SR_DPI_DNE_Special_Subject_File_B1F15_Equalization_Education_Opportunities

BRIEF NORTH CAROLINA MOVES POSITIVELY TOWARD EQUALITY IN PUBLIC EDUCATION AS BETWEEN WHITE AND COLORED PEOPLE. I. Historical Background. When the War of 1861-1865 ended, North Carolina, like her Southern neighbors, was prostrate, economically and politically. To make matters worse, the visitors in the four-year long conflict, organized and executed a ten-year program of REconstruction, which came near to destroying the measure asssts which the state had when the war closed. However, in 1875 when REconstruction ended, the people of the state began to look about them ant to make plans for improving conditions. One of the topics to claim earliest attention was that of public education. A state constitution had been adopted in 1866. In this document no statement had been made about separate schools for white and colored children. In the meantime, between 1`865 and 1875, there had been some so-called "mixed schools" in some of the states, but none in North CArolina. In 1876, at the regular election in November, the voters adopted an amendment to the constitution which is as follows: "The children of the white race and the children of the colored race shall be taught in separate publiv schools, but there shall be no discrimination in favor of or to the prejudice of either race." This law has controlled school attendance as indicated in the law since 1877, when the amendment was confirmed ny the General Assembly of that year. The question at this time is: How well and how faithfull has the state of North Carolina complied with its own constitution in the section quoted above? In this brief there is not and will not be any attempt to evade this issue. It may not be out of place to say that the writer of htis statement was torn in the midst of REconstruction, December 27, 1871. In his own lifetime he has witnessed and had a small opart in the actions of the state in the field of public education. With his father's family and neighbors he lived through the lean years of the 1870's, the 1880's, and the 1890's. He knew of the scarcity which existed everywhere; of the actual want which faced people of both races. His first experience as a teacher was in a remote section of a far eastern county, where the school term was three months, and the salary twenty-five dollars a month. This brief sketch will indicate to some slight degree the very belated conditions which existed throughout most of the last twenty-five years of the nineteenth century in North Carolina. With the turn of the century somewhat brighter prospects encouraged the people of the state to hope for and to expect improvements in public education. II. Equalization of educational opportunities in North Carolina. Obviously, some of the depressing conditions which existed throughout the last third of the nineteenth century ni North CArolina spilled over into the new century. These continued though for a decade or two. However, under the leadership of Governor Charles B. Aycock, Superintendent of Public Instruction J. Y. Joyner, Walter H. Page, President Edwin A. Alderman, Josephus Daniels, and many others, a marked stimulus and

-2direction were given to public education around 1900, which has grown in volume and in power to this day. Resulting from such leadership then and later, North Carolina has been able to equalize public education between the races to a considerable degree. 1. Areas in which public education has equalized between white and colored people: a. Length of school term. (180 days) b. Teacher-pupil allotment in elementary schools. c. Teacher-pupil allotment in high schools. d. Courses of study, grades 1-12. e. Regulations for accreditment of elementary and high schools. f. Program of training and certification of teachers. g. Salaries of teachers and principals. h. Evaluation of high schools. i. Supervision of local administrative units. j. Legislature of 1949 provided 850,000,00 for building consolidated school houses for white, Negro, and Indian people. This proably will not equalize all school buildings for both races, but it will be possible to erect a considerable number of first-class school buildings for colored children. It is estimated by competent state officials that thirty to thirty-five per cent of the $50,000,000 building fund will be used for colored children, while the total colored population population is 17 1/2% of the total state population (1940). In addition to state funds, many counties and cities will, together, spend approximately 85,000,000 on modern school buildings for colored children. 2. Areas of marked expansion of Negro education. a. Rising costs of Negro public schools. (1) 1939-1940--------------------------------------$6,516.116.00 (2) 1943-1944--------------------------------------$11,211,512.79 (3) 1944-1945--------------------------------------$12,468,536.88 (4) 1945-1946--------------------------------------$14,354,138.09 (5) 1946-1947--------------------------------------$16,796,491.00 (6) 1947-1948--------------------------------------$20,171,060.57 (7) 1948-1949--------------------------------------$21,500,000.00 (8) 1949-1950 estimated by statistician-------------$25,500,000.00 b. Increased support of higher education for Negroes. (1) Growing state support of state Negro colleges for maintenance is shown by the following: (a) 1941-1943---------------------------------$621,000.00 (b) 1943-1945---------------------------------$825,000.00 (c) 1945-1947---------------------------------$1,100,000.00 (d) 1947-1949---------------------------------$1,795,610.00 (e) 1949-1951---------------------------------$3,105,674.00 (2) Value of property - Five Negro State Colleges. (a) June 30, 1926-----------------------------$2,589,954.00 (b) Additions since - to 1949-----------------$6,590,520.00 (c) Appropriations for 1949-1951--------------$9,680,628.00 (d) Total value after use of appropriations made in 1949 for 1949-1951----------------$18,686,628.00

3. Evidences of Faith and Works. Data outlined in II above are accepted by inelligent colored people in North Carolina, as a gaurantee that the state does intend to equalize educational opportunities in all classifications, and that this pledge will be accomplished fairly speedily. The same attitude on these matters is maintained by white leadership in the state, both officials and laymen of all groups and classes.

It will be noted above that in a single decade, 1939-1940 to 1949-1950, costs for public schools for negroes rose six and a half million dollars annually, to twenty-five and a half million dollars anually, almost four hundred per cent in ten years. Likewise, the expenditures for college and graduate education have multiplied over and over in the same period of time. Also, it will be observed that equalization has already been achieved in most areas in public education. To equalize the salaries of colored teachers with white teachers cost the state $5,557,000 in the years 1939-1944. According to a recent article in the New York Herald Tribune, the average annual salary of colored teachers was $86 more last year than white teachers received.

All of the progress outlined above has been accomplished by the day to day and year to year leadership of the people, and is evidence that they mean to achieve the requirements of their own constitutional amendments of 1876 and 1877, as well as the XIII, XIV, and XV amendments to the Constitution of the United States, so far an equality in education is concerned.

III. Some possible negative results if the Sweat case from Texas is decided in favor of the Plaintiff, and the Principle of Segregation is eliminated completely and almost immediately.

1. It is possible and probable that colored children now attending school in a very poor building in some rural community would attempt to attend a better white school near-by. In the first place, there would be no vacant seats the colored children could occupy, because the building is already crowded with white children. What would happen to each race in such an event?

2. Some people believe that dozens, perhaps hundreds of miniature civil war conflicts would occur in many parts of the state.

3. There are now, in round numbers, 7,500 colored teachers and principals in North Carolina. If segregation is removed, would all, or even a large number of these be able to secure teaching poitions in this state? Many important white people believe hundreds and even thousands of them would not find work of this kind; because they say white people in each community school district would insist that white teachers teach their children whether in segregated or mixed schools.

4. Such a plan as proposed in the plaintiff's suit could create and establish problems, school problems, and others, which would make for unhappiniess, discord, and controversy for both white and colored people. Growth, progress, and healthy development in education, or

in cost other affairs which concern masses of people, as well as individuals, would be, it seems, next to impossible. An outstanding North Carolina judge has frequently quoted: "Hate is the acid that corrodes the heart, and if allowed to feed upon it, will eat it out." Hate, to any degree, is not constructive. It does not develop happy peoples, communities, states, nor nations. Would the conditions briefly described in this paragraph result in another ten-year plan of Reconstruction, similar, in any sense, to that of 1865 to 1875?

IV. The Seventeen Southern States. This paper has been mainly devoted to educational conditions in North Carolina, for the very obvious reason that we know more about such conditions here, than we do of those in other states. In the other sixteen states, similar progress in public education has been made for colored people as that which has been outlined for North Carolina.

However, we will understand that all seventeen states must stand or fall together. All of the states had to pass through Reconstruction together the best they could; both its immediate and its long time consequences. Some of those long time consequences of Reconstruction, such as poverty, want, and need, continued, particularly in public education, for nearly fifty years, until about 1920. Then, North Carolina and the other states began immediately to raise the standards and the quality of public educatioin for colored people. Very definitely this is true for the 1920's and since 1939.

"Time is of the escense." We do not believe our great United States Supreme Court will act either hastily or drastically in this extremely important matter. The seventeen Southern States constitute how an outstanding part of the United States, both as to their recent developments and their promise of wider deevelopment in the future.

Respectfully submitted,

NC Newbold

N. C. NEWBOLD, Director Division Negro Education State Department of Public Instruction of North Carolina January 4, 1950

I. Elementary and high schools 1. Length of term (days) 1940-'41 White: 164.7 Colored:164.4 2. Teacher-pupil load a. Elementary schools (average) White:32.5 Colored: 32.5 b.High Schools White: 24.2 Colored: 27 3.Precentage of average daily Membership in average daily attendance----------- a.Elementary Schols White: 93.8 Colored: 90.3 b.High Schools White:95.2Colored:937 4. Courses of study and requirements for accrediment for both elementary and high schools------- Both have same 5.Consolidation a. Number of schools to which children were transported, 1940 White:1049 Colored:309 b. Avereage number of pupils transported daily. White:299640 Colored:41495 c. Number of buses used White: 4078 Colored: 649 6. School property valuation White: 105658494 Colored:15580743 7. Per Pupil (enrollment) White: 234.04 Colored: 68.09 8.Total number of elementary schools thaught in 1940-'41 White:1754 Colored: 2018 a. One-teacher schools 261 744 b. Two & three-teachers schools 294 848 c. Four,five,six-teachers schools. 325 243 d. Seven,eight,nine-teacher schs. 402 77 e. Ten to fifteen or more teachers-------------------------- 472 106 9. Ecpenditures for operation of plants per capita per pupil in average daily attendance-------------------- $2.34 $1.16