Evening star., 1944-02-03
Pupil.
Barred From
White School
Father Threatens
To Take Fight to
Federal Courts

Inc request OF a colored lawyer,
John p. Davis, to enter his 5-year-
old son IN a white school because
there Is no colored school within q
mile of his residence in Brookland
was unanimously denied by the Board
Of Education yesterday on the ground
that the Court of Appeals Of the
District in 1910 upheld validity of
acts OF Congress providing for the
maintenance Of separate free schools
for white and colored children.
At the same time the board en-
powered its Personnel Committee to
review" the shortage of physical
education instructors-eight in the
senior high schools and two in the
junior high school-who are about to
be reclassified for the purpose of de-
Gliding whether to request draft de-
ferment for them from the District
Government Committee on Defer
ments. No replacements are avail
able for these men, it was said. DR..
Chester w. Holmes, assistant SUPER
intendent in charge of senior high
schools, said he already has assigned
one woman to teach boys.
May Go to Courts.
Deferment has been requested be-
fore for physical education instruc-
tors, but policies of selective service
headquarters and statements on the
subject by high-ranking Army ON
GERS have heretofore blocked the ef-
fort to have them deferred.
In the question regarding admit
ting the colored boy to a white
school, Mr.. Davis, who lives at 3l05
Fourteenth street NE, said he in
tends to go to the Federal courts
for such legal remedies as believe
to be mine" Mr.. Davis is legislative
secretary to Representative Marcan-
tonic, American Laborite, Of New
York.
He intends to take his child,
Michael, to the Crosby s. Noyes, a
white school near his home, when
the term opens Monday morning.
Mr.. Davis said, SO as to be able to
present legal evidence Of being re-
fused admittance by the principal
Of the school.
Mr.. Davis said he wanted to carry
through this intention as quietly and
inconSpicuously as possible.
Besides directing Miss Grace
Bush, principal of Noyes, or the
principal Of ANY other white school"
to refuse Michael Davis admittance,
the board at Its meeting yesterday
asked the Commissioners to approve
a $44, 900 item in the deficiency esti-
mates for a site for a colored ele-
mentary school in the vicinity of
Fifteenth and Hamlin streets NE,
and TO get from the Federal Works
Administration money to build a
school on the site.
Previous Requests Futile.
Robert L. Haycock, superintendent
Of schools, estimated that If both
went we'll" there would be
a colored elementary school in
Brookland "by September" but said
this date might be optimistic. He
reminded the board that it had re-
quested such a school since 1898,
but no appropriation has ever been
made.
Only comment on the Davis re-
quest came from a colored mem
Der Of the board, Mrs. Velva G.
Williams, who said that as a parent
she approved the appeal in principle,
but according to present rules. I
don't see what we could do" Later
Mr.. Davis issued a statement to
the press expressing his surprise"
that colored members of the board
had not upheld his appeal.
He based his objection to the dis
tance from his home to the nearest
colored school, more than a mile
away. on a memorandum sent to the
board recently by school officers sug-
gesting as school location policy
that no elementary school children
should have to walk more than half
a mile to school or cross any arterial
He declared that the failure of the
board to furnish q school nearer
him Is denial of equal protection
Of law under the Constitution and
that entitled him to demand and
the board to grant" Michael Davis
admission to q nearer school, exist
Ing statutes and regulations estab-
fishing separate and white and COL
ored schools, to the contrary not