Tension Eases As Court Hearing Nears :T Lt
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Factual OUTHERN CHOOL EWS Objective ~'lot.: o~:... a! VOL I, NO. 3 NASHVILLE, TENN. NOVEMBER 4, 1954 IC!:t; <Ogg;, that, Tension Eases As Court Hearing Nears :t lt. tlit: October passed into November, 'ed II!' AS quate time to work out a desegrega bringing closer the Dec. 6 date for ~sc:r. tion program, and (2) to give federal lSii..: new arguments before the Supreme district judges broad discretionary Court, the picture in the 17 states A State~nent Of Policy powers to fix deadlines in the various ~ where segregated schools have been By C. A. McKNIGHT school districts. ;l4tt, required by law was this: Executive Director Jl)n, L Three areas of earlier tension OKLAHOMA-Two legal attacks llilll:~ West Virginia, Baltimore and the JN the many letters and postcards received by the South- "We believe that the primary burden for making these on racial barriers in higher education cb,... District of Columbia-were calm. ern Education Reporting Service since the first issue of adjustments rests with the school administrators and -one suit seeking admittance to a Only in Delaware was there evidence SoUTHERN SCHooL NEWs was published, the question has other leaders, both public and private, of each individual municipal junior college and the oth X.\.I._ er challenging restrictions in Okla on; of continued unrest over desegrega often been asked: What are the objectives of the Re- community, and that the appropriate program for any tion. porting Service? one community must be tailored to fit the particular cir- homa College for Wo.men-were the art,, The question bad been anticipated, and it was answered cu.mstances. We believe also, however, that communi chief developments in Oklahoma in '!pn, 2. Florida, North Carolina, Arkan sas and Texas were getting ready to in the September issue, but now that thousands of new ties can learn useful lessons from the expe.riences of one October. There was still no open OP ) } ~ readers have been added to the mailing list, it may be another. position to ultimate compliance with C> intervene in the Supreme Court hear ings. useful to restate the objectives of the Reporting Service. "The Southern Education Reporting Service has there- the forthcoming Supreme Court de- te,.. 3. In Georgia and Louisiana, voters The Service grew out of the conviction of a group of fore been established with the aim of assisting responsible crees. tn:4· went to the polls to vote on "last re southern editors and educators that there would be a need local and state leaders, and particularly school adminis e e.:. SOUTH CAROLINA-The Su sort" amendments to their state con for a full, factual, objective and balanced reporting of trators, in developing practical and constructive solutions l:e::... preme Court decision and pending :a:.:c. stitutions aimed at preserving segre developments arising from the May 17 Supreme Court to their own particular school problems by supplying decrees prompted more talk than ac gated schools. decision declaring segregation in the public schools un- them with objective facts about the developments in other tion in South Carolina last month. lllo:tk 4. In Florida, Maryland and Vir constitutional. As stated by Chainnan Virginius Dabney communities. It is our resolve to report the facts as we Both the outgoing and incoming gov \lei~ ginia, the race issue was the subject in his letter of July 5 to President Clarence H. Faust of find them, and to refrain from taking sides on any con ernors voiced grave concern over the "aCIIII of widespread public debate, mostly the Fund for the Advancement of Education: troversial issues or advocating any particular point of probability of trouble if desegrega l aE_ in political campaigns. "We are convinced that a major contribution can be view." tion of the schools is attempted. South lg 1'4 made at this time to the advancement of education and In sum, the Reporting Service is not an advocate in the Carolina's white teachers urged the Otherwise the region was quiet, in to the general public interest by an impartial reporting ~ segregation-desegregation issue. It is neither pro-segre continuance of a system of free pub cluding Missouri, where the begin service which provides accurate and unbiased informa \ing! nings of desegregation have so far gation nor anti-segregation. It expresses no opinions of lic schools, but did not take any defi tion concerning the adjustments which various communi nite stand on the question of segrega produced no incidents whatsoever. ties in the southern region make as a result of the Su its own on what is good and bad or wise and unwise. It .g Sl tion. Here is the state-by-state digest, preme Court's recent opinion and forthcoming decrees in adheres scrupulously to the accurate and objective re Mo~. with fuller details inside: .a:. the five cases involving segregation in the public schools. port of the facts as it finds them, state by state. TENNESSEE - There was no d ... ALABAMA- Despite increasing change in Tennessee's policy of .dtr. pressure from legislative sources, ject of increasing newspaper com gia amendment, however, the Louis attendance were involved, and none "watchful waiting" during Oct.ober, md Gov. Gordon Persons declined in Oc ment. Florida States Rights Inc., a iana proposal would give legal sanc of the schools with large percentages and at month's end it appeared that tobe.r to call a special session of the group opposing desegregation, was tion to segregation in the schools un of Negro students; 97 per cent of Bal the state would not file a brief before Alabama legislature to act on a re chartered in Dade County. der the inherent police powers of the timore's public school students were the Supreme Court. About the only port by a special legislative commit state. not involved in any way. action on the segregation-desegrega tee urging the amendment of the GEORGIA-Just as the November tion issue came late in October when state constitution to pave the way for issue of Southern School News went MARYLAND-As October opened, MISSISSIPPI-Although a state the Tennessee conference of the Na poaible abolition of public educa to press, the people of Georgia were Baltimore made the nation's front wide election is still some weeks ofl, tional Association for the Advance tion. going to the polls to decide whether pages with stories and pictures of a strong campaign in favor of a pro ment of Colored People met in Nash t!::: to approve an amendment to their picketing and rioting. This issue of posed "last resort" constitutional ville and adopted a three-point ~~ ARKANSAS-A. the state of Ar state constitution which would per SoUTHERN ScHOOL NEWS canies a de amendment authorizing the abolition program c.alling for implementation ~~ kansas moved ahead with the prep mit the substitution of a private tailed, documentary account of the of the public school system began to of the May 17 Supreme Court opinion. ll n. aration of its brief in the school seg school system for a desegregated pub Baltimore unrest including this pic pick up steam in Mississippi in Oct err. regation cases, Education Commis lic school system. The entire Georgia ture in retrospect: not more than a her. An advisory committee issued a TEXAS-Atty. Gen. John Ben oi if sioner Arch W. Ford revealed that report in this issue is given over to a half dozen of 52 schools with mixed question-answer brochure explaining Shepperd bad a staff of six assistants ndr.... Arkansas' position ''will not be a complete explanation of the amend the amendment. at work on the brief that Texas will ;ton.!.. radical approach or one of defiance ment, and the arguments advanced file with the U.S. Supreme Court, but MISSOURI-With reports in from otherwise October produced no new ;~ ... (but) a reasonable approach ... by proponents and opponents. (which) will try to point out the 466 of Missouri's school districts, the developments gro.. ving out of the May .derH KENTUCKY-With Republicans How They Voted pattern of desegregation comes into >I\\'<.£ problems, financial and othenvise, 17 decision. brought on by the decision." and Democrats alike accepting the At press time for this issue, the sharper focus. The full details will ~nt t be found elsewhere in this issue, but VIRGINIA-Under the leadership Supreme Court decision when it was voting on the Georgia ''private .soci.i:. DELAWARE-After the State Su announced, the segregation-desegre in capsule form, here are the facts: of State Sen. Garland Gray, the Vir r 1\c. preme Court stayed a lower court gation issue was kept out of Kentucky school" amendment, with 1,058 of 289 of the 466 districts have no Negro ginia Commission on Public Educa order requiring the readmission of politics in this election year. The "go the state's 1,810 precincts reporti~, pupils; of the remaining 177 with tion announced plans for a public reap!!: Negro students to Milfor·d high slow" policy of waiting for the Su stood: for, 153,576; against, 148,317. Negro pupils, 110 have begun some hearing on Nov. 15-its first since ap school, an uneasy truce prevailed preme Court to spell out its decrees The voting on the Louisiana form of desegregation. In no case has pointment by Gov. Thomas B. Stan leCi·~· throughout the tension areas in appears to have satisfied most every "police power'' amendment, with desegration caused any incident. ley to study problems growing out of l,t Delaware. Throughout the state, the court decision. But Chairman one. 599 of 2,029 precincts reporting, NORTH CAROLINA- Although alsD• religious and other organizations be stood: for, 71,161; against, 15,046.