CENTRAL—The district is on
the outskirts of Monticello and its plan
takes this into account, based partly on
place of residence and partly freedom
of choice. Drew Central has no Negro
schools but sends all its Negro students
to schools in adjacent districts on a
tuition basis. Its plan is to desegregate
grades nine through 12 this year, send
ing all students to the one high school.
All students living in the part of the
district north of Monticello will attend
the elementary and junior high schools
there. For those living in the part of
the district south of Monticello, free
dom of choice will be extended to
grades one and two this year, to grades
three, four and five next year and up
through the eighth grade the following
year.
tuition scholarships to top-ranking
graduates of a number of “white” high
schools. Answer—No such procedure is
followed. A very limited amount of
scholarship funds is awarded appli
cants, without regard to race, on con
sideration by faculty members on the
basis of grades, test scores, etc. Appli
cation forms request no information
regarding race.
Request—Prior to the 1964-65 term,
defendants did not make scholarship
offers to top-ranking graduates of
“Negro” high schools. Answer—Schol
arship offers are not made to top-
ranking graduates of any high schools,
but applications are accepted and pro
cessed without reference to race.
The two students filed the suit last
summer because they had been as
signed to segregated housing at Fay
etteville. They sued to have not only
housing but all other activities and
programs desegregated. Judge Henley
ordered the two plaintiffs admitted to
white housing last September.
McGEHEE—The school board adopt,
ed a freedom-of-choice plan April 20
covering all 12 grades next September,
After that, only students entering the
first grade or the seventh grade will
have freedom of choice. The Arkansas
City board attended the meeting and
renewed the contract under which
Arkansas City’s high-school students
attend school in McGehee. Arkansas
City has no high school but goes only
through eight grades. Mrs. Madge
Youree, the superintendent, said Ark
ansas City would desegregate with a
freedom of choice covering all eight
grades in September.
DESHA-DREW District at Tillar—
Supt. Cyrus Underwood said the board
had filed a freedom-of-choice plan
taking in grades, one, two, three and
12 in 1965 and to take in the other
eight grades in the next two year. He
said the plan had been approved
unanimously at a meeting of white
school patrons and by a vote of 298 to
2 at a meeting of Negro patrons. The
school census of Desha-Drew gives 187
white and 390 Negro students.
WATSON—Supt. Raymond Rice said
the district’s plan was to desegregate
all 12 grades this year with a freedom-
of-choice system, and that in the pre
registration, 17 Negro students had
chosen to attend white schools in Sep
tember. The district has 255 Negro
students and 274 white.
DUMAS—Supt. Ben Stephens said
the board had drawn up a plan for all
12 grades under the freedom of choice
but had not yet submitted it. Dumas,
Watson, Arkansas City, Desha-Drew
and McGehee are all in Desha County,
which has two other districts, Desha
Central and the County District, both
also biracial.
MALVERN—The board voted April
15 to desegregate beginning in Sep
tember. President Sam Clark said the
plan would begin in the lower grades
and be completed in three years. No
other details were given.
ASHDOWN—The school board an
nounced April 15 that it would de
segregate in September beginning with
the first two grades, adding the next
three grades in 1966 and the other six
grades in 1967, all under the freedom-
of-choice plan. It also promised to
operate its buses without discrimina
tion.
FOREMAN—The board published a
statement pledging itself to comply with
the Civil Rights Act under the free
dom-of-choice system.
DEWITT—The board has submitted
a second plan after the first had been
rejected by the federal government-
Supt. Samuel King and Felix Bunch o
the school board went to Washington
for conferences when the first plan was
rejected. The new plan is based on
nonracial attendance zones for the fi ve
elementary schools and will c0 '’f_ r
grades one, two and nine in 19°“'
grades three, four and 10 in 190“’
grades five, six and 11 in 1967 an
grades seven, eight and 12 in 19t>®-
DeWitt’s high-school students now at
tend a Negro school at Almyra.
GILLETT—A desegregation plan has
been submitted to Washington but no
details are to be released until it
been approved. Gillet and DeWitt
in Arkansas County which has tw
other biracial districts at St. Char
and Stuttgart. Supt. J. D. Clary^
Stuttgart said he was sure the Stuttgar
board would attempt to comply w 1
the law. . -j
WOODLAWN—Supt. O. J. Lewisi sa*^
his district would desegregate all
grades in September. ^
LEOLA—Supt. D. Autry Newm
said his district would desegregate
12 grades in September.
BENTON—The board adopted a P‘
April 6 designed to achieve desegreg
tion of all 12 grades in two Y ears ' ,
ginning with the top six grades in . g
tember. Negro students now atten
Ralph Bunche School for all 12 £ ra ^
In September, grades seven throu®' - e
will be desegregated and the B
school will be converted into an ^
mentary school. In the following J' j
all elementary pupils will attend s c
according to attendance areas
Bunche School and four other ®
tary schools that are now all-w j
LAKE VILLAGE—The school d
announced in the Chicot Spccta
April 23 that it was going to co
and had a plan under study.
WYNNE — The school bo f a 0 f
nounced on April 21 a freedo^ ^
choice plan to be in effect for ^t
grades next September. In its ^j^y
the Wynne Progress reported, ^^d
meetings have been held by th e
(See MORE, Page 13)
Hearing Set For University Lawsuit