Brown v. Board of Education Amicus Curiae Brief of the Attorney General of Florida
Public Court Documents
January 1, 1954
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Brief Collection, LDF Court Filings. Brown v. Board of Education Amicus Curiae Brief of the Attorney General of Florida, 1954. 953ae9db-b69a-ee11-be36-6045bdeb8873. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/f6e41e77-67e0-4d76-b691-e007112f7cce/brown-v-board-of-education-amicus-curiae-brief-of-the-attorney-general-of-florida. Accessed July 05, 2025.
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IN THE
j&tpremF (flourt xti tlje W nittb States
O ctober T e rm , 1954
No
O liver B r o w n , et a l .,
Appellants,
v.
B oard of E ducation op
T o pek a , S h a w n e e C o u n
ty , K ansas, et al .
H arry B riggs, J r ., et al .,
Appellants,
v.
R . W . E llio tt , et al .
D orothy E . D avis, et a l .,
Appellants,
v.
Co u n ty S chool B oard op
P rince E dward Co u n t y ,
V irgin ia , et a l .
F rances B . G ebh art , et a l .,
Petitioners,
v.
E t h e l L ouise B elto n , et .al.
AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF OF THE
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF FLORIDA
R ichard W . E rvin
Attorney General of the
State of Florida
State Capitol Building
Tallahassee, Florida
R a l p h E . O du m
Assistant Attorney General
State of Florida
o
IN THE
Supreme (to rt of tfye lnttr& States
O ctober T eem , 1954
No,
Oliver B ro w n , et a l .,
Appellants,
v.
B oard op E ducation op
T opeka , S h a w n ee C ou n
t y , K ansas, et al .
H arry B riggs, J r ., et a l .,
Appellants,
v.
E . W . E llio tt , et al .
D orothy E . D avis, et al .,
Appellants,
v.
Co u n ty S chool B oard op
P rince E dward Co u n t y ,
V irgin ia , et al .
F rances B. G ebh art , et al .,
Petitioners,
v.
E th el L ouise B elton , et al .
AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF OF THE
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF FLORIDA
R ichard W . E rvin
Attorney General of the
State of Florida
State Capitol Building
Tallahassee, Florida
R alph E . O dum
Assistant Attorney General
State of Florida
Subject Matter Index
Page
Preliminary Statement ............................ 1
PART ONE
A Discussion of the Reasons for a Period of Gradual
Adjustment to Desegregation to be Permitted in Florida
with Broad Powers of Discretion Vested in Local School
Authorities to Determine Administrative Procedures..... 3
A. The Need for Time in Revising the State Legal
Structure ... ................ 5
I. Examples of Legislative Problems ................. 7
(a) Scholarships ................................. 7
(b) Powers and Duties of County School
Boards ........................................................... 10
(c) State Board of Education and State Super
intendent ........... 12
II. Discussion of Legislative Attitudes................... 14
B. The Need for Time in Revising Administrative
Procedures .... 17
I. Examples ............................................................. 18
(a) Transportation ............................................. 18
(b) Redistricting ................................................ 19
(c) Scholastic Standards ............... 19
(d) Health and Moral W elfare......................... 20
C. The Need for Time in Gaining Public Acceptance.. 23
I. A Survey of Leadership Opinion....................... 23
II. General Conclusions ............................................ 24
Regional Variations ............................................ 32
A Note on Responses of Legislators.................. 33
III. The Dade County Report ..................................... 34
IV. Discussion ............................................................. 34
D. Intangibles in Education ........................................... 41
E. Reason for H ope........................................................ 43
F. Regional Variations .......................................... 53
G. Discussion ................ ........ ..... ................................ 55
PART TWO
Specific Suggestions to the Court in Formulating a
Decree .................................................................... 57
Introductory Note ........... 59
Specific Suggestions.................................................... 61
PART THREE
Legal Authority of the Court to Permit a Period of
Gradual Adjustment and Broad Powers of Administra
tive Discretion on the Part of Local School Authorities.. 67
A. Judicial Cases Permitting Time ............................. 69
I. United States v. American Tobacco C o ............. 69
II. Standard Oil v. United States..................... ....... 70
III. Georgia v. Tennessee Copper Co.......................... 72
State of Georgia v. Tennessee Copper Co., etc.... 72
IV. State of New York v. State of New Jersey, etc... 75
V. Martin Bldg. Co. v. Imperial Laundry .............. 75
B. Administrative Discretion Cases........ .................... 77
I. United States v. Paramount Pictures ................ 77
II. Alabama Public Service Commission v. Southern
Railway Co........................................................ 78
People of the State of New York v. United
States.................................. 79
III. Burford v. Sun Oil Co............................................ 80
Page
ii
IV. Far Eastern Conference, United States Lines
Co., etc. v. United States and Federal Mari
time Board ........................................................ 82
V. Minersville School District v. Grobitis................ 82
VI. Cox v. New Hampshire.......... .............................. 83
VII. Barbier v. Connolly.............................................. 84
VIII. Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co................................. 84
C. Remarks .................................................................... 85
PART FOUR
Considerations Involved in Formulating Plans for
Desegregation ..................................................... 87
A. Changes in the L aw .................................................. 89
B. Plans for Integration ................................................. 91
PART FIVE
Conclusion ....... 97
Page
iii
A ppendix A
Page
RESULTS OF A SURVEY OF FLORIDA LEADER
SHIP OPINION ON THE EFFECTS OF THE U. S.
SUPREME COURT DECISION OF MAY 17, 1954,
RELATING- TO SEGREGATION IN FLORIDA
SCHOOLS ........... 99
Introduction .......... 101
Attorney General’s Research Advisory Committee for
the Study of Problems of Desegregation in Florida
Schools ....................................................................... ..102
THE REPORT AND THE CONCLUSIONS ......... ....105
General Conclusions.................................................. 107
LEADERSHIP OPINION BY QUESTIONNAIRE—
AND CONCLUSIONS............................................... .....
The Questionnaires ................................................... .
Questionnaire Returns and Method of Analysis.........
Findings ................................................................. ......
Regional Variations ................................................... .
Responses of Legislators.......................................... .
Conclusions ..................................................................
Sample Questionnaire .............................................. .
Sample Questionnaire ............ ....................................
Table 1—Questionnaires Sent and Returned,
by Groups........................................................... .
Table 2—Per Cent Expressing Various Attitudes
Towards Decision, by Groups............................ 136,137
Table 3—Per Cent Agreeing or Disagreeing with
the Decision, by Groups ....................................... .....138
Table 4—Per Cent Willing or Unwilling to Comply
with Courts and School Officials ̂ by Groups.......... 139
.113
.115
.116
.118
,124
,126
,127
,129
132
135
iv
Table 5—Per Gent of Each Group Predicting Mob
Violence and Serious Violence ................ ....... .........140
Table 6—Per Cent of Each Group Doubting Ability
of Peace Officers to Cope with Serious Violence..........141
Table 7—Per Cent of Each Group Who Believe
Peace Officers Could Cope with Minor Violence......... 142
Table 8—Per Cent of Groups Polled Who Believe
Most of Other Specified Groups Disagree with the
Decision ...... 143
Table 9—Per Cent of Each Group Designating
Various Methods of Ending Segregation as Most
Effective ....................................................................... 144
Table 10-—Per Cent of Each Group Designating
Specified Grade Levels as Easiest Place to Start De
segregation ................................................................. 145
Table 11—Per Cent of Each Group Designating
Various Problems as Being Likely to Arise................146
Table 12—Confidence of Peace Officers in Ability
to Cope with Serious Violence, by Attitude Towards
Desegregation ..............................................................147
Table 13—Confidence of Peace Officers that Police
Would Enforce School Attendance Laws for Mixed
Schools, by Attitude Towards Desegregation...........147
Table 14—Per Cent of Peace Officers Expressing
Various Attitudes, by Region ................................... 148
Table 15—Per Cent of White Principals and Super
visors Agreeing or Disagreeing with the Decision,
by Region........... ......................................................... 149
Table 16—Per Cent of White Principals and Super
visors Willing or Unwilling to Comply, by Region....149
Table 17—Per Cent of Peace Officers Predicting
Mob Violence, by Region............................................ 150
Table 18—Number and Per Cent of Peace Officers
and White Principals and Supervisors Predicting
Serious Violence, by Region ..................................... 150
Page
v
Table 19—Number and Per Cent of Peace Officers
and White Principals and Supervisors Doubting
that Peace Officers Could Cope with Serious
Violence, by Region ............. ........................ ....... ...... 151
Table 20—hi umber and Per Cent of Legislators
Favoring Each of Five Possible Courses of Legisla
tive Action .................................................................. 152
Page
LEADERSHIP OPINION BY PERSONAL INTER.
VIEW—AND CONCLUSIONS..........................................153
Selection of Counties .......................................... .............153
Method of Study.......................................... .........154
Findings ................................................................... 155
The Personal Interview Schedule......................... 160
Personnel Interviewed...................................... 162
Reliability of Judgments in the Analysis of Recorded
Interviews on the Subject of the Supreme Court’s
Segregation Decision .......................... ............................164
Table 1—Per Cent Agreement Between Judges.....167
Table 2—Frequencies of Ratings of Interviewee
Feeling by Judges I & I I ................. .................. ........168
Table 3—Frequencies of Ratings of Interviewee
Feeling by Judges III & I V .......................................169
Table 4—Frequencies of Ratings of Interviewee
Feeling by Judges V & VI............................. .............170
Table 5—Frequencies of Ratings of Interviewee
Feeling by Judges VII & VTTT....................................171
Table 6—Frequencies of Classification of Interviews
by Judges I & I I ....................................... ................. 172
Table 7—Frequencies of Classification of Interviews
by Judges III & I V ............................................. .........173
Table 8—Frequencies of Classification of Interviews
by Judges V & V I ....................................................... 174
Table 9—Frequencies of Classification of Interviews
by Judges VII & V I I I ............................ ............... ....175
v i
ANALYSIS OF NEGRO REGISTRATION AND
Page
VOTING IN FLORIDA, 1940.1954................................... 177
Summary Sheet of Attorney General’s
Questionnaire, July 15, 1954......................... ...........180-184
EXISTING PUBLIC SCHOOL F A C I L I T I E S IN
FLORIDA AND FACTORS OF SCHOOL ADMINIS
TRATION AND IN S T R U C T IO N A L SERVICES
AFFECTING SEGREGATION ............... 185
Achievement Test Scores .............................................. 189
Counties with No Negro High Schools......................... 191
Examples of Inter-Racial Cooperation ...... 191
Table 1—Summary of Expenditures—all funds—
Both Races, 1952-53 ............ 193
Table 2—Significant Trends in the Growth of
Florida Schools under Dual System of Education
1930 to 1953 ............. ..194
Table 3—Enrollment ..... 195
Table 4—Comparison of Percentile Ranks for White
and Negro Examinees in the Florida Statewide
Twelfth-Grade Testing Program Spring 1949
through Spring 1953 ...................................................196
Table 5—Counties with No Negro High School
1952-53 .........................................................................197
Table 6—Status of Elementary Principals 1953-54....198
Map—Amount and Per Cent of Nonwhite Popu
lation: 1950 ........................... 199
Map—Proportion of Negro Enrollment to Total
Enrollment by Counties 1952-53 ............................... 200
AN INTENSIVE STUDY IN DADE COUNTY AND
NEARBY AGRICULTURAL AREAS — AND CON
CLUSIONS ...........................................................................201
General Conclusions..................................................... ...201
Factors Indicating a Gradual Approach as the So
lution to this Problem.................................................... 204
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................. 207
vii
A ppendix B
Page
EXAMPLES OF FLORIDA’S CONSTITUTIONAL,
STATUTORY AND STATE SCHOOL BOARD
REGULATORY PROVISIONS RELATING TO
SEGREGATION..................................................................211
Florida Constitution ............... 213
Florida Statutes.......... ................ 215-218
State School Board Regulations ............................219-243
Table of Authorities
Alabama Public Service Commission v. Southern Rail
way Company, 341 U.S. 341, 95 L. Ed. 1002, 71 S. Ct. 762
1951 ...................................................................................... 78
Barbier v. Connolly, 113 U.S. 27, 5 S. Ct. 357, 28 L. Ed.
923 (1885)....................................................................... 84
Burford v. Sun Oil Co., 319 U.S. 315, 87 L. Ed. 1424, 83
S. Ct. 1098 (1943) ............................................................ 80
Cox v. New Hampshire, 312 U.S. 569, 61 S. Ct. 762, 85
L. Ed. 1049 (1941) ...................................................... 83
Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co., 272 U.S. 365, 47 S. Ct. 114,
71 L. Ed. 303 (1926) ........................................................... 84
vm
Far Eastern Conference, United States Lines Co., States
Marine Corporation, et al. v. United States and Federal
Maritime Board, 342 U.S. 570, 96 L. Ed. 576, 72 S. Ct.
492 (1952)............................................................................ 82
Georgia v. Tennessee Copper Co., 206 U.S. 230, 51 L. Ed.
1038, 27 S. Ct. 618 (1907) ......................................... .......... 73
Martin Bldg. Co. v. Imperial Laundry Co., 220 Ala. 90,
124 So. 82 (1929) ................................................................. 75
Minersville School Distict v. Gobitis, 310 U.S. 586, 60 S.
Ct. 1010, 84 L. Ed. 1375 (1940) .......................................56, 82
New York v. United States, 331 U.S. 284, 334-336 (1947).. 79
New Jersey v. New York, 283 U.S. 473, 75 L. Ed. 1176,
51 S. Ct. 519 (1931); 284 U.S. 585, 75 L. Ed. 506, 52 S. Ct.
120; 289 U.S. 712; 296 U.S. 259, 80 L Ed. 214, 56 S. Ct.
188 ............................................................................... 70,71,72
People of the State of New York v. State of New Jersey
and Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioners, 256 U.S.
296, 65 L. Ed. 937, 41 S. Ct. 492 (1921)............................. 75
Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537,16 S. Ct. 1138, 41 L. Ed.
256 (1896) .......... ..................................................................... ...6, 55
Smith v. Allwright, 321 U.S. 649...................................... 177
Standard Oil Co. v. U.S., 221 U.S. 1, 31 S. Ct. 502, 55
L. Ed. 619 (1910)................................................................. 70
State of Georgia v. Tennessee Copper Co. and Ducktown
Sulphur, Copper & Iron Co., Ltd., 237 U.S. 474, 59 L. Ed.
1054, 35 S. Ct. 631 (1915); 237 U.S. 678, 59 L. Ed. 1173,
35 S. Ct. 752 (1915); 240 U.S. 650, 60 L. Ed. 846, 36 S. Ct.
465 (1916) ....... ......... ........................................................ 73, 74
United States v. American Tobacco Co., 221 U.S. 106, 31
S. Ct. 632, 55 L. Ed. 663 (1911)........................................ 69
United States v. Paramount Pictures, 334 U.S. 131, 92 L.
Ed. 1260, 68 S. Ct. 915 (1948) ........................................... . 77
Page
ix
UNITED STATES LAW
26 State at L., 209, Ch. 647, USC Title 15, §1
Page
(Anti-Trust Act) ............................. 70
FLORIDA CONSTITUTION AND STATUTES
Art. 12, Sec. 1, Florida Constitution................ ...............213
Art. 12, See. 12, Florida Constitution................ 5, 6,15, 213
Sec. 228.09, Florida Statutes.............................................215
Sec. 229.07, Florida Statutes................................... . . . . . . . . . .12, 215
Sec. 229.08, Florida Statutes........ ............................... ......12, 216
Sec. 229.16, Florida Statutes .......................... ....13, 216
Sec. 229.17, Florida Statutes..................................... 13, 217
Sec. 230.23, Florida Statutes............................................ 10, 217
Sec. 239.41, Florida Statutes ............................... 7, 8, 9, 218
Sec. 242.46, Florida Statutes............................................ 41
STATE SCHOOL BOARD REGULATIONS
The Calculation of Instruction Units and Salary
Allocations from the Foundation Program................13, 219
Administrative and Special Instructional Service.....13, 220
Units for Supervisors of Instruction............................13, 221
Establishment, Organization and Operation of Small
Schools ................................................................................225
School Advisory Committees............................................. 13, 226
Qualifications, Duties and Procedure for Employment
of Supervisors of Instruction.......................................... ....13, 228
Isolated Schools ............................................................13, 232
The Distribution of General Scholarships.........................13, 235
Scholarship Committee .....................................................240
x
Scholarship for Preparation of Teachers and House and
Page
Senatorial Scholarships...................................................... 241
State Supervisory Services.............................................13,242
Transportation of Pupils .................................................. 243
MISCELLANEOUS
Ashmore, Harry S., “ The Negro and the Schools” .......34, 39
Garter, Hodding, Reader’s Digest, September 1954, p. 53.. 20
Clark, Kenneth B., “ Findings,” Journal of Social Issues,
IX, No. 4 (1953), 50 .... .................................................25,109
Dietrich, T. Stanton, Statistical Atlas, Florida’s popula
tion; 1940 and 1950; Research Report No. 3, Florida State
University, June, 1954 ........................................................189
Emory University Law School, Joumal of Public Law,
Vol. 3, Spring 1954, No. 1............... ...........................37, 38, 89
Florida Facts, Florida State University, School of
Public Administration..................................................32,124
Florida State Board of Health, Annual Report 1953,
Supp. No. 1, Florida Vital Statistics............................... 21
Florida State Board of Health, Annual Report 1953,
Supp. No. 2, Florida Morbidity Statistics 1953, Table
No. 5, p. 2 5 .......................................................................... 21
Katz, Daniel and Hadley Cantril, “ Public Opinion
Polls,” Sociometry, I (1937), 155-179 ..............................116
Psychol. Bull., 1949, 46, 433-489 .......................................166
Semi-Weekly Floridan, Tallahassee, Florida, April 23,
1867, page 2 ........................................................................ 95
State of Florida, Biennial Report, Superintendent of
Public Instruction 1950-51 .......... 32
The Antioch Review, VIII (Summer 1948), 193-210...... 128
“ The Impending Crisis of the South,” New South, VTH,
No. 5, (May 1953) (Atlanta: Southern Regional Coun
cil^ ......................................................................................105
U. S. News & World Report, page 35, August 27, 1954..... 31
xi
Preliminary Statement
This amicus brief filed by the Attorney General of the
State of Florida pursuant to permission granted by the
Court in its decision of May 17,1954, in the above cases, con
tends that the Court should resolve its implementation de
cision in favor of the propositions stated in questions 4B
and 5D.
The Court will find from a study of this brief that a sin
cere and thorough effort has been made by the Attorney
General of Florida to present reasonable and logical an
swers to questions 4 and 5. These answers are respectfully
submitted by way of assistance to the Court and are based
upon a scientific survey of the factual situation in Florida,
embracing practical, psychological, economic and socio
logical effects, as well as an exhaustive research of legal
principles.
However, in filing this brief in answer to the hypothetical
questions propounded, the Attorney General is not inter
vening in the cause nor is he authorized to submit the State
of Florida as a direct party to the instant cases. Neither can
his brief preclude the Florida legislature or the people
of Florida from taking any legislative or constitutional ac
tion dealing with the segregation problem.
1
Part One
A discussion of the reasons for a period of
gradual adjustment to desegregation to
be permitted in Florida with broad pow
ers of discretion vested in local school
authorities to determine administrative
procedures.
3
A. The Need For Time
In Revising The State
Legal Structure
There is a need for reasonable time and planning by
State and local authorities in any revision of the existing
legal structure of the State of Florida, (which now provides
an administrative framework for the operation of a dual
system of public schools) in order to provide a legal and
administrative structure in which compliance with the
Brown decision can be accomplished in an orderly manner.
Examples of Florida constitutional, statutory, and state
school board regulatory provisions related directly or in
directly to segregated public schools are set forth in Ap
pendix B.
The basic change which must be made if Florida is to
comply with the non-segregation decision is either a repeal
or revision of Article XII, Section 12, of the Florida Con
stitution, which provides:
“ White and colored; separate schools.—White and
colored children shall not be taught in the same school,
but impartial provision shall be made for both.”
This provision in the basic law of Florida has been in
existence since 1885. During the past 69 years it has been
rigidly observed and has provided the foundation for an in
tricate segregated public school system, in accord with so
cial customs which cannot be changed overnight without
5
completely upsetting established school administrative pro
cedure in school planning, transportation, teacher employ
ment, capital outlay, districting, scholastic standards, pub
lic health, school discipline as well as many other facets of
the tremendously complicated school structure in Florida.
Assuming that the basic law of Florida pertaining to a
dual system of schools (Art. XII, Section 12, of the Florida
Constitution) is rendered nugatory by the decision of this
court in the Brown case, the Florida legislature must re
vise the entire School Code of Florida to the extent that the
present code is predicated upon a dual system of education,
and all administrative procedures which have developed
under said code are grounded on the fundamental principle
of a segregated system. A simple repeal of the various
statutory and administrative procedures now provided for
the operation of the school system (which may prove to be
in conflict with the Brown decision) could only result in the
creation of a vacuum in methods of school administration.
The consequent immediate inrush of turbulent ideas into
this vacuum without legal guidance or administrative regu
lation might well cause a tornado which would devastate
the entire school system.
This system has grown through the years since the es
tablishment of the “ separate but equal” doctrine by the
Court in the Plessy v. Ferguson case (163 U.8. 537), into
a mammoth and intricate system of public education in
Florida involving the annual expenditure of $138,895,123.15
and the welfare of 650,285 children. We do not believe that
this system, which took over half a century to develop, can
be transformed overnight.
The bare mechanical process of enacting legislation re
quires reasonable time for study by legislative committees,
the time depending upon the complexity of the problem, and
must conform to the legally established time for convening
the legislature. On a problem of the magnitude of the one at
6
issue, the study of legislative committees must be preceded
by exhaustive study on the part of school officials and citi
zens’ educational committees in order that the legislature
may have the benefit of their recommendations.
I. EXAMPLES OF LEGISLATIVE. PROBLEMS
(a) Scholarships
An example of the type of legislative problem which must
be considered by school officials and the legislature is con
tained in Section 239.41, Florida Statutes.1
This law at present provides for 1,050 scholarships of
$400 each year for students desiring to train for the teach
ing profession.1 2
According to the State Department of Education, award
ing of the scholarships is done on a basis of county repre
sentation, race, and competitive test scores of psychological
and scholastic aptitude. A compilation of the scores of the
740 white twelfth grade applicants in the Spring of 1954
yielded an average score of 340. Compilation of the 488
Negro twelfth grade applicants yielded an average score
of 237. In the previous year, 1953, 664 white applicants
made an average score of 342 while the Negro applicants
made an average score of 237. This difference is classified as
very significant, and should be interpreted as meaning that
factors other than chance explain the different results be
tween white and Negro scores.
In view of the wide divergence in achievement levels be
tween the white and Negro races, as demonstrated by the
scholarship examinations, and desiring to make these schol
arship opportunities available to students of both races, it
1. See page 218, Appendix B.
2. See page 235, Appendix B.
7
was recognized that provision would have to be made
whereby Negro students would not have to compete against
white students for these awards. Therefore, the legislature
of Florida provided that the scholarships should be ap
portioned to white and Negro applicants according to the
ratio of white and Negro population in the counties. Only
in this way can Negro students in this state be assured of
receiving a proportionate share of state scholarships
awarded on the basis of competitive examinations.
If the Court’s decision in the Brown case is to be inter
preted that no distinction can be made on the basis of race
in the operation of Florida’s school system, it is apparent
that Section 239.41, Florida Statutes, will have to be re
vised if the state is to continue its policy of encouraging
Negro as well as white students to enter the teaching field.
It is apparent that the overall problem of teacher short
ages cannot be solved immediately by law. It can be solved
eventually by provisions such as Section 239.41, Florida
Statutes, which is calculated to encourage a larger number
of people to qualify themselves as teachers. If Section
239.41, Florida Statutes, is revised, however, to preclude
immediately any recognition of a difference in scholastic
achievement between Negro and white applicants for teach
er scholarships, such revision would make it virtually im
possible for the great majority of Negro students in
Florida to receive scholarships, and from an economic stand
point they form the group of potential teachers who need
such assistance most.
The problem can be solved, however, by time, without
working an undue hardship on Negro students or creating
an even greater shortage of teachers in Florida.
Dr. Gilbert Porter, Executive Secretary of Florida State
Teachers Association had this to say on the subject in
addressing a meeting of Negro teachers in Tallahassee on
August 19, 1954:
8
“ It is of no avail to blind ourselves to tbe marked
difference in scholastic achievement between white and
Negro students. This difference is not our fault, but it
is there and must be recognized. I f the doors to the
state white universities were thrown open to Negro
students today, it would make little difference because
a great majority of Negro students could not pass an
impartial entrance examination. We, as Negro teach
ers, can provide the only solution to this dilemma if
given a reasonable amount of time, but it will mean an
absolute dedication to his work on the part of every
Negro teacher. Negro teachers can close the gap be
tween Negro and white students if they will work hard
enough. We have come a long way already in closing
that gap and it can be closed completely within the
foreseeable future if we will work hard enough. Any
Negro teacher who is not willing to dedicate himself to
this purpose should step out of the way because he is
standing in the way of the progress of our race. Either
we must remove this difference in scholastic standing
or admit that we are inferior—and I will die and go
to the hot place before I will ever admit that I am
inferior. ’ ’
Whatever is done by school officials and the Florida
legislature to fit the Florida teacher scholarship act (Sec.
239.41, Florida Statutes) into the framework of the new
concept of a non-segregated school system enunciated by
the Court, should take into consideration the human rights
and legal equities of members of the Negro race who would
like to enter the one professional field which is now open to
them on a large scale, and which they are now not only
invited but urged to enter on a basis of absolute economic
and professional equality. A strict legal application of the
principle that no distinction can be made on the basis of
race in public schools would necessarily have to ignore
practical and human factors as they now exist which are
of fundamental importance to the operation of a public
school system in Florida. One thing is apparent. No equi
9
table and workable solution can be found unless sufficient
time is permitted by tbe Court in the application of its
decree abolishing segregated schools, to allow for an abate
ment of the problems involved and an equitable adjustment
by the school system to so drastic a change in its basic
structure.
(b) Powers and. Duties of County School Boards
The problems which will necessarily confront the Florida
legislature in revising the provision of Section 230.23,
Florida Statutes,1 alone, are so involved and complicated
if practical questions of school administration are to be
considered, that no immediate solution is feasible.
Section 230.23, Florida Statutes, provides the powers and
duties of county school boards and establishes a framework
within which they may authorize schools to be located and
maintained. It provides in part:
“ Authorize schools to be located and maintained in
those communities in the county where they are needed
to accommodate as far as practicable and without un
necessary expense all the youth who should be entitled
to the facilities of such schools, separate schools to
be provided for white and Negro children; and approve
the area from which children are to attend each such
schools, such area to be known as the attendance area
for that school . . . ”
Bearing in mind that this provision of the law has been
followed throughout the development of the Florida school
system and the location of schools decided in accord with its
intent, a simple repeal of this provision would provide no
systematic guide or formula for local school boards to fol
low in attempting to redesign and reorganize the dual sys
1. See page 217, Appendix B.
10
tem now in operation, which at present involves real estate
estimated to he valued at $300,000,000 and a current build
ing program now under way involving from $90,000,000 to
$100,000,000/ into a single non-segregated system.
The conversion of this $300,000,000 school plant into a
non-segregated system will clearly take a great deal of
planning if the old primary factor of racial segregation is
removed in school location, construction and operation.
The State Department of Education reports1 2 that:
“ Florida provides annually $400 per instruction unit
for Capital Outlay needs which for the 67 counties
totaled $9,451,600 in 1953-54 and has been computed
at $10,199,448 for the 1954-55 estimate. This money is
spent in each county according to the needs recom
mended by a state-conducted school building survey.
With the help of these individual county surveys it was
estimated as of January, 1954 that $97,000,000 will be
needed to provide facilities for white children and
$50,000,000 will be needed to provide facilities for
Negro children. Since the activation as of the effective
date January 1, 1953 of a Constitutional Amendment
providing for the issuance of revenue certificates by
the State Board of Education against anticipated state
Capital Outlay funds for the next thirty years more
than $43,000,000 in state guaranteed bonds have been
issued to provide additional facilities for both races.
By the fall of 1954 there will have been a total of $70,-
000,000 of these bonds issued and in the foreseeable
future the total will be $90,000,000 to $100,000,000. At
the present time 2182 classrooms are under construc
tion as a result of the issuance of these bonds.”
The planning included in making necessary surveys, ac
quisition of sites, financing and engineering involved in the
present construction program, although performed at top
speed under the compulsion of a critical shortage of school
1. See page 188, Appendix A.
2. See page 187, Appendix A.
11
buildings in Florida, is a continuing process and requires
several years to carry out successfully.
Much of this school planning with regard to the allocation
and use of existing structures as well as new construction
will have to be re-evaluated and revised in accord with the
entirely new and basic change to a non-segregated system.
These facts, when considered in the light of the over
crowded conditions now prevailing in many Florida schools,
must be studied by the legislature and school officials in any
effort to provide adequate administrative means of comply
ing with the Court’s decision. According to the State De
partment of Education, during the school year 1953-54,
eighty-one schools in 18 Florida counties were forced to
operate double sessions because of the lack of classroom
space and trained teachers. In many instances to integrate
immediately in particular schools would mean overcrowd
ing of school facilities resulting in serious administrative
problems too numerous to detail.
When these problems are further complicated by the
drastic change in the legal framework of segregated schools
in Florida, it is apparent that such factors should be rec
ognized by the Court and sufficient time allowed for their
orderly solution.
(c) State Board of Education and State Superintendent
A third example of the complex problems which will con
front school officials and the Florida legislature in re
vising the framework of laws within which the school sys
tem can operate efficiently in compliance with the Brown
decision is found in Sections 229.07,1 229.08,1 2 Florida Sta
tutes, relating to the authority and rule-making powers
1. See page 215, Appendix B.
2. See page 216, Appendix B.
12
and duties of the State Board of Education; and Sections
229.16s and 229.173 4 relating to the duties of the State
Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Although these provisions may not directly relate to seg
regated schools, they have in each instance been enacted
and administered in accord with the basic provision of
Florida law requiring a dual school system, and some re
vision will be necessary in the administrative powers
granted therein in order to insure compliance with the
Court’s decree.
Specific problems in this regard are found in State Board
Regulations adopted April 27, 1954 (page 154, State Board
Regulations, page 219, Appendix B) related to the calcu
lation of instruction units and salary allocations from the
Foundation Program; State Board Regulation adopted
March 21, 1950 (page 164, State Board Regulations, page
220, Appendix B), related to Administrative and Special
Instructional Service; State Board Regulation adopted
March 21, 1950 (page 171, State Board Regulations, page
221, Appendix B), related to units for supervisors of in
struction; State Board Regulation adopted July 3, 1947
(page 28, State Board Regulations, page 226, Appendix
B), related to School Advisory Committees; State Board
Regulation adopted March 21, 1950 (page 148, State Board
Regulations, page 228, Appendix B), related to the quali
fications, duties and procedure for employment of super
visors of instruction; State Board Regulation adopted July
3, 1947 (page 156, State Board Regulations, page 232, Ap
pendix B), related to isolated schools, State Board Regu
lation adopted July 21, 1953 (page 225, State Board Regu
lations, page 235, Appendix B), related to the distribution
of general scholarships; State Board Regulation adopted
July 3, 1947 (page 229, State Board Regulations, page 242,
Appendix B), related to State Supervisory Services.
3. See page 216, Appendix B.
4. See page 217, Appendix B.
13
n . DISCUSSION OF LEGISLATIVE ATTITUDES
In setting out these examples of legislative problems
which will require reasonable time for solution, we do not
intend to imply that the members of the Florida legislature
are at present willing to accept a desegregated school sys
tem. In fact, from such information as is now available on
this point there is reason to believe that members of the
Florida legislature are to a large extent unsympathetic
to the Court’s decision in the Brown case. A survey of
leadership opinion regarding segregation in Florida con
ducted by the Attorney General included the following
statement in the survey report (page 126, Appendix A ) :
“ Although the 79 members of the state legislature who
returned questionnaires constitute almost 45% of the
176 legislators and legislative nominees, to whom the
forms were sent, generalizations as to the entire mem
bership of the legislature on the basis of their responses
are entirely unwarranted. Any attempt to predict the
action of the legislature at its next session would be
even more presumptuous. The responses of these legis
lators to two special questions asked of them are pre
sented below as a matter of interest, however.
“ The legislators were asked to indicate which of five
possible courses of action should be followed at the
next session of the legislature. The percentage check
ing each course, and the details of the five courses of
action, are shown in Table 20 (Appendix A). The legis
lators were also asked whether they believed that there
is any legal way to continue segregation in Florida
schools indefinitely. Of the 79 respondents, 34.20% re
plied ‘ yes’, 25.31% replied ‘ no’ and 39.32% answered
‘Don’t know’ or gave no answer.”
Table 20, Appendix A, indicates that 40.5% of the mem
bers of the legislature who responded to the questionnaire
wanted to preserve segregation indefinitely by whatever
means possible.
14
It is even more significant that the Florida legislature in
its 1951 session amended the appropriations act for the
State Universities to provide that in the event Section 12
of Article 12 of the Florida Constitution shall be held un
constitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction or in
the event the segregation of races as required by Section
12, Article 12 of the Florida Constitution should be dis
regarded, that no funds under the appropriations act shall
be released to the Universities (page 683, Journal of the
Florida House of Representatives, May 10, 1951). This
amendment contained in Chapter 26859, General Laws of
Florida, 1951, was vetoed by the Governor.
On the other hand, it is not our purpose to imply that the
Florida legislature will refuse to take any action to provide
a framework of laws designed to implement the Court’s
decision. Only the legislature itself under our form of gov
ernment can determine what course of action it will pursue
and we know of no way it can be coerced in making this
determination except through the will of a majority of the
people voiced through the ballot.
One thing seems apparent, however, under these cir
cumstances. The Court upon equitable principles ought to
extend to our legislature a reasonable period of forbearance
during which the normal processes of legislative authority
can be afforded time and opportunity to implement the
Court’s decision. The great multitude of problems the de
cision has created in the legal structure of our school system
should warrant the Court in granting our legislature full
opportunity to revise our school laws.
Such a period of forbearance is in keeping wuth the
spirit of confidence which, under our system of democracy,
is essential to maintain among the three branches of gov
ernment. It is in keeping with the spirit of confidence
which must be maintained between state governments and
the Federation of States which has delegated to this Court
15
its judicial authority. A fundamental precept in the prac
tical workings of this spirit of confidence is the use of per
suasion rather than coercion or compulsion. We believe
that this Court will not attempt to use its powers of coer
cion precipitately and prematurely against any state whose
legislature has not had time to revise its basic school laws
to meet the requirements of transition.
Our Florida legislature under our Constitution does not
convene again until April, 1955 for its biennial 60-day ses
sion.
Even at that session there may not be known the terms
of the implementation pattern, since they are dependent
upon whether the Court acts prior to April, 1955. Further
more, whether the necessary spade-work and drafting of
legislation to adequately provide for the transition can be
accomplished within said session is largely a matter of
conjecture, so multitudinous and complex are the problems.
We reiterate: the State, having so long relied on and lived
under the Plessy doctrine, should have no unseemly haste
visited upon its legislature in trying to meet the needs of
transition, especially when it is considered by many to be,
at best, a “ bitter pill” for the legislature to swallow.
Rather, the reasonable, considerate and tempered course
would be to allow our legislature a requisite and ample
period of time to study, debate and enact implementation
legislation. This we believe the court from innate principles
of equity will allow.
16
B. The Need For Time In
Revising Administrative
Procedures
In addition to the problem, of statutory revision, the
Court should consider the need for time in adjusting the
literally thousands of administrative policies and regula
tions of local school boards and school superintendents
which have been formulated within the framework of law
to meet local conditions in each of the 67 counties of Florida
which will have to be revised and reorganized to conform
to new legislative enactments resulting from the Brown
decision. It is apparent that considerable time must be al
lowed before workable administrative policies of this kind
can be evolved. Speaking to a group of Negro leaders in
Jacksonville on July 30, 1954, Florida State School Super
intendent Thomas I). Bailey, said:
“ As I see it, the ultimate problem is to establish a
policy and a program which will preserve the public
school system by having the support of the people. No
system of public education will endure for long without
public support. No program of desegregation in our
public schools can be effective, unless the people in
each community are in agreement in attempting it. ’ ’
School board members, school trustees and school super
intendents are elective officials in Florida. They are ob
viously well aware that any administrative policies they
adopt implementing state laws enacted pursuant to the
Brown decision must meet with at least some degree of ac
ceptance on the part of the people in the community if they
are to prove workable.
17
I. EXAMPLES
(a) Transportation
Perhaps the best example of this type of problem is the
practical difficulties which will be encountered in convert
ing the present dual school bus transportation system into
a single system.
During the school year 1953-54 Florida’s school system
operated 2212 buses. These buses traveled 30,910,944 miles
to transport 209,492 pupils at a cost of $4,506,667 (see page
186, Appendix A). These figures may be compared with
Florida Greyhound Lines, the largest motor bus common
carrier in Florida, which operates 175 buses in the state.
A court order merging Florida Greyhound Lines with a
competing line would necessarily allow a considerable pe
riod of time for revising routes and schedules to avoid dupli
cation and insure maximum service to the public, but such
a merger would be relatively uncomplicated compared to
the problems involved in merging Florida’s dual school bus
system.
The problems of merging what amounts to two bus sys
tems into one system without regard to race are obviously
complicated. Hundreds of bus routes and schedules will
have to be revised in line with the school redistricting which
must take place. In accomplishing such a drastic revision of
bus routes and schedules the paramount factor in school
bus transportation, i.e., safety, must be considered at all
times in the light of the fact that discipline among the pas
sengers is directly related to safety. Discipline on school
buses is maintained by one person, the driver. The ability
of the driver to maintain discipline and a reasonable degree
of safety while transporting mixed racial groups which
may be antagonistic must clearly be considered in rê
routing and re-scheduling school bus routes. Such consider
ation on the part of local school boards will require degrees
18
of time in direct ratio to the complexity of the local situa
tion in relation to the size and distribution of the Negro
population and the intensity of opposition to desegregated
schools on the part of the citizens.
(b) Redistricting
The redistricting of school attendance areas along normal
geographic lines on the basis of a single school system
rather than a dual system as it now exists is another prob
lem which will require a great deal of time in proper plan
ning and execution.
(c) Scholastic Standards
Perhaps an even greater problem which will confront
school officials on both the state and county level is the
maintenance of scholastic standards in the intermingling of
two groups of students so widely divergent on the basis of
achievement levels. According to the State Department of
Education (see page 190, Appendix A ) :
“ A comparison of the performance of white and
Negro high school seniors on a uniform placement-test
battery given each spring in the high schools through
out the State of Florida is shown in Table 4, page 196,
Appendix A. The number of participants corresponds
with the total twelfth grade membership during the
five-year period, 1949-1953. This table shows, for ex
ample, that on all five tests 59% of the Negroes rank
no higher than the lowest 10% of the whites. On the
general ability scale, the fifty percentile or mid-point
on the white scale corresponds with the ninety-five
percentile of the Negro scale. In other words, only 5%
of the Negroes are above the mid-point of the white
general ability level. Studies of grades at the Univer
sity of Florida indicate that white high school seniors
with placement test percentile ranks below fifty have
less than a 50% likelihood of making satisfactory
grades in college. While factors such as size of high
19
school, adequacy of materials, economic level, and home
environment are recognized as being contributing fac
tors, no attempt is made here to analyze or measure
the controlling factors.”
In some large schools it is possible to divide students in
the same age groups into different classes, taking into con
sideration their achievement level, but smaller schools do
not have sufficient classroom space or teachers to make
such a division possible. In the latter class of schools it is
clear that an immediate and arbitrary intermingling of
students falling into such widely divergent achievement
level groups could only result in lowering the scholastic
standards of the entire school and adding to the problems
of discipline and instructional procedures. The Negro stu
dents would suffer if compelled to compete against white
students of the same age but whose achievement level was
2 or 3 grades higher and the white students would be
seriously retarded.
This problem is not insoluble and it is not advanced as a
reason for permanent segregation in the schools. It is, how-
} ever, a problem which must be taken into consideration by
school officials in any attempt at integration of the races
in the schools and it is a problem which will require careful
planning, new techniques, and a great deal of time if it is
to be solved without doing serious harm to both races and
to the school system.
Still another example of school administrative problems
in achieving an integrated school system is related to
health and moral welfare. Writing in the Eeaders Digest,
September, 1954, page 53, Mr. Hodding Carter, Editor and
Publisher of the Delta Democrat Times, Greenville, Miss
issippi, said:
Health and Moral Welfare
20
“ If only because of economic inequalities, there is a
wide cultural gap between Negro and white in the
South, and especially in those states where dwell the
most Negroes. These heavily Negro states are also
largely agrarian. Among the rural and small-town Ne
groes, the rates of near-illiteracy, of communicable
diseases, of minor and major crimes are far higher
than among the whites. The rural Negro’s living stand
ards, though rising are still low, and he is still easy
going in his morals, as witness the five to ten times
higher incidence of extramarital households and ille
gitimacy among Negroes than among whites in the
South. The Southern mother doesn’t see a vision of a
clean scrubbed little Negro child about to embark on a
great adventure. She sees a symbol of the cultural lags
of which she is more than just statistically aware.”
Specifically, with regard to Florida, the State Board of
Health reports that during the year 1953 there was a total
of 58,262 white births in the state,* of which 1,111 were ille
gitimate. During this same period there was a total of
21,825 Negro births of which 5,249 were illegitimate. Per
centagewise, this means that 1.9% of white births in Florida
during 1953 were illegitimate and 24% of Negro births
were illegitimate1.
According to the State Board of Health there was a total
of 11,459 cases of gonorrhea reported in Florida during
1953 of which 10,206 were among the Negro population.1 2
We feel that this cultural gap should be honestly recognized
by both white and Negro leaders as a problem requiring
time for solution rather than an arbitrary and blind refusal
to admit that it exists or that it is related to public school
administration.
1. Annual Report, Florida State Board of Health for 1953, Sup
plement No. 1, Florida Vital Statistics.
2. Annual Report, Florida State Board of Health 1953, Supple
ment No. 2, Florida Morbidity Statistics 1953, Table No. 5,
page 25.
21
C. The Need For Time
In Gaining Public Acceptance
There is a need for time in gaming public acceptance of
desegregation because of the psychological and sociological
effects of desegregation upon the community.
I. A SURVEY OF LEADERSHIP OPINION
A sincere and exhaustive effort has been made by the
Attorney General of Florida to ascertain, as accurately as
possible, the feelings of the people of Florida with regard
to segregation in public schools. This survey was author
ized by the Florida Cabinet which allocated $10,000 for the
purpose. This effort was made primarily for the purpose
of obtaining information which would be of use to the
Court in formulating its final decree in the Brown case.
In making the survey and study, every possible precau
tion was taken to insure its impartiality and scientific ac
curacy. It was made with the advice and under the supervi
sion of an interracial advisory committee composed of in
dividuals chosen on the basis of their professional standing
in the field of education; specialized knowledge which would
be helpful in making such a study; reputation for civic
mindedness and impartiality and because they were will
ing to devote their time without pay in carrying out a task
so enormous in scope in the brief time available. A more
detailed explanation of the scientific methods and tech
niques employed in making this study is given with the
23
complete survey report itself, which is made a part of this
brief and included as Appendix A. The General Conclusions
of this report are as follows:
IL GENERAL CONCLUSIONS
1. On the basis of data from all relevant sources in
cluded in this study, it is evident that in Florida white lead
ership opinion with reference to the Supreme Court’s de
cision is far from being homogeneous. Approximately
three-fourths of the white leaders polled disagree, in prin
ciple, with the decision. There are approximately 30% who
violently disagree with the decision to the extent that they
would refuse to cooperate with any move to end segregation
or would actively oppose it. While the majority of white
persons answering opposed the decision, it is also true that
a large majority indicated they were willing to do what
the courts and school officials decided.
2. A large majority of the Negro leaders acclaim the
decision as being right.
3. Only a small minority of leaders of both races advocate
immediate, complete desegregation. White leaders, if they
accept the idea that segregation should be ended eventually,
tend to advocate a very gradual, indefinite transition period,
with a preparatory period of education. Negroes tend to ad
vocate a gradual transition, but one beginning soon and last
ing over a much shorter period of time.
4. There are definite variations between regions, coun
ties, communities and sections of communities as to whether
desegregation can be accomplished, even gradually, with
out conflict and public disorder. The analysis of trends
in Negro registration and voting in primary elections,
shows similar variations in the extent to which Negroes
have availed themselves of the right to register and vote. At
least some of these variations in voting behavior must be ac
24
counted for by white resistance to Negro political participa
tion. This indicates that there are regional variations not
only in racial attitudes but in overt action.
Eegional, county and community variations in responses
to questionnaires and interviews are sufficiently marked to
suggest that in some communities desegregation could be
undertaken now if local leaders so decided, but that in
others widespread social disorder would result from im
mediate steps to end segregation. There would be prob
lems, of course, in any area of the state, but these would
be vastly greater in some areas than in others.
5. While a minority of both white and Negro leaders
expect serious violence to occur if desegregation is at
tempted, there is a widespread lack of confidence in the
ability of peace officers to maintain law and order if serious
violence does start. This is especially true of the peace offi
cers themselves, except in Dade County. This has im
portant implications. While it is true that expressed
attitudes are not necessarily predictive of actual behavior,
there seems little doubt that there is a minority of whites
who would actively and violently resist desegregation,
especially immediate desegregation. It has been concluded
from the analysis of experiences with desegregation in
other areas, “ A small minority may precipitate overt re
sistance or violent opposition to desegregation in spite of
general acceptance or accommodation by the majority.” 1
6. Opposition of peace officers to desegregation, lack of
confidence in their ability to maintain law and order in the
face of violent resistance, and the existence of a positive
relationship between these two opinions indicates that less
than firm, positive action to prevent public disorder might
be expected from many of the police, especially in some
communities. Elected officials, county and school, also show
1. Kenneth B. Clark, “ Findings,” Journal of Social Issues, IX ,
No. 4 (1953), 50.
25
a high degree of opposition. Yet it has been pointed out,
again on the basis of experience in other states, that the
accomplishment of efficient desegregation with a minimnrn
of social disturbance depends upon:
A. A clear and unequivocal statement of policy by
leaders with prestige and other authorities;
B. Firm enforcement of the changed policy by author
ities and persistence in the execution of this policy
in the face of initial resistance;
C. A willingness to deal with violations, attempted
violations, and incitement to violations by a resort
to the law and strong enforcement action;
D. A refusal of the authorities to resort to, engage in
or tolerate subterfuges, gerrymandering or other
devices for evading the principles and the fact of
desegregation;
E. An appeal to the individuals concerned in terms of
their religious principles of brotherhood and their
acceptance of the American traditions of fair play
and equal justice.
It may be concluded that the absence of a firm, enthusi
astic public policy of making desegregation effective would
create the type of situation in which attitudes would be
most likely to be translated into action.1
7. In view of white feelings that immediate desegregation
would not work and that to require it would constitute a
negation of local autonomy, it may be postulated that the
chances of developing firm official and, perhaps, public sup
port for any program of desegregation would be maximized
by a decree which would create the feeling that the Court
recognizes local problems and will allow a gradual transi
tion with some degree of local determination.
8. There is a strong likelihood that many white children
would be withdrawn from public schools by their parents
1. Experience shows that where the steps listed above have been
taken, predictions of serious social disturbances have not been
borne out.
26
and sent to private schools. It seems logical, however, that
this practice would be confined primarily to families in the
higher income brackets. As a result, a form of socio
economic class segregation might be substituted for racial
segregation in education.
9. It is evident that a vast area of misunderstanding as
to each other’s feelings about segregation exists between
the races. White leaders believe Negroes to be much more
satisfied with segregation than Negroes are and Negro
leaders believe that whites are much more willing to accept
desegregation gracefully than whites proved to be. Hence
a logical first step towards implementing the principle set
forth by the Court, and one suggested by both whites and
Negroes, would seem, to be the taking of positive, coopera
tive steps to bridge this gap and establish better under
standing between the two groups.
10. Although relatively few Negro leaders and teachers
show concern about the problem, white answers indicate
that Negro teachers would encounter great difficulty in
obtaining employment in mixed schools. To the extent that
desegregation might proceed without parallel changes in
attitudes towards the employment of Negro teachers in
mixed schools, economic and professional hardships would
be worked on the many Negro teachers of Florida.
11. Since 1940, and particularly since 1947, the State of
Florida has made rapid and steady progress toward the
elimination of disparities between white and Negro edu
cational facilities as measured by such tangible factors as
teacher salaries, current expenditure per pupil, teacher
qualifications, and capital outlay expenditure per pupil.
12. In spite of the current ambiguity as to the future of
dual, “ separate but equal” school facilities the State is pro
ceeding with an extensive program of construction of new
school facilities for both white and Negro pupils, with a
27
recommended capital outlay of $370 per Negro pupil and
$210 per white pupil. Both this and the previous finding in
dicate that, while these steps have been taken within the
framework of a dual educational system, there is a sincere
desire and willingness on the part of the elected officials
and the people of Florida to furnish equal education for all
children.
13. Available achievement test scores of white and Ne
gro high school seniors in Florida indicate that, at least in
the upper grades, many Negro pupils placed in classrooms
with white pupils would find themselves set apart not only
by color but by the quality of their work. It is not implied
that these differences in scores have an innate racial basis,
but it seems likely that they stem from differences in eco
nomic and cultural background extending far beyond the
walls of the segregated school, into areas of activity not
covered by this decision.
14. Interracial meetings and cooperative activities al
ready engaged in by teachers and school administrators in
many counties demonstrate steps that can be, and are being
taken voluntarily and through local choice to contribute to
the development of greater harmony and understanding
between whites and Negroes in Florida communities.
The specific findings of this survey regarding leadership
opinion as expressed through mailed questionnaires are:
1. White groups differ greatly from each other in
their attitudes towards the Court’s decision, ranging
from nearly unanimous disagreement to a slight pre
dominance of favorable attitudes. (See Table 2, page
136, Appendix A)
2. White groups also differ from each other in will
ingness to comply with whatever courts and school
boards decide to do regardless of their personal feel
ings. (See Table 4, page 139, Appendix A)
3. Peace officers are the white group most opposed
to desegregation. (See Table 3, page 138, Appendix A)
28
4. Almost no whites believe that desegregation
should be attempted immediately. (Table 2, page 136,
Appendix A)
5. A large majority of both Negro groups are in
agreement with the Court’s decision declaring segre
gation unconstitutional. (Table 3, page 138, Appendix
A)
6. While only a small minority of both Negro groups
believe that desegregation should be attempted imme
diately, an even smaller minority would oppose at
tempts to bring about desegregation or refuse to co
operate. (Table 2, page 136, Appendix A)
7. Only a minority of whites in all groups believe
that opponents of desegregation would resort to mob
violence in trying to stop it. A larger proportion, but
still a minority, believe that serious violence would re
sult if desegregation were attempted in their commu
nity in the next few years. (Table 5, page 140, Ap
pendix A)
8. A yet smaller minority of both of the Negro
groups anticipate mob violence or serious violence as
a result of steps towards desegregation. (Table 5,
page 140, Appendix A)
9. The majority of all white groups are not sure that
peace officers could cope with serious violence if it
did occur in their communities, replying either “ no”
or “ don’t know” to the question. (Table 6, page 141,
Appendix A)
10. A much smaller proportion of both Negro groups
expresses doubt as to the ability of law enforcement
officials to deal with serious violence. (Table 6, page
141, Appendix A)
11. The majority of most of the white groups believe
that peace officers could maintain law and order if
minor violence occurred. (Table 7, Appendix A)
12. The Negro groups did not differ greatly from the
white groups in the proportion believing that police
could cope with minor violence. (Table 7, Appendix A)
29
13. Only 13.24 per cent of 1669 peace officers believe
that most of the peace officers they know would en
force attendance laws for mixed schools.
14. A majority of the members of all white groups
except peace officers, (who were not asked): radio sta
tion managers; and ministers, believe that most of the
people of Florida and most of the white people in their
communities disagree with the Court’s decision. (Table
8, Appendix A)
15. In the five white groups asked, from one-fourth to
one-half of the respondents believed that most of the
Negroes in their community were opposed to the de
segregation ruling. (Table 8, Appendix A)
16. A much smaller proportion of both Negro groups
believe that most of the people of Florida, most of the
whites in their community, and particularly the Negroes
in their communities are in disagreement with the prin
ciple of desegregation. (Table 8, Appendix A)
17. Only a small minority of all groups, white and
Negro believe that immediate assignment of children
to schools on the basis of geographical location rather
than race would be the most effective way of ending
public school segregation. (Table 9, Appendix A)
18. All groups think a gradual program of desegre
gation would be most effective. Negroes, however, pre
fer that the process start within the next year or two
with immediate, limited integration much more fre
quently than do whites. The whites prefer a very grad
ual transition with no specified time for action to begin.
(Table 9, Appendix A)
19. Whites who expressed an opinion believe that the
primary grades and the colleges are the levels on which
desegregation could be initiated most easily. On the
other hand, almost as many Negroes believed that
segregation should be ended on most or all grade levels
simultaneously as believed it should be ended first at
the lowest and highest grade levels.
20. The maintenance of discipline in mixed classes by
Negro teachers is regarded as a potential problem by a
30
majority of white principals, supervisors and FT A
leaders. A much smaller proportion of Negroes re
garded this as a problem, with a majority of Negro
principals believing that colored teachers could main
tain discipline in mixed classes. (Table 11, Appendix
A)
21. A majority of all white groups believe that white
people would resist desegregation by withdrawing
their children from the public schools, but a much
smaller proportion of Negroes, less than a majority
believe that this would happen. (Table 11, Appendix A)
22. Almost two-thirds of white school officials—su
perintendents, board members, and trustees—believe
that application of Negroes to teach in mixed schools
would be rejected. (Table 11, Appendix A)
It should be noted at this point that this opinion is sup
ported by the experience of other states where desegrega
tion of schools has already taken place. The August 27,1954,
issue of U. S. News and World Report, page 35, states,
“ In the north, protests from white parents tend to drive
Negro teachers out of the schools to which their children go.
The same thing is expected in the South when desegregation
comes to the schools there. An illustration of what happens
in the North is shown by the experience of Jeffersonville,
Indiana. The town lies in the southern part of the State,
just across the Ohio River from Kentucky. A great deal of
Southern tradition and many Southern customs have
reached across the river. Jeffersonville is just completing
desegregation of its schools. There have been few un
happy incidents. But there has been a greater problem with
teachers than with children in the schools. There were 16
Negro teachers in Jeffersonville when desegregation was
started in 194.8. By 1951 their number had dwindled to
11 as school enrollments were consolidated. For the school
year starting in autumn, 1951, only three Negro teachers
were retained. They had achieved permanent tenure under
State laiv, and could be discharged only for cause.”
31
Florida now employs 19,848 persons in instructional po
sitions not including supervisors. 4,721 of these teachers
are Negroes. (Biennial Report, Superintendent of Public
Instruction, State of Florida, 1950-51)
23. Nearly three-fourths of school officials believe
that it would be difficult to get white teachers for
mixed schools. (Table 11, Appendix A)
24. Almost half of school officials and a little over
40% of white PTA leaders believe that the people of
their communities would not support taxes for desegre
gated schools, but only about 20% of Negro PTA lead
ers believe that such support would not be forthcoming.
(Table 11, Appendix A)
25. In the case of all potential problems on rvhich
both Negroes and whites were questioned a smaller
proportion of Negroes than of whites indicate belief
that problems would arise as a result of desegregation.
(Table 11, Appendix A)
26. In the case of peace officers there is a positive
relationship between personal disagreement with the
decision and lack of confidence in the ability of peace
officers to cope with serious violence. There is an even
higher positive relationship between belief that segre
gation should be kept and belief that peace officers
would not enforce school attendance laws for mixed
schools. (Table 12, Appendix A)
Regional Variations. The responses to certain items of
the two largest groups polled, the peace officers and the
white school principals and supervisors, were analyzed by
region of the state in which the respondents lived. The 67
counties of Florida were grouped into 8 regions defined by
social scientists at the Florida State University in “ Florida
Facts” (Tallahassee, Florida; School of Public Adminis
tration, The Florida State University).
Clear-cut regional variations in attitudes and opin
ions are found to exist, as is indicated by the following
findings;
32
27. Although the majority of peace officers in all
regions feel that segregation should be kept, the per
centage feeling so varies from 83% in two regions to
100% in one region. (Table 14, Appendix A)
28. The percentage of white principals and super
visors who are in disagreement with the decision varies
from 20% to 60% in different regions. (Table 15, Ap
pendix A)
29. A large majority of white principals and super
visors in all regions indicate that they would comply
with the decision regardless of personal feelings, but
the percentage varies from 76% in Region VII to ap
proximately 94% in Regions VI and VIII. (Table 16,
Appendix A)
30. The percentage of peace officers predicting mob
violence as a method of resisting desegregation varies
from 20% in Region VIII to nearly 63% in Region
VII (Table 17, Appendix A).
31. Percentages of both peace officers and white
principals and supervisors predicting serious violence
in the event desegregation is attempted vary widely
between some regions (Table 18, Appendix A).
32. The majority of both peace officers and white
principals and supervisors in all regions doubt that the
police could maintain law and order if serious violence
occurred, but there are some regional variations.
(Table 19, Appendix A)
A Note on Responses of Legislators. Although the 79
members of the state legislature and legislative nominees
who returned questionnaires constitute almost 45 per cent
of the 176 legislators to whom the forms were sent, general
izations as to the entire membership of the legislature on
the basis of their responses are entirely unwarranted. Any
attempt to predict the action of the legislature at its next
session would be even more presumptuous. The responses
of these legislators to two special questions asked of them
are presented below as a matter of interest, however.
33
The legislators were asked to indicate which of five pos
sible courses of action should be followed at the next ses
sion of the legislature. The percentage checking each course,
and the details of the five courses of action, are shown in
Table 20.
The legislators were also asked whether they believed
that there is any legal way to continue segregation in
Florida schools indefinitely. Of the 79 respondents, 34.20
per cent replied “ Yes,” 25.31 per cent replied “ No,” and
39.32 per cent answered “ Don’t Know,” or gave no answer.
in . THE DADE COUNTY REPORT
A separate intensive study was made by the Attorney
General’s Advisory Committee under the immediate super
vision and direction of a research team from the Depart
ment of Government of the University of Miami. This study
was made of the greater Miami area and some outlying
sections in neighboring counties in the belief that this part
of Florida might have different problems of integration
from other parts of the state due to its geographic location
and density of population. The results of this study are in
cluded as a part of the overall project and set out in
Appendix A.
IV. DISCUSSION
The implications found in the Florida survey are many
and varied but it is significant that to a remarkable extent
they verify and coincide with the conclusions and observa
tions set forth in the book by Mr. Harry S. Ashmore, 1 ‘ The
Negro and the Schools” . The book is the result of an
exhaustive research study sponsored by the Ford Foun
dation for the Advancement of Education of the problem
of segregation in the south as the title implies.
34
For example, Mr. Ashmore states (page 81, “ The Negro
and the Schools):
“ The most important factor in integration of the
public schools in the non-South, finally, is community
attitudes. It is axiomatic that separate schools can he
merged only with great difficulty, if at all, when a great
majority of the citizens who support them are actively
opposed to the move. (Italics supplied) No other
public activity is so closely identified with local mores.
Interest in the schools is universal, and it is an interest
that directly involves not only the tax-payer but his
family, and therefore his emotions. Those who are in
different to all other community affairs tend to take a
proprietary interest in the schools their children at
tend, or will attend, or have attended. State influence
in public education has grown in recent years in pro
portion to the increase in state aid, but state policies
rarely are so important as local forces in the shaping
of public educational policies and practices. . . .
“ The most meticulous house-to-house poll in any
American community with a sizeable Negro population
would doubtless turn up a negative response to a pro
posal to integrate the separate public schools. In the
case of the whites this might reflect deep-seated race
prejudice, or it might be no more than the normal,
instinctive resistance to any marked change in the ac
customed patterns of everyday living. In many cases
the basis of objection might be the demonstrable fact
that the great majority of American Negroes are still
slum-dwellers; many a parent who proudly considers
himself wholly tolerant in racial matters will object
to having his child associate with classmates of inferior
economic and social background. It is probable that
some resistance to integration would even be recorded
among Negroes, who might respond negatively out of
simple fear of the unknown, or the desire to protect
their children against possible overt discrimination by
white classmates or teachers. The great problem for
schoolmen who have been moved to consider integration
by their own convictions, or by the prodding of higher
authority, has been to determine whether the passive
35
resistance which they can readily sense will be trans
lated into active resistance once the issue is drawn.
“ In any event the superintendent who is called to
take his school system from segregation to integration
must be prepared to function as a ‘‘social engineer’
(Italics supplied). He will deal on a mass scale with
delicate problems of human relationships involving
not only pupils and teachers but the community at
large.
“ These case studies demonstrate that wherever there
has been an active and well-planned program to ‘ sell’
integration to the community at large it has succeeded
-—but here again there is no way to measure just how
difficult the selling job really was. The most notable
examples are to be found in New Jersey, where a well-
staffed state agency made it its business to work closely
with those communities which had long practiced seg
regation and appeared resistant to the change required
by the new constitution. Although New Jersey’s Divi
sion Against Discrimination was armed with the power
to withhold state funds and even to bring misdemeanor
charges against school officials who refused to comply,
it accomplished the integration of 40 formerly segre
gated school districts without invoking these powers
in a single instance . . .
“ At the other end of the scale is Cairo, Illinois,
where the effort of the NAACP to force a reluctant
school board to accept the state ban on segregation
led to violence. Cairo in almost every aspect of its
community life, may be classified as a ‘ sick city,’
and there is no indication of anything approximating
an orderly interracial approach to the problem either
before or after integration became an explosive issue.
“ Between these two extremes lie most of the non-
Southern cities. They are, for the most part, beyond the
reach of any possible decision of the Supreme Court
in the test cases, for segregation in the schools of the
non-South is now rarely bolstered by law, and where
it is it would hardly miss the legal prop if it were struck
down. Desegregation is proceeding there at a rate
determined by the willingness of individual communi
36
ties to accept the change—or by the willingness of
community leaders to put the issue to the test.”
The same recognition of the problems involved in de
segregation and the obvious need for adequate time to give
local school administrators an opportunity to devise plans
and means of overcoming the problems is found in the
thinking of almost all authorities who have made a study
of the subject.
In discussing the Problems of Desegregation, Dr. Tru
man M. Pierce, Professor of Education, George Peabody
College for Teachers, and Director of the Cooperative Pro
gram in Educational Administration (Southern Region)
had this to say (see page 91 Journal of Public Law, Emory
University Law School, Vol. 3, Spring 1954, Number 1).
“ People respond well, in general, to the opportunity
of discussing with each other mutual concerns and in
terests. Controversial subjects discussed in the public
arena under skillful leadership can often be resolved
with a minimum of conflict. Effective public forums on
the community level provide experiences in self-govern
ment which can hardly be surpassed in satisfactions
which they bring and in progress they stimulate. How
ever, questions tinged with a high degree of emotion
alism offer ready-made opportunities for rabble rous-
ers and self-seekers to do serious harm. Consequently,
the calm, sane and relatively objective approach, which
can be expected from most of the substantial citizens
of the average community, is essential in the types of
discussion suggested. It is hardly necessary to point
out that such public forums should avoid emotional
binges and concentrate on the study of facts. The third
principle is that responsible and public spirited citizens
of both races should discuss together the facts con
cerning their school system and together make plans
for its improvement. This does not imply that the board
of education should be by-passed, for final policy must
be determined by this legally constituted body.
37
“ Ill-advised and hasty action, determined without
benefit of a period in which calm deliberation takes
place (Italics supplied) can do more harm than good.
Urgency need never take precedence over wisdom.
Piecemeal and stopgap policies are likely to prove un
sound and wasteful in the long run. Therefore, the
final principle which is suggested is that extensive
policy setting based on thorough study and careful
thought should provide the framewwk for a thorough
and comprehensive program of work extending as far
into the future as is practical.”
Dr. Howard W. Odum,1 in discussing “ An approach to
diagnosis and direction of the problem of Negro segregation
in the public schools of the South” says (Journal of Public
Law, Emory University Law School, Vol. 3, Spring 1954,
No. 1, page 34) :
“ Final assumptions must rest upon continuing ex
ploration, education, testing grounds for federal and
state programs, and for a working balance between
voluntaristic and coercive action. For, from special
studies, general observations, and recorded experi
ences, it must be clear that all our exhibits of evidence
appear as a sort of tug of war, now moving this way,
now that. The real definition of the situation comes
back again and again to inferences about issues, cul
tural values that are characteristic of the region, and to
exploration and survey, projection of trends and pre
dictions, and potentials that can be identified with
alternatives. In this dilemma it would seem that never
have the old classical, ‘ On the one hand and on the
other,’ and ‘ but also,’ appeared to carry such a multi
tude of dichotomies, paired contradictions, major pre
mises assumed, ‘ ands,’ ‘ ors,’ and ‘ buts,’ in the loom of
interaction processes. And rarely ever have we run
across so many generalizations based upon so little
basic research or tested observations. All of this is
1. Professor of Sociology, University of North Carolina; past
president of the American Sociological Society; editor, Social
Forces; author, American Sociology (1951) and other hooks.
38
relevant not only to the elemental cataloguing of facts
and the appraisal of causal factors, but to the orienta
tion of value judgments and strategy priorities.”
Everyone concerned in the State of Florida with the
problems inherent in any attempt to desegregate schools,
whether he be a member of the legislature or a school official
cannot help but be aware that any change which is under
taken from the status quo must be made with at least the
passive approval of the people in the community who will be
affected by the change. Mr. Ashmore (The Negro and the
Schools, page 135) states:
“ Finally, there is the hard fact that integration in a
meaningful sense cannot he achieved by the mere phys
ical presence of children of two races in a single class
room. No public school is isolated from the community
that supports it, and if the very composition of its clas
ses is subject to deep-seated and sustained public dis
approval, it is hardly likely to foster the spirit of united
effort essential to learning. Even those who are dedi
cated to the proposition that the common good demands
the end of segregation in education cannot be unaware
that if the transition produces martyrs they will be the
young children who must bear the brunt of spiritual
conflict.”
39
D. Intangibles
In Education
This Court has recognized the validity and significance of
certain intangibles in education. Quoting from the Brown
decision it said “ In Sweatt v. Painter, supra, in finding that
a segregated law school for Negroes could not provide
them equal educational opportunities, this Court relied in
large part on ‘ those qualities which are incapable of ob
jective measurement but which make for greatness in a
law school’.
“ In McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents, supra, the
Court, in requiring that a Negro admitted to a white grad
uate school be treated like all other students, again resorted
to intangible considerations: ‘ . . . his ability to study, to
engage in discussions and exchange views with other stu
dents, and, in general, to learn his profession.’
‘ ‘ Such considerations apply with added force to children
in grade and high schools. To separate them from others
of similar age and qualifications solely because of their
race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in
the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a
way unlikely ever to be undone.”
The legislature of Florida was motivated by the same
consideration of “ intangibles” in education when it en
acted Section 242.46, Florida Statutes. This law prohibits
secret societies including fraternities and sororities in the
public schools. The legislature and school officials recog
nized that in some instances fraternities generated feelings
41
of snobbishness on the part of the members and feelings of
inferiority on the part of those not invited to join. It was
considered that these feelings might in the words of the
court “ affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever
to be undone.”
We believe that this Court should recognize the validity
and significance in education of other “ intangible consid
erations” which may result from a precipitate attempt to
compel desegregated schools in all areas of Florida. It is
obvious that children reflect in their attitudes much of the
same deep-seated prejudices and antagonisms felt by their
parents. In the many areas, of Florida where these feelings
are known to exist no school administrator could compel
an immediate desegregation without the certain knowledge
that he was placing the children in a situation which could
only result in generating feelings of hatred, inferiority and
bias which would “ affect their hearts and minds in a way
unlikely ever to be undone.”
42
E. Reason for Hope
There is some reason to believe that segregated schools
can be ended in Florida in an equitable manner without de
stroying the school system itself. But there is no reason
to believe that this can be accomplished hurriedly or through
the legal coercion of school officials who would thus find
themselves caught in the impossible dilemma of confronting
on the one hand the irresistible force of a judicial edict
which must be obeyed and on the other hand the immovable
object of public opinion which cannot be altered. The
only hope for a solution is for this Court to restrain the
use of coercive measures where necessary until the hard
core of public opinion has softened to the extent that there
can be at least some measure of acceptance on the part of a
majority of the people.
This recognition of the need for time and tact and wis
dom in bringing about a true realization of the goal set
by this Court, is shared by leaders of both the white and
Negro races in Florida.
Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, founder of Bethune-Cook-
man College at Daytona Beach, Florida, and a recognized
leader of the Negro people throughout the nation for many
years, stated in a press release soon after the announcement
of this Court’s decree in the Brown case:
“ . .. The High Tribunal has put a legal foundation un
der a belief many of us have long held and which is
clearly and concisely stated in the most basic Ameri
can ideal, ‘All men are created equal.’
43
“ In quietness and patience, people of culture receive
this news, realizing the inevitable has at last come
about. They also realize, however, that the absorption
into our daily life of this new decision—the putting
of it into practice—must represent an organic cul
tural assimilation which, like all social processes, will
take time. But eventually the wrongs and mistakes of
history are righted and remedied and inhumanities are
rectified......... Let us enter into this integration calmly,
with good judgment. Let us give and take, working
out together the best possible means we can put into
action so that there may be peace and understanding,
and, may I say, the spirit of brotherhood.
“ There is much for the Negro to do as well as the white.
We must use tact and wisdom. It will take conferences,
thinking and planning and working side by side. More
largely than is realized, we are good, loyal, American
citizens. And whether we be north, east, south or west,
we shall put forth every effort to meet the requirements
of our new status.”
There is reason to believe that given the opportunity for
voluntary local action and sufficient time an effort will be
made on the part of educational leaders of both races in
Florida to work together to achieve the goal set by the
Court.
United States Senator Spessard L. Holland of Florida,
speaking of desegregation, said in a press interview (Tampa
Tribune, August 28, 1954, page 1):
“ We cannot spend all our time in vain regrets, but
rather time must be spent in trying, as apparently the
State Cabinet has been doing along with officials and
educators of both races at the local level, to learn how
to bring it about.”
On July 15 and 16, 1954, the Continuing Educational
Council of Florida met in Tallahassee to consider the prob
lem of desegregation. This Council is composed of repre
sentatives from virtually all civic, labor, veteran and edu
44
cational organizations in the state. Seventy members of
the Council were present at the Tallahassee meeting and
the future course of Florida schools in the light of the
Court’s decision in the Brown case was discussed for two
days. At the end of its deliberations the Council adopted
the following motion:
“ Based on information and reports at this time, the
Council joins with the request of the State Cabinet,
heretofore made, whereby the Attorney General of
Florida take every step necessary to prepare and file
a brief which Florida and several other states have
been invited to submit when consideration is given this
October to the ‘when’ and ‘ how’ provisions of the
Court’s judgment in the recent decision holding segre
gation unconstitutional. It now appears that this brief
should emphasize among other things the following:
1. The maximum time possible should be granted the
states affected. 2. Compliance with regard to time
should be on a local basis; the time requirement be
cause of mores and conditions will vary within coun
ties of each state. 3. Enforcement provisions of the
judgment’s requirements should be left to the Courts
of first instance.”
Additional agreements which were reached by a large
majority of the Council in discussion of the Supreme Court
decision on segregation were as follows:
1. “ The public school system of Florida should be
maintained and improved. Nothing should be done
which will destroy these schools or cause them to retro
gress in any way.”
2. “ The citizens of Florida will wish to abide by the
laws of our nation, but time for necessary adjustments
is essential if serious problems are to be avoided.”
3. “ The problems of adjustment are different in each
county and in various communities within each county.
Besponsibility for solution of these problems rests
with the citizens and authorities within these local
areas. ’ ’
45
4. “ A committee from the Continuing Educational
Council, with outside representation as well, is to he
appointed. Its function is to suggest multiple plans
by which desegregation may be implemented. Among
the ideas developed would be the suggestion that local
groups of white and Negro citizens make careful ap
praisal of existing conditions with the idea of pro
ceeding gradually and in an orderly manner toward
compliance with our National Constitution.”
5. “ A committee of nine representatives from the Con
tinuing Educational Council is to meet with a repre
sentative group of State Negro leaders for the purpose
of developing a joint statement to serve as a guide to
both races in working out the problems ahead.”
On July 30th, 1954, fifty representative Florida Negro
leaders met at Edward Waters College in Jacksonville to
study the problem of integration of Florida schools. As a
result of this meeting a committee of nine was selected to
meet with a similar committee of the Continuing Educa
tional Council of Florida for the purpose of studying ways
and means of implementing the Supreme Court’s decision
in Florida.
On September 10, 1954, a committee representing the
Continuing Educational Council, and a committee repre
senting the Leadership Conference, a recently convened
meeting of Negro leaders, met in Tallahassee to consider
jointly some of the problems posed by the recent Supreme
Court decision that segregation in the public schools is
unconstitutional.
After lengthy consideration and frank discussions of the
various viewpoints of both whites and Negroes, the joint
committees agreed upon the following motion:
“ 1. THAT, in a democratic society, public education is
of paramount importance;
THAT the State of Florida has made significant gains
46
in. recent years in the quality of its educational pro
gram and in the educational opportunities for all the
youth of the State;
THAT the State of Florida cannot afford the educa
tional or economic loss which would occur if we per
mitted a disruption of this program;
THEREFORE, we believe that we must maintain and
support a strong system of public education for all the
youths of the State and that the citizens of Florida in
their local contacts, through constant education and
study, should work for the general education of all
the people as prescribed by the laws of our State and
Nation.
2. THAT we endorse the filing of the proposed brief by
the Attorney General for the purpose of preserving the
system of public education in the State of Florida when
a final interpretation has been rendered by the Supreme
Court.
3. THAT we urge this Committee to continue to work
on the processes necessary for ultimate compliance with
the law;
THAT we encourage the organization of similar groups
at the local level, i.e., school community by school com
munity, to work toward the same objectives.”
The motion was approved unanimously.
The Lakeland Ledger in an editorial August 29,1954 said:
“ In his annual speech to his home folk in Bartow on
Friday, Senator Holland took occasion to talk about
abolition of segregation in public schools . . .
“ That attitude is the only one with which the problem
now at hand can be solved, and it is the attitude of all
clear thinking citizens in the South.
“ If the process is not rushed, there will be a good
chance of making the adjustment harmoniously over
a period of years.
“ If forces in the North that are unfamiliar with con-
47
ditions in the South insist upon rushing matters, there
is certain to be harmful friction.
“ The level-headed view such as that expressed by
Senator Holland must prevail.”
The Tampa Morning Tribune in an editorial August 26,
1954, said:
“ In the brief which he is preparing to submit to the
Supreme Court by October 1, Attorney General Ervin
asks the court to go slow in ordering actual compliance
with its edict of May 17 outlawing segregation. Mr.
Ervin said:
‘My purpose in filing the brief is to try to show the
court that Florida, from practical considerations, is
not ready for desegregation immediately, but that if
it must come eventually, it should come only after a
reasonable period of time and then only on a county
to county or local basis pursuant to administrative de
terminations made by local school authorities. It is en
tirely possible that if the court will authorize this course
many of the situations will not be too difficult to solve,
given time to work them out.’
“ That, in our view, is sound sense and should appeal
to the judgment of the high court. It is apparent that
a change in the existing order can be effected only
through careful and patient effort, on a local basis.
Also it may prove necessary to have action by the
Florida Legislature to properly implement the change.
The essential issue is the dividing line between federal
and state authority.”
The St. Petersburg Times of August 27, 1954, reported
a speech by County School Superintendent Floyd Christian
of Pinellas County to a meeting of Negro school teachers,
as follows:
“ Pinellas County Negro teachers were urged as leaders
of the community ‘ to work patiently, calmly and sen
sibly’ on the segregation problem so that all can con
48
tinue working together for the growth of the com
munity .. .
“ We live under the law and must follow the law. Riot
ing, hatred and action would wreck our school system
and is not the answer. Florida must never try to abolish
public education. Turning the schools into private in
stitutions is certainly not the answer. Any such action
would prove disastrous to the quality of education and
in the end would be judged by the Supreme Court as
being an effort to circumvent the provisions of the
Constitution of the United States.
“ What I am saying is in my opinion Florida should
not try to circumvent the law. Any such action would
encourage an attitude of general disregard for law
and in the long run will only increase the difficulties
without contributing anything toward the solution of
the problem...
“ There is another reason why this problem will have
to be approached with education and understanding.
I don’t believe that here in the South, where you have
had separate schools for nearly a hundred years, that
an immediate court decision to stop it and integrate the
students can be done successfully. I don’t believe you
can legislate the people into doing this, they will have
to be led by a systematic plan of education and this, of
course, will take time. ’ ’
The Ft. Myers News-Press in an editorial August 28,
1954, said:
“ A number of Fort Myers citizens have received by
mail this week circular letters purporting to come from
the Ku Klux Klan which attempt to fan the flames of
racial intolerance over the school segregation issue and
make a bid for Klan recruits.
“ The letters enclose an application blank for mem
bership in the Klan returnable to an Orlando post office
box. Whether they represent a bona fide recruiting
drive by the Klan or just an effort of some crackpot
or promoter trying to cash in on the current anxiety
over prospective desegregation in the schools, the re
49
cipients have no way of knowing, although Orlando
always has been a hotbed of Ku Kluxism and the appli
cation blank probably is genuine.
“ There is nothing doubtful, however, about the hate
literature enclosed with the KKK circulars. The fat
envelopes—so bulky that most recipients had to pay an
extra three cents postage due—were crammed with
highly inflammatory articles against the Negro race
and slanders against various public officials and indi
viduals fit only for the sewer. In the delicate situation
which now confronts both whites and Negroes arising
from the Supreme Court anti-segregation ruling—a
situation that calls for all the calmness and clear think
ing that can be mustered—outpourings such as this are
not only unhelpful but dangerous. ’ ’
The Orlando Sentinel in an editorial August 19, 1954,
said:
“ As a result of a survey recently completed by an
interracial committee appointed by the attorney gen
eral, it has been made perfectly clear that even in Flor
ida many people of both groups are not ready to send
their children to the same school together, and that
law enforcement agencies are not prepared to enforce
such laws or to prevent the violence which would arise
under such circumstances.
“ The problem varies from community to community
just as it does from state to state and the difficulty in
creases in direct ratio to the number of Negroes present.
It would be a relatively simple matter to enforce de
segregation in a community where there would be only
one or two Negroes in a classroom, as would be the case
in most northern cities. It is not so simple where the
numbers of the two races are more nearly equal.
“ This happens to be the case in many of our smaller
north and west Florida towns, as well as in most of the
rural areas of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and
Mississippi. In some Florida cities, however, particu
larly in South Florida, there are relatively few Negroes
and the opposition to their admittance to white schools
is not so prevalent.
50
“ Clearly it would be unfair to expect public officials
to overcome the problems of integration all at the same
time without regard to the difficulties involved. The
Supreme Court should take cognizance of the inherent
differences among individuals as among communities
and leave the problem of when desegregation can safely
be accomplished to local authorities.”
The Miami Herald in an editorial of May 24, 1954, said:
“ Anticipating that the United States Supreme court
might end segregation in the schools, as it did last week,
Florida leaders have been quietly taking stock of the
state’s educational resources.
“ They recognized that the change, when it came, would
be the most momentous since the War Between the
States, and no family would escape its effects.
“ What this study showed was that Florida has made
more progress in Negro education, probably, than any
other state with segregation, and is in a better posi
tion to meet the challenge of the court ruling.”
These meetings and examples of editorial opinion may
appear insignificant but when considered in relation to the
fact that they took place in a State which still has three
counties where no Negroes have registered to vote (see
page 178, Appendix A), and whose peace officers are over
whelmingly opposed to desegregation in any form (see
Table 3, page 138, Appendix A), they should not be ignored.
We believe that any attempt to compel an immediate de
segregation in Florida schools would constitute a shock
treatment so drastic that any further efforts on the part
of these and similar groups would be promptly nullified.
Such efforts on the part of citizens’ committees of both
races can only take place as voluntary manifestations of
good citizenship. They cannot take place in an atmosphere
of fear and coercion.
51
F. Regional
Variations
One of the most important factors which has emerged
from our study of the segregation problem in Florida is the
clear indication of marked regional variations in the in
tensity of the feelings of the people.
The State of Florida is unlike other Southern states in
one significant respect. Geographically it is large and
sprawled out over an area of a thousand miles extending
from Pensacola in West Florida to Key West on the south
ernmost tip.
Between these two extremes can be found startling dif
ferences in the social customs and traditions of the people
inhabiting the various counties.
Generally speaking, the influx of people from northern
states has tended to settle in South Florida and this has
altered to some extent the social pattern of South Florida
counties, whereas North and West Florida counties have
remained to a large extent populated by people of Florida
or Southern ancestry who cling to Southern traditions and
customs.
It must be emphasized, however, that this type of gen
eralization is apt to be misleading because counties and
communities may be found in South Florida where the de
gree of racial differences in feeling may be even more pro
nounced than in the northern part of the state.
These variations indicate that there may be communities
53
in Florida where conditions are snch that local school offi
cials would feel justified in proceeding within a relatively
short time to integrate the white and Negro schools. On
the other hand, there are many counties, notably those
having a large Negro population, where it is apparent that
any attempt to bring about immediate desegregation would
result in violence and bring the school system to a complete
standstill.
These variations in community attitudes and conditions
preclude the practicability of any overall, statewide de
tailed plan, time schedule or target date for desegregation
which might be evolved. We believe that whatever plan
and time schedule is adopted in each community must, if
it is to be workable, have been produced through the efforts
of the local school officials who understand the specific prob
lems involved and who must be willing to undertake to
make the plan work. We do not believe that the courts
should undertake to perform the functions of local school
boards and we do not believe that this Court should insist
on a plan of action which, in its efforts to guard the rights
of some, must necessarily forsake the rights of all others.
54
G. Discussion
In suggesting an affirmative answer to question 4B, we
have attempted to take into consideration the wide range
and complexity of the problem. We know that from its
common-sense practical aspects a successful implementation
requires the blending of the best administrative and judicial
techniques over a reasonable period of time which will vary
in each school district or county, dependent upon the cir
cumstances. Admitted that segregation has been held un
constitutional as a class discrimination, that does not mean
that transition to the actuality of non-segregated educa
tion can be accomplished immediately or without planning
and preparation and administrative actions.
The public welfare of the segregated states is involved
in the transition along with administrative details. It would
be unwise not to permit the exercise of reasonable regula
tions under the police power during the transitional period
in the interest of peace in the community and good order
and safety in the schools. The white people of the segregated
states have too long relied upon the doctrines expressed in
Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U. 8 . 537, 16 8 . Ct. 1138, 41 L. Ed.
256 (1896) to be expected to accept complacently the new
order. Our survey amply bears this out.
Therefore, we most earnestly and sincerely urge the
Court to permit that degree of latitude necessary to the
segregated states and the county school boards therein
to bring about an effective gradual adjustment to inte
gration so as to soften and ameliorate the transition
and preserve peace and order in the communities and the
55
schools in the process and that these officials be accorded
the discretion to make the transition successfully and
effectively in good time and good order.
Even though it has been held the Negro child should not
be discriminated against in his public education nor unduly
postponed in his enjoyment of it, surely that right is not so
absolute, so compelling in its nature, that reasonable admin
istrative procedures necessary for the public welfare can
not be asserted during the transition period. If there ever
was a condition which needs elasticity in the application
of constitutional guaranties to meet it, certainly it is the
transition period from the segregated school system to the
non-segregated school system in the various schools of the
South.
By a concurrent application of prudent and sensible ad
ministrative and judicial techniques the problem may even
tually be solved. But the Court should always allow the
states involved and their officials, both state and local, the
opportunity to first work out the problem and accord to
their determinations a wide degree of discretion and lati
tude in the integration. The Court has said in Mmersville
School District v. Gobitis, 310 U. S. 586, 60 S. Ct. 1010, 84
L. Ed. 1375, (1940), it would not make itself the school board
of the country. That does not mean the Court, beginning
with the court of first instance, would not always reserve
the judicial authority to review and probe. It would ex
ercise this authority where in proper cases duly brought
it was alleged the county school board had not made the
requisite effort in good faith to desegregate in line with
appropriate criteria or factors which we believe the Court
will outline in its implementation decision. Parenthetically
and most earnestly, we urge the Court to accept the factors
we have outlined, believing them to be essential to suc
cessful implementation in the light of problems involved.
56
Part Two
Specific Suggestions
to the Court in
Formulating a Decree
57
Introductory Note
We do not suggest delay merely for the sake of delay
itself. We do suggest that sufficient time be permitted for
a gradual effective adjustment to desegregated schools to
take place in each community.
The period of time required will vary in each community
dependent upon its administrative problems and the attitude
of its people. The length of this period of transition in each
instance can only be determined by the local school authori
ties subject to the review of the courts of first instance
when called upon to consider specific suits brought because
of a disagreement with the school authorities over admis
sion policies.
We do not believe that any court should at any time
attempt to peremptorily compel school officials to integrate
schools in a community when it is apparent that such action
will create hostility and resentment to such a degree that
the schools cannot be operated in an orderly manner.
We believe that any attempt to establish an overall
specific plan for desegregation by the United States Su
preme Court as a result of recommendations of a special
master would be totally unrealistic and would in effect place
this Court in the position of attempting to function as the
county school board of the counties affected.
We believe that the courts of first instance should also
avoid any attempt to exercise administrative powers nor
mally delegated to school officials. They should not be
59
required to spell out in specific detail the means by which
they would require a school district to comply with the
new requirements of the law. Bather, let them leave to
responsible local school authorities the task of drafting-
plans for transition, and then apply to each such plan pre
sented in the course of litigation the test of good faith.
Widespread white hostility to immediate, enforced inte
gration of the public schools is a fact of life in Florida, and
is just as real a factor in considering the future of public
education as school finance, school construction or any other.
We ask only this; that school officials not be deprived of
the right to recognize local factors related to the welfare of
public schools and to exercise the same discretion in dealing
with the feelings of the people regarding segregation that
they would exercise in dealing with any other local condition
or problem that directly affected the proper operation of the
public schools.
We urge, therefore, that the Supreme Court remand
these cases to the courts of first instance—in all but one
of these cases federal district courts—and that it vest in
the courts of first instance broad discretionary powers to
determine as findings of fact (1) what should be a reason
able time for transition in any given case, and (2) whether
or not specific plans for compliance with the Court’s general
directive prepared by responsible local school officials
measure up to the broad test of good faith.
We offer the following specific suggestions for the con
sideration of the Court in the formulation of its decree:
60
Specific Suggestions
I, It is suggested that the United States Supreme Court
in its implementation decision or decree adopt the pro
cedure contemplated in questions 4 (b) and 5 (d) as stated
in the footnote in the Brown decision:
“ 4 (b) may this Court, in the exercise of its equity
powers, permit an effective gradual adjustment to be
brought about from existing segregated systems to a
system not based on color distinctions ! ’ ’
“ 5 (d) should this Court remand to the courts of
first instance with directions to frame decrees in these
cases, and if so, what general directions should the
decrees of this Court include and what procedures
should the courts of first instance follow in arriving
at the specific terms of more detailed decrees!” II.
II. It is suggested that the United States Supreme Court
in its implementation decision in the Brown case direct that
the courts of first instance consider all suits brought to gain
admittance to a specific school and claiming discrimina
tion because of color, in accord with the following general
directions:
A. The petitioner must affirmatively show;
(1) That admission to the school in question was re
quested by the petitioner within a reasonable time
before the beginning of the school term.
(2) That the petitioner resides within the limits set
by normal geographic school districting of the school
he seeks to enter.
61
(3) That admission to said school was denied by
the local school authorities and that all other admin
istrative remedies such as appeal to the State Board
of Education (where provided by law) have been
exhausted.
B. It is suggested that the court of first instance con
duct hearings, take testimony, determine the merits
of the petition and the answer thereto and the equitable
reasons which may exist which would justify the school
authorities in refusing to approve the petitioner’s ap
plication for admission to the school in question. In
conducting such proceedings, the court should consider:
(1) Evidence as to whether the state school authori
ties and legislature have had a reasonable amount
of time to reorganize the legal provisions of the
state school structure to comply with the Brown
decision.
(2) Evidence of good faith on the part of the school
authorities in seeking to comply with the Brown de
cision and integrate the public schools. Such evi
dence should include:
(a) Efforts previously made and in progress to
overcome practical, administrative problems en
countered in integrating schools as proclaimed by
this Court.
(b) Efforts previously made and in progress to
promote citizens’ educational committees and in
terracial committees for the purpose of improving
racial relations in the community and avoiding
racial antagonisms in the schools. 3 4
(3) Evidence and recommendations submitted by in
terracial citizens’ committees which may be organ
ized pursuant to law for the purpose of assisting the
local school authorities, or evidence and recommen
dations submitted by impartial survey and fact
finding teams which may be created by the State
Board of Education pursuant to its administrative
powers.
(4) Evidence of existing administrative problems
62
of integration which have not as yet been solved and
which would jeopardize the efficient operation of the
school system if the petitioner’s application for ad
mission was granted immediately.
(5) Evidence of such a strong degree of sincere op
position and sustained hostility on the part of the
public to the granting of the petitioner’s applica
tion, as to give the school authorities reasonable
grounds to believe that immediate approval of the
petitioner’s application would cause a disruption of
the school system or create emotional responses
among the children which would seriously interfere
with their education. Such evidence should be care
fully analyzed by the court to determine its validity
and all evidence of this nature which might appear
to be simulated or fabricated for the purpose of con
tinuing segregated schools in the community should
be rejected.
(6) Evidence that the petitioner’s application was
made in good faith and not for capricious reasons.
Such evidence should demonstrate:
(a) That the petitioner personally feels that he
would be handicapped in his education, either be
cause of lack of school plant facilities or psycho
logical or sociological reasons if his application for
admission is denied.
(b) That the petitioner is not motivated in his ap
plication solely by a desire for the advancement
of a racial group on economic, social or political
grounds, as distinguished from his personal legal
right to equality in public school education as
guaranteed by the 14th Amendment. This distinc
tion should be carefully drawn. This Court has
ruled that segregated schools are forbidden by the
14th Amendment because they may deprive the
Negro of an equal opportunity in acquiring an edu
cation. During the process of desegregating schools
it should always be kept in mind that the sole legal
purpose of public schools is to educate. The
public school system has never been permitted
under Florida law to extend its activities into the
63
field of public welfare or related purposes. It is
not the purpose or within the legal authority of
the Florida public school system to provide a di
rect means of improving the social, political or
economic status of any group or individual except
as such improvement may in time result from edu
cation itself. Public schools are not intended to
provide experiments in race relations or to use
children as sociological guinea pigs in the solution
of problems in many walks of life which adults
have not been able to solve by other means.
III. It is suggested that based upon the testimony and
evidence submitted, the court of first instance may either:
(A) Order that the petitioner’s application for admis
sion to the school in question be granted forthwith, if
it appears that the petition was made in good faith
and that there exist no reasonable grounds for delay
on the part of the school board in approving the peti
tioner’s application for admission.
(B) Dismiss the petition if it appears that it was not
made in good faith and well founded in law according
to the interpretation of the 14th Amendment by this
court in the Brown case.
(0) Order the school authorities to hold the petition
er’s application in abeyance for a reasonable period of
time to allow for further adjustment to a single school
system if necessary, with directions to the school au
thorities to proceed to overcome as soon as possible
the practical or psychological and sociological factors
which prevent an immediate approval of the peti
tioner’s application.
If the latter alternative is found to be necessary by
the court it should include in its order the following: 1
(1) Fix a time for rehearing of the petitioner’s appli
cation by the court within a stated reasonable time
at which hearing additional testimony and evidence
will be received and the circumstances justifying
delay in approving the petitioner’s application for
64
admission will be re-evaluated by the court in the
light of altered conditions and a supplemental order
entered in the case in accord with the findings of the
court.
(2) Direct the school authorities to formulate and
submit to the court within a reasonable time a plan
designed to overcome the practical and psychological
obstacles which tend to prevent an immediate inte
gration of the schools under their jurisdiction. The
effectiveness of the plan submitted and the efforts
which the school authorities have made in good faith
to carry it out should be considered by the court on
subsequent rehearing of the case in determining
whether additional delay is justified in granting the
petitioner’s application for admission.
65
Part Three
Legal Authority of the Gourt to Per
mit a Period of Gradual Adjustment
and Broad Powers of Administrative
Discretion on the Part of Local School
Authorities.
67
A. Judicial Cases
Permitting Time
Many decisions of the United States Supreme Court and
the State Supreme Courts have recognized the necessity for
granting a reasonable time in which to comply with the
decree of the Court to avoid hardship or injury to public
or private interests.
The present decision requires more consideration of the
problem of time and adjustment than in the earlier cases
since it is apparent that it involves a vast problem, of human
engineering, as contrasted to previous delays for adjust
ment granted in anti-trust cases, nuisance cases, and similar
cases where economic problems of great magnitude con
fronted the courts.
I. United States v. American Tobacco Co., 221 U. S. 106,
31 S. Ct. 632, 55 L. Ed. 663 (1911). Recognizing the need
for adjustment to its remedies in dealing with the unlawful
combinations under the Sherman Anti-Tfust Act, the Court,
in order to avoid and mitigate possible injury to the interest
of the general public, decreed the commercial combination
to be illegal; and directed the Court below to hear the
parties, ascertain, and determine a plan or method of dis
solution, and to recreate a condition in harmony in law.
To accomplish this, the Court granted a reasonable period
(8 months) to effectuate its decree, while prohibiting any en
largement of the corporation’s monopoly during this period.
Briefly stated, six months, with a possible extension of
69
sixty days, was granted in which to work out a plan for
dissolving a combination found to control the tobacco in
dustry in violation of the Anti-Trust Act of July 2, 1890
(26 State at L. 209, Ch. 647, TJSC Title 15, s i), and creating
out of the elements composing it a condition which would
not be repugnant to the prohibitions of the Act.
II. In Standard Oil Co. v. U. S., 221 U.S. 1, 31 S. Ct.
502, 55 L. Ed. 619 (1910), the Court again recognized the
need for time in putting into effect its decision. In this
case Chief Justice White stated that the magnitude of the
interests involved and their complexity required that six
months be given in which to execute a decree for the dis
solution of a holding company controlling the oil industry
in violation of the Anti-Trust Act of July 2, 1890, and for
the transfer back to the stockholders of the subsidiary cor
porations of the stock which had been turned over to the
holding company in exchange for its own stock.
In the area of nuisance litigation, the Supreme Court has
often recognized the need for a period of gradual transition
in order to effectuate decisions. In the Case of New Jersey
V. New York, 283 U. S. 473, 75 L. Ed. 1176, 51 S. Ct. 519,
(1931), the State of New Jersey sued New York City in
the United States Supreme Court for an injunction restrict
ing the dumping of New York City’s garbage into the ocean
off the New Jersey eoast. Injunction was granted in the
opinion by Butler, J., affirming a special master’s report.
A decree was entered, declaring that the plaintiff State of
New Jersey was entitled to an injunction as sought in the
complaint; but that before (italics supplied) an injunc
tion was issued, a reasonable time would be accorded to the
defendant, within which to carry into effect its proposed
plan for the erection and operation of incinerators to
destroy the waste materials which were being dumped off
the New Jersey coast, or to provide other means to be
approved by the decree for the disposal of such materials.
70
Reasonable time was a question of fact to be decided
upon by the same special master, after hearing and evalu
ating all witnesses’ testimonies from each party or witnes
ses which the master may select to be heard. The master was
then to report to the court his findings and a form of decree.
On a rehearing of the case on December 7, 1931, (284 U. 8.
585, 75 L. Ed. 506, 52 8. Ct. 120) a decree was entered by
the Supreme Court prohibiting any further dumping of
refuse, etc., into the ocean off the coast of New Jersey.
Said decree was to become effective on and after June 1,
1933, and progress reports were to be filed with the clerk
of the Supreme Court on April 1 and October 1 of each
year beginning April t, 1932, setting forth the progress
made in the construction of incinerator plants, etc., for the
final disposition of garbage and refuse, and also the amount
of material dumped at sea during the periods covered by
such reports.
Provision was also made in the decree that upon the re
ceipt of said reports, and on due notice to the other party,
either party to the suit could apply to the Court for such
action or relief with respect to the time allowed for the con
struction, or method of operation of the proposed incinera
tor plants, or other means of final disposition of garbage,
etc., as may be deemed appropriate. In other words, the
flexibility of the decree permitted frequent re-evaluation to
promote the greatest justice to all parties.
On May 29,1933 (289 U. 8. 712) Mr. Chief Justice Hughes
announced a new order, based on the failure of New York
City to comply with the decree of December 7, 1931. The
defendant asked that the time for taking effect of the in
junction be extended from June 1, 1933 to April 1, 1934.
It was ordered that these applications be heard on Novem
ber 6,1933, that E. K. Cambell be appointed Special Master,
empowered to hear witnesses, issue subpoenas, take evi
dence offered by interested parties, and also such as he
may deem necessary to show:
71
(A) What shall have been done by defendant city,
up to September 15, 1933, and the time reasonably re
quired to enable it to comply with the decree.
(B) The amounts spent by the plaintiff New Jersey
to prevent harm to its beaches, waters, etc., subsequent
to June 1, 1933, and the damages sustained by them as
a result of New York’s failure to comply with the de
cree.
The Special Master’s findings were subject to considera
tion, revision, or approval by the Court.
On December 9, 1935 (296 II. 8. 259, 80 L. Ed. 214, 56
8. Gt. 188), Mr. Justice Butler announced a new decree
modifying in effect the decree of December 4, 1933. The
latter decree enjoined New York City from dumping refuse
off the New Jersey coast, stipulating a five thousand dollars
($5,000.00) a day penalty for failure to comply. On October
7, 1935, New York City sought a modification of the decree,
and asked for a petition to have New Jersey show cause
why a ruling could not be made to the effect that ten miles
(10) off shore dumping is satisfactory as to non-floating
material, or, in the alternative, why the Court should not
modify its decree so as to permit the defendant to dump
non-floating sewage as aforesaid.
Defendant’s motion for leave to file was granted.
It should be noted that the original decree was handed
down in 1931 and continued modification took place for some
four (4) years in order to effectuate the original decree.
Recognition for additional time was given each time the
case reappeared before the Court. III.
III. The Supreme Court again recognized the need for a
calm period of gradual transition to effectuate its decree,
in the Gaseous Nuisance Cases in which it took some nine
(9) years to implement its decrees.
72
The first case was that of Georgia v. Tennessee Copper
Co., 206 U.S. 230, 51 L. Ed, 1038, 27 8 . Ct. 618 (1907).
In this case the State of Georgia sought to enjoin the de
fendant copper companies from discharging noxious gases
from their works in Tennessee over the plaintiff’s territory.
The State alleged that such discharges were destroying
entire forest, orchard, and crop lands, and that irreparable
injuries were being done and threatened in five counties of
Georgia. A preliminary injunction was denied, but, as there
were grounds to fear that great and irreparable damage
might be done, an early day was fixed for the final hearing,
and the parties were given leave, if so minded, to try the
cases on affidavits. Mr. Justice Holmes held that if the
State of Georgia adhered to its determination, there was
no alternative to issuing an injunction, after allowing a
reasonable time for the defendants to complete the struc
tures then being built, and efforts the companies were mak
ing to stop the flow of fumes and gases into Georgia. The
plaintiff Georgia was permitted to submit a form of decree
on the coming in of the Court in the following October.
Eight (8) years later, on May 10, 1915, the Supreme
Court again heard the same case, in the State of Georgia
v. Tennessee Copper Co. and DucMown Sulphur, Copper,
& Iron Co., Ltd., 237 U.S. 474, 59 L. Ed. 1054, 35 S. Ct. 631
(1915).
This case is a continuation of the earlier one, supra
(1907), in regard to the nuisance of gaseous fumes harming
the property within the State of Georgia. In the earlier case,
hope was entertained that some practical method of sub
duing the noxious fumes could be devised and by consent,
the time for entering a final decree was enlarged. Both
companies installed purifying devices. The original de
fendant, Tennessee Copper and Georgia, entered into a
stipulation whereby the former undertook annually to
supply a fund to compensate those injured by fumes from
73
its works, to conduct its plant subject to inspection in speci
fied ways, and between April 10 and October 1, not to
“ operate more green ore furnaces than it finds necessary to
permit of operating its sulphuric acid plant at its normal
full capacity.” The State of Georgia agreed to refrain
from asking for an injunction prior to October, 1916, if
the stipulation was fully observed. Ducktown Company and
the State were unable to agree, and in February, 1914,
the latter moved for a decree according a perpetual in
junction. Consideration of the matter was postponed upon
representation that conditions had materially changed since
1907, and leave was granted to present additional testimony
“ to relate solely to the changed conditions,” if any, which
may have arisen since the case was then decided. A decree
was granted restraining the Ducktown Company from con
tinuing to operate its plant other than upon the terms and
conditions set out by the Court (Decree set forth in 237 U.S.
678, 59 L. Ed. 1173, 35 8. Ct. 752 (1915)).
A new decree was issued April 3,1916 in 240 U. 8. 650, 60
L. Ed. 846, 36 S. Ct. 465, (1916). This decree modified the
former decrees as to the escapement of fumes, as to records
to be kept in regard thereto, and also as to expense of in
spection and division of costs.
The three (3) cases, dealing with the problem of escaping
nuisances, cover a span of nine (9) years (from 1907 to
1916). It illustrates how long a period is required to adjust
to incorporeal changes and strongly suggests that human
changes obviously require greater periods, since human
emotions are not as easily controlled as are gaseous mate
rials from sulphur and copper plants. Recognition of the
need of calm planning in good faith to reconcile difficult
problems has often been illustrated by the Court in con
texts of economic and social changes as a result of its
decisions.
74
IV. In People of the State of New York v. State of New
Jersey and Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioners, 256
U.S. 296, 65 L. Ed. 937, 41 S. Ct. 492 (1921), at page 313,
Mr. Justice Clarke, in refusing to grant injunction relief
against the operation of sewerage disposal by New Jersey
into New York Harbor, wisely stated:
“ We cannot withhold the suggestion, inspired by the
consideration of this case, that the grave problem of
sewage disposal presented by the large and growing
populations living on the shores of New York Bay is
one more likely to be wisely solved by cooperative study
and by conference and mutual concession on the part
of Representatives of the States so vitally interested
in it than by proceedings in any Court however con
stituted. ’ ’
This quotation strongly suggests the need for time to
work out these difficult intangible relations, in an atmos
phere of cooperation and reason, rather than a tremendous
disruption of social and economic conditions. V.
V. In the case of Martin Bldg. Co. v. Imperial Laundry
Co., 220 Ala. 90,124 So. 82, the Supreme Court of Alabama
recognized the need for time in the use of injunctive
relief. In a suit by the owner of an office building to en
join a laundry from emitting smoke over the complain
ant’s premises, the basis of the suit was the discomfort to
the building’s tenants, endangering of their health, and the
resulting loss of tenants. The question of the abatement of
the nuisance by improved technological laundry methods
had to be further considered before the Court would grant
or refuse injunctive relief, in view of suggested means of
reducing amount of smoke by use of stokers. This acted to
delay the force of the injunctive relief sought.
75
B. Adm inistrative Discretion
Cases
The use of administrative discretion and its limits have
often been spelled out by the Court in the areas of adminis
trative agencies. The Court has consistently emphasized
that supervision and discretion should lie with the adminis
trative agencies in the conducting of their functons as
economic and political governing hoards. Such emphasis is
closely related to the administrative discretion which should
exist in school boards, also.
I. In United States v. Paramount Pictures, 334 U. S. 131,
92 L. Ed. 1260, 68 S. Ct. 915, (1948), Mr. Justice Douglas
reviewed a decree in an injunction suit by the United States
under the Sherman Act to eliminate or qualify certain busi
ness practices in the motion picture industry. A provision
in the decree that films be licensed on a competitive bidding
basis was eliminated by the Supreme Court as not likely to
bring about the desired end as involving too much judicial
supervision to make it effective. This elimination was held
to require reconsideration by the district court of its pro
hibition of the expansion of theatre holdings by distributors
and provisions for divesting existing holdings. The pro
priety of including in the decree a provision for voluntary
arbitration of questions arising thereunder was indicated,
and denial of applications for leave to intervene by persons
challenging the eliminated provision for competitive bid
ding was upheld.
77
Mr. Justice D ouglas was strongly opposed to the judiciary
adm inistrating industry, and favored voluntary arb itration :
A t page 163 he stated:
“ It would involve the ju d iciary in the adm inistration
o f intricate and detailed rules governing priority , per
iod o f clearance, length o f run, com petitive areas, rea
sonable return and the like. The system w ould be apt
to require as close a supervision as a continuous re
ceivership, unless the defendants were to be entrusted
w ith vast discretion. The jud iciary is unsuited to a f
fa irs o f business m anagem ent; and control through the
pow er o f contem pt is crude and clum sy and lacking in
the flex ib ility necessary to make continuous and de
tailed supervision effective .”
The im plications o f Mr. Justice D ou g las ’s opposition to
judicia l adm inistration o f intricate and detailed rules in the
econom ic field could readily apply to the social relationship
and problem s created by the recent holding in the Brown
case.
II. F urther evidence o f the broad discretion that was
perm itted by the Suprem e Court in adm inistrative agencies
is evidenced in the case o f Alabama Public Service Commis
sion v. Southern Railway Company, 341 U. S. 341, 95 L. Ed.
1002, 71 S. Ct. 762, (1951). A railroad, prohibited by state
law from discontinuing trains without perm ission o f the
state public service com m ission was denied such permission
on the ground that though the trains were being operated
at a loss there was a public need fo r the service. A lleging
that irreparable loss would result either from continued
operation o f the trains o r from incurring the penalty im
posed by state law fo r discontinuance without the commis
s ion ’s perm ission, the ra ilroad sought and obtained an in
junction in a federal district court against the enforcement
o f the statute.
The U. S. Suprem e Court, through Chief Justice Vinson,
78
reversed the district court, and held that the federal court’s
exercise of such jurisdiction should, on considerations of
comity, be withheld on the ground that the state law pro
vided for review of the commission’s order in the state
courts and for its stay pending such review.
Some persuasive language in support of state administra
tive discretion appears at pages 347-348:
“ The Alabama Commission, after a hearing held in the
area served, found a public need for the service. The
court below, hearing evidence de novo, found that no
public necessity exists in view of the increased use and
availability of motor transportation. We do not at
tempt to resolve these inconsistent findings of fact.
We take note, however, of the fact that a federal court
has been asked to intervene in resolving the essentially
local problem of balancing the loss to the railroad from
continued operation of trains . . . with public need for
that service.. . directly affected___” (Italics sup
plied).
More support to the finality of the discretion of the com
mission is found on page 348:
“ • . . and whatever the scope of review of commission
findings when an alleged denial of constitutional rights
is in issue, it is now settled that a utility has no right
tO' relitigate factual questions on the ground that con
stitutional rights are involved. New ¥ork v. United
States, 331 U.S. 284, 334-336 (1947)....” (Italics sup
plied)
More directly in point, at pages 349-350 is found the
following:
“ • • . as adequate state court review of an administra
tive order based upon predominantly local factors is
available to appellee intervention of a federal court is
not necessary for the protection of federal rights. Equi
table relief may be granted, only when the District
Court, in its sound discretion exercised with the ‘ scru
pulous regard for the rightful independence of state
79
governments winch, should at all times actuate the fed
eral courts, ’ is convinced that the asserted federal right
cannot be preserved except by granting the ‘ extraordi
nary relief of an injunction in the federal courts. ’ Con
sidering that ‘ few public interests have a higher claim
upon the discretion of a federal chancellor than the
avoidance of needless friction with state policies/ the
usual rule of comity must govern the exercise of equi
table jurisdiction by the District Court in this case.. . . ”
(Italics supplied)
And again at page 351, “ It is in the public interest
that federal courts of equity should exercise their
discretionary power to grant or withhold relief so as to
avoid needless obstruction of the domestic policy of
the states.. . . ”
III. Further evidence of the broad discretion permitted
by the Supreme Court to state administrative agencies is
found in the case of Burford v. Sun Oil Co., 319 U. S. 315,
87 L. Ed. 1424, 63 S. Ct. 1098 (1943). In this case the Sun Oil
Co. attacked the validity of an order of the Texas Railroad
Commission granting the petitioner Burford a permit to
drill oil wells on a small plot of land in the East Texas oil
fields. The U. S. District Court for the western district of
Texas dismissed the suit by the Company; the Circuit Court
of Appeals reversed the District Court. The Supreme Court
through Mr. Justice Black reversed the Circuit Court of
Appeals, and affirmed the District Court.
The Supreme Court held that a federal equity court may
properly decline to exercise its jurisdiction invoked because
of diversity' of citizenship of the parties and alleged in
fringement of constitutional rights; to determine the valid
ity of a state commission order, made under the authority
of a conservation statute, granting a permit to drill oil wells
on certain property, adjacent to lands owned by the com
plainant, where the state has provided a uniform method
for the formation of policy and determination of cases by
80
the commission and the state courts; and where the judicial
review of the commission’s decisions in the state courts is
expeditious and adequate; and where intervention by the
lower federal courts is likely to cause delay and conflicting
interpretation of the state law, dangerous to the success of
state domestic policies.
The Court, at page 320, explicitly states:
“ The primary task of attempting adjustment of these
diverse interests is delegated to the Railroad Commis
sion, which Texas has vested with ‘ broad discretion’
in administering the law.”
The Court points out that the Texas courts have the
power of thorough judicial review of the decisions of the
Railroad Commisson; and that the Texas courts are work
ing partners with the Commission in the business of creating
a regulatory system for the oil industry. The Commission
is charged with principal responsibility for fact finding and
for policy making and the courts expressly disclaim the
administrative responsibility. On the other hand, orders
of the Commission are tested for “ reasonableness” by trial
de novo before the state court, and the Court may on oc
casion make a careful analysis of all the facts of the case
in reversing a Commission order. The state court may even
formulate new standards for the Commission’s adminis
trative practice, and suggest that the Commission adopt
them.
The Supreme Court recognized that the existence of prob
lems throughout the oil regulatory field creates a possibility
of serious delay which can injure the conservation program;
and that it may be necessary to stay federal action pending
authoritative determination of difficult state questions.
It recognized that questions of state regulation of the oil
industry so clearly involve basic problems of Texas policy
that equitable discretion should be exercised to give the
Texas courts the first opportunity to consider them.
81
IV Concrete evidence of the Supreme Court’s adher
ence to complete administrative discretion is found in the
case of Far Eastern Conference, United States Lines Co.,
States Marine Corporation, et at. v. United States and Fed
eral Maritime Board, 342, U. S. 570, 96 L. Ed. 576, 72 S. Ct.
492 (1952). The suit was brought by the government to en
join the dual rate system established by an association of
steamship companies known as the Far East Conference.
The companies never submitted the rates to the Federal
Maritime Board for approval, as provided for in §15 of the
Shipping Act (46 USC %814). The defense, that the issues
involved were of such a technical nature calling for the
application of administrative exercise as to make it im
proper to bypass the Board, was upheld by the Court
through Justice Frankfurter.
It was held that the administrative agencies should not
be bypassed by the Courts in cases raising issues of fact
not within the conventional experiences of judges or in
cases requiring the exercise of administrative discretion,
even though the facts, after they have been appraised by
specialized competence, serve as a premise for legal conse
quences to be judicially defined. V.
V. “ But the courtroom is not the arena for debating
issues of educational policy. It is not our province to choose
among competing considerations in the subtle process of
securing effective loyalty to the traditional ideals of de
mocracy, while respecting at the same time individual
idiosyncrasies among a people so diversified in social
origins and religious alliances. So to hold would in effect
make us the school hoard for the country.” MinersviMe
School District v. Gohitis, 310 U. S. 586, 60 S. Ct. 1010, 84
L. Ed. 1375 (1940), at 310 U. S. 598 (Italics supplied).
82
Parenthetically, the Court, in this case recognizes its
limitations in the abstract sciences, with this language at
page 597:
* ‘ The precise issue, then, for us to decide is whether
the legislatures of the various states and the authori
ties in a thousand counties and school districts of this
country are barred from determining the appropriate
ness of various means to evoke that unifying sentiment
without which there can ultimately be no liberties, civil
or religious. To stigmatize legislative judgment in pro
viding for this universal gesture of respect for the sym
bol of our national life in the setting of the common
school as a lawless inroad on that freedom of conscience
which the Constitution protects, would amount to no
less than the pronouncement of pedagogical and psy
chological dogma in a field where courts possess no
marked and certainly no controlling competence.”
Constitutional guarantees of personal liberty are not
always absolutes. Government has the right to maintain
public safety and good order.
Keeping the control of public education close to the local
people is perhaps the strangest tradition in American edu
cation. One of the predominant characteristics of American
education is the variation in local policies and procedures
in terms of unique local conditions. This is in sharp con
trast to the highly centralized national system of education
of other countries. VI.
VI. ‘ ‘ Civil liberties, as guaranteed by the Constitution,
imply the existence of an organized society maintaining
public order without which liberty itself would be lost in
the excesses of unrestrained abuses.” Cox v. New Hamp
shire, 312 U. S. 569, 61 8. Ct. 762, 85 L. Ed. 1049
(1941) at 312 U.8. 574.
83
VII. Speaking of the 14th Amendment, the U. S. Su
preme Court in Barbier v. Connolly, 113 U. 8. 27, 5 8. Ct.
357, 28 L. Ed. 923 (1885), said at page 31:
“ But neither the amendment—broad and compre
hensive as it is—nor any other amendment, was de
signed to interfere with the power of the State, some
times termed its police power, to prescribe regulations
to promote the health, peace, morals, education and
good order of the people . . (Italics supplied)
VIII. In Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co., 272 U. 8. 365, 47 8.
Ct. 114, 71 L. Ed. 303 (1926), it said at page 387:
“ Regulations, the wisdom, necessity, and validity of
which, as applied to existing conditions, are so apparent
that they are now uniformly sustained, a century ago,
or even a half century ago, probably would have been
rejected as arbitrary or oppressive . . . while the mean
ing of constitutional guaranties never varies, the scope
of their application must expand or contract to meet
new and different conditions which are constantly
coming within the field of their operation . . . Laws and
regulations must find their justification in some aspect
of the police power, asserted for the public welfare.”
84
C. Remarks
The aforesaid summary shows the wise recognition by the
Supreme Court in the past of the need for time in effecting
certain economic changes in our society in order to allow a
period of healthy adjustment in sensitive areas. The cases
also show a recognition of the need for adequate local dis
cretion in the same areas. This line of reasoning should be
applied to the even more sensitive area of desegregation
which presents a vast problem of human engineering to re
solve the social changes sought.
Samuel Gfompers, one of America’s greatest labor leaders
recognized this fact some years ago when he stated:
‘ ‘ One fact stands out in bold relief in history of
men’s attempts for betterment. That is that when com
pulsion is used, only resentment is aroused, and in the
end nothing is gained. Only through moral suasion and
appeal to men’s reason can a movement succeed.”
85
Part Four
Considerations Involved
in Formulating Plans
For Desegregation
87
A. Changes
in the Law
Dr. Rupert B. Yance, Professor of Sociology, University
of North Carolina, past president of the American Socio
logical Society, writing in the Journal of Public Law,
Emory University Law School, Vol. 3, Spring 1954, Number
1, page 42, says:
“ National prohibition offers an example of a change
in law which did not carry through to change in the
collective behavior and attitudes of society. In spite of
our respect for the Constitution, resistance increased
and law enforcement was insufficient to bring about
social change. This resistance assumed the form of
violations, as well as evasions, of the law. Under this
situation it can be said that the 18th Amendment was
repealed in order to preserve respect for the law. This
occurred in spite of the fact that the initial change
had the support of public opinion as represented in
the (1) affirmative vote of legislatures of the states,
and was implemented both by (2) federal legislation,
as in the Volstead Act, and (3) supporting legislation
in many states. For students of social change, the con
trast with a decision of the Supreme Court is impres
sive.
‘ ‘ Thus, while students of law realize that social change
can be and has been implemented by legal enactment
and judicial decision, it is also realized that resistance
to social change is of many types. Here we can say
that jurisprudence, as a social science, has shared in
the responsibility of determining the extent to which
any desired social change is enforceable by law. Laws
may be violated, and they may be evaded. Evasion
89
carries the implication of driving a course through
gaps in the law, if not actually breaking it. Important
to the courts, to public order, and to the profession is
the whole field of conflict of laws. Oftentimes, the
change ordered by legal enactment and judicial decision
is so limited in scope that no actual evasion is drawn
upon to block social change. Some times modes of ad
justment may exist within the choice of individuals
and groups—alternatives sanctioned in legal codes. It
is in this borderline between public and private spheres
of life that the doctrine of social change is of most im
portance to students of jurisprudence. It must be re
membered that issues will be decided, not on the basis
of an assumed code of ethics, but on the basis of what
is enforceable within the system of legality.” (Italics
supplied)
90
B. Plans for Integration
The problem involves, among other things, the collective
conscience or mores of our white citizens regarding segre
gation. That conscience simply stated, although of varying
degrees of intensity, is that our people are not ready for
desegregation. This was demonstrated conclusively by the
survey which was made in Florida. This conscience is in
grained because it was nurtured and cherished throughout
many generations as a way of life. It is deep-seated and its
roots rest in fears of inter-marriage of the races, racial dif
ferences, superstitions, history, traditions and customs.
This community conscience until the Brown case had
long years of legal sanction in the field of public education.
Elimination of this legal sanction by no means eradicates
the underlying collective conscience of the people in this
field. This attribute of the problem simply cannot be suc
cessfully solved overnight.
This the Court undoubtedly appreciated by not making
its desegregation decision immediately effective. Its ques
tions and its delay of implementation indicate that it is
conscious of what may he termed the equities of transition.
The Court, we believe, is imbued with the need for gravity
and for prudent concern in dealing with this collective con
science.
We think it realizes the need for social engineering, time,
patience and community understanding. It senses the need
for conditioning and education if implementation is ever
to be a real success.
Free men are not automatons capable of being molded
91
and transformed forthwith by a new and revolutionary
judicial concept which does not square with their collective
conscience.
The enormity of the problem of compliance gives great
pause. We do not deal with implementation of a decree
against a single individual or even a minority. A successful
response to the judgment requires reconciliation to it of a
great majority of our people. The Court on its part needs for
the enforcement of its decree the amelioration of time which
is said to be a great Healer. It needs the rallying of those
who will stand by the law of the land because it is such
whether they agree with it or not and the patience of wise
administration which eschews haste, precipitate action and
premature procedures.
The Court stands not in need of the whip and the scourge
of compulsion to drive our people to obedience, but rather
the rational solution of time in which the loyalty, patience
and understanding of the law-abiding will come forward
and lead the way to peaceful, reasonable and successful
compliance.
Not only to be considered is the need of reconciling this
collective conscience to desegregation but others of im
portance to be considered include the safety of school chil
dren, the peace of the community, the mutitudinous admin
istrative problems affected, the impact upon teachers’ jobs,
particularly Negro teachers’, the transportation of school
children, the revisions of laws and regulations, the redis
tricting of attendance areas, the reallocation of physical
school plant facilities and others involved in the transition
from a segregated school system to a non-segregated system.
All require time, wise administration and patience for their
solution.
Gradual effective adjustment to integration presupposes
that there will be a plan. But because there is a wide variety
of local conditions, no specific plan can be outlined which
92
would be acceptable under all conditions and in all com
munities.
We think integration must proceed in Florida on a county
by county basis because of the fundamental differences in
various areas of the state which we have attempted to
demonstrate in this brief.
A great many plans for integration have been developed
in Florida and other states and all of them have their ad
herents. A plan of gradual integration starting with the
first grade and working on up through high school over
a 12 year period is believed by some advocates to be the
answer for their community but it is rejected in other places.
Another plan for beginning the integration process at
the college level and gradually working down to the first
grade can be supported by valid arguments, but it too is
rejected by many educational leaders as being unworkable
in some communities.
Other plans which have been advanced include a gradual
reorganization of school attendance areas; designated
schools whose students will be composed of volunteers from
both races during the transition period; a simultaneous in
tegration of all school grades over a period of time based
on the scholastic level of the students as determined by ex
aminations. These and many other plans axe being consid
ered by school authorities whose job it will be in the final
analysis to devise a plan which will be accepted and will
work in their particular school districts.
The one factor which all of these plans share in common
is the need for sufficient time to carry them out and the
one point on which agreement can be reached by school
authorities who are willing to undertake a program of in
tegration is that the plan adopted for their specific area
must be unique in that it will take into consideration the
exact problems of that area and no other.
93
If this planning and action is permitted by the Court,
we believe that local school authorities should take into
consideration two primary factors: first, the material
aspects of integration which include the use of present
school buildings, the construction of new buildings, trans
portation, teachers’ jobs and assignments, school popula
tions within attendance areas and the administration im
practicabilities and inequities that would arise in these
dislocations in any effort to effect a too hasty non-segrega
tion; second, the intangible considerations including com
munity thinking, customs, mores, overt acts that might
result from the impact of premature integration, the schol
astic standards of the schools and the feelings of children.
We realize that objection has been made to gradualism
in seeking methods of integrating white and Negro schools,
that delay might tend to create feelings of hostility and
encourage organized opposition. The advocates of this
theory apparently feel that the shock treatment is to be
preferred and that if a difficult job has to be done, the
quicker it is done, the better.
In this belief we are positive they are mistaken. Strong
opposition already exists in the South to desegregation.
It will be intensified in direct proportion to the amount
of hasty precipitation and coercion that is applied.
Already there is springing up in our state opposition
organizations, some of which through their literature en
courage violence. Burning of crosses and circulation of
hate literature are becoming more and more prevalent.
But minimizing these manifestations of defiance are thou
sands of law-abiding citizens of both races, many influential
newspapers and loyal organizations who are trying to meet
the situation calmly and patiently. But their attitudes have
always been buttressed on the assumption of gradualism
and local autonomy. If that assumption is cut from under
them by a decree of immediate desegregation or even a
decree of a period of short delay which does not permit a
94
large degree of local determination, we frankly doubt
whether we can save our public school system. This ob
jection to gradualism may be valid in Northern states where
segregation has been practiced but where the people as a
whole do not share the intense feelings on racial differences
which have become an ingrained part of the culture of the
South.
There is no reason to think that sufficient delay in integra
tion of the schools of Florida to allow for a period of gradual
adjustment would create new problems or intensify those
already existing.
The problems are already here and must be recognized
realistically by anyone conscientiously seeking a solution.
There is every logical reason to believe that any attempt
to use the shock treatment of immediate compulsory inte
gration of schools in Florida would only result in translat
ing the present passive intellectual differences in thought
and emotional feelings to an active, positive and violent
physical resistance.
When all is said and done, it may be that about the best
advice on the subject was contained in a speech by Gover
nor David S. Walker of Florida in 1867 to a meeting of
Freedmen in Tallahassee1.
Governor Walker saidr
“ The great question now to be solved, is whether two
different races can live in peace together under the
same government with equal political rights. In my
reading of history, I do not remember any instance in
which this has ever been done. But God has placed the
work upon us and with His blessing we must try our
best to accomplish it. In the first place, therefore, I
say let each one of us of all colors resolve to cultivate
kindly relations with one another and never allow* our
1. Semi-weekly Floridan, Tallahassee, Florida, April 23, 1867,
page 2.
95
selves to be arrayed in hostility to each other—let us
always speak kindly to and of one another. I have never
known a man in my life who had the true principles of
a Christian gentleman in him, who would wantonly
wound the feelings of any human being, however
humble.”
96
Part Five
CONCLUSION
There are two ways in which the Brown decision may be
viewed by history. First, it may be considered as a seismic
shock which struck without warning and engulfed a large
part of the nation in a tidal wave of hate and inflamed
emotions and carried away a public school system which
took half a century and billions of dollars to build, or
Second, it may be looked upon as a high goal which this
Court has fixed for men of good will to strive to attain and
which they may attain in due course if rational considera
tion is given to human frailty and faith is maintained in
the slow but sure upward movement of democracy.
Many think that our democracy is now face to face with
the toughest job in practical government it has ever had
to tackle without going to war. Some way must be found
to protect the constitutional rights of a minority without
ignoring the will of the majority. We think the only an
swer is time and the patient efforts of those who value de
mocracy more than their personal longings and private
prejudices. We hope that this court will accept this answer.
R ichard W. E kvin
Attorney General of
the State of Florida
R a l p h E . O dum
Assistant Attorney General,
State of Florida
97
(Appendix A)
Results of a Survey of Florida Leader
ship Opinion on the Effects of the
U. S. Supreme Court Decision of May
17, 1954 Relating to Segregation in
Florida Schools
Introduction
As a result of the decision of the United States Supreme
Court of May 17, 1954, declaring unconstitutional racial
segregation in public education, Florida and other southern
states are confronted with problems of tremendous gravity
and complexity.
While it enunciated a new principle of law, the Court
did not prescribe the manner in which this principle
should be translated into action in the states and com
munities affected. Instead, it restored the cases to the
docket for further argument as to the method of adjust
ment which should be called for in subsequent decrees,
inviting the Attorneys General of states requiring or
permitting segregation in public education to appear as
amici curiae.
In anticipation of the preparation of a brief for sub
mission in response to this invitation, the Attorney General
of the State of Florida requested the assistance of social
scientists and other educators in compiling facts concerning
the problems which the State of Florida would encounter
in complying with the decision of the Court.
This is their report.
RICHARD W. ERVIN
Attorney General
101
ATTORNEY GENERAL’S
RESEARCH ADVISORY COMMITTEE
FOR THE STUDY OF PROBLEMS OF
DESEGREGATION IN FLORIDA SCHOOLS
The committee was chosen by the Attorney General to
assist him in conducting a survey to determine leadership
opinion among Florida citizens regarding problems created
by the U. S. Supreme Court’s decision of May 17, 1954,
abolishing segregation in the public schools.
The individuals asked to serve on this committee were
chosen on the basis of their professional standing in the
field of education; their specialized knowledge and train
ing which would be of value in conducting such a survey;
and their reputation for civic-mindedness and impartiality.
The committee selected Dr. Lewis Killian, Associate Pro
fessor of Sociology at Florida State University, to act as
director of research and coordinator for the project. While
certain parts of this report were written by Dr. Killian
and others, the entire report and all its findings have been
reviewed and approved by the entire membership of the
committee.
Mr. Richard W. Ervin Dr. Sarah Lon Hammond
Attorney General School of Education
(Ex Officio) Florida State University
Mr. Thomas D. Bailey Mr. Robert D. Gates
State Superintendent of Department of Education
Public Instruction
(Ex Officio)
102
Mr. Balph E. Odum
Assistant Attorney General
Dr. Balph Eyman, Dean
School of Education
Florida State University
Dr. Gilbert Porter
Executive Secretary
Florida State Teachers
Association
Dr. J. B. White, Dean
School of Education
University of Florida
Dr. Manning J. Dauer
Department of Political
Science
University of Florida
Dr. Don Larson
Department of Political
Science
University of Miami
Dr. George Gore, President
Florida Agricultural and
Mechanical University
Mr. Angus Laird, Director
State Merit System
Dr. Bobert E. Lee
Department of Education
Mr. Ed Henderson
Executive Secretary
Florida Education
Association
Dr. Bichard Moore,
President
Bethune-Coohman College
Dr. B. L. Johns
School of Education
University of Florida
Dr. Mode Stone
School of Education
Florida State University
Mr. D. E. Williams
Department of Education
Dr. T. J. Wood
Department of Political
Science
University of Miami
Dr. Lewis M. Killian
Department of Sociology
Florida State University
( Coordinator of Research)
103
The Report
and the
Conclusions*
Just as the effects of segregation, held by the Court to
be discriminatory, are essentially psychological, the prob
lems of desegregation are also social and psychological
as much as they are legal.
An eminent student of race relations in the South, Guy
B. Johnson, has said, “ Anyone who thinks that the transi
tion from segregation to racial co-education can be made
without problems, tensions, and even personal tragedies is
a fool. Anyone who thinks that the transition means the end
of civilization is also a fool.” * 1
The purpose of this study was to delineate as far as is
possible the problems, the tensions and, perhaps, the trage
dies, which might be expected to arise in the course of this
transition in Florida communities. This was a fact finding,
research study. There was no intent to predict whether
this transition will take place nor to make value-judgments
as to whether it should or should not occur.
Prediction of the problems which might arise if desegre
gation of public schools were undertaken in the near future
are based upon four types of data. These are:
* Prepared by Dr. Lewis Killian, Department of Sociology, Florida
State University.
1- “ The Impending Crisis of the South,” N ew Sm ith, VIII,
No. 5 (May, 1953), (Atlanta: Southern Regional Council), 5.
105
1. The expressed attitudes of various groups of leaders,
both white and Negro, toward the Court’s decision and
toward the possible implementation of it in Florida.
2. An historical analysis of the way in which Negroes have
availed themselves of a privilege from which state restric
tions were removed by a similar federal court decision,
the privilege of voting in primary elections.
3. An analysis of relevant information pertaining to school
administration, instructional services, and the quality of
education as they might be affected by desegregation.
4. The experience of other states and communities in which
programs of desegregation have been undertaken.
In the study of human behavior it is impossible to ask
all of the questions which are relevant to that behavior.
The selection of questions always implies certain assump
tions concerning the situation being studied, and these
assumptions should be made explicit.
The basic assumptions of this study are:
1. That the Court will desire a minimum of intergroup
conflict and public disorder in any program of desegre
gation which might be undertaken. On this assumption,
information indicative of the likelihood of conflict and
widespread disorder in various situations becomes highly
important.
2. That expressed attitudes are to some extent and in cer
tain types of situations indicative of later behavior. This
is particularly important when it is the attitudes of occu
pants of key positions in the power structure of a group
which are concerned.
3. That the attitudes of people in leadership, power, and
prestige roles are of more importance as determinants of
106
social change than are the attitudes of larger numbers of
people not occupying such roles.
4. That the behavior of people in one situation is to some
extent indicative of the behavior of the same or different
people in similar but not identical situations.
The conclusions of this study are based on the findings
of several separate, but related, constituent studies which,
together, constitute the general research project. Each study
is presented in detail in a separate subsection of the report.
The general conclusions, drawn from all of these studies,
are found in the chapter preceding the detailed reports
of the separate studies.
The sub-studies, in order of presentation, are:
1. An attitude-opinion poll, based on mailed questionnaires,
of 9 white and 2 Negro groups of leaders throughout the
state. (Page 113)
2. An attitude-opinion poll, based on personal inter
views, of white leaders in 10 selected counties and Negro
leaders in 8 of these counties. (Page 153)
3. An historical analysis of trends in Negro voter regis
tration in Florida, 1940-1954. (Page 177)
4. An analysis of relevant information pertaining to school
administration and instructional services as they might be
affected by desegregation. (Page 185)
5. An intensive study, utilizing various methods, of lead
ership attitudes and opinions in a metropolitan area and
a rural area in southeastern Florida. (Page 201)
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS
!• On the basis of data from all relevant sources included
m this study, it is evident that in Florida white leadership
opinion with reference to the Supreme Court’s decision is
far from being homogeneous. Approximately three-fourths
107
of the white leaders polled disagree, in principle, with the
decision. There are approximately 30 per cent who violently
disagree with the decision to the extent that they would re
fuse to cooperate with any move to end segregation or would
actively oppose it. While the majority of white persons
answering opposed the decision, it is also true that a large
majority indicated they were willing to do what the courts
and school officials decided.
2. A large majority of the Negro leaders acclaim the de
cision as being right.
3. Only a small minority of leaders of both races advocate
immediate, complete desegregation. White leaders, if they
accept the idea that segregation should be ended eventu
ally, tend to advocate a very gradual, indefinite transition
period, with a preparatory period of education. Negroes
tend to advocate a gradual transition, but one beginning
soon and lasting over a much shorter period of time.
4. There are definite variations between regions, coun
ties, communities and sections of communities as to whether
desegregation can he accomplished, even gradually, with
out conflict and public disorder. The analysis of trends in
Negro registration and voting in primary elections, shows
similar variations in the extent to which Negroes have
availed themselves of the right to register and vote. At
least some of these variations in voting behavior must be
accounted for by white resistance to Negro political par
ticipation. This indicates that there are regional varia
tions not only in racial attitudes but in overt action.
Regional, county and community variations in responses
to questionnaires and interviews are sufficiently marked to
suggest that in some communities desegregation could be
undertaken now if local leaders so decided, but that in others
widespread social disorder would result from immediate
108
steps to end segregation. There would be problems, of
course, in any area of the state, but these would be vastly
greater in some areas than in others.
5. While a minority of both white and Negro leaders ex
pect serious violence to occur if desegregation is attempted,
there is a widespread lack of confidence in the ability of
peace officers to maintain law and order if serious violence
does start. This is especially true of the peace officers them
selves, except in Dade County. This has important impli
cations. While it is true that expressed attitudes are not
necessarily predictive of actual behavior, there seems little
doubt that there is a minority of whites who would actively
and violently resist desegregation, especially immediate
desegregation. It has been concluded from the analysis of
experiences with desegregation in other areas, “ A small
minority may precipitate overt resistance or violent oppo
sition to desegregation in spite of general acceptance or
accommodation by the majority.” 2
6. Opposition of peace officers to desegregation, iack of
confidence in their ability to maintain law and order in
the face of violent resistance, and the existence of a posi
tive relationship between these two opinions indicates that
less than firm, positive action to prevent public disorder
might be expected from many of the police, especially in
some communities. Elected officials, county and school, also
show a high degree of opposition. Yet it has been pointed
out, again on the basis of experience in other states, that
the accomplishment of efficient desegregation with a mini
mum of social disturbance depends upon.
A. A clear and unequivocal statement of policy by leaders
with prestige and other authorities;
2. Kenneth B. Clark, “ Findings,” J ou rn a l o f S ocia l Issues, IX,
No. 4 (1953), 50.
109
B. Firm enforcement of the changed policy by authorities
and persistence in the execution of this policy in the
face of initial resistance;
C. A willingness to deal with violations, attempted viola
tions, and incitement to violations by a resort to the
law and strong enforcement action;
D. A refusal of the authorities to resort to, engage in or
tolerate subterfuges, gerrymandering or other devices
for evading the principles and the fact of desegregation;
E. An appeal to the individuals concerned in terms of their
religious principles of brotherhood and their acceptance
of the American traditions of fair play and equal justice.
It may be concluded that the absence of a firm, enthusi
astic public policy of making desegregation effective would
create the type of situation in which attitudes would be
most likely to be translated into action.4
7. In view of white feelings that immediate desegregation
would not work and that to require it would constitute a
negation of local autonomy, it may be postulated that the
chances of developing firm official and, perhaps, public sup
port for any program of desegregation would be increased
by a decree which would create the feeling that the Court
recognizes local problems and will allow a gradual tran
sition with some degree of local determination.
8. There is a strong likelihood that many white children
would be withdrawn from public schools by their parents
and sent to private schools. It seems logical, however, that
this practice would be confined primarily to families in the
higher income brackets. As a result, a form of socio-eco
nomic class segregation might be substituted for racial
segregation in education.
4. Experience shows that when the steps listed above have been
taken, predictions of serious social disturbance have not been
borne out.
110
9. It is evident that a vast area of misunderstanding as to
each other’s feelings about segregation exists between the
races. White leaders believe Negroes to be much more satis
fied with segregation than Negroes are and Negro leaders
believe that whites are much more willing to accept desegre
gation gracefully than whites proved to be. Hence a logical
first step towards implementing the principle set forth by
the Court, and one suggested by both whites and Negroes,
would seem to be the taking of positive, cooperative steps
to bridge this gap and establish better understanding be
tween the two groups.
10. Although relatively few Negro leaders and teachers
show concern about the problem, white answers indicate
that Negro teachers would encounter great difficulty in ob
taining employment in mixed schools. To the extent that
desegregation might proceed without parallel changes in
attitudes towards the employment of Negro teachers in
mixed schools, economic and professional hardships would
be worked on the many Negro teachers of Florida.
11. Since 1940, and particularly since 1947, the State of
Florida has made rapid and steady progress toward the
elimination of disparities between white and Negro edu
cational facilities as measured by such tangible factors as
teacher salaries, current expenditure per pupil, teacher
qualifications, and capital outlay expenditure per pupil.
12. In spite of the current ambiguity as to the future of
dual, “ separate but equal” school facilities the State is
proceeding with an extensive program of construction of
new school facilities for both white and Negro pupils, with
a recommended capital outlay of $370 per Negro pupil and
$210 per white pupil. Both this and the previous finding
indicate that, while these steps have been taken within the
framework of a dual educational system, there is a sincere
111
desire and willingness on the part of the elected officials
and the people of Florida to furnish equal education for all
children.
13. Available achievement test scores of white and Negro
high school seniors in Florida indicate that, at least in the
upper grades, many Negro pupils placed in classrooms with
white pupils would find themselves set apart not only by
color but by the quality of their work. It is not implied
that these differences in scores have an innate racial basis,
but it seems likely that they stem from differences in eco
nomic and cultural background extending far beyond the
walls of the segregated school, into areas of activity not
covered by this decision.
14. Interracial meetings and cooperative activities already
engaged in by teachers and school administrators in many
counties demonstrate steps that can be, and are being taken
voluntarily and through local choice to contribute to the
development of greater harmony and understanding be
tween whites and Negroes in Florida communities.
112
Leadership
Opinion
By
Questionnaire
. . . and Conclusions*
Although all of the people of Florida would be affected,
directly or indirectly, by any move to end racial segre
gation in the public schools, some groups have a more
direct and intense involvement in the situation than do
others.
People connected with county school systems such as
school board members, school trustees, superintendents,
principals, teachers and supervisors would play key roles
in putting any plan for desegregation into effect. Police
officers, judges and county attorneys would be required
to deal with cases of conflict and disorder which might
arise. Parents are deeply involved not only as parents
but as voters and taxpayers. As moulders of public opinion
newspaper editors, radio station managers and ministers
have an important relationship to any developing social
change. Legislators and county commissioners would be
faced with the task of formulating new state and county
policies relating to this significant legal and social change.
* Prepared by Dr. Lewis Killian, Department of Sociology, Florida
State University.
113
In an attempt to get at the attitudes and opinions of
these important segments of the population, questionnaires
were mailed to the following groups:
1. All members of the Florida Peace Officers Association.
2. School principals, white and Negro, and school super
visors.
3. Negro PTA presidents, white PTA presidents, council
chairmen and board members.
4. School board members and school trustees.
5. County judges, circuit judges, state attorneys, county
solicitors and county commissioners.
6. Newspaper editors.
7. Radio station managers.
8. Members of the state legislature.
9. Ministers (a 10 per cent sample of certain denomina
tions).
Practical considerations precluded polling certain other
groups. The large number of teachers, white and colored,
in the state and the fact that so many would be away
from home at the time of the survey made a poll of their
opinions impractical. It was practical, however, and per
haps more important, to question principals and super
visors, as school people who work intimately with the
teachers in positions of leadership and authority. Simi
larly, the parent group polled was limited to PTA officers
because of the tremendous number of parents involved
and the non-availability of any list from which a sample
could he drawn.
The ministers presented a special problem. The size of
the population of ministers, which conld only be estimated,
was obviously large. At the same time it was extremely
difficult to obtain comprehensive mailing lists for even part
of the multitude of denominations to which these ministers
114
might belong. Mailing lists were obtained for the follow
ing denominations: Baptist, Methodist, Episcopal, Koman
Catholic, Presbyterian, and Assembly of God. Question
naires were mailed to a 10 per cent sample of the clergy
men on each of these lists. Forms were also sent to a
sample of Negro Methodist and Baptist ministers, but the
returns were too small for use. In many cases they were
returned marked “ Unclaimed’ * or “ Moved, Left No
Address.”
The Questionnaires.
Nine different questionnaires were used in this survey.
Questions designed to elicit the following information were
included on all of them:
1. The position held by the subject and the section of the
state in which he lived and worked.
2. The subject’s personal feelings about the rightness of
the Court’s decision and action which should be taken as
a result of it.
3. The subject’s estimate of the likelihood of resistance
to desegregation in his community, the forms this resist
ance might take, and the ability of law enforcement officers
to maintain law and order in the event of serious violence.
The questionnaire sent to the peace officers sought also
an estimate of the likelihood that peace officers would
enforce school attendance laws for mixed schools. All
other questionnaires included questions concerning the
following additional items:
4. The subject’s estimate of the feelings about the de
cision and its implementation of other groups in the state
and in his community.
5. The subject’s opinion as to the method which would
be most effective in ending public school segregation.
6. Opinions as to the grades in which it would be easiest
115
to start admitting colored and white children to the same
schools.
Finally, principals and supervisors, school officials, leg
islators and PTA officers were asked whether certain
things which might constitute either aids or obstacles to
desegregation might happen in the event schools are de
segregated in the next few years.
Questionnaire Returns and Method of Analysis.
A total of 7,749 questionnaires were mailed. Time did
not permit a follow-up wave, but an effort was made to
increase returns by prefacing each form with a personal
appeal from the Attorney General and by enclosing a
stamped, self-addressed envelope.
Useable questionnaires returned number 3,972, 51.26 per
cent of the number mailed. The number and percentage
of returns for each group are shown in Table 1. The
lowest percentage of returns is seen to be that for the
Negro PTA presidents, 21.5 per cent. The rate of return
for all groups may be regarded as satisfactory since it
has been found that in mail polls usually less than 20
percent of the questionnaires are returned.3
Practical considerations, of which there are many in
what is essentially “ action research,” precluded the use
of standard techniques for control of the sample by as
certaining the characteristics, of non-respondents. Hence
extreme caution must be exercised in generalizing from
these data to any population.
It is possible to speculate as to some of the reasons
for non-returns. It is known that some forms did not
reach the subject for one reason or another. Unfortunately
3. Katz, Daniel, and Hadley Cantril, “ Public Opinion Polls,”
S ociom etry , I (1937), 155-179.
116
237 questionnaires were returned too late for tabulation.
In the case of refusals other possible reasons must be
considered. In some groups, a relatively low degree of
education may have characterized persons who did not
respond. It is known that in some cases public officials,
particularly judges, failed to reply because they felt it
was unethical for them to answer such an inquiry, even
though anonymity was promised them. Some question
naires were returned not completed but with a brief com
ment. The nature of many of these comments suggests
that many of the white subjects who refused to respond
were violently opposed to desegregation.
On the basis of these speculations, it seems likely that
the prevalent bias of white non-respondents is in the
direction of opposition to the Supreme Court’s decision
and to attempts to implement it. In the case of Negroes,
it is more likely that distrust of the motives of the research
and fear of expressing their opinions were the causes of
failure to reply.
All questions were of the check-list type. Questionnaires
were coded, punched on cards, and machine tabulated.4
For purposes of analysis, the subjects were regarded as
populations not necessarily representative of any larger
populations. Hence percentages are presented but no tests
of statistical significance have been made. Conclusions are
based, therefore, only upon gross differences in responses.
Even though these respondents cannot be regarded as
a representative sample, the nature of their selections
makes them important as groups. In spite of its scientific
limitations, this poll constitutes the most comprehensive I
I Statistical work was done by the Sociology Research Labora
tory of the Florida State University, under the direction of Prof.
Robert McGinnis and Dr. John M. Haer. All responsibility for
interpretation of the results is assumed by the Research Advisory
Committee, however.
117
and extensive assessment of public opinion in Florida
through the use of scientifically devised instruments that
is available. The fact that approximately one-half of such
groups of leaders, in the case of whites, and approximately
one-third, in the case of Negroes, expressed the opinions
indicated below is of itself important.
Findings.
Bearing in mind the caution which should be used in
generalizing to larger populations, the following conclu
sions may be drawn from the responses of those subjects
who did return questionnaires:
1. White groups differ greatly from each other in their
attitudes towards the Court’s decision, ranging from nearly
unanimous disagreement to a slight predominance of
favorable attitudes.
In Table 2 there can be seen the percentages of re
spondents in each group who selected each of the choices
indicative of his personal feelings. Table 3 shows com
binations of these choices into categories of “ Agreement,”
“ Neutral,” and “ Disagreement.” From these tables it
can be seen that peace officers are overwhelmingly opposed
to the principle that segregation should be ended. On the
other hand, a slight majority of white principals, super
visors and ministers indicate agreement with the principle
established by the court, although they vary in their opin
ions as to when it should be implemented. Other groups
ranking high in disagreement with the decision are county
officials, school officials and white PTA leaders.
2. White groups also differ from each other in willing
ness to comply with whatever courts and school boards
decide to do regardless of their personal feelings.
118
In Table 4 combinations of choices shown in Table 2
are presented to show willingness to comply with official
policy or intention to resist or refuse to cooperate. In
this case elected officials, including county officials, school
officials, and legislators, rank high in intention to oppose
action to bring about desegregation, as do white PTA
leaders. White principals and supervisors rank very low
in intention to oppose desegregation.
3. Peace officers are the white group most opposed to
desegregation. (Table 3).
4. Almost no whites believe that desegregation should be
attempted immediately. (Table 2).
5. A large majority of both Negro groups are in agree
ment with the Court’s decision declaring segregation
unconstitutional. (Table 3).
6. While only a small minority of both Negro groups
believe that desegregation should be attempted immedi
ately, an even smaller minority would oppose attempts
to bring about desegregation or refuse to cooperate.
(Table 2).
7. Only a minority of whites in all groups believe that
opponents of desegregation would resort to mob violence
m trying to stop it. A larger proportion, but still a
minority, believe that serious violence would result if
desegregation were attempted in tbeir community in the
next few years.
Table 5 shows the predictions of the occurrence of mob
violence and serious violence by all groups. It is evident
that “ mob violence” and “ serious violence” do not mean
exactly the same thing to the subjects. It may be noted
that the peace officer group ranks highest in percentage
Predicting both mob violence and serious violence.
8- A yet smaller minority of both of the Negro groups
119
anticipate mob violence or serious violence as a result of
steps towards desegregation. (Table 5).
9. The majority of all white groups are not sure that peace
officers could cope with serious violence if it did occur
in their communities, replying either “ No” or “ Don’t
Know” to the question.
Table 6 shows the percentage of each group replying
either “ No” or “ Don’t Know” to the question, “ Do you
think the peace officers in your community would be able
to maintain law and order if serious violence is started!”
Again it may be noted that the peace officer gToup ranks
highest in percentage showing doubt as to the ability to
avoid or minimize violence.
10. A much smaller proportion of both Negro groups ex
press doubts as to the ability of law enforcement officials
to deal with serious violence. (Table 6).
11. The majority of most of the white groups believe
that peace officers could maintain law and order if minor
violence occurred.
Table 7 shows the percentage of respondents in each
group who answered “ Yes” to the question, “ Do you
think the peace officers in your community would be able
to maintain law and order if minor violence is started!”
The white PTA leaders differed markedly from other
groups, only 34.13 per cent answering “ Yes.”
12. The Negro groups did not differ greatly from the
white groups in the proportion believing that police could
cope with minor violence. (Table 7).
13. Only 13.24 per cent of 1669 peace officers believe that
most of the peace officers they know would enforce at
tendance laws for mixed schools.
14. A majority of the members of all white groups except
peace officers, who were not asked; radio station managers;
120
and ministers, believe that most of the people of Florida
and most of the white people in their communities disagree
with the Court’s decision.
Table 8 shows the percentage of the 10 groups asked
to assess the feelings of other people who felt that most
of the members of the groups about which they were asked
disagreed with the decision.
15. In the five white groups asked, from one-fourth to
one-half of the respondents believed that most of the
Negroes in their community were opposed to the desegre
gation ruling. (Table 8).
16. A much smaller proportion of both Negro groups be
lieve that most of the people of Florida, most of the whites
in their community, and particularly the Negroes in their
communities are in disagreement with the principle of
desegregation. (Table 8).
It was seen earlier that only a small minority of the
Negro respondents personally disagreed with the decision.
It may be seen now that only a small minority of these
Negroes think that other Negroes in their communities
are in disagreement with the court. Furthermore, a much
smaller proportion of Negroes than of whites think that
most white people in Florida are in favor of segregation
as a legal principle.
W Only a small minority of all groups, white and Negro,
believe that immediate assignment of children to schools
°n the basis of geographical location rather than race
would be the most effective way of ending public school
segregation.
Table 9 shows the percentage of each of 8 groups choos-
mg as the most effective method immediate desegrega
tion, a very gradual transition, and either or both of
two gradual but relatively early methods of ending seg-
nogation. While the peace officers were not asked this
121
question, their answers to the question on “ personal
feelings about the decision” (Table 2) indicate almost
unanimous opposition to immediate desegregation.
18. All groups think a gradual program of desegregation
would be most effective. Negroes, however, prefer that
the process start within the next year or two with imme
diate, limited integration much more frequently than do
whites. The whites prefer a very gradual transition with
no specified time for action to begin. (Table 9).
19. Whites who expressed an opinion believe that the
primary grades and the colleges are the levels on which
desegregation could he initiated most easily. On the other
hand, almost as many Negroes believed that segregation
should be ended on most or all grade levels simultaneously
as believed it should he ended first at the lowest and
highest grade levels.
20. The maintenance of discipline in mixed classes by
Negro teachers is regarded as a potential problem by a
majority of white principals, supervisors and PTA leaders.
A much smaller proportion of Negroes regarded this as
a problem, with a majority of Negro principals believing
that colored teachers could maintain discipline in mixed
classes.
Table 11 shows the percentage of each group queried
as to possible problems who indicated definite belief that
certain things would or would not happen, thereby creating
problems for mixed schools.
21. A majority of all white groups believe that white
people would resist desegregation by withdrawing their
children from the public schools, hut a much smaller pro
portion of Negroes, less than a majority, believe that this
would happen. (Table 11).
22. Almost two-thirds of white school officials—superin
tendents, board members, and trustees—believe that ap
122
plications of Negroes to teach, in mixed schools would be
rejected. (Table 11).
23. Nearly three-fourths of school officials believe that
it would be difficult to get white teachers for mixed schools.
(Table 11).
24. Almost half of school officials and a little over 40
per cent of white PTA leaders believe that the people of
their communities would not support taxes for desegre
gated schools, but only about 20 per cent of Negro PTA
leaders believe that such support would not he forthcoming.
(Table 11).
25. In the case of all potential problems on which both
Negroes and white were questioned a smaller proportion
of Negroes than of whites indicate belief that problems
would arise as a result of desegregation. (Table 11).
26. In the case of peace officers there is a positive rela
tionship between personal disagreement with the decision
and lack of confidence in the ability of peace officers to
cope with serious violence. There is an even higher posi
tive relationship between belief that segregation should
be kept and belief that peace officers would not enforce
school attendance laws for mixed schools.
Table 12 shows the number of peace officers who feel
that the police could or could not maintain law and order
if serious violence occurs, according to their attitude to
wards the decision and its implementation. Table 13 shows
belief as to whether peace officers would enforce school
attendance laws by attitude towards the decision. The
officers who answer “ Don’t know” to these questions are
omitted from these tables. While peace officers were asked
what they thought other law enforcement officials could
°r would do and were not asked what they themselves
would do, it is evident that these subjects are projecting
their own feelings and, perhaps, their intentions into other
Peace officers.
123
Regional Variations.
The responses to certain items of the two largest groups
polled, the peace officers and the white school principals
and supervisors, were analyzed by region of the state in
which the respondents lived. The 67 counties of Florida
were grouped into 8 regions defined by social scientists
at the Florida State University in Florida Facts.1 These
regions and the counties each includes are:
Region Counties
I Bay, Escambia, Gulf, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa (Extreme
northwest Florida).
II Baker, Calhoun, Citrus, Columbia, Dixie, Franklin,
Gadsden, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Holmes,
Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Leon, Levy, Liberty,
Madison, Suwannee, Taylor, Wakulla, Walton,
Washington. (Northwest and north central Florida).
III Alachua, Bradford, Clay, Putnam, Union. (North
east Florida, inland).
IV Lake, Marion, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Seminole, Sum
ter. (Central Florida, inland, largely rural).
V Brevard, Duval, Flagler, Indian River, Nassau, St.
Johns, Volusia. (Northeast and Middle Florida
coastal region, includes Jacksonville metropolitan
area).
VI Charlotte, Collier, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Pasco,
Pinellas, Sarasota. (Southwest coastal, includes
Tampa-St. Petersburg, Bradenton-Sarasota metro
politan area).
VII DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Okee
chobee. (South central, inland, rural, many migrant
farm laborers).
V n i Broward, Dade, Martin, Monroe, Palm Beach, St.
1. Tallahassee, Florida: School of Public Administration, The
Florida State University.
124
Lucie. (Southeast coastal, contains Miami metropoli
tan area and some migratory labor areas).
Clear-cut regional variations in attitudes and opinions
are found to exist, as is indicated by the following findings:
27. Although the majority of peace officers in all regions
feel that segregation should be kept, the percentage feel
ing so varies from 83 per cent in two regions to 100 per
cent in one region.
Personal feelings of peace officers about the decision are
presented, by region, in Table 14. The variation in the
number of respondents in the different regions seems to
be explainable in terms of the number of counties in the
different regions and the size of population. While it was
impossible to ascertain the number of questionnaires mailed
to each region, the distribution of returns of peace officer
questionnaires approximates the distribution of population
by region. It should be noted that Region YII ranks
highest in percentage of peace officers who oppose de
segregation, while Regions I and VIII rank lowest.
28. The percentage of white principals and supervisors
who are in disagreement with the decision varies from 20
per cent to 60 per cent in different regions.
The percentage of white principals and supervisors
agreeing and disagreeing with the decision, by region, is
shown in Table 15. Again Region VII ranks highest in
amount of opposition and Region VIII ranks lowest.
29. A large majority of white principals and supervisors
in all regions indicate that they would comply with the
decision regardless of personal feelings, but the percent
age varies from 76 per cent in Region VII to approximately
94 per cent in Regions VI and VIII. (Table 16).
30. The percentage of peace officers predicting mob vio
lence as a method of resisting desegregation varies from
125
20 per cent in Region VIII to nearly 63 per cent in Region
VII. (Table 17).
31. Percentages of both peace officers and white principals
and supervisors predicting serious violence in the event
desegregation is attempted vary widely between some
regions. (Table 18).
32. The majority of both peace officers and white princi
pals and supervisors in all regions doubt that the police
could maintain law and order if serious violence occurred,
but there are some regional variations. (Table 19).
Responses of Legislators.
Although the 79 members of the state legislature who
returned questionnaires constitute almost 45 per cent of
the 176 legislators and legislative nominees to whom the
forms were sent, generalizations to the entire membership
of the legislature on the basis of their responses are en
tirely unwarranted. Any attempt to predict the action of
the legislature at its next session would be even more pre
sumptuous. The responses of these legislators to two spe
cial questions asked of them are presented below as a
matter of interest, however.
The legislators were asked to indicate which of five pos
sible courses of action should be followed at the next ses
sion of the legislature. The percentage checking each course,
and the details of the five courses of action, are shown in
Table 20.
The legislators were also asked whether they believed
that there is any legal way to continue segregation in Flor
ida Schools indefinitely. Of the 79 respondents, 34.20 per
cent replied “ Yes” , 25.31 per cent replied “ No” , and 39.32
per cent answered “ Don’t Know” , or gave no answer.
126
CONCLUSIONS
1. It is evident that white respondents drawn from differ
ent areas of leadership vary sharply in their feelings about
the rectitude of the Supreme Court’s decision of May 17,
1954. At least this small, but not unimportant, segment of
leaders in Florida is far from unanimous in allegiance to
the principle of segregation in public education.
2. There are definite regional variations in attitudes to
wards the decision, in predictions of the likelihood that
serious violence may occur if desegregation is attempted,
and in confidence in the ability of the police to maintain
law and order if serious violence does occur.
3. A majority of all groups except Negro principals do
not feel confident that the police in their communities could
cope with serious violence. This is particularly true of the
peace officers themselves. At the same time, serious violence
is anticipated by only a minority of all groups, although
by almost 50 per cent of the peace officers.
4. Withdrawal of white children from the public schools,
the maintenance of discipline in mixed classes by Negro
teachers, refusal to employ Negro teachers for mixed
schools, and difficulty in obtaining white teachers are the
outstanding potential problems found to be expected.
O' It is evident that the white and Negro groups view the
decision and the problem which desegregation might cre
ate quite differently, and that they do not understand each
other’s attitudes. The majority of the whites are, in va
rious degrees, opposed to the decision; the Negroes are in
favor of it. Yet the whites believe that the Negroes are
opposed to desegregation to a much greater extent than
those Negro groups polled are found to be. Furthermore,
the white and Negro groups assess Negro opinion differ
127
ently, a much larger proportion of whites than Negroes
believing that most Negroes prefer segregated schools.
The whites view the effecting of desegregation as a much
more difficult and dangerous problem than do the Negroes,
many more of them foreseeing serious problems and even
violence. On the other hand, the Negroes have more con
fidence in the ability and the willingness of the whites to
adapt to desegregation than do the whites themselves.
6. The majority of all groups, white and Negro, believe
that desegregation should be put into effect gradually rather
than abruptly and immediately. More Negroes than whites,
however, are in favor of early integration on a limited
scale and beginning in the next year or two. The whites
favor a more indefinite and remote form of gradualism, if
they will countenance the idea of desegregation at all.
7. The existence of a positive relationship between the
attitudes of peace officers towards the decision and their
predictions of the inability of police to control serious vio
lence suggests the existence of a tendency to project their
own feelings into situations which might arise and into
other persons involved. Such highly subjective predictions
are very likely to be indications of what the respondent
himself would do, or feels he could do, in the situation. Such
predictions might very well take on the character of “ self-
fulfilling prophecies.” 2 If police officers do not believe that
they or others would be able to maintain law and order if
serious violence occurs, the likelihood that they will attempt
wholeheartedly to do so is accordingly reduced.
2. An outstanding American sociologist, Robert K. Merton, has
defined the “ self-fulfilling prophecy” as a “ false definition of the
situation evolving a new behavior which makes the originally false
conception come true.” See his article, “ The Self-Fulfilling
Prophecy,” T h e A n tio ch R ev iew , V III (Summer, 1948), 193-210.
128
SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE
COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS, SCHOOL
BOARD MEMBERS, SCHOOL TRUSTEES:
1. In what county do you serve?............................. ...........
2. How long have you served in public school work!
(Check one)
1)—less than 2 years; 2)-—3-4 years; 3)—5-8 years;
4)—-9-12 years; 5) over 12 years.
3. Check the sentence that most nearly describes your
feelings toward the Supreme Court decision declaring
segregation in public schools unconstitutional:
1) —Firmly in favor of the decision, and believe that
schools should be immediately opened to both races
throughout Florida.
2) —Firmly in favor of the decision; feel schools should
be gradually combined, taking into consideration
places which need more preparation.
3) —Feel that such a decision should have been made
eventually, but believe we are not ready for it.
Feel we must move very slowly and cautiously.
4) -—Neither in favor of nor against the decision; will
agree with whatever the courts and the school of
ficials do.
5) —Against the decision, but will agree with whatever
the courts and school officials do.
6) —Firmly against the decision; will not cooperate in
ending public school segregation.
7) —Firmly against the decision; will actively oppose
any attempt to end segregation in Florida schools.
4 ..............Which one of the above statements do you
think describes the feelings of most of the people in
Florida? (Write the answer in the blank)
5 ..............Which describes the feelings of most of the
school teachers and administrators in your county?
6 ..............Which describes the feelings of most of the
white parents in your county?
129
7..................Which describes the feelings of most of the
colored parents in your county!
Suppose that in the next few years the court ordered
school officials to admit colored and white children to the
same schools.
8. Do you think anyone in your community would try to
stop this! Yes.......... No...........
9. If they did, what would they do! (Check your answers)
1) —Petition to stop combining schools
2) —Hold protest meetings
3) —-Keep their children home from school
4) -—Start individual violence
5) —Take part in mob violence
10. Would you resign rather than carry out such court
order? Yes.......... No.......... Don’t know...........
11. Do you think there would be violence in your commun
ity if colored and white children are admitted to the
same schools in the next few years? (Check one)
1) —Serious violence 3)—No violence
2) —Minor violence 4 )—Do not know
Do you think your peace officers would be able to maintain
law and order i f : (Check yes, no, or don’t know)
12. Serious violence is started? 1).......... Yes 2 ) .......... No
3 ) ....Don’t know
13. Minor violence is started? 1).......Yes 2).......No 3)......
Don’t know
14. Check the method you believe would be most effective
in ending public school segregation: 1
1) —Immediate action to assign all children to school
on basis of geographical location rather than race.
2) —Keeping existing school boundaries for the time
being, but immediately letting children who want
to, go to the closest school regardless of race.
130
3) —-A one or two year period of preparation before any
schools are integrated.
4) —A very gradual transition over a period of years.
15. In what grades do you think it would be easiest to
start admitting colored and white to the same schools?
(Check your answer)
1) —Grades 1, 2 and 3 4)—All grades 1 through 12
2) —Grades 1 through 6 5)—College and university
3) —High school 6)—Don’t know
Suppose in the next few years a few colored children wanted
to go to the nearest school, a white school. What do you
think would happen: (Check yes, no, or don’t know)
16. Would the School Board admit them
readily?
17. Would the School Board admit them
only to certain schools?
18. Would the School Board admit them
if a court ordered it?
19. Would the School Board try to fight
a court order?
Yes No
Don’t
Know
Suppose schools are integrated in the next few years. What
do you think would happen? (Check yes, no or don’t know)
20. Would it be harder to get white
teachers ?
21. Would it be harder to get colored
teachers ?
22. Would applications of colored teachers
to teach in mixed schools be accepted?
23. Would many white teachers treat
colored children unfairly?
24. Would many colored teachers treat
white children unfairly?
25. Would colored teachers be able to
discipline white children?
26. Would higher school taxes be needed
for the integrated schools at first?
Yes No
Don’t
Know
131
27. Would your community support taxes
for integrated schools? ..........................
28. Would school bus drivers treat colored
children fairly? ..........................
29. Would school bus drivers encourage
white students to treat colored chil
dren fairly? ............... .........
30. Are there any accredited private
schools in your community other than
kindergartens ? .........................
31. Would people try to start private
schools ? .........................
32. If you like, comment on the problems the Supreme
Court decision brings, and make any suggestions, using
back of this sheet.
SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE
FLORIDA PEACE OFFICERS :
1. Check the position you hold:
-—Deputy Sheriff — Constable
—State Highway Patrolman —Town Marshal
—City Chief of Police —Other
—City Policeman
2. In what county do you serve?.............................
3. The IJ. S. Supreme Court recently declared segrega
tion in public schools unconstitutional. Which do you
think: (Check one)
1) —That segregation in schools should be kept
2) —-That schools should be gradually opened to both
races over a period of years ?
3) —That colored children who want to go to white
schools should be admitted immediately?
4. Suppose that in the next year or two the Court ordered
school officials to admit colored and white children to
the same schools.
132
a. Would anyone in your community try to stop this?
Yes....... No.......
b. If they did, what would they do ? (Check your answer)
1) —Petition to stop combining schools
2) —Hold protest meetings
3) —Keep their children home from school
4) —Start individual violence
5) —Take part in mob violence
5. Would there be violence in your community if colored
and white children are admitted to the same schools?
(Check one)
1) —Serious violence
2) —Minor violence
3) —No violence
4) —Do not know
a. Would your existing law enforcement staff be able
to maintain law and order if
1) serious violence is started 2) minor violence is
started
a) —Yes a)—Yes
b) —No b)— No
c) —Do not know c)—Do not know
6. Would most of the peace officers you know enforce school
attendance laws for mixed schools? (Check one)
1) —Yes
2) —No
3) —Do not know
7. If you want to say more or make suggestions about law
enforcement and segregation, please use the back of
this sheet.
133
TABLE 1
QUESTIONNAIRES SENT AND RETURNED, BY GROUPS
Group
Number Number Per Cent
Sent Returned Returned
Peace Officers 3200 1669 52.16
Principals and Supervisors (white) 1216 771 63.40
PTA Leaders (white) 751 375 49.93
Newspaper Editors 219 118 53.88
Radio Station Managers 78 54 69.23
County Officials 533 230 43.15
School Officials 500 309 61.80
Legislators 176 79 44.89
Ministers 191 101 52.89
Negro Principals 485 180 37.11
PTA Leaders (Negro) 400 86 21.50
TOTAL 7749 3972 51.26
135
TABLE 2
PER CENT EXPRESSING VARIOUS
Groups and
Number 1 2 3 4
Peace Officers
(N-1669)
.5 9.2
Principals and
Supervisors (W)
(N-762)
PTA (W)
(N-375)
.4 13.2 38.4 4.9
Editors
(A-54}
.8 14.4 33.9 4.2
Radio Station Managers
(N-54)
1.8 14.8 24.0 7.4
County Officials
(N-224)
2.7 18.3 .9
School Officials
(N-309)
2.9 20.0 .6
Legislators
(N-79)
7.5 22.8 2.5
Ministers
(N-101)
1.0 34.6 26.7 4.0
Principals, (N)
(N-177)
11.9 55.4 11.3 8.5
PTA Negro
(N-86)
12.8 44.2 8.1 5.8
* The attitudes indicated by number are as follows:
1. Firmly in favor of the decision; believe that schools should be
immediately opened to both races, (For peace officers, “ Colored
children who want to go to white schools should be admitted
immediately.” )
2. Firmly in favor; feel schools should be gradually combined,
taking into consideration places which need more preparation.
(For peace officers, “ Schools should be gradually opened to both
races over a period of years.” )
3. Feel that such a decision should have been made eventually,
but believe we are not ready for it. Feel we must move very
slowly and cautiously.
4. Neither in favor of nor against the decision; will agree with
whatever courts and school officials do.
136
ATTITUDES TOWARDS DECISION, BY GROUPS
Attitude*
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Total
89.3 1.0 100.0
26.8 4.9 7.9 .8 .9 1.4 .4 100.0
20.0 14.4 29.3 .8 2.4 1.1 1.6 100.0
16.1 6.8 16.1 .8 3.4 2.5 .8 99.8
20.4 11.1 11.1 1.8 1.8 5.6 99.8
22.8 12.0 30.4 5.8 3.1 4.0 100.0
21.7 9.7 34.6 4.9 2.9 2.6 99.9
16.4 5.1 38.0 1.3 5.1 1.3 100.0
8.0 10.0 11.9 2.0 1.0 99.2
1.1 1.1 5.6 1.7 2.2 1.1 99.9
2.3 4.6 4.6 5.8 1.2 5.8 4.6 99.8
5. Against the decision, but will agree with whatever courts and
school officials do.
6. Firmly against; will not cooperate in ending segregation.
7- Firmly against; will actively oppose any attempt to end
segregation.
8. Any combination of 1, 2, or 3 indicating agreement with
decision.
9. Any combination of 5, 6, or 7 indicating disagreement with
decision. (For peace officers, “ Segregation in schools should be
kept.” )
10. Any other combination.
11. No information.
137
TABLE 3
PER CENT AGREEING OR DISAGREEING WITH THE
DECISION, BY GROUPS
No
Group and
Number
Dis-
Agree Neutral agree
Infor
mation Total
Peace Officers 9.7 89.3 1.0 100.0
(N-1669)
Principals and Sup. (W) 52.9 4.9 40.4 1.8 100.0
(N-762)
PTA (W) 29.6 1.6 66.1 2.7 100.0
(N-375)
Editors 50.0 4.2 42.4 3.4 100.0
(N-118)
Radio Station Mgrs 42.6 7.4 42.6 7.4 100.0
(N-54)
County Officials 21.0 .9 70.9 7.1 99.9
(N-224)
School Officials 23.0 .6 70.9 5.5 100.0
(N-309)
Legislators 31.6 2.5 64.6 1.3 100.0
(N-79)
Ministers 62.3 4.0 31.9 2.0 100.2
(N-101)
Negro Principals 84.2 8.5 3.9 3.4 100.0
(N-177)
PTA (Negro) 70.9 5.8 12.7 10.4 99.8
(N-86)
138
TABLE 4
PER CENT WILLING OH UNWILLING TO COMPLY WITH
COURTS AND SCHOOL OFFICIALS, BY GROUPS
Group and
Number*
Would Would Not
Comply Comply
No
Information Total
Principals and Sup. (W)
(N-762)
84.5 13.6 1.8 99.9
PT.A (W)
(N-375)
51.2 46.1 2.7 100.0
Editors
(N-118)
70.3 26.3 3.4 100.0
Radio Station Mgrs.
(N-54)
70.4 22.2 7.4 100.0
County Officials
(N-224)
44.6 48.2 7.1 99.9
School Officials
(N-309)
45.3 49.2 5.5 100.0
Legislators
(N-79)
50.6 48.1 1.3 100.0
Ministers
(N-101)
74.3 23.9 2.0 100.2
Negro Principals
(N-177)
93.7 2.8 3.4 99.9
PTA (Negro)
(N-86)
79.0 10.4 10.4 99.8
* These combinations could not be made for peace officers.
139
TABLE 5
PER CENT OF EACH GROUP PREDICTING MOB VIOLENCE
AND SERIOUS VIOLENCE
Group and
Number
Predict
Mob Violence
Predict
Serious Violence
Peace Officers
(N-1669)
29.2 46.6
Principals and Sup. (W)
(N-771)
8.9 22.81
PTA (W)
(N-375)
17.3 33.72
Editors
(N-118)
8.5 20.3
Radio Station Managers
(N-54)
11.1 18.5
County Officials
(N-230)
23.0 35.3s
School Officials
(N-303)
31.0 44.9
Legislators
(N-79)
27.8 39.2
Ministers
(N-101)
10.9 13.9
Negro Principals
(N-180)
4.4 4.54
PTA (Negro)
(N-86)
5.8 8.1
1. N-762.
2. N-371.
3. N-224.
4. N-174.
140
TABLE 6
PEE CENT OF EACH GROUP DOUBTING ABILITY OF PEACE
OFFICERS TO COPE WITH SERIOUS YIOLENCE
Group and
Number
Answered
“ No” “
Answered
Don’t Know”
Answered
“ No” or
“ Don’t Know”
Peace Officers
(N-1669)
55.7 26.8 81.0
Principals and Sup. (W) 34.7
(N-762)
40.7 72.4
PTA (W )
(N-375)
42.1 36.0 78.1
Editors
(N-118)
35.6 24.6 60.2
Radio Station Man.
(N-54)
33.3 22.2 55.5
County Officials
(N-224)
41.1 25.4 66.5
School Officials
(N-303)
49.2 27.4 76.6
Legislators
(N-79)
49.4 21.5 70.9
Ministers
(N-101)
23.8 40.7 64.5
Negro Principals
(N-177)
11.3 31.6 42.9
PTA (Negro)
(N-86)
18.6 33.7 52.3
141
TABLE 7
PER CENT OF EACH GROUP WHO BELIEVE PEACE OFFICERS
COULD COPE WITH MINOR VIOLENCE
Group and
Number
Answered
“ Yes”
Peace Officers 50.9
(N-1669)
Principals and Sup. (W) 52.1
(N-362)
P.T.A. (W) 34.1
(N-375)
Editors 74.6
(N-118)
Badio Station Man. 59.3
(N-54)
County Officials 51.3
(N-224)
School Officials 41.6
(N-303)
Legislators 60.8
(N-79)
Ministers 64.4
(N-101)
Negro Principals 61.0
(N-177)
P.T.A. (Negro) 46.5
(N-86)
142
TABLE 8
PER CENT OF GROUPS POLLED WHO BELIEVE MOST OF
OTHER SPECIFIED GROUPS DISAGREE WITH THE DECISION
Specified Group
Group and Most People Whites in Negroes in
Number* ** in Florida Community Community
Principals and Sup. (W) 65.61
(N-756)
73.0 25.1
P.T.A. (W)
(N-375)
61.6 87.5 42.5
Editors
(N-118)
59.3 69.5 ##
Radio Station Man.
(N-54)
42.6 72.3
County Officials
(N-224)
74.82 80.8 47.8
School Officials
(N-303)
75.7s 85.5 52.5
Legislators
(N-79)
69.1 78.6 39.1
Ministers
(N-101)
48.6* 48.6 ##
Negro Principals
(N-180)
7.8 26.7 8.9
P.T.A. (Negro)
(N-86)
16.3 37.2 15.1
1. N-770.
2. N-230.
3. N-309.
*For ministers, this question asked how most of the members of
their congregation felt.
**This group not asked how Negroes as a separate group felt.
143
TABLE 9
PER CENT OF EACH GROUP DESIGNATING VARIOUS
METHODS OF ENDING SEGREGATION AS
MOST EFFECTIVE
METHOD
Group and Immedi-
Number ate
Very
Gradual
Other
Gradual*
No
Infor
mation Total
Peace Officers .5
(N-1669)
Principals and
9.2 90.31 100.0
Sup. (W) 3.1
(N-771)
71.7 19.5 5.4 99.7
P.T.A. (W) 4.3
(N-375)
65.1 13.7 17.0 100.1
Editors 5.1
(N-118)
Radio Station
60.2 19.5 15.3 100.1
Man. 14.8
(N-54)
46.3 25.9 12.9 99.9
County Officials 5.2
(N-230)
49.1 16.0 29.6 99.9
School Officials 4.9
(N-309)
62.8 9.7 22.6 100.0
Legislators 11.4
(N-79)
49.4 17.7 21.5 100.0
Ministers 5.9
(N-101)
47.5 33.7 12.9 100.0
Negro Principals 9.8
(N-174)
31.6 55.7 2.9 100.0
P.T.A. (Negro) 13.9
(N-86)
26.7 46.5 12.8 99.9
* ‘ ‘ Other gradual” includes “ Keeping existing school boundaries
for the time being, but immediately letting children who want to
do so go to the closest school regardless of race,” and “ A one or
two year period of preparation before any schools are integrated,’
1. These peace officers gave no information or answered “ Segre
gation should be kept.”
144
145
T A B L E 1 0
PEH CENT OF EACH GROUP DESIGNATING SPECIFIED GRADE LEVELS
AS EASIEST PLACE TO START DESEGREGATION
Group and
Number*
Grades
1-3 College
GRADE
1-3 and
College
LEVEL
All
Other
Don’t Know
or No Inf. Total
Principals and Sup. (W)
(N-771)
34.2 33.6 12.1 10.0 10.0 99.9
P.T.A. (W)
(N-375)
36.5 23.5 4.5 5.3 30.1 99.9
Editors
(N-78)
37.3 16.9 7.6 15.2 22.9 99.9
County Officials
(N-230)
26.1 18.3 3.5 10.0 42.2 100.1
School Officials
(N-309)
30.4 23.3 4.2 7.4 34.6 99.9
Legislators
(N-79)
22.8 34.2 5.1 10.1 28.0 100.2
Ministers
(N-101)
29.7 19.8 8.9 18.9 22.9 100.2
Negro Principals
(N-180)
23.3 13.9 11.1 43.9 7.8 100.0
P.T.A. (Negro)
(N-86)
23.3 16.3 1.2 40.7 18.6 100.1
* These combinations could not be made for peace officers.
146
TABLE 11
PER CENT O F E A C H G R O U P D E SIG N A T IN G V A R IO U S PROBLEM S A S BEING LIKELY T O ARISE
Principals &
Problem Area Sup. (W) (771)
PTA
(W) (375)
School
Officials (303)
Principals
(N)(180)
PTA
(N) (86)
Discipline by White Teachers 16.7 3.9
Discipline by Negro Teachers 55.2 65.9 66.2 6.7 20.9
Lowering of Academic Standards 48.6 11.7
Unfairness by White Teachers 17.0 31.2 22.3 6.7 19.8
Unfairness by Negro Teachers 15.8 26.3 16.6 10.6 11.7
Unfairness to Negroes by Bus Drivers 22.6 25.3 14.4
Development of Private Schools 61.1 70.4 64.3 12.2 18.6
Withdrawal of Whites from Public Schools 55.4 57.6 63.4 12.2 18.6
School Officials Resigning 32.3
Difficulty in Hiring White Teachers 72.2
Rejection of Negro Teacher Applications 62.8
Lack of Tax Support for Mixed Schools 41.3 49.4 19.8
TABLE 12
CONFIDENCE OF PEACE OFFICERS IN ABILITY TO COPE
WITH SERIOUS VIOLENCE, BY ATTITUDE
TOWARDS DESEGREGATION*
Attitude
Belief that Police
If Serious
Could Maintain
Violence Started
Order
They Could They Couldn’t Total
Segregation should
be kept 193 836 1029
Segregation should be
ended, gradually
or immediately 54 64 118
r = + .4 5
t
* Peace officers who answered “ Don’t Know” have been omitted
from this table.
TABLE 13
CONFIDENCE OF PEACE OFFICERS THAT POLICE WOULD
ENFORCE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE LAWS FOR MIXED
SCHOOLS, BY ATTITUDE TOWARDS DESEGREGATION*
Judgment of Willingness of Police to
Attitude Enforce Attendance Laws
They Would They Wouldn’t Total
Segregation should
be kept 151 796 947
Segregation should be
ended, gradually
or immediately 67 36 103
r ==+.65t 1
Peace officers who answered “ Don’t Know” have been omitted
from this table.
147
TABLE 14
PER CENT OF PEACE OFFICERS EXPRESSING VARIOUS
ATTITUDES, BY REGION
Attitude Expressed
Region Keep
Segregation
Desegregate
Gradually
Desegregate
Immediately
No
Inf. Total
I 83.5 15.0 1.5 100.0
(N-133)
II 93.1 4.6 .8 1.5 100.0
(N-130)
III 86.7 12.0 1.2 99.9
(N-83)
IV 92.9 6.3 .7 99.9
(N-269)
V 94.8 3.3 .7 1.1 99.9
(N-269)
V I 90.1 9.2 .6 99.9
(N-335)
V II 100.0 100.0
(N-27)
V III 83.4 14.2 .9 1.4 99.9
(N-423)
148
TABLE 15
PER CENT OF WHITE PRINCIPALS AND SUPERVISORS
AGREEING OR DISAGREEING WITH THE
DECISION, BY REGION
Region Agree Disagree Neutral
No
Inf. Total
I (N-71) 53.5 42.2 1.4 2.8 99.9
II (N-151) 38.4 54.3 6.6 .7 100.0
HI (N-38) 60.5 36.8 2.6 99.9
IV (N-135) 47.4 46.7 3.7 2.2 100.0
V (N-99) 47.5 40.4 8.1 4.0 100.0
VI (N-11'7) 65.0 30.8 3.4 .8 100.0
VII (N-30) 33.3 60.0 6.7 100.0
Vin (N-121) 71.9 20.7 5.0 2.5 100.1
TABLE 16
PER CENT OF WHITE PRINCIPALS AND SUPERVISORS
WILLING OR UNWILLING TO COMPLY, BY REGION
Region
Would
Comply
Would Not
Comply
No
Inf. Total
I (N-71) 81.7 15.5 2.8 100.0
II (N-151) 78.1 21.2 .7 100.0
HI (N-38) 78.9 21.1 100.0
IV (N-135) 80.0 17.8 2.2 100.0
V (N-99) 84.8 11.1 4.0 99.9
VI (N-117) 94.0 5.1 .8 99.9
vn (N-30) 76.7 23.3 100.0
VIII (N-121) 93.4 4.1 2.5 100.0
149
TABLE 17
PER CENT OF PEACE OFFICERS PREDICTING MOB
VIOLENCE. BY REGION
Region
Per Cent Predicting
Mob Violence
I (N-133) 33.8
II (N-130) 36.1
i n (N-83) 26.5
IV (N-269) 39.9
V (N-269) 31.2
V I (N-335) 27.5
V n (N-27) 63.0
V i n (N-423) 20.6
TABLE 18
NUMBER AND PER CENT OF PEACE OFFICERS AND WHITE
PRINCIPALS AND SUPERVISORS PREDICTING
SERIOUS VIOLENCE. BY REGION
GROUP
Region Principals and
Peace Officers Supervisors
No. Per Cent No. Per Cent
75 56.4 20 28.2
81 62.3 55 36.4
39 47.0 10 26.3
144 53.5 28 20.7
129 48.0 20 20.2
159 47.5 16 13.7
16 59.3 13 43.3
135 31.9 12 9.9
150
TABLE 19
NUMBER AND PER CENT OF PEACE OFFICERS AND WHITE
PRINCIPALS AND SUPERVISORS DOUBTING THAT
PEACE OFFICERS COULD COPE WITH SERIOUS
VIOLENCE, BY REGION*
Region Peace Officers
Number Per Cent
Principals and
Supervisors
Number Per Cent
I 105 78.9 53 74.6
n 109 83.8 111 73.5
in 74 89.2 27 71.1
IV 223 82.9 110 81.5
V 230 85.5 73 73.7
VI 265 79.1 76 65.0
vn 24 88.9 22 73.3
vm 314 74.2 80 66.1
* Based on total of respondents who answered “ No” or “ Don't
Know” to question, “ Do you think the peace officers in your
community would be able to maintain law and order if serious
violence is started?”
151
TABLE 20
NUMBER AND PER CENT OF LEGISLATORS FAVORING EACH
OF FIVE POSSIBLE COURSES OF LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Course of Action Number Per Cent
Legislation to preserve segregation in-
definitely by whatever means possible
Legislation to preserve segregation for
a few more years, contemplating even
tual integration but permitting time
32 40.5
for development of public acceptance
Legislation permitting voluntary com
pliance with Court’s decision by local
school officials, after consultation with
8 10.1
patrons
Setting up legal machinery to permit
gradual adjustment on a local option
basis with provision for interracial
committees, group discussions by
school patrons and other means to
bring about harmonious and peaceful
compliance over a requisite period of
4 5.1
time 18 22.8
No legislative action 10 12.7
No information given 7 8.8
Total 79 100.0
152
Leadership
Opinion
By
Personal Interview
. . . and Conclusions*
While the mail questionnaire method may produce a large
volume of data in a short time, this method has many dis
advantages. One of the most important is the difficulty en
countered in analyzing the answers to open-ended questions,
questions which the subject may answer in his own words.
Another limitation is the difficulty encountered in reaching
subjects who are not included on some mailing list, such as
informal, non-official leaders in a community power struc
ture. Hence the mail questionnaire study of leadership
opinion in the state was supplemented by a study of leader
ship opinion in 10 selected counties by the use of personal
interviews.
Selection of Counties.
The 10 counties selected by the Research Advisory Com
mittee for intensive study included: Charlotte, Hillsborough
and Pinellas, in the southwest coastal region; Orange and
Lake, in the central, so-called “ Ridge Section” of the
* Prepared by Dr. Lewis Killian, Department of Sociology, Flor
ida State University.
153
peninsula; Duval, in the northeast coastal i*egion; Lafayette,
a rural, inland county in the the north central portion;
Gadsden, a rural county in the northwest part of the
state; and Washington, a rural county, and Escambia, an
urban county, in the extreme northwest portion of the pan
handle of Florida.
In the selection of these counties, the following factors
were considered:
1. Eepresentation of the different sections of the state.
(The southeast section was not included because an inten
sive study was made in Dade County and nearby areas by
the University of Miami).
2. Inclusion of both rural and urban counties.
3. Inclusion of counties with less than 10 per cent Negro
population (2) or more than 50 per cent (1). The state has
5 counties in the former category and 2 counties in the
latter.
4. Inclusion of certain counties which, on the basis of pre
liminary evidence, appeared to be areas of relatively high
or relatively low resistance to desegregation.
Method of Study.
Interviews were conducted by 16 public school employ
ees from various counties, 12 white and 4 Negro principals
or supervisors. No interviewer was assigned to work in Ms
home county. For unavoidable practical reasons, no inter
views with Negro subjects were obtained in two counties,
and in three other counties only a limited number were ob
tained, these by white interviewers.
The interviewers, all carefully chosen for the task, were
given one day of intensive training in the selection of sub
jects for interview, interviewing techniques, and interview
recording. A schedule consisting of thirteen open-ended
questions, similar to the structured questions used on the
154
mail questionnaire and supplemented by suggested probing
questions, was furnished. The interviewers were also given
a list of community leaders, official and non-official, whom
they should attempt to interview. It should be noted that
the field workers were instructed to follow the advice of
local informants in selecting subjects, both white and Ne
gro, considered to be important figures in the power struc
ture of the community.
Each interviewer wrote, at the completion of his field
work, an independent analysis of the situation in the county
he studied. In addition, a content analysis was made of all
interviews by a team of eight analysts, four white and four
Negro, from the State Department of Education, the
Florida A. and M. University, and the Florida State Uni
versity. In this analysis the interviews were coded for
IBM tabulation.1 After analysis and coding were com
pleted, approximately one-half of the interviews were coded
for two items a second time by another member of the
team, white and Negro members exchanging interviews. A
reliability check on these items revealed a high degree of
reliability between ratings by separate analysts, indicating
that personal and racial biases in the interpretation of the
interview protocols were slight.
Findings.
Interviews were obtained from a total of 460 white sub
jects and 195 Negro subjects. Of the white subjects, 263
were official leaders (County, city and school officials,
judges, peace officers, and school employees) and 197 were
non-official leaders (business, professional, civic club, re
1. Statistical analysis of the interview data was done in the
Sociology Research Laboratory of the Florida State University,
under the direction of Prof. Robert McGinnis and Dr. John M.
Haer. Responsibility for the interpretation of the results is as
sumed by the Research Advisory Committee.
155
ligious, labor, youth). There were 42 Negro subjects who
were school employees, and 153 non-official Negro leaders,
including a large number of insurance men, undertakers,
and independent business men.
Distribution of the interviews by counties, for Negro and
white, are shown below:
County White Negro
Charlotte 34 None
Duval 47 31
Escambia 40 64
Gadsden 27 7
Hillsborough 79 43
Lafayette 20 None
Lake 43 7
Orange 47 21
Pinellas 90 13
Washington 33 9
On the basis of statistical analysis of the interviews and
the impressions reported by the field staff, the findings
indicated below were reached. Although a different method
of study was used, these findings do not differ significantly
from those of the questionnaire study.
These findings are:
1. The majority of white subjects (67.7 per cent) are in
disagreement with the decision, but only 4.1 per cent of the
Negroes interviewed disagreed.
Even white subjects who thought the decision was right
expressed, for the most part, fear that violence would occur
if desegregation were not worked out gradually or if, in
the words of some, “ it is crammed down our throats.”
Some whites violently opposed to the decision made such
statements as, ‘ ‘ The decision is an outrage; it is wrong and
will never work,” and “ These colored children should he
treated in such a way that they would not want to come
back to school.”
156
On the other hand, a Negro interviewer summarized the
opinions of Negroes in one county in the words, “ God is
behind the court’s decision. He will see that it is carried
out, but he doesn’t want us to hasten, ’ ’ and in another coun
ty in the words, “ This problem should have been met
squarely years ago. There is no need attempting to cir
cumvent, but settle the problem once and for all instead of
passing it into the laps of our children.”
2. Slightly less than half (45.7) per cent of the whites
indicated that they would not cooperate with the decision
of the courts or local school officials as to how to effect
desegregation, only 16 per cent indicating that they would
actively oppose attempts to end segregation.
Caution must be exercised in inferring that a major seg
ment of the white leadership represented here would “ go
along” with any plan for desegregation, regardless of
its nature. It must be considered that many informants may
have been indicating willingness to comply with what they
thought the courts and, particularly, the school officials
would do, but not with anything that they might possibly
decide.
3. One reason given by white subjects for disagreement
with the decision was that it is a violation of “ states’
rights” and, in effect, a negation of local autonomy.
f White leaders are almost unanimously opposed to any
immediate steps to end segregation in their communities,
°nly 4 out of 460 favoring such steps.
5. Of the Negro leaders, only 28.2 per cent favor immediate
®ding of all segregation in public education in their com
munities, but 58.9 per cent believe that the transition should
begin within the next three years.
b. Whites and Negroes differ sharply in their assessment
°f white community opinion on the decision, 77 per cent of
the white leaders believing most of the white people in their
157
communities disagree with the decision, but only 25.1 per
cent of the Negroes believing this.
7. Whites and Negroes differ sharply in their assessment
of Negro opinion in their communities, 54.3 per cent of the
white leaders believing that most Negroes disagree with the
decision, but only 6.1 per cent of the Negro leaders believ
ing so.
8. While only 30 per cent of the whites believe that even
a few Negro children could be admitted now to a previously
all white school without resulting violence, 76.4 per cent of
the Negroes believe that this could be done without causing
violence.
9. Of the subjects answering the question (210 white, 82
Negro), a majority of Negroes (89 per cent) believe that
peace officers could and would maintain law and order if
violence started, but only 46.7 per cent of the whites believe
this. A great many subjects in both groups did not answer
this question.
10. While many white leaders seem to expect trouble and
even violence to occur if desegregation is attempted, there
was no definite group or category of people which was
specified by more than 10 per cent of the respondents as
being likely to cause this trouble.
11. White leaders designated the primary grades and the
colleges and universities most frequently as the best place
to start desegregation if it were undertaken (primary—
31.7 per cent; college—13.3 per cent; both—8.5 per cent)
but Negro leaders designated all grades from primary
through high school most often (32.3 per cent).
12. Specific problems other than violence which might arise
from desegregation were identified by a greater proportion
of whites than of Negroes, although only a minority of each
group designated any given eventuality as a likely prob
lem. The problems most often designated by whites were:
getting white teachers to teach in mixed schools; using
Negro teachers in mixed schools; maintaining discipline
on school busses and in classes; getting white parents to
158
send their children to mixed public schools; keeping pres
ent academic standards; and getting tax support for mixed
schools.
13. In no county does it appear that more than a small
segment of whites is ready to accept immediate and
abrupt desegregation. In two counties, however, a majority
of the white leadership interviewed (in one, 59.5 per cent,
in the other, 72.4 per cent) believe that desegregation can
be accomplished peacefully and effectively if it is done over
a period of years, with a preparatory program of educa
tion, and at a rate determined by the local citizens.
14. In one county, the high frequency of belief among white
leaders that segregation should be kept, that violence would
result from desegregation, and that peace officers could
not cope with such violence, makes it appear very likely
that conflict and disorder would result if an attempt to
start desegregation by any means was undertaken even
within from five to ten years from the present.
15. Inspection of the interview protocols and the reports
of the field staff reveal that even within counties there is
wide variation in readiness by whites of different commun
ities to accept desegregation.
In one county there is one community in which both Ne
gro and white leaders fear serious violence, in which or
ganized, violent opposition to desegregation is anticipated,
and in which, indeed, organized but peaceful opposition has
already appeared. In the same county is a community in
which, in the judgment of both white and Negro interview
ers, gradual but effective desegregation could be accom
plished in the next few years. Similar situations exist in
all but two of the counties, both predominantly rural but
differing in region and proportion of Negroes in the
population.
16. Concrete suggestions for effective first steps towards
gradual desegregation offered by subjects include a period
of education preparatory to the first steps, and the work-
mg together in interracial committees of adults who would
study together the problems confronting their community.
159
THE PERSONAL INTERVIEW SCHEDULE
Position:
How Selected:
1. Just what do you understand the Supreme Court de
cision to mean?
2. How do you feel about the decision?
Probing:
Peel it was right?
Feel it was wrong?
Feel it was neither right nor wrong—just not sure!
I f right,
Not at this time?
We need time?
We should try to end segregation immediately?
If wrong,
Should cooperate because it is the law?
Will not cooperate in ending segregation?
Will actively oppose the action?
If neutral,
Will do whatever the courts and school officials
say?
3. How do you think most of the people of Florida feel
about it?
4. How do you think most of the people of this commun
ity feel about it?
Probing :
How do white people feel about it?
How do colored people feel about it ?
5. Do you think there are any people in this community
who feel differently about this?
If yes, probing:
How do they feel about it?
What kind of people are they? (General descriptive
terms)
Are they organized in any way?
160
What kinds of things do you think they would do to
put across their viewpoint?
6. Now, suppose the local school board decided in the next
few years that it had to let a few colored children who
lived in a mostly white attendance area go to the near
est school. What do you think would happen?
Probing:
What would people in this community do?
Would anyone try to keep them from attending the
school ?
If so, who would they be? (Not by name—just a gen
eral description) What kinds of things would
they do?
Who would be the leaders?
Who would participate?
Would the existing law enforcement staff of this
community be able to prevent violence from occur
ring ?
Under what conditions would they be able to prevent
violence, and under what conditions would they
not be able to ?
7. Now, suppose that in the next few years a few colored
persons in your county applied for admittance to a
white school and a court ordered that they be admitted.
What do you think would happen?
Probing:
What would people in this community do ?
What would the school board do? (Admit them im
mediately? Try to fight the court order? Resign?)
If they decided to admit them, would anyone try to
keep them from attending school?
(Continue as in question 6)
8. Suppose the local school board decided that it had to
let all children go to the school nearest their home.
What do you think would happen?
Probing: (Same as for question 6)
9' If segregation in the schools were done away with in
the next few years, what problems do you think would
come up?
161
Probing:
In the employment of white teachers?
In the employment of colored teachers ?
In transportation of children to school?
In getting public support for school finance pro
grams ?
In keeping order among the children in the classroom
and on the playground?
In getting parents, white and colored, to send their
children to mixed schools?
In getting fair treatment by teachers of all children
regardless of race?
In keeping high teaching standards in the schools!
10. What ways can you suggest for handling any of the
problems you have mentioned?
11. Suppose public school segregation had to be ended
sooner or later. What do you think would be the best
way to do it?
Probing :
There just isn’t any way?
Assign all children to school on the basis of geo
graphical location immediately?
Keep present school boundaries at first and let chil
dren who want to do so go to the closest school?
Have a one or two year period of preparation before
any steps are taken to end segregation?
Try to work it out over a period of years?
12. If it had to be done in the next few years, in what grades
do you think it would be easiest to start admitting col
ored and white to the same schools?
13. Is there anything I haven’t touched on in my questions
which you would like to comment on?
Personnel Interviewed
A. Leaders (Officials)
County Commissioners, Chairman
Mayor or City Manager
Sheriff
Chief of Police
162
County Judge
County Solicitors
Superintendent of Schools
County Health Officer
County Board of Public Instruction, Chairman
County School Trustees, Chairman
County Commissioners
City Commissioners
Deputies
Police Officers
Circuit Judge
State Attorney
Judge, Court of Criminal Record
County Board of Public Instruction, Members
County School Trustees, Members
B. Leaders (Non-officials)
School principals
School supervisors
Teachers
PTA leaders
Women’s Club leaders
Chamber of Commerce president
Civic and Veterans’ organizations leaders
Newspaper editor or publisher
Bankers
Lawyers
Doctors
Realtors
Labor union leaders
Undertakers
Insurance men
Leading business men
Directors, housing projects
Other leaders designated by respondents as:
(1) Being in a position to know what people in the com
munity are thinking and doing.
(2) Being important in influencing what people in the
community think and do.
163
RELIABILITY OF JUDGMENTS IN THE
ANALYSIS OF RECORDED INTERVIEWS
ON THE SUBJECT OF THE
SUPREME COURT’S SEGREGATION DECISION*
Eight trained social scientists—four Negro, four white-
made the analysis of 657 interviews recorded on the sub
ject of the Supreme Court decision declaring segregation
unconstitutional. Each judge analyzed approximately 80,
using a scale devised for the specific case at hand.
To indicate the reliability of ratings by the judges, two
items were arbitrarily selected for analysis. The two items
selected were thought to offer representative difficulties to
the judges. The judges were paired—one white and one Ne
gro—and each judge independently re-rated half of Ms
partner’s interviews on the two items.
The first item concerned a judgment of the personal feel
ing of the respondent on the following scale:
1. Firmly in favor of the decision, and believe that schools
should be immediately opened to both races throughout
Florida.
2. Firmly in favor of the decision and feel schools should
be gradually combined, taking into consideration places
which need more preparation.
3. Feel that such a decision should have been made even
tually, but believe we are not ready for it. Feel we must
move very slowly and cautiously.
4. Neither in favor of or against the decision; will agree
with whatever the courts and school officials do.
5. Against the decision, but will agree with whatever the
courts and school officials do.
* Prepared by Fay-Tyler M. Norton, graduate psychologist.
164
6. Firmly against the decision; will not cooperate in end
ing public school segregation.
7. Firmly against the decision; will actively oppose any
attempt to end segregation in Florida schools.
8. Other; Pro-segregation
9. Other; anti-segregation
0. Don’t know
x. No information
The second item concerned a judgement on the “ general
tone of the interview.” The scale consisted of the following:
(1. Will oppose.
(2. It won’t work.
(3. Indecisive.
(4. Can be worked out, hut will take time.
(5. Integration can take place soon.
The plan for statistical analysis included percent of
agreement between judges, Chi square, and the contingency
coefficient for each of the eight sets of paired judgements.
For purposes of reporting and analysis, it was deemed
more meaningful to combine categories in both items to
form a directional scale. A preliminary check revealed that
the categories were probably too finely drawn to be highly
reliable as specific categories. In the first item, categories
1, 2, 3, and 9, and categories 5, 6, 7, 8, were used to indicate
“ in favor” or “ against” the decision, respectively. In the
second item, categories 1 and 2, and categories 4 and 5
were used to indicate ‘ ‘ unfavorable ’ ’ and ‘ ‘ favorable ’ ’, re
spectively. There were no interviews rated as 0 or x.
Table 1 shows (1) the percent of agreement between the
pairs of judges on both items and (2) the total number of
paired judgments made by each pair. The consistency of
the judges is evident.* It is especially important that con
* Note that the probability for agreement on only one interview
is 1/9.
165
sistency of judgment was found between white and Negro
judges.
Tables 2-5 indicate the ratings given the personal atti
tude of the interviewees by the four pairs of judges.
Each of the extremely high values of Chi square would
occur much less than .001 times by chance alone. Inspection
of the tables will show the positive relationship of the
judges’ ratings. The contingency coefficients indicate the
degree of association.
Tables 6-9 indicate the classifications of the interviews
according to “ general tone.’ ’ Here again each of the ex
tremely high values of Chi square would occur much less
than .001 times by chance alone. The relationship of the
judges’ classifications is also a positive one, the contingency
coefficients indicating the degree of association.
Note must be made of violation of an assumption basic
to the use of the Chi square statistic. Several of the theo
retical cell frequencies in each table are less than 5. In this
case the violation is not as serious as it might be, because
the values of Chi square are extremely high. Reference is
made to the article on the Chi-square test by Lewis and
Burke.1
The four independent indicators of reliability for each
of these items are acceptably high. The extension of accept
able reliability to other items of the interview analysis must
be made on logical grounds alone.
1. Lewis, Don, and Burke, C. J. The use and mis-use of the
Chi-square test. P sych ol. B u ll., 1949, 46, 433-489.
166
TABLE 1
PER CENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN JUDGES
I. EATINGS OF INTERVIEWEE FEELING
Judges* Per Cent Total No.
I & II 94 89
III &IV 93 86
V & VI 92 60
VII & VIII 89 82
II. RATINGS OF INTERVIEWS AS A WHOLE
Judges* Per Cent Total No.
I & II 85 85
III & IV 80 84
V & VI 66 61
VII & VIII 80 80
* Judges I, III, V, VII—Negro
Judges n, IV, VI, VIH—White
167
TABLE 2
Judge I
FREQUENCIES OF RATINGS OF INTERVIEWEE
FEELING BY JUDGES I & II
In favor of Against the Total
Supreme Court Neutral Supreme Court No. of
decision decision cases
In favor of
Supreme Court
decision
37 1 2
Neutral 0 5 0
Against the
Supreme Court
decision
1 1 42
Total No.
of cases 89
Chi square=75.9711; P less than .001
C=.68
TABLE 3
Judge IV
FREQUENCIES OF RATINGS OF INTERVIEWEE
FEELING BY JUDGES III & IV
In favor of
Judge III
Against the Total
Supreme Court
decision
Neutral Supreme Court
decision
No. of
cases
In favor of
Supreme Court
decision
50 0 1
Neutral
Against the
1 0 1
Supreme Court
decision
2 1 30
Total No.
of cases 86
Chi square=79.368; P less than ,001
C=.69
TABLE 4
Judge V
FREQUENCIES OF RATINGS OF INTERVIEWEE
FEELING BY JUDGES V & VI
In favor of Against the Total
Supreme Court Neutral Supreme Court No, of
decision decision cases
In favor of
t! Supreme Court
decision
17 0 1
Judge VI Neutral 1 1 2
Against the
Supreme Court
decision
1 0 37
Total No.
of cases 60
Chi square=44.436; P less than .001
C=.65
TABLE 5
Judge VII
FREQUENCIES OF RATINGS OF INTERVIEWEE
FEELING BY JUDGES VII & VIII
- 3
In favor of Against the Total
In favor of
Supreme Court
decision
Neutral Supreme Court
decision
No. of
cases
Supreme Court
decision
55 1 7
Judge VIII Neutral
Against the
0 1 0
Supreme Court
decision
1 0 17
Total No.
of cases
CM square ̂
C=.62
=50.5192; P less than .001
82
TABLE 6
Judge I
FREQUENCIES OF CLASSIFICATION OF
INTERVIEWS BY JUDGES I & II
Unfavorable Neutral Favorable
Total
No. of
cases
Unfavorable 24 1 6
Neutral 0 0 1
Favorable 4 1 48
Total No.
of cases 85
Chi square=51.067; P less than .001
C=.61
TABLE 7
•Judge III
FREQUENCIES OF CLASSIFICATION OF
INTERVIEWS BY JUDGES III & IV
Judge IV
Unfavorable Neutral Favorable
Unfavorable 16 1 3
Neutral 4 1 4
Favorable 2 3 50
Total No.
of cases
Chi square=48.511; P less than .001
C=.50
Total
No. of
cases
84
TABLE 8
Judge VI
FREQUENCIES OF CLASSIFICATION OF
INTERVIEWS BY JUDGES V & VI
Judge V
Unfavorable Neutral Favorable
Total
No. of
cases
Unfavorable 24 1 8
Neutral 4 0 7
Favorable 0 1 16
Total No.
of cases 61
CM square=21.395; P less than .001
C—.41
TABLE 9
Judge VII
FREQUENCIES OF CLASSIFICATION OF
INTERVIEWS BY JUDGES VII & VIH
Unfavorable Neutral Favorable
Unfavorable 3 0 0
Judge VIII Neutral 5 3 3
Favorable 7 1 58
Total
No. of
eases
Total No.
of cases 80
CM square=25.4613; P less than .001
C=.47
Analysis
of Negro Registration
and Voting
in Florida
1940-1954*
This is a study of the trend of Negro registration for
voting for the years 1940-1954, an example of the way
Negroes have begun to take advantage of a privilege from
which State restrictions were removed by a federal court
decision.
The reliability of figures on registrations is questionable.
In many instances supervisors have failed to keep accurate
and up-to-date records, and in several instances the report
made to the Secretary of State differs from that made to
the Attorney General. It is impossible to compare the per
cent of negroes over 21 registered with the percent of whites
over 21 registered; many counties report more white reg
istrants than there are adults over 21 according to the 1950
census.
Immediately evident from graphs of the number of Ne
groes registered is the tremendous increase in registration
following 1944 when the decision in Smith v. Allwright
(321 U.S. 649) was made applicable to Florida through
further litigation.
* Prepared by Dr. Malcolm B. Parsons and Dr. J. A. Norton,
School of Public Administration, Florida State University.
177
Evident from a county-by-county report is the great vari
ation among counties in the percentage of non-whites over
21 who are registered.
There is also a variation in the time when Negro regis
trants increased. The following table shows the time pat
tern for counties with no Negroes registered.
Number of Counties with No Negro Registrants
1940—51
1944—36
1946— 4—Madison, Liberty, Lafayette, TJnion, Hendry (2)
1948— 4—Madison, Liberty, Lafayette, Union (1), Hendry
1950— 5—Madison, Liberty, Lafayette, Union, Calhoun
1952— 4—Madison, Liberty, Lafayette, Union
1954— 3—Liberty, Lafayette, Union
The counties which have had no Negroes registered since
1946 have all been in north Florida, except for Hendry
which left this group in 1950.
Madison county is a good example both of how rapidly
situations can change and the techniques necessary to pro
duce a change. Madison County had no Negro registrants
until just before the 1954 primaries. At this time 586 Ne
groes went to the courthouse en 'masse and were registered.
According to the supervisor of registration most of the
registrants exercised their franchise.
In 1952, the counties in North Central Florida (the planta-
tion-South culture) showed a generally uniform pattern
of a low percentage of Negro registrants. All 4 counties
with no Negroes registered are in this bloc.
Very interesting are the Florida counties, especially in
North Florida, showing a high pex-centage of Negroes reg
istered. These reports would bear close examination in light
of participation reports and other studies. Where urban
machines are known to operate the pattern is not surprising.
In other counties the explanations do not come easily.
178
Graphs showing absolute numbers of Negro registrants
from 1940 through 1954, and the percent of adult Negroes
registered for those years, are attached for each of the 12
counties under interview scrutiny.
“ We don’t mind for our niggers to register, but we don’t
let ’em vote” , a north Florida official is quoted as saying.
The questionnaire sent to supervisors furnishes the only
information on the number of Negroes who actually vote.
Many of these figures were plainly labelled “ estimates” ,
others probably are.
Many reports must be interpreted in one of twm ways:
(1) They are either poor guesses, or
(2) Any Negro who dares register is determined to exer
cise his right to vote.
This evaluation is made because the percentage of reg
istered Negroes who vote is much higher than one would
estimate on the basis of the social-economic levels which
correlate with voting interest. The evaluation applies with
somewhat less force to the counties under interview scru
tiny, but it is not clear why.
179
SUMMARY SHEET OF ATTORNEY GENERAL'S QUESTIONNAIRE, JULY 15 1954
County
Non-white
Registrations
reported by
Secretary of State
Non-white
Registrations
reported by
County Supt, of
Registration
1954, 1st Primary
Negro vote as
estimated by
County Supt. of
Registration
1954, 2nd Primary
Negro vote as
estimated by
County Supt. of
Registration
Non-wrhite
Population
1950
Alachua 2,740 2,726 817 914 16,551
Baker 184 187 164 148 1,546
Bay 2,414 2,396 1,026 1,071 7,165
Bradford 684 636 367 413 2,800
Brevard 1,780 1,780 ? ! 6,001
Broward 4,337 4,348 1,839 1,656 21,359
Calhoun 136 147 62 58 1,119
Charlotte 237 239 140 119 672
Citrus 486 486 283 248 1,555
Clay 946 968 796 742 2,105
Collier 526 526 319 306 1,986
Columbia 956 986 496 378 6,124
Dade 20,179 20,108 ? ? 65,392
DeSoto 739 739 272 345 2,002
S U M M A R Y SH EET O F A T T O R N E Y G E N E R A L 'S Q U E S T IO N N A IR E . JULY 15. 1954 (C o n tin u e d )
County
Non-white
Registrations
reported by
Secretary of State
Non-white
Registrations
reported by
County Supt. of
Registration
1954, 1st Primary
Negro vote as
estimated by
County Supt. of
Registration
1954, 2nd Primary
Negro vote as
estimated by
County Supt. of
Registration
Non-white
Population
1950
Dixie 91 91 85 85 562
Duval 25,774 25,817 11,876 10,585 , 81,840
Escambia 6,545 6,553 1,834 2,096 25,123
Flagler 4 4 2 0 1,534
Franklin 309 309 244 193 1,496
Gadsden 8 8 3 ? 20,468
Gilchrist 10 10 4 4 346
Glades 342 247 107 118 898
Gulf 426 414 284 226 2,007
Hamilton 212 238 150 100 3,790
H ardee 282 282 155 157 750
H endry 550 551 300 237 1,580
Hernando 420 420 252 252 1,539
Highlands 1,276 1,270 557 613 3,466
SUMMARY SHEET OF ATTORNEY GENERAL'S QUESTIONNAIRE, JULY 15, 1954 (Continued)
County
Non-white
Registrations
reported by
Secretary of State
Non-white
Registrations
reported by
County Supt. of
Registration
1954, 1st Primary
Negro vote as
estimated by
County Supt. of
Registration
1954, 2nd Primary
Negro vote as
estimated by
County Supt. of
Registration
Non-white
Population
1950
Hillsborough 4,003 4,003 2,400 2,800 38,315
Holmes 145 127 49 58 609
Indian River 289 289 112 153 2,962
Jackson 2,310 2,313 1,375 1,375 11,574
Jefferson 141 225 125 75 6,513
Lafayette 0 0 0 0 325
Lake 1,404 1,404 350 200 8,542
Lee 1,430 1,475 313 216 4,694
Leon 4,150 4,013 2,840 2,459 20,381
Levy 358 358 119 119 3,603
Liberty 0 0 0 0 581
Madison 586 585 t ! 6,477
Manatee 1,290 1,250 500 400 7,916
Marion 4,040 4,043 1,474 1,581 14,594
SUMMARY SHEET OF ATTORNEY GENERAL'S QUESTIONNAIRE, JULY 15, 1954 (Continued)
County
Non-white
Registrations
reported by
Secretary of State
Non-white
Registrations
reported by
County Supt. of
Registration
1954, 1st Primary
Negro vote as
estimated by
County Supt. of
Registration
1954, 2nd Primary
Negro vote as
estimated by
County Supt. of
Registration
Non-white
Population
1950
Martin 516 516 345 310 2,203
Monroe 1,214 1,214 925 596 3,221
Nassau 1,032 4,007
Okaloosa 363 375 187 185 2,198
Okeechobee 291 641
Orange 2,687 2,695 1,139 787 22,766
Osceola 239 239 171 150 1,492
Palm Beach 5,198 5,179 2,043 2,244 34,797
Pasco 633 700 100 75 2,776
Pinellas 3,408 3,426 939 975 18,712
Polk 3,685 3,716 ? f 25,577
Putnam 1,433 1,433 409 536 8,608
St. Johns 2,515 2,515 785 618 8,327
St. Lucie 1,464 1,476 545 566 6,394
184
S U M M A R Y SHEET O F A T T O R N E Y G E N E R A L'S Q U E STIO N N A IR E , JULY 15, 1954 (Continued)
County
Non-white
Registrations
reported by
Secretary of State
Non-white
Registrations
reported by
County Supt, of
Registration
1954, 1st Primary
Negro vote as
estimated by
County Supt. of
Registration
1954, 2nd Primary
Negro vote as
estimated by
County Supt. of
Registration
Non-white
Population
1950
Santa Bosa 613 613 547 511 1,584
Sarasota 707 639 132 164 4,611
Seminole 1,581 1,624 978 993 11,940
Sumter 520 619 464 464 3,052
Suwannee 438 4,985
Taylor 99 109 0 0 3,181
Union 0 0 0 0 3,231
Volusia 4,537 4,637 2,376 2,358 16,385
Wakulla 139 145 15 22 1,627
Walton 1,721 1,958
Washington 570 581 340 325 2,119
Existing
Public School Facilities
in Florida
...and Factors
of School Administration
and Instructional Services
Affecting Segregation*
The 1950 census revealed that Florida had grown in
population since 1940 more than any state east of the
Rocky Mountains. This rapid growth has probably been
most sharply observable in the public schools. The present
rate of growth in school population from year to year is
about 8 per cent. Present school population for the year
ended June 30, 1954 was 650,285 (507,276 white; 143,009
Negro) up from 603,665 the year before (467,762 white;
135,903 Negro).
There were 81 schools in 18 counties forced to run double
sessions during 1953-54 as against 66 schools in 15 counties
the year previous.
The classroom situation is acute. Although 671 class
rooms were constructed between July 1, 1953 and July 1,
* Prepared by Dr. Robert E. Lee, Florida State Department of
Education, assisted by Thomas N. Morgan, Florida State Depart
ment of Education.
185
1954, bringing existing classrooms up to about 18,000, it
would require 5000 new classrooms this year to eliminate
double sessions, relieve congested classrooms, take care of
expanding enrollment and replace obsolete classrooms
which should be abandoned.
The need for teachers is equally critical. Conservative
estimates place the teacher need for the year 1953-54 at
a figure between 4500 and 5000.
During 1953-54 Florida’s 2212 school buses manned
by 2038 drivers (including 359 Negro drivers) traveled
30,910,944 miles to transport 209,492 pupils at a cost of
$4,506,667. The magnitude of this operation can be more
readily appreciated by comparing it with that of com
mercial bus passenger lines which reveals that in miles
traveled school buses probably equaled or exceeded the
total mileage of all commercial passenger bus lines in the
state in the latest recorded corresponding year.
The total cost of operating Florida’s public schools for
the year 1952-53 is given in Table 1, classified by major
items of expenditure.
The level of support of public education in Florida
underwent a substantial advance with the establishment
of the 1947 Minimum Foundation Program Law. Prior
to that year, the assessed value of property within a
county was the primary determinant of financial support;
since then the extensive tax resources of the entire state
have made possible adequate financial support for the
education of all the children, regardless of location or
color. This structure of school finance can be described
as a partnership between each county and the state,
whereby the county levies taxes according to its financial
ability and the state contributes to each county primarily
on the basis of need. Since 1947 the gaps of inequality
between the races and between rural and metropolitan
areas have been steadily narrowed.
186
Table 2 shows that the pronounced discrepancies be
tween white and Negro salaries existing in 1930 and 1940
were reduced to a difference of 21% in 1947 and only
7.0% in 1952-53. In like manner the percentage of dis
crepancy between Current Expenditure Per Negro Pupil
and Current Expenditure Per White Pupil in 1930-31 was
71%, but by 1952-53 this per pupil dollar expenditure for
Negroes had risen almost tenfold to where the per cent
difference was only 16% less than the corresponding
expenditure for whites.
During the fourth and fifth decade, the majority of
Negro teachers had less than four years college training.
By 1952-53, 94.7% of all Negro teachers compared to
95.6% of all white teachers had at least four years college
training.
Capital Outlay Expenditures have reflected not only the
inflation of enrollment, but the inflation of new residents
and the inflation of construction costs. Prom 1937 to
1953 Capital Outlay Expenditure for Negroes amounted to
$28,975,000, and for white schools the amount was $129,-
246,000. The total value of public school property in
Florida has been estimated at $300,000,000. Capital Outlay
Expenditures Per Negro Pupil were greater than for whites
in 1952-53 because of greater needs. During the two decades
up to 1947 a limited State Aid Program provided some
financial support without specification as to race. Start
ing in 1947, State Aid under the Minimum Foundation
Program was allocated to the counties in such a way
that no shifting of salary funds from one race to another
could take place. In some counties of Florida, the Expen
ditures Per Negro Pupil are greater than the Expenditures
Per White Pupil. This often happens when the Negro
teachers as a group have either greater training or longer
service than the white teachers.
Florida provides annually $400 per instruction unit for
187
Capital Outlay needs which for the 67 counties totaled
$9,451,600 in 1953-54 and has been computed at $10,199,448
for the 1954-55 estimate. This money is spent in each county
according to the needs recommended by a state conducted
school building survey. With the help of these individual
county surveys it was estimated as of January, 1954 that
$97,000,000 will be needed to provide facilities for white
children and $50,000,000 will be needed to provide facilities
for Negro children. Since the activation as of the effective
date January 1, 1953 of a Constitutional Amendment pro
viding for the issuance of revenue certificates by the State
Board of Education against anticipated state Capital Out
lay funds for the next thirty years more than $43,000,000 in
state guaranteed bonds, have been issued to provide addi
tional facilities for both races. By the fall of 1954 there will
have been a total of $70,000,000 of these bonds issued and
in the foreseeable future the total will be $90,000,000 to
$100,000,000. At the present time 2182 classrooms are under
construction as a result of the issuance of these bonds.
The growth of Florida’s school population in the past
five years has far exceeded all expectations and predictions.
The combination of a large birth rate during the latter
forties and a steadily increasing migration rate is reflected
in Table 3.
It is significant that Florida was the only one of the
thirteen southern states to show an increase in the age 10-14
Negro population during the last decade. While the general
pattern in the South during 1940-50 was a migration of
Negroes to the North and West, Florida registered a 2.5%
net migration increase and a natural increase of 14.9%. The
corresponding rate for the white population for this decade
was a net migration increase of 40.6% and a natural in
crease of 16.1%. It is clear then, that Florida’s Negro popu
lation, though increasing in both measures, is actually be
coming a smaller and smaller minority. The per cent of
188
non-white population decreased from 27.2% in 1940 to
21.8% in 1950. As in the other states, a wide range of
concentration is found among the 67 counties of Florida.
The accompanying two maps of Florida counties show the
amount and per cent of non-white population in 1950 and
the distribution of Negro enrollment in 1952-53, and illus
trate the diversity of Florida’s pattern. In only two counties
of North and West Florida do the Negroes outnumber the
whites. In only one county do the Negroes comprise less
than 5% of the county’s population. With the exception of
Jacksonville, the major metropolitan areas are inhabited
by a much smaller proportion of Negroes than the state
average.1
The shifting of Negro population into the southern coastal
counties and into Northeast Florida is contrasted with the
out-migration of Negroes from the West Florida non-urban
counties. Statewide, twenty-seven counties (or 40%) reg
istered actual losses in Negro population from 1940 to 1950;
and the heaviest losers were Dixie (82%), Gilchrist (46%),
and Liberty (37%).
Achievement Test Scores
If a significant difference in preparation and achievement
level exists between white and Negro students, additional
academic problems can be expected in the process of de
segregation. It is not inferred that these differences are
explained by racial differences.
In Florida, the statutes provide 1,050 scholarships of
$400 each for students desiring to train for the teaching
profession. Awarding of the scholarships is done on a basis
1 Dietrich, T. Stanton, Statistical Atlas. Florida’s Population:
1940 and 1950: Research Report No. 3. Fla. State University, June,
1954.
189
of comity representation, race, and competitive test scores
of psychological and scholastic aptitude. A compilation of
the scores of the 740 white twelfth grade applicants in the
spring of 1954 yielded an average score of 340. Compilation
of the 488 Negro twelfth grade applicants yielded an aver
age score of 237. In the previous year, 1953, 664 white ap
plicants made a mean score of 342 while the 503 Negro
applicants made an average score of 237. This difference
is classified as very significant and should be interpreted as
meaning that factors other than chance explain the different
results between white and Negro scores.
In addition, a comparison of the performance of white
and Negro high school seniors on a uniform placement-test
battery given each spring in the high schools throughout
the State of Florida is shown in Table 4. The number of
participants corresponds with the total twelfth grade mem
bership during the five-year period, 1949-1953. This table
shows, for example, that on all five tests 59% of the Negroes
rank no higher than the lowest 10% of the whites. On the
general ability scale, the fifty percentile or mid-point on the
white scale corresponds with the ninety-five percentile of
the Negro scale. In other words, only 5% of the Negroes
are above the mid-point of the white general ability level.
Studies of grades at the University of Florida indicate
that white high school seniors with placement test per
centile ranks below fifty have less than a 50% likelihood of
making satisfactory grades in college. While factors such
as size of high school, adequacy of materials, economic level,
and home environment are recognized as being contributing
factors, no attempt is made here to analyze or measure the
controlling factors.
190
Counties With No Negro High Schools
An examination of facilities provided by the sixty-seven
counties reveals, that no senior high schooling was offered
for Negroes in eight counties in 1953. Transportation to an
adjacent county high school is provided in each county. In
six of these eight counties the membership available for a
7-12 grade high school is less than seventy-five.
Table 5 shows the estimated number of Negroes eligible
for grades, 7-12, the number and organization of white high
schools, the white average daily membership, the full ca
pacity of the high schools, and the possible space available.
If the ban on Negro pupils were lifted, space would be
available in six of these eight counties.
Examples of Inter-Racial Cooperation
The tradition of separate schools for Negro children has
in effect separated the Negro teachers from association with
white teachers. Until recent years, duplicate meetings of
teachers during prg-school conferences were held in every
county. When specialists and consultants were brought into
the county to improve instruction, two presentations instead
of one had to be made. Considering the growing demands
for efficiency and effective administration that were pro
mulgated by the 1947 Minimum Foundation Program, the
administrations in several counties have found it advan
tageous to schedule a single program of activities during
the two week pre-school conference period for instruction
personnel. Collier, Monroe, Sarasota, Hardee, and Dixie are
counties that have already combined the races for pre
school conferences. This action, it might be noted, has
been carried out as a result of voluntary local level initia
tive without any directive or suggestion from the state
administration.
191
There are other examples of inter-racial cooperation at
the county level. In Dade and Duval Counties, Negro super
visory personnel have offices in the same building as their
fellow professional staff members. In a number of counties,
including Santa Eosa, Leon, Sarasota, Pinellas, Hillsbor
ough, and Hernando, regular principals’ meetings are held
without regard to race. Negro representatives have partici
pated in the County PTA Council in Hillsborough County.
In many counties the development of a Parent Teacher As
sociation in Negro schools has been possible as a result of
the personal interest and sponsorship of white PTA leaders.
Invitations to be guests and speakers at PTA meetings have
not been entirely unilateral.
The State Department of Education has Negro consult
ants, and staff and division meetings are held at regular
intervals in the Capitol with no distinction as to race.
The members of the Florida Resource Use Education
Committee are appointed by the Governor and include both
races. The purpose of the committee is to promote instruc
tion in the wide use and development of the natural re
sources in our community, state, and nation.
The Florida Council on Elementary Education and the
Florida Council on Secondary Education are each composed
of professional educators in Florida and have representa
tion from both races. Membership is by appointment of the
State Superintendent of Public Instruction and the purpose
of each Council is to conduct studies which will make pos
sible the continued improvement of the school’s product.
For the past two years, a week-long Negro Principal’s
Work Conference has taken place at Bethune-Cookman
College with a participation of more than half of all Negro
Principals. Speakers, consultants, and specialists were
largely drawn from white educators in Florida.
The examples of normal association between the races
192
cited herewith are confined largely to professional edu
ctors and those citizens deeply concerned about public
education.
TABLE 1
SUMMARY OF EXPENDITURES—ALL FUNDS—
BOTH RACES, 1952-53
General Control
Instruction
Operation of Plant
Maintenance
Auxiliary Agencies
Fixed Charges
$ 2,367,825.41
78,233,563.93
6,540,853.16
4,031,471.75
6,585,529.70
2,810,762.18
Current Expenses (Day Schools)
Other Schools
100,570,006.13
1,527,768.39
Total Current Expenses (All Schools) 102,097,774.52
Capital Outlay 28,013,835.59
Debt Service 8,783,513.04
Total Expenditures (All Funds) $138,895,123.15
193
TABLE 2
SIGNIFICANT TRENDS IN THE GROWTH OF FLORIDA
SCHOOLS UNDER DUAL SYSTEM OF EDUCATION
1930 TO 1953
1930-31 1940-41 1947-48 1952-53
Average Daily
Attendance:
White 203,002 240,388 272,084 380,800
Negro 74,785 87,570 96,503 118,162
Average Annual
Salary:
White $907 $1,202 $2,770 $3,457
Negro 403 605 2,191 3,215
Teacher Preparation
(Per Cent Four
Years or More):
White 38.81% 61.48% 76.72% 95.62%
Negro 15.18 31.90 62.53 94.74
Current Expenses
Per Pupil in
ADA (All Funds):
White $61.26 $72.40 $175.14 $209.42
Negro 17.91 28.80 110.39 176.24
Capital Outlay Per
Pupil in ADA
(All Funds):
White $3.12 $7.36 $42.60 $54.92
Negro 0.35 0.57 10.65 60.09
State Aid Per
Pupil in ADA:
Both Races $15.28 $39.60 $106.70 $123.39
194
TABLE 3
ENROLLMENT
(Includes Kindergarten and Junior Colleges)
Tear White Negro Total
1953-54 507,276 143,009 650,285
1952-53 467,762 135,903 603,665
1951-52 428,405 129,695 558,100
1950-51 401,083 126,091 527,174
1949-50 375,295 120,368 495,663
The over-all rate of growth during the past two years has been
more than 8%; (9% for white pupils; 5% for Negro pupils.)
195
hit«
ile
01
05
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
95
TABLE 4
OF PERCENTILE RANKS FOR WHITE AND NEGRO EXAMINEES IN THE FLORIDA
E TWELFTH-GRADE TESTING PROGRAM SPRING 1949 THROUGH SPRING 1953
Corresponding Percentile Rank for Negroes
Psychological
(General Ability)
English Social
Studies
Natural
Science
Mathe
matics
All Five
Tests
31.4 18.8 15.6 11.2 09.8 17.36
57.4 50.4 44.8 32.4 33.0 43.60
70.8 67.4 60.4 50.0 46.8 59.08
82.8 81.6 78.4 69.8 67.2 75.96
88.6 88.6 86.4 80.2 79.2 84.60
92.6 93.0 91.4 87.8 86.2 90.20
95.4 95.6 94.4 92.4 90.6 93.68
97.2 97.0 96.4 95.0 94.4 96.00
98.2 98.0 97.6 97.0 96.4 97.44
98.75 99.0 98.6 98.4 97.25 98.40
99.0 99.0 98.5 98.5 98.75
99.0 99.0 99.0
Tested: White—69,909
N egro— 10,675
TABLE 5
COUNTIES WITH NO NEGRO HIGH SCHOOL— 1952-53
County N E G R O
Elem. ADM
(1-6)
Est. 7-12
ADM Based on
Ratio of .50
1. Baker 288 144
2. Charlotte 70 35
3. Dixie 68 34
4. Glades 102 51
5. Hardee 136 68
6. Holmes 104 52
7. Lafayette 42 21
8. Union Co. Hi. 230 115
W H I T E
No, and
Grade of
Hi School
ADM
(7-12) Capacity
Space
Available
3(1-12) 499 6601 161
1(1-12) 234 3001 66
1(7-12) 300 3301 2 30
1(1-12) 119 180 61
1(9-12) 803 890 87
4(1-12) 1222 1080
1(7-12) 283 3301 47
1(1-12) 255 280 25
1. Allows 60 additional capacity for Homemaking, Science, Agriculture, and Physical Education facilities.
2. Allows 90 additional capacity for Agriculture, Science, Homemaking and Gymnasium facilities.
TABLE 6
STATUS OF ELEMENTARY PRINCIPALS* 1953-54
(Percentage)
Male
W N
Female
W N
Training
Bank I 9.60 6.19
Bank II 68.80 46.15 55.75 46.90
Bank III 20.00 51.30 36.28 53.12
No Information 1.60 2.60 1.76
Number 125 39 226 32
Years as
Principal
0 1.60 .90
1 - 5 45.60 30.80 31.85 25.00
6 -10 17.60 33.33 22.12 21.90
11-15 12.80 15.40 16.81 18.80
16-20 8.00 15.40 8.84 15.62
21-25 4.80 2.60 8.84 3.12
26-Over 9.60 2.60 9.73 15.62
No Information .90
Number 125 39 226 32
Salary
10 Months
(Dollars)
2500-2999 1.60 2.60
3000-3499 .80 17.94 1.32
3500-3999 9.60 17.94 3.53 12.50
4000-4499 19.20 15.40 18.60 18.80
4500-4999 12.80 10.25 22.12 25.00
5000-5499 20.80 17.94 28.80 12.50
5500-5999 16.80 10.25 11.06 12.50
*Not Applicable
(12 mos.) 16.80 5.12 10.61 18.80
No Information 1.60 2.60 4.00
Number 125 39 226 32
*CompiIed by Sara DeKeni, School of Education, Florida State
University.
198
199
200
An Intensive
Study
in Dade County
and Nearby
Agricultural Areas
...and Conclusions*
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS
A majority of those polled believed that most of the
white population of Dade County are opposed to the Court’s
decision as a matter of principle. There seems to be rea
son to believe, however, because of the relative lack of dis
cussion about the decision and its- attendant problems and
of the calm acceptance of the decision itself that the atti
tude on the part of many is not a deep-seated, emotionally
formed one. If the process of integration is handled grad
ually (after a few years of preparation) and wisely and
with firm leadership, a very large majority of this group
will abide by the decision. The distinct possibility remains
that many of this group with loosely formed convictions
can be driven into active opposition by early and abrupt
transition.
Some reluctance has been noted on the part of the School
Board and other public officials to plan and lead, and on the
* Prepared by Dr. D. R. Larson, Dr. Edward Sofen, and Dr. T. J.
Wood, Government Department, University of Miami.
201
part of the newspapers to encourage the same. The problem
of obtaining leadership outside official circles for the tran
sitional steps will be made more difficult by the tendency or
perhaps organized campaign of the more violent pro-seg
regationists to identify such leadership with the Communist
Party. On the other hand, a number of ministers have in
dicated that they will advise their congregations to follow
the Court’s decision.
Virtually complete agreement exists among those polled
as to the most explosive area—the northwest section of the
county which is low in the white socio-economic strata and
which contains the greatest percentage of southern-born
whites. The elected officials foresaw the next greatest
amount of trouble (although not violent in nature) from
those communities such as Coral Gables and Miami Shores
which are high on the socio-economic scale. Community
leaders, the teachers, newsmen, police and labor leaders
failed to mention this in any significant numbers; this fail
ure may be explained in part by disposition to think of
difficulties only in terms of violence.
Almost all elected officials, journalists, police chiefs and
labor leaders agreed that serious violence in several areas
was inevitable if large-scale integration were to be at
tempted within the next year or two; such violence would
be perpetrated by a small segment of the population and
would take the form of the bombing of homes, hit-and-run
shooting and individual beatings rather than lynehings
and other more openly organized activities. Among the
community leaders there was less unanimity, although a
majority expects violence in some form in the most difficult
areas.
Roughly half of the above categories of interviewees be
lieved that some scattered violence was inevitable no mat
ter how slowly the integration was accomplished. Only
202
33% of the teachers expect violence under such circum
stances.
These same categories thought that boycotts in all parts
of the County were inevitable whenever integration was
undertaken but few estimates were made of their dimen
sions. A substantial move toward private schools among
the well-to-do was agreed upon. There was a marked ab
sence of mention of the Byrnes-Talmadge Plan of removing
the state’s direct connection with education; only a few
of those who expressed personal opposition to the decision
thought that this was a practical solution.
The consensus of the various categories of whites polled
with regard to the attitude of the Negro population on the
timing of integration is that a gradual approach over a
period of several years is desired. Although Negro school
teachers are not a representative cross-section of the Ne
gro population, it should be noted that by an extremely
large majority they wanted speedier integration and that
they reported, although by a smaller majority, that their
students agreed.
The small sampling of Negro leaders indicates that most
of the hitherto effective Negro leaders are prepared not to
demand, by means of suits or otherwise, immediate action
if there is indication on the part of the state and local of
ficials that they are planning in good faith and with rea
sonable promptitude the method of implementation decreed
by the Supreme Court.
Although no such specific question was posed, significant
numbers in all categories minimized the difficulties that
might arise among the younger children; but it was rec
ognized that violent parental attitudes might change the
situation radically. At the same time the belief was widely
expressed that social activities in junior and senior high
schools would give rise to considerably more trouble, if
203
not among the students, then certainly among the parents.
Any consideration of a scheme to initiate integration in the
first grade would be forced to take into account the fact
that among the white teachers polled the first grade teach
ers were most resistant to the idea of integration.
The two special agricultural areas checked must be con
sidered a problem of an entirely different order owing to
the high concentration of Negroes, the Negroes’ low socio
economic status, and the relative absence of whites drawn
from northern metropolitan areas. The feeling against the
Negro, particularly in one of these areas is more intense
and more structured than that in the Greater Miami area.
Factors Indicating a Gradual Approach
as the Solution to this Problem
1. Despite the fact that a majority of the white population
of Dade County is opposed to the Court decision as a mat
ter of principle, they nevertheless indicate that they will
abide by the decision if integration is handled gradually,
with an adequate period of preparation.
2. The present reluctance to assume positive leadership
on the part of public officials and of any substantial num
ber of groups outside official circles indicates great diffi
culty if an attempt is made to move too quickly.
3. A general belief exists that serious violence will occur
if the decision is pushed by any minority group, white or
colored.
4. A similar belief that some violence is inevitable no mat
ter how gradual the transition, but with a firm belief that
the more gradual the transition the more moderate and less
frequent would be the outbreaks of violence.
5. In spite of some interracial activity among school per
sonnel, it is a fact that Negro and white teachers have
204
never met together in Dade County—not even for 1 ‘ Fellow
ship Day.” Interracial cooperation through joint activity
would seem to be a must before school integration could
be put into operation.
6. Many leaders interviewed agreed that if the NAACP,
or any other organized groups, should seek to push the de
cision by test cases this fall immeasurable harm would be
done to the entire cause of the integration of the schools.
7. With a majority of white population disagreeing with
the Supreme Court’s decision in principle, a state legislator
was, without question, correct when he said that what is
needed is a “ mental change” in the community. Such
changes obviously require time.
8. A small minority in the Negro community, without ques
tion, opposes integration in the schools. Others who strong
ly favor the decision in principle are concerned about the
practical problems of the decision as it affects Negroes. A
gradual solution would thus ease the tension experienced
by both these groups of Negroes.
9. A sizeable percentage of the Negro leadership group
checked stated that they believe a gradual approach is best.
They would accept this gradual approach as long as the
white community acts in good faith and with reasonable
speed toward a solution.
10. Research indicates that in the two special South Florida
agricultural areas checked the problems of community ac
ceptance and general leadership make the problem of inte
gration even more difficult than in the metropolitan area,
and thus these two sections must be granted an opportunity
to proceed more slowly and pei'haps in an entirely different
manner. 11
11. The greatest difficulty in integration would probably
be caused at the junior and senior high school levels due to
205
social activities and athletic and other extracurricular
events. Time allowed for preparation for integration would
permit the gradual use of non-social, extracurricular ac
tivities as a way of preparing students for eventual school
integration.
12. Up to 60% of the white teachers polled favored a long
transitional period, and another 20-30% favor at least a one
or two year period of adjustment.
13. The School Board and top school administrative per
sonnel in the school system have given little attention to
the problems raised by the decision and would require time
to simply handle the mechanical problems involved in the
transition. It would also give these groups time to develop
positive leadership which will be required for a peaceful
and smooth transition.
14. The need for careful preparation in the process of
integration was urged again and again by all groups polled.
It is agreed that leadership and proper educational prep
aration will be all-important in a transition of this nature.
Both require time for full development.
206
Acknowledgments
To complete a survey of the scope of this Study o f the Prob
lems o f School D esegregation in Florida in less than three months
was a task demanding the utmost effort on the part of many
people. The time-table during the entire period of the research
was such that a delay or a mistake in even the simplest task could
prove disastrous. It is a tribute to the untiring diligence of
everyone connected with the project that no such disaster oc
curred, and acknowledgment of their separate contributions is
highly appropriate.
At all stages of the research, the members of the Research
Advisory Committee, all of them busy with important duties,
contributed of their time and their best thinking to make this
a sound piece of research. The committee included:
Mr. Richard W. Ervin, Attorney General (Ex Officio)
Mr. Thos. D. Bailey, State Superintendent of Public Instruc
tion (Ex Officio)
Mr. Ralph E. Odum, Assistant Attorney General
Dr. Ralph Eyman, Dean, School of Education, Florida State
University
Dr. Sara Lou Hammond, School of Education, Florida State
University
Mr. Robert Gates, Department of Education
Dr. Robert E. Lee, Department of Education
Mr. Ed Henderson, Executive Secretary, Florida Education
Association
Dr. Gilbert Porter, Executive Secretary, Florida State Teach
ers Association
Dr. J. B. White, Dean, School of Education, University of
Florida
Dr. Manning J. Dauer, Department of Political Science, Uni
versity of Florida
Dr. Don Larson, Department of Political Science, University
of Miami
Dr. George Gore, President, Florida Agricultural and Me
chanical University
Mr. Angus Laird, Director, State Merit System
Dr. Richard Moore, President, Bethune-Cookman College
Dr. R. L. Johns, School of Education, University of Florida
207
Dr. Mode Stone, School of Education, Florida State University
Mr. D. E. Williams, Department of Education
Dr. T. J. Wood, Department of Political Science, Univer
sity of Miami
Dr. Lewis M. Killian, Department of Sociology, Florida State
University (Coordinator of Research)
Some members of the committee made further contributions to
the study. Dr. Larson and Dr. Lee prepared reports which con
stitute important subsections of the study, and Dr. Dauer prepared
an independent report on the experience of other states with
desegregation. Dean Eyman, Dean White and President Gore, as
well as President Doak S. Campbell, of The Florida State Uni
versity, released much-needed members of their staffs to assist
in the research at various times. Dr. Robert Gates was a constant
source of advice and support to the Coordinator.
A special debt is owed to Mrs. Fay-Tyler M. Norton, who
served as Assistant Coordinator and Statistical Consultant for
the entire period of the research. Her contribution was far greater
than the tasks called for in her contract with the Committee, and
without her the study could not have been completed.
Dr. J. A. Norton and Dr. Malcolm Parsons, of the School of
Public Administration, the Florida State University, conducted
the study of Negro voting registration while carrying full teach
ing loads at the University, but with no additional compensation.
Voluntarily making a vital contribution, as a public service,
were Prof. Robert McGinnis and Dr. John Haer of the Sociology
Research Laboratory, the Florida State University. Under their
direction the laborious task of punching both the questionnaire
and the interview data on IBM cards and tabulating these data
was carried out.
The field interviewers who worked in ten selected counties, all
public school workers drawn away from other important duties
and asked to work without personal compensation, revealed a fine
sense of duty. The manner in which they carried out their
important part of the study indicates that they were well chosen.
These interviewers are:
Edwin G. Artest, Tampa
Henry W. Bishop, Gainesville
Mrs. Patricia Carter, Gainesville
John B. Cox, Tampa
Paul F. Davis, Bradenton
Thomas J. Hill, Gainesville
Leroy G. Hooks, Clearwater
208
Elton L. Jones, Ocala
R. LeRoy Lastinger, Bartow
Mills Lord, Orlando
Julian E. Markham, Sebring
Thord Marshall, Tallahassee
William J. MeEntee, Gainesville
Erby Nixon, Panama City
Willie J. Reid, Pensacola
C. C. Washington, Panama City
At a critical point in the study, a small team of workers was
called upon to put forth an almost impossible effort in coding
a large mass of interview data just received from the field. At
great personal sacrifice, they rose to this demand, completing the
task in an incredibly short time. One member of this team, Dr.
C. U. Smith, of Florida A. and M. University, had already made
an important contribution in helping to brief the interviewers
before they went into the field. The team of analysts included,
in addition to Dr. Smith, the Coordinator of Research, and Mrs.
Norton, the following people:
Mr. Robert Gates, State Department of Education
Dr. Robert E. Lee, State Department of Education
Mr. James Condell, Florida A. and M. University
Dr. Henry Cobb, Florida A. and M. University
Mr. Henry Warner, Florida A. and M. University
Mrs. Lillian Walker and Miss Winifred hatching, of the Office
of the Attorney General, shouldered without complaint the addi
tional burden of the major part of the clerical and accounting
work incidental to such a comprehensive study. Their contribu
tions were just as vital as those of any of the professional research
staff.
Working far harder than they may have expected to when
they accepted summer employment, the following young ladies
in the Office of the Attorney General did a vast amount of
detailed and often dull clerical work for which the research staff
is indebted. It is entirely fitting that the youth of Florida should
have played a significant part in this public service. These young
ladies, all high school or college students, are:
Miss Kathleen Kirk
Miss Maribelle Garris
Miss Pat Gunn
Miss Sonya Fletcher
Miss Bessie Carol Johnson
Miss Barbara Curtis
Miss June Lasseter
209
A key figure in this project from the moment of its inception
has been Mr. Ralph Odum, Assistant to the Attorney General.
In addition to expediting the work of the professional research
staff, he has contributed his sound thinking to every phase of
the study.
Finally, the Committee is deeply indebted to Attorney General
Ervin, Superintendent Bailey, and their colleagues of the State
Cabinet for making it possible for us to apply our knowledge and
skills, as educators and scientists, to the study of this momentous
problem.
Lewis M. K illian
C oord in ator o f R esearch
210
(Appendix B)
Examples of Florida’s Constitutional,
Statutory and State School Board
Regulatory Provisions Relating to
Segregation
211
Florida Constitution
Article XII, Section 1:
Uniform system of public free schools.—The Legislature
shall provide for a uniform system of public free schools,
and shall provide for the liberal maintenance of the same.
Article XII, Section 12:
White and colored; separate schools.—White and colored
children shall not be taught in the same school, but im
partial provision shall be made for both.
213
Florida Statutes
228.09 Separate schools for white and negro children re
quired.—The schools for white children and the schools
for negro children shall be conducted separately. No in
dividual, body of individuals, corporation, or association
shall conduct within this state any school of any grade
(public, private, or parochial) wherein white persons and
negroes are instructed or boarded in the same building
or taught in the same classes or at the same time by the
same teachers.
229.07 General powers of state board.—Except as limited
in the school code, the state board shall have the authority,
and when necessary for the more efficient and adequate op
eration of the state system of public education in carrying
out the purposes and objectives of the school code, the state
board shall exercise the following general powers:
(1) DETERMINE POLICIES.—The state board shall de
termine and adopt such policies as are required by law and
as in the opinion of the state board are necessary for the
more efficient operation of any phase of public education.
* # # #
(3) PRESCRIBE MINIMUM STANDARDS.—Whenever
the establishment of minimum standards will aid in provid
ing adequate educational opportunities and facilities, the
state board shall adopt such minimum standards for any
phase of education as are considered desirable by it in
carrying out the provisions of the school code.
215
229.08 Duties and responsibilities of state board.—It shall
be the responsibility of the state board to exercise all powers
and perform all duties prescribed below:
* * # #
(20) PRESCRIBE MINIMUM STANDARDS AND
RULES AND REGULATIONS— To prescribe such mini
mum standards and rules and regulations as are required by
law or as are recommended by the state superintendent in
accordance with the provisions of subsection (20), §229.17,
and as it may find desirable to aid in carrying out the
purposes and objectives of the school code.
# # # #
(23) OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES. — To assume such
other responsibilities and to exercise such other powers and
perform such other duties as may be assigned to it by law
or as it may find necessary to aid in carrying out the
purposes and objectives of the school code.
229.16 General powers of state superintendent.—The state
superintendent shall have the authority, and when necessary
for the more efficient and adequate operation of the state
system of public education in carrying out the purposes and
objectives of the school code, the state superintendent shall
exercise the following general powers:
* # # #
(5) RECOMMEND AND PUT INTO EFFECT MINI
MUM STANDARDS.—From time to time to prepare, or
ganize by subjects, and submit to the state board for adop
tion such minimum standards relating to the operation of
any phase of the state system of public education as, in his
opinion, will aid in assuring more adequate educational op
portunities for all, and to see, insofar as practicable, that
such minimum standards as are adopted by the state board
are put into effect and are properly observed.
216
229.17 Duties and responsibilities of state superintendent.
-—It shall be the responsibility of the state superintendent
to exercise all powers and perform all duties prescribed
below; provided, that in those fields in which policies are
required by law to be approved by the state board the state
superintendent shall act as the advisor and executive officer
of the state board.
# # * #
(20) MINIMUM STANDARDS AND RULES AND REG
ULATIONS.—To prepare, organize, and recommend to the
state board such minimum standards and rules and regula
tions in the following fields as are required by law or as he
may find necessary to aid in carrying out the purposes and
objectives of the school code; and to execute such standards
and rules and regulations as are adopted by the state board
in the following fields: (1) establishment, organization, and
operation of schools, agencies, services, and institutions, in
cluding the classification or accreditation of parochial, de
nominational, and private schools; (2) personnel; (3) child
welfare; (4) courses of study and instructional aids; (5)
transportation; (6) school plant; (7) finance; (8) records
and reports.
# # * #
(28) OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES. — To assume such
other responsibilities and to perform such other duties as
may be assigned to him by law or as may be deemed by him
to be necessary to aid in the more efficient operation of the
state system of public education in carrying out the purposes
and objectives of the school code.
230.23 Powers and duties of county board.—The county
board acting as a board shall exercise all powers and per
form all duties listed below:
* # * #
(6) ESTABLISHMENT, ORGANIZATION, AND OP
ERATION OF SCHOOLS.—Adopt and provide for the ex
217
edition of plans for the establishment, organization, and
operation of the schools of the conntv, as follows:
(a) Schools and attendance areas.—Authorize schools to
be located and maintained in those communities in the
county where they are needed to accommodate as far as
practicable and without unnecessary expense all the youth
who should be entitled to the facilities of such schools,
separate schools to be provided for white and negro chil
dren; and approve the area from which children are to
attend each such school, such area to be known as the at
tendance area for that school; provided, that only under
exceptional circumstances as defined under regulations of
the state board may an elementary school be located within
four miles of another elementary school and a high school
within ten miles of another high school in rural areas for
children of the same race.
239.41 Value of general scholarships.—Each scholarship
for the preparation of teachers shall have a value of four
hundred ($400.00) dollars each year and shall be awarded
in the following manner:
# * # #
(2) In accordance with these requirements, the princi
pals and county superintendents of each county shall select
and recommend, on the basis of merit, a number of high
school graduates who are bona fide residents of the State
of Florida, as defined in section 97.041, Florida Statutes,
which shall be proportionate to the white or Negro popula
tion in the county and who are interested in teaching and
whose work and qualifications are such as to indicate that
they possess the qualities which should be possessed by
a successful teacher; provided that each county shall have
at least one scholarship for a Negro student.
218
State School Board Regulations
Adopted April 27, 1954
Section 236.04 (10)
State Board Regulation
relating to
THE CALCULATION OF INSTRUCTION UNITS AND
SALARY ALLOCATIONS FROM THE
FOUNDATION PROGRAM
(Repealing regulation adopted June 16, 1953)
Instruction units and salary allotments from the Founda
tion Program will be calculated separately for white and
Negro schools.
No county will receive a greater allotment for salaries
for either race than the salaries actually paid the teachers
of that race or the calculated amount for that race based on
instruction units and training, whichever amount is smaller.
In applying the provisions of Section 236.04 (10), provid
ing that 95% of instructional units allocated to a county
must be filled, the units calculated for each race will be
considered separately, and 95% of the instructional units
for each race must be filled.
219
Adopted March 21, 1950
Section 236.04 (7)
State Board Regulation
relating to
ADMINISTRATIVE AND SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONAL
SERVICE
(Adopted in accordance with the provisions of Section
236.04 (7), Chapter 23726, Laws of Florida,
Acts of 1947)
1. Eleventh and Twelfth Month Personnel.
Each county superintendent shall file with the State Super
intendent on or before May 15 of each year Form A for
the use of its administrative and special instructional serv
ice personnel. In addition, the county superintendent shall
file a plan for the 11th and 12th month program which in
cludes for each race the title and duties assigned for each
such unit. Any revision in the plan submitted must be
approved by the State Department of Education.
On or before October 1, each county superintendent shall
file with the State Superintendent a complete description
of the program which operated during the 11th and 12th
months, including for each race the title, name, certificate
number, rank and duties of each person employed through
the use of administrative and special instructional service
units.
Ten Months Personnel.
On or before August 15 of each year the county superin
tendent shall file with the State Superintendent a plan for
use of ten months personnel service units (Form C) which
includes for each race the title and duties assigned for each
such unit together with name, certificate number, and rank
of the individual filling the position. Any proposed revision
220
in plans for use of ten months personnel shall be submitted
by January 15 of each year.
2. Any administrative and special instructional service
units to which a county is entitled under Section 236.04 (7),
Chapter 23726, Laws of Florida, Acts of 1947, which is not
used in accordance with regulations prescribed by the State
Board of Education shall be deducted either in the current
or the succeeding fiscal year as provided in Section 236.07
(9-e), Chapter 23726, Laws of Florida, Acts of 1947.
Adopted March 21, 1950
Section 236.04 (8)
State Board Regulation
relating to
UNITS FOR SUPERVISORS OF INSTRUCTION
(Adopted in accordance with the provisions of Section
236.04 (8), Florida Statutes as amended by Section 29 of
Chapter 23726, Laws of Florida, Acts of 1947)
1. Application for Instruction Units for Supervisors.
a. Each County Board shall file through the County Super
intendent an application for using instruction units for
supervision. This application shall be filed on forms pro
vided by the State Superintendent on or before May 15 of
each year.
b. Approval of any application for instruction units for
supervision may be given by the State Superintendent when
a satisfactory administrative plan for the use of such units
(or desirable modification of the initial plan submitted)
shall have been developed and approved jointly by the
County Superintendent and the State Superintendent which
will insure the most effective and economical expenditure
of funds. Application for use of state funds for supervisory
221
services must include: first, provision for general super
vision over the common branches of study in all the ele
mentary and secondary grades. Included as a part of the
administrative plan for supervision prescribed above, the
County Superintendent shall file brief statements outlining
(1) the duties to be performed by the supervisor(s); (2)
the total annual salary and number of months of employ
ment (in case of a general supervisor(s) this must be
twelve months and of special supervisor(s) at least ten
months; (3) the amount to be paid for travel; (4) the
qualifications of the supervisor who is to be employed.
c. Instruction units for supervisory purposes may be tenta
tively allocated if the administrative plan for the use of
such units required in the preceding section is satisfactory,
even though the nomination of the person(s) to fill the
supervisory position(s) is pending.
2. Administrative Plan for Employment of Supervisory
Personnel.
In arriving at a satisfactory plan for supervision in any
county, the County Superintendent and the State Super
intendent shall select one of the following plans which best
fits the needs of the county involved:
a. Single-County Plan
(1) For General Supervision
(a) The instruction unit to which each county is entitled
for the employment of a general supervisor may be used
for the employment of one person who will have general-
supervision of white and Negro schools.
(b) The additional instruction units available for super
vision, if any, may be used for the employment of separate
general supervisors for white and Negro schools, or for
some area or special supervisors.
(c) In counties earning fifty teacher units or less, one
222
person may be employed to perform tbe functions of both
supervisor of instruction and supervising principal of a
school center.
Any person employed as combined general supervisor and
supervising principal must be properly certificated for both
positions, i.e., hold a Bank II or higher certificate covering
both elementary and secondary administration and super
vision.
(2) For Special Subject or Field Supervision
(a) Counties entitled to supervisory units in addition to
the one reserved for general supervision may use such
extra units for employment of additional supervisors, pro
vided, one supervisor shall be employed for each of the
units used and provided further that not more than one
supervisor in any special subject field may be employed in
a county.
b. Joint-County Plan
(1) For Counties Having Not More Than One Supervisory
Unit:
An y two or three contiguous counties entitled to not more
than one unit each for supervision may submit a coopera
tive proposal for the joint employment of a supervisor or
supervisors in accordance with one or more of the following
plans:
(a) Cooperative Plan for General Supervision
Such counties may employ jointly one general supervisor
for work with both white and Negro schools; or may employ
separate general supervisors for white and Negro schools,
provided the cooperative arrangement would not result in
any general supervisor’s carrying a total load of over 75
teachers.
(b) Cooperative Plan for Special Subject or Field Super
vision
223
After providing for general supervisors, counties may use
the remaining supervisory units to which they may be en
titled for the purpose of cooperatively employing super
visors in special area or subject fields, provided that not
more than one unit from any individual county may be
so used for employment of any one supervisor.
(c) Cooperative Plan for School Lunch Supervision
In counties having less than ten school lunch programs, the
plan for supervision may be as follows:
Two or three counties may employ a school lunch supervisor
on a joint county plan provided that no school lunch super
visor may be responsible for more than thirty school lunch
programs.
(2) For Counties Having More Than One Supervisory Unit
After providing independently for general supervision, such
counties may use supervisory units beyond the first unit for
cooperative employment of special supervisors in accord
ance with section 2 -b -(l)-(b ) above.
3. Salaries and Travel Expense of Supervisors.
a. Supervisors shall be paid the basic salary schedule of
the county for teachers based upon training, experience, and
employment on either a ten or twelve months basis plus an
appropriate supplement in keeping with the duties and
responsibilities of the position.
b. The amount to be paid to the supervisor for travel must
be adequate in tqrms of the territory and number of schools
to be served and shall be fixed by the County Board of
Public Instruction in accordance with the joint recom
mendation of the County Superintendent and the State
Superintendent.
224
Adopted May 29, 1951
Section 230.23 (6)
State Board Regulation
relating to
ESTABLISHMENT, ORGANIZATION AND
OPERATION OF SMALL SCHOOLS
(Repealing Regulation adopted Maxell 21, 1950, page 24)
1. No school with an average daily attendance of less than
ten pupils in the elementary, junior or senior high school
grades may be continued in operation through the use of
Minimum Foundation Program funds except when such
school is so isolated that transportation of the pupils to an
other school would not be feasible because of distance, road
conditions, or excessive expense, or except when pupils
cannot be provided with equivalent or better educational
facilities in another school. If a school is to be operated
as an isolated school, an application for such operation must
be filed with the State Superintendent at least one month
before any Minimum Foundation Program funds may be
used for the school, giving all facts which may be required
as a basis for approval. Approval for the operation of an
isolated school will be granted by the State Superintendent
of Public Instruction only after consideration of all the
facts.
225
Adopted July 3, 1947
Section 230.34 (8)
State Board Regulation
relating to
SCHOOL ADVISORY COMMITTEES
(Adopted in accordance with the provisions of section
230.34 (8), Chapter 23726, Laws of Florida, Acts of 1947)
If the county board of a county exercises its discretion and
determines to set up School Advisory Committees, the
following regulations shall apply:
1. The county may be divided into school community areas
for each race in accordance with the attendance areas for
each school community for each race, or the Board may
divide the county into school community areas which areas
encompass the schools for both races.
2. Members of the School Advisory Committee may he
selected for any school community area by either of the
following methods as may he determined by the county
hoard:
a. The Board may provide for the selection of members of
the School Advisory Committee at a community meeting
called in each school community area at the place desig
nated by the Board of Public Instruction; the hour, the date
and place of such meeting to be advertised at least once, at
least one week before the meeting in a paper published in
the county or in some paper of general circulation in the
county.
b. The School Advisory Committee may be appointed by
the school board either from lists submitted by a community
meeting or directly by the hoard.
3. If the Board determines that the School Advisory Corn-
226
mittee shall be selected at a community meeting called in
the school community area as prescribed above, parents or
guardians of children attending school in the school
community area and adult residents of such area shall
be entitled to vote for members of the School Advisory
Committee.
4. Any adult residing in a school community area is
eligible to be selected as a member of the School Advisory
Committee.
5. If the Board determines to select School Advisory Com
mittees by the community meeting method, the Board shall
determine the time, place, and hour of the meeting but the
date selected must be between September 1 and December
31 preceding the January 1 on which School Advisory
Committees take office.
6. The members of the School Advisory Committee shall
exercise and perform such duties as are prescribed in
Section 230.34 (8) of Chapter 23726, Laws of Florida,
Acts of 1947.
7. The supervising principal or principal shall serve as
secretary of the School Advisory Committee.
227
Adopted March 21, 1950
Section 236.02 (4)
State Board Regulation
relating to
QUALIFICATIONS, DUTIES AND PROCEDURE FOR
EMPLOYMENT OF SUPERVISORS OF INSTRUCTION
(Adopted in accordance with the provisions of Section
236.02 (4), Chapter 23726, Laws of Florida, Acts of 1947)
1. Types and Qualifications of Supervisors
In addition to the objective standards set forth below, all
persons employed as supervisors should possess the many
intangible qualifications necessary to success in supervisory
work.
a. General Qualifications
(1) Age—To be eligible for initial appointment the super
visor shall be between the ages of 25 and 55 years.
(2) Physical Fitness—To be eligible for initial appoint
ment the supervisor must have passed satisfactorily a
physical examination given by a regular practicing physi
cian and must have filed a report of such examination on
the form now adopted by the State Board of Health; at the
discretion of the State Superintendent the applicant may be
required to take a special examination given by a physician
designated by the State Board of Education.
(3) Leadership and Personal Characteristics—Each ap
plicant for a supervisory position must file with the County
Superintendent and the State Superintendent a completed
application form setting forth experience, leadership activ
ities, personal characteristics, and other items as may be
included on a form prescribed and adopted by the State
Board of Education.
228
b. Special Qualifications* (see note)
(1) Qualifications of General Supervisors
General Supervisors shall meet the following requirements:
(a) Hold a valid teaching certificate, graduate or above,
having on face thereof, “ Administration and Supervision,”
covering both elementary and secondary levels.
Temporary approval may be given for a general supervisor
who does not meet certification requirements in full, pro
vided, a plan for securing full certification within two years
is filed and carried out.
(b) Have five years successful experience including teach
ing and/or administrative and supervisory responsibility,
at least two years of which experience shall have been
completed within the five years immediately preceding
appointment to a supervisory position.
(c) Beginning supervisors shall hold a certificate of Bank
II or above in accordance with Section 236.07 (1), Chapter
23726, Laws of Florida, Acts of 1947.
(2) Qualifications of Supervisors at the Elementary or
Secondary School Levels.
Supervisors whose duties are limited to the elementary or
secondary school levels shall meet the following require
ments :
(a) Hold a valid teaching certificate, graduate or above,
having on the face thereof “ Administration and Supervi
sion” covering the level to be supervised.
(b) Have five years successful experience including teach-
* Requirements here set forth are to be considered a minimum and
every effort shall be made to secure the services of persons with
much higher types of qualifications and experience. When a super
visor is appointed who meets only minimum requirements he shall
be required to make every effort to improve his qualifications con
sistent with the proper performance of the duties to which assigned.
229
mg and/or administrative and supervisory responsibility,
at least two years of which experience shall have been com
pleted within the five years immediately preceding appoint
ment to a supervisory position. At least three years of the
experience shall have been in the level to be supervised and
the degree upon which certificate is issued shall have in
cluded the special level to be supervised as a major field of
training.
(c) Beginning supervisors shall hold a certificate of Bank
II, or above.
(3) Qualifications of Supervisors of Special Subjects or
Special Programs.
(a) Hold a valid teaching certificate, graduate or above,
or its equivalent, in the field for which responsibility is
given.
(b) Five years successful experience as a teacher, admin
istrator, or supervisor in the field for which responsibility
is given, at least two years of which shall have been com
pleted within the five years immediately preceding appoint
ment to the supervisory position.
(c) Academic specialization shall have included the field
to be supervised and the field of education including at least
six semester hours in curriculum and supervision.
2. Duties of Supervisors.
a. Persons employed through the use of supervisory units
shall give full time to working with teachers, principals,
and other school personnel in the field of instruction. Under
no circumstances will administrators or administrative
assistants be certified from supervisory units.
b. In counties not employing a supervisor of Negro schools
the general supervisor shall have his services equitably ap
portioned among the schools (white and/or Negro) in the
one or more counties by whom he is employed.
230
e. General supervisors shall be paid and subject to duty on
a twelve months basis, and special supervisors on not less
than a ten months basis. Supervisors shall attend all con
ferences called by the State Superintendent of Public In
struction which are related to the satisfactory performance
of supervisory duties.
d. Supervisors shall make such periodic reports relative to
their plans and accomplishments as may be required by
the Division of Instruction of the State Department of
Education.
3. Procedure for Employment of Supervisors
a. The employment of persons to fill supervisory positions
in a county shall follow the procedure prescribed by law
and by State Board Regulations for other instructional per
sonnel up through the point where the County Board of
Public Instruction has approved the nomination of the in
dividual concerned. The County Superintendent shall then
certify the action to the State Superintendent of Public
Instruction, furnishing all information necessary to enable
the State Superintendent to present the matter to the State
Board of Education for approval or disapproval. The action
of the State Board of Education shall then be certified by
the State Superintendent to the County Superintendent. In
the event the State Board concurs in the action of the Coun
ty Board, the County Board may then proceed with contract
ing for the services of the supervisor. In the event the State
Board finds the individual not qualified or for other reasons
rejects the nomination of the individual concerned, the
County Superintendent shall initiate action to secure
the nomination of some other individual qualified for the
position.
b. The dismissal of persons in supervisory positions in a
county shall follow the procedure prescribed by law and
by State Board Regulations for other instructional per
231
sonnel with the additional requirement that approval of the
State Board of Education shall be necessary before the
dismissal of any supervisor may be effectuated.
Adopted July 3, 1947
Section 236.04 (1) (2)
State Board Regulation
relating to
ISOLATED SCHOOLS
(Adopted in accordance with the provisions of Section
236.04 (1) and (2), Chapter 23726, Laws of Florida, Acts
of 1947)
1. Instruction units for all non-isolated schools with less
than 120 pupils in average daily attendance will be calcu
lated by dividing the average daily attendance of such
schools by 27.
2. ISOLATED SCHOOLS. Any school having less than
120 pupils in average daily attendance shall be considered
an isolated school for the purpose of computing instruction
units when any of the following conditions are found to
exist:
a. Elementary Schools
(1) School with 90 to 119 pupils inclusive in average daily
attendance: If it is more than six miles by the nearest
passable road from another elementary school for the same
race in which satisfactory facilities could be provided.
(2) School with from 60 to 89 pupils inclusive in average
daily attendance: If it is more than eight miles by the
nearest passable road from another elementary school for
the same race in which satisfactory facilities could be
provided.
232
(3) School with 59 pupils or less in average daily attend
ance: If it is more than ten miles by the nearest passable
road from another elementary school for the same race in
which satisfactory facilities could be provided.
(4) If more than 15% of the pupils to be transported
would have to be on the bus for an average of more than
one hour each morning or evening.
(5) Not more than one instruction unit shall be allowed
for any one-teacher elementary school regardless of whether
it is considered an isolated school; Provided, however, that
an instruction unit will not be allotted for a school with
an average daily attendance of less than nine, unless evi
dence is presented to the State Superintendent showing that
consolidation of this school is impossible.
b. Junior High Schools
(1) School with 90 to 119 pupils inclusive in average daily
attendance: If it is more than seven miles by the nearest
passable road from another junior high school for the same
race in which satisfactory facilities could be provided.
(2) School with from 60 to 89 pupils inclusive in average
daily attendance: If it is more than nine miles by the
nearest passable road from another junior high school for
the same race in which satisfactory facilities could be
provided.
(3) School with 59 pupils or less in average daily attend
ance: If it is more than eleven miles by the nearest passable
road from another junior high school for the same race in
which satisfactory facilities could be provided.
(4) If more than 25% of the pupils to be transported
would have to be on the bus for an average of more than one
hour each morning or evening.
(5) Unless a center has a ninth grade or is definitely
organized as part of a high school it is to be considered
233
an elementary school for purposes of computing instruction
units and determining isolation.
c. Senior High Schools
(1) School with 90 to 119 pupils inclusive in average daily
attendance: If it is more than eight miles by the nearest
passable road from another senior high school for the same
race in which satisfactory facilities could he provided.
(2) School with 60 to 89 pupils inclusive in average
daily attendance: If it is more than ten miles by the
nearest passable road from another senior high school for
the same race in which satisfactory facilities could be
provided.
(3) School with less than 59 pupils in average daily attend
ance: If it is more than twelve miles by the nearest passable
road from another senior high school for the same race in
which satisfactory facilities could be provided.
(4) If more than 25% of the pupils to be transported
would have to be on the bus for an average of more than
one hour each morning or evening.
(5) Unless a center has a twelfth grade it is to be con
sidered as a junior high school for purposes of computing
instruction units and determining isolation.
3. TEMPORARY ISOLATED SCHOOLS. Any school
having less than 12Q pupils in average daily attendance
shall be considered a temporarily isolated school for the
purpose of computing instruction units when satisfactory
facilities cannot be provided at another appropriate center
within the distances prescribed above, or when the pupils
cannot be transported because of road conditions; provided,
however, no school will be considered as temporarily iso
lated because of lack of building facilities after July 1,
1948.
234
Adopted July 21, 1953
Section 239.38
239.41
239.42
State Board Regulation
relating to
THE DISTRIBUTION OF GENERAL SCHOLARSHIPS
1. In accordance with provisions of Sections 239.38, 239.41
and 239.42, Florida Statutes as amended by the 1953
Legislature, the following distribution of scholarships is
established:
White Negro Total
Alachua 16 7 23
Baker 7 1 8
Bay 17 4 21
Bradford 8 2 10
Brevard 13 3 16
Broward 21 7 28
Calhoun 7 1 8
Charlotte 5 1 6
Citrus 6 2 8
Clay 10 2 12
Collier 6 2 8
Columbia 11 2 13
Dade 54 10 64
DeSoto 8 1 9
Dixie 5 1 6
Duval 40 12 52
Escambia 27 6 33
Flagler 4 1 5
Franklin 6 1 7
Gadsden 10 9 19
Gilchrist 4 1 5
235
The Distribution of General Scholarships (Continued)
White Negro Total
Glades 3 1 4
Gulf 7 1 8
Hamilton 7 2 9
Hardee 9 1 10
Hendry 6 1 7
Hernando 7 1 8
Highlands 9 2 11
Hillsborough 42 6 48
Holmes 11 1 12
Indian Eiver 9 2 11
J aekson 12 6 18
J eff erson 6 4 10
Lafayette 4 1 5
Lake 15 4 19
Lee 13 2 15
Leon 15 8 23
Levy 8 2 10
Liberty 3 1 4
Madison 8 4 12
Manatee 15 3 18
Marion 13 6 19
Martin 6 2 8
Monroe 15 2 17
Nassau 9 2 11
Okaloosa 15 1 16
Okeechobee 4 1 5
Orange 28 5 33
Osceola 9 1 10
Palm Beach 24 9 33
Pasco 12 2 14
Pinellas 34 4 38
Polk 29 5 34
Putnam 12 3 15
236
The Distribution of General Scholarships (Continued)
White Negro Total
St. Johns 12 4 16
St. Lucie 11 3 14
Santa Rosa 12 1 13
Sarasota 15 2 17
Seminole 11 5 16
Sumter 8 2 10
Suwannee 11 2 13
Taylor 8 2 10
Union 7 2 9
Volusia 20 6 26
Wakulla 5 2 7
Walton 9 3 12
Washington 10 1 11
Total 843
80.3%
207
19.7%
1050
100%
If any county shall receive more scholarships under this
distribution than the total of its General, Representative,
and Senatorial scholarship holders on the 1953-54 scholar
ship roll, the additional scholarships shall not be activated
until it is ascertained that the appropriation for scholar
ships is sufficient for this purpose.
2. Within the allocation tentatively allotted each county,
vacancies shall be declared in such a manner as to insure
having, whenever possible, not less than twenty-five per
cent of the total number of awards open to white and to
Negro students respectively who would enter an approved
Florida institution as freshmen during each and every year.
Where there are sufficient vacancies in any county to allow
such distribution, twenty-five per cent of the total number
237
shall also be made available to persons falling in each of
the following levels: sophomore, junior, senior.
3. A scholarship holder must register in the school, college,
or department of education of an institution of higher
learning located in Florida and approved by the State
Board of Education for teacher education and certification.
4. The State Superintendent shall have authority to declare
in which teaching fields applicants must train to be eligible
for a scholarship.
5. A General Scholarship for the Preparation of Teachers
may be renewed annually for a period of four years, but
may not be used for work beyond the four-year degree level
nor after the holder has received $1600.00 in scholarship
funds.
6. Examinations to fill vacancies for General Scholarships
are to be held twice a year, in the fall and in the spring.
The State Superintendent of Public Instruction shall make
all arrangements for these examinations and shall supervise
the selection of winners, etc.
7. If for any reason, illness included, a scholarship holder
must remain out of college for longer than one semester, he
will forfeit his scholarship. If later he returns to college
and desires scholarship aid, he must re-apply by submitting
a new application for a declared vacancy. An exception may
be made in the case of a scholarship holder called into the
Armed Services. If the veteran desires scholarship rein
statement upon his return from service, his scholarship may
be restored to him if a vacancy exists in his county.
8. If on July 1 of any year, quotas for white or Negro stu
dents with respect to General Scholarships for the Prepara
tion of Teachers remain unfilled in any county, and if upon
investigation by the State Superintendent it is found that
such conditions exist because of (1) a dearth of persons
interested in making application or (2) the failure of ap-
238
plieants to make the required minimum score, the State
Superintendent may declare such vacancies to exist on a
state-wide basis. The state-wide vacancies declared should
then be awarded in the following manner:
a. A roster shall be compiled containing the names of eligi
ble persons making the minimum passing score who failed
to receive an award on the latest examination.
b. From such roster, in order of rank of excellence and in
keeping with the college-year level for which the vacancies
placed in the state-wide pool exist, awards are to be made.
c. Persons receiving such awards will be permitted to con
tinue them from year to year, as provided by law, until the
termination of the scholarship; at the end of this period,
such vacancies shall be again restored to the counties to
which they were originally allocated.
9. This repeals paragraph 2, pages 225-26 of State Board
Regulation relating to Summer School Scholarships and
Scholarships for Preparation of Teachers, pages 224-26,
adopted July 6, 1949.
239
Adopted July 21, 1953
Sections: 239.19
239.38-239.44
State Board Regulation
relating to
SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE
The State Scholarship Committee shall be composed of
eight members appointed by the State Superintendent of
Public Instruction. The membership shall be the dean of
education of each of four colleges or universities approved
for teacher education for white teachers, the president or
dean of education of one college or university approved for
teacher education for Negro teachers, the dean or the direc
tor of one approved junior college, and two members of the
State Department of Education.
Two members shall be appointed for a one year term, two
for two years, two for three years, and two for four years.
Thereafter each member shall be appointed for a term of
four years.
Any vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired term by
appointment by the State Superintendent of Public
Instruction.
The committee shall elect its chairman and recorder for
terms not to exceed two years.
The duties of the committee shall be to formulate policies
and make recommendations that will add to the effective
ness of the scholarship program.
The committee shall meet at least twice a year and at
such other times as the chairman shall consider necessary.
The committee may invite other officials concerned with
the administration of the scholarship program to meet
with the committee at any meeting.
240
Adopted November 16, 1948
Sections 239.41 thru
239.44
239.19 thru
239.24
State Board Regulation
relating to
SCHOLARSHIPS FOR PREPARATION OF TEACHERS
AND HOUSE AND SENATORIAL SCHOLARSHIPS
(Adopted in accordance with the provisions of Sections
239.41 thru 239.44 and Sections 239.19 thru 239.24, Florida
Statutes, as amended by Chapter 23726, Laws of Florida,
Acts of 1947)
The method and manner of handling and collecting schol
arship notes which may become in default shall be as
follows:
The President of each institution of higher learning where
the scholarship was held shall give such assistance as may
be reasonably requested by the State Treasurer in the col
lection of scholarship notes which have become payable by
reason of the scholarship holder failing to perform services
in satisfaction of his scholarship note.
241
Adopted July 3, 1947
Section 242.05 (1)
State Board Regulation
relating to
STATE SUPERVISORY SERVICES
(Adopted in accordance with the provisions of Section
242.05(1), Florida Statutes, 1941, as amended by Chapter
23726, Laws of Florida, Acts of 1947)
1. The use of State Supervisory Funds shall be in accord
ance with a budget for a program planned as a part of
the State Department of Education services for supervision
of white and Negro schools as recommended by the State
Superintendent of Public Instruction.
2. Recommendations for nomination of persons to fill State
Supervisory positions shall be submitted to the State Board
of Education by the State Superintendent of Public Instruc
tion. In no case may any individual be certified, nominated,
or paid any salary from State Supervisory Funds who does
not meet the qualifications, prescribed by the State Board
of Education for holding supervisory positions of the type
being filled.
3. Approval by the State Board of Education shall be
necessary before any State Supervisory Funds may be paid
to any person recommended and employed in accordance
with the preceding section; approval of both the State Su
perintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board of
Education shall be necessary before the dismissal of any
supervisor employed through use of State Supervisory
Funds may be effectuated.
4. Included as a part of the administrative plan for super
vision the State Superintendent shall file with the recom
mendation a brief statement outlining (1) the duty to be
242