From: kadie@herodotus.cs.uiuc.edu (Carl M. Kadie)
Subject: Re: Scouting Magazine Article
Organization: University of Illinois, Dept. of Comp. Sci., Urbana, IL
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1992 17:47:18 GMT

arromdee@jyusenkyou.cs.jhu.edu (Ken Arromdee) writes:

>>"Scouting" Magazine on 8/18.
>>In effect it states that BSA has particular policies, has had them
>>for over 80 years, and that these policies will not change.

>Interesting.  Did the Boy Scouts let in blacks 80 years ago?  If not, then
>Boy Scouts policies of excluding particular people _have_ changed.
[...]

[Gee, I hope I don't get my third Stan-o-gram, for discussing
something that appeared in _Scouting_.]

I don't know that blacks were excluded from the BSA, but they were
excluded from some troops and prohibited in some places from wearing
the uniform.

I'm enclosing two old rec.scouting articles on this topic.

- Carl

Newsgroups: rec.scouting,alt.atheism,soc.motss
From: michaelb@cse.fau.edu (Michael Brown)
Subject: Re: Wells Fargo, Bank of America drop Boy Scouts
Date: Tue, 2 Jun 1992 15:31:12 GMT

In article <l2l4ilINN929@utkcs2.cs.utk.edu> etheridg@duncan.cs.utk.edu (Jennifer Etheridge) writes:
>Just out of curiousity...does anyone know if BSA ever 
>excluded blacks?
>
>Jennifer Finger

NO.  However, in the south the BSA did have a problem with racism.  Depending
on the area they might have:

    Double Councils in the same area- one for blacks, one for whites
    Separate camps
    Bar blacks from wearing uniforms.
    Separate OA Lodges

This varied from area to area.  I know that the North Florida Council, based
in Jacksonville, had two camps.  Echockotee for whites, Coachootchee for
blacks.  There was a council-wide OA Chapter (Coachootchee) just for blacks
and they had their own chapter flap to wear instead of the regualar lodge
flap.  [for those who are unaware, OA chapters DO NOT have chapter flaps].

BSA had to do this so they could have blacks as scouts

-- 
<<                                                               >>
<< Michael R. Brown    CS Graduate Student-Florida Atlantic Univ >>
<< Internet: michaelb@sol.cse.fau.edu                            >>
<<                                                               >>


Newsgroups: rec.scouting,alt.atheism,soc.motss
From: sbgreene@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Steven Greene)
Subject: Re: Wells Fargo, Bank of America drop Boy Scouts
Date: Tue, 2 Jun 1992 15:40:36 GMT

In article <1992Jun1.195104.16717@porthos.cc.bellcore.com> whs70@dancer.UUCP () writes:
>                 Scouting has had its ups and downs, but it has not
>been forced to abandon its principles along the way.
>
>Standard Disclaimer- Any opinions, etc. are mine and NOT my employer's.
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Bill Sohl (K2UNK) BELLCORE (Bell Communications Research, Inc.)

Scouting has actually had to abandon its principles once before:  In
the middle of this century, they had to end racial segregation and
allow blacks in the same troops with whites.  Several troops in the
Philadelphia area were disbanded over the issue.

And since when is opposition to homosexuality a principle of the
Boy Scouts anyway?  The BSA Charter and by-laws make no reference to 
homosexuality.  Nor does the Boy Scout Mission Statement, or the Scout Oath 
and Law.  And the Scoutmaster Handbook says "Rule Number 1" in dealing 
with incidents of sexual curiosity among troop members is that 
Scoutmasters are not to "undertake to instruct Scouts in any formalized 
manner, in the subject of sex and family life."  Sounds to me like
the BSA has no formal position on sexual mores; they're just bigots.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
"As Mason said to Dixon, we have to draw the line somehwere."

--
Carl Kadie -- kadie@cs.uiuc.edu -- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Newsgroups: rec.scouting