Article: "Two Negro Pupils Held in Georgia," by Walter Rugaber, 12 Dec 1968, New York Times

THE NEW YORK TIMES, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 1968 2 Negro Children Held as Delinquents TWO NEGRO PUPILS HELD IN GEORGIA

Girls Removed From White School for 'Delinquency'

By WALTER RUGABER Special to The New York Times SYLVESTER, Ga., Dec. 11---- Two of the first Negro children to enter the all-white schools in rural Worth County have been taken from their class rooms by a deputy sheriff and held in custody for nearly a week. Their whereabouts were in doubt for more than 24 hours. The youngsters were finally located in a juvenile detention center at Albany, 20 miles away, but the children's parents say they were prevented from seeing them for four days. The children, who are sisters aged 11 and 14, were charged with "delinquency." The accusation evidently rests on the alleged use of profanity by the older girl and disorderly conduct on a school bus by the younger. Many observers in the South, including agents of the Federal Government, have reported a fairly wide spread pattern of harassment designed to discourage Negro transfers to allwhite schools. The arrests here have touched off a civil rights investigation by the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare, which has been pressing for more than token desegreation in the country. Obscured by Law The seizure and detention of the two girls has been partly obscured by the Georgia law covering juvenile proceedings and by the reluctance of local white authorities to talk publicly about details. Youngsters charged under the juvenile statutes must not be officially identified by name. Court hearings, such as the one that began yesterday and was adjouned until Dec. 23 are closed hearings. Although discussion of the circumstances is not prohibited, both the county superintendent of schools, Miss Lizzie J. Deariso, and the school board chairman, G.L. Houston, declined to do so. But the basic details are widely known in Worth County. Some were contained in available courtroom records and others were disclosed by C. B. King of Albany, a Negro attorney who represents the students involved. 'Freedom of Choice' Plan A few years ago, some black students were admitted to the county's white schools under a so-called "freedom of choice" plan that requires Negroes to take the initiativein desegregation efforts. Exact figures on the number of transfers were not available, but informal estimates indicated that only a handful have switched. A spokesman for the Education Department in Atlanta said the rate was "unacceptable." The deprtment can halt Federal funds unless the county produces a proposal for more integration. The county did so recently, but the school board reportedly voted to withdraw it during a meeting yesterday. The parents of the arrested girls are leaders in the desegregation drive here. The father is president of a local Negro "economic development" organization and the mother works for a civil rights group in the area. They are relatively safe from any economic intimidation by segregationists because the father owns the land he farms and also holds a job at a fertillizer plant outside Worth County. Arrested Separately The arrests occurred at separate schools last Wednesday. When the parents began mak[this line of text is missing] King reported, the deputy sheriff who removed the children indicated that he did not know their whereabouts. [illegible] was informed said in an interview today that only by Thursday night were the girls tracked to Albany. The authorities then refused to waive a rule that restricts visitors to Sundays. Mr. King appealed to Superior Court Judge J. Bowie Gray of Tifton, who also presides over the juvenile court in Worth County. The judge refused to release the two in custody of their parents. This is frequently permitted pending a hearing. The parents may be required to post bond for additional security. But Mr. King said the judge had indicated he wanted to be certain the girls would appear. Yesterday, after breaking off the in camera proceeding after an all-day session in a third floor grand jury room at the white - columned courthouse here, Judge Gray released the Negroes until the hearing resumes. The formal charge asserted that the older girl was "in a state of delinquency and neglect" because she had used "vile, obscene, and profane language knowingly and willfully without just cause." Mr. King said the authorities had cited specific instances of profanity. One she said "Damn," and on another occasion she said "God Damn." The 11-year-old was arrested and hel on a charge that she had refused to obey "the rules and orders of Max Odum, (white) school bus driver," and has refused to refrain from "physical attack on other juveniles." 'Orders of Max Odum' The "rules and orders of Max Odum" included one under which some children were assigned seats from which they must not move. The authorities described this as a desciplinary measure, but Mr. King said they had cited no instance in which it was applied to whites. The "physical attack" stemmed from a back-of-the-bus battle of toothpicks and pecan shells, Mr. King said. When the 11-yearold's younger brother received a kick in the shins from a white boy, she reportedly retaliated on his behalf by slapping the white boy on the shoulder. Mr. King charged that the school authorities had failed to approach the parents of the two girls about any disciplinary problems. He added that neither of the youngsters had been in court before. The school officials have not made it clear, publicly at least, why the two were not suspended or expelled rather than arrested and detained by a deputy sheriff acting on a formal complaint. White Children Testify White parents, professing anger at what they describe as a dangerous lapse in discipline over the last few months, have applied heavy pressure on the school authorities. A number of mothers and fathers brought their children to testify against the two girls yesterday. Negroes make up 54 percent of the students in Worth County. A few whites who agreed to speak anonymously mide it clear that while there might be reluctant acceptance of some desegregation, there was intense feeling for the maintenance of discernably white--- and "colored"--- schools. The Negroes regard last week's arrests as a white conspiracy. They have started a boycott of the schools and more than 100 blacks, mostly young people, marched to the courthouse this morning. _______________________ REMEMBER THE NEEDIEST!